Hope's Peak Academy, the most prestigious school in all of Japan. Only a select few were invited to attend, for there are no entrance exams. It is a school that, should one accept their invitation, allowed a person great success in life. Getting into a university would be no problem, and finding a career would be simple. The school was a source of hope for the country, and any high school student would dream of being allowed to attend. And as fortune would have it, that dream was coming true for one girl.
Standing outside of the gates was Takara Tsukuda. In her hand she held the letter she received just two weeks ago. The letter stating that she had been invited with the title of Super High School Level Journalist, a talent she definitely believed she deserved.
She had dedicated herself to finding out the truth and only the truth, which she would then write articles about. Her dedication to researching the facts made what she wrote all the more interesting. She tore down countless rumors and debunked many scandals with just pen and paper. She had written for newspapers, magazines, news websites, even television reports. There just wasn't any other way to describe it, Takara was passionate when it came to journalism. And it all turned out to be worth it, now that she was standing here. She always wanted Hope's Peak to recognize her for her skills, and now she could find out the secrets behind the school's walls. She had even prepared herself for what would come by compiling facts and information on all of her soon-to-be classmates. There was no doubt that she would be set for the rest of her high school years.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. While she was excited, she didn't want to leave any bad impressions due to her joy. Without any more hesitation, she walked towards the gates. "Look out Hope's Peak Academy," she shouted to no one. "because Takara Tsukuda is-"
As she walked through the gates, she began to feel light headed. The whole world seemed to be spinning in front of her eyes. She couldn't even find the strength to stand up anymore. As her vision became blurry, she fell to the ground and lost consciousness. This was definitely not going to be your average school year.
"..."
"...y"
"Ca...ear me?"
"...ake up."
"Please, you need to wake up."
Takara heard a voice she didn't recognize as she felt her strength return. Did someone find her lying in front of the school building? She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself face to face with two unfamiliar people looking down at her. A bright light was shining in her eyes, leaving her unable to discern who they were. All she could tell was that one was a boy and the other was a girl. Her head still ached as she tried to stand up. The boy seemed to be worried, as he took hold of her arm to help her up. "Woah there, take it easy." he said with concern. "You've been out for quite some time now, you shouldn't be moving too fast. Just take it slow for a moment."
"Um, sure. I got it." Takara said, her thoughts still jumbled. She tried to process the appearance of the boy assisting her. He wore what looked like a white lab coat, though she couldn't make out what he was wearing underneath it. She decided that it wouldn't be best to stand up just yet and just sat up. She needed to get her thoughts together.
"We were worried that you weren't going to wake up." The girl said, messing with her braided hair. "The rest of us woke up at once, but you just wouldn't budge."
"...The rest of you?" Takara asked.
"She's talking about everyone else in the room. Hold on, let me go tell them that you're awake." The boy answered. He stood up and called out to someone she couldn't see. "You guys, she woke up!"
The girl with the glasses helped Takara stand upright, allowing her to see just who else was there. A whole group of teenagers, around her age from the looks of it, were now staring at her. Some were shocked, while others looked relieved. Takara looked around and noticed that they weren't outside the building anymore. They were all standing in some large room filled with small tables and chairs. It almost looked like a conference room, but what would something like that be doing at Hope's Peak? "Does anyone know where we are?" she asked.
"No, we all just found ourselves here!" A girl wearing some kind of sports uniform answered. "Apparently we all fainted outside of the school building and woke up here!"
"Why would anyone take us in the first place though?" A nervous looking boy asked, his eyes constantly darting around the room.
"Ooooooooo! Maybe it's some kind of surprise party!" Another girl said as she jumped up and down. "I love surprises!"
"Somehow I don't think we're here for a surprise party." An aloof boy replied. "There's not even a cake or anything."
"Maybe it's just some kind of prank the school's pulling on us." Another boy said, trying to make light of the situation. "You know, something they pull on the freshmen to psyche them out."
"Dat better be all dis is!" A tall girl exclaimed. "'Cause if it ain't, den someone's gonna meet my fists!"
"Maybe that will tell us something?" A girl with a scarf asked, pointing at a piece of paper that rested on top of a table. How did no one notice it until now? Takara didn't have time to figure that out right now, she needed to know what was going on. She picked up the paper and unfolded it, revealing a letter.
"Well, what does it say?" A boy asked, getting quite irritated. "There's no need to keep it's contents to yourself."
Takara resisted the urge to give him a dirty look as she read the letter out loud.
"Greetings new students of Hope's Peak Academy. I apologize for the sudden relocation, as you're probably all confused. But do not be alarmed, this is merely a gift from the school. You all probably spent the remainder of your summer vacation preparing yourselves for your new school year. And I would hate to have been the cause for you to miss out on a chunk of your break. Therefore, the school has arranged this all expenses paid trip for you. You will be spending the next two weeks in this amazing mountainside resort. This shall allow you to have a proper end to your summer vacation and letting you become closer to your fellow students. All your bags have already been brought here, and they currently sit outside of your rooms along with your room keys. There will be a faculty member arriving shortly to keep an eye on you, we're not about to let you all run around unsupervised after all. Your families have all been informed of this, so there's no need to worry. So just relax and enjoy yourselves. And don't worry, you won't be missing out on anything at the school while this is happening. Your school year will officially begin once the two weeks are up. Have fun, Headmaster Jin Kirigiri."
No one spoke, they were all trying to take in everything they had just heard.
"Wait, they're really giving us an extended vacation?" A boy finally asked. "Are schools even allowed to do that?"
"It would appear that they can." A short girl answered. "Otherwise they would not have sent us here in the first place. Hope's Peak Academy is not any ordinary school after all, so they must have the ability to send us here."
"Still though, doesn't this all seem, I don't know, odd?" Another boy asked. "This all seems pretty sudden, just sending us here with no warning. Where are we anyway? All they said was a mountainside resort."
"Well in that case we should go explore, explore, explore!" The hyperactive girl said, making a straight rush to the door. Well she was just a ball of energy.
"We should take a better look at just where we are." The irritated boy from before said. "We should all meet back up in here once we're finished. And someone should tell her that once someone finds her." Although a few of the students wanted to question why he was making the shots, most of the students began walking towards the door as well. Takara could pick up comments from them. Some wanted to find their rooms while others wanted to look around the surrounding area before the chaperone showed up. Aside from herself, only a few other people remained in the room. Since she was still here, she decided it was best to talk to them and introduce herself.
She first noticed the boy who was helping her earlier. Since her vision was clearing up, she could see his appearance perfectly. Just as she suspected, he was wearing a kind of lab coat over a school uniform. His hair was tied back in a neat looking ponytail. He looked like a doctor despite the fact he was young. He turned to look at her and smiled. "I see you're looking better." he said.
"Yeah, I guess I just needed a minute so my head could stop spinning." Takara said.
"Maybe you should sit down for a moment then." The boy said. "If your head's spinning, staying still is probably best until you feel completely well."
"I think I'll be fine, it's not that bad." Takara said, feeling the dizziness vanishing. "I'm not usually the fastest person to recover, but I think I can move."
"Oh, okay then, if you say so." The boy answered in a low voice. He sounded disappointed, but it didn't look like he was going to fight back. He wasn't going to make any objections? What was he, some kind of pushover? "I'm just glad you're doing alright now. If you hadn't woken up, who knows what we would've done. I certainly don't have the medical knowledge to deal with comas, and I have a feeling that no one else here does. I don't think we've introduced ourselves, have we?"
"Nope, that's why I came over." Takara admitted.
"Then I guess we should take care of that, don't you think?" The boy responded with a laugh. "I'm known as Minoru Yoshihara, also known as the Super High School Level Veterinarian."
This was where Takara's research came in handy, otherwise she wouldn't have known anything about him. Minoru was a master when it came to healing animals. Even though his family only ran a small animal clinic, his ability to treat and cure sick pets quickly gave it a big name. No one knew just how he managed to do it, though there were rumors that it was because he had a psychic connection with animals. She recalled reading somewhere that he was a vegetarian, but couldn't remember if that was a rumor or not.
"It seems like everyone isn't all that worried about being brought here, huh?" Takara said, hoping to strike up a conversation.
"No, I suppose they're not. You'd think the school would tell us about this kind of thing, wouldn't you?" Minoru sighed. "If you ask me, it's rather strange that they took us here without warning. Do they always do this?"
"I can't say for sure." Takara said with a shrug. "Though I can't say that they should knock us out like that. That just seems like overkill."
"Maybe they did it to keep things a secret?" Minoru suggested. "I doubt it's the most efficient way of keeping the surprise, but there has to be a method to the madness, right?"
"Maybe. The only way to know for sure is when our chaperone gets here." Takara said. "Surely they can answer our questions."
"I sure hope so." Minoru said. He looked away from Takara, something behind her catching his attention.
"What are you staring at?" she asked.
"That girl over there, she hasn't said much at all." Minoru said. Takara turned around to see that yes, there was a girl standing by the wall. Strange, how come she hadn't noticed them sooner? The girl in question didn't seem all that peculiar. In fact, she looked pretty ordinary. She had black wavy hair that went down to her shoulders. She was wearing a black pullover hoodie, a dark purple skirt, and purple and black striped stockings. Nothing that seemed to stand out all that much. Not even her expression told the journalist much about her. She looked pretty aloof.
"Maybe I should try to find out what's up with her." Takara said.
"Good luck with that." Minoru said. "While you were knocked out, everyone was talking to each other and introducing themselves. Yet no one could get much out of her. We all tried our best and couldn't even get out a name or talent."
"Did you try hard enough?" Takara asked with a raise of the eyebrow.
"Well...I guess not." Minoru admitted, looking down at his shoes. "I tried to say 'hi' and left her alone when she didn't say anything."
"You're a pushover, aren't you?" Takara said, voicing her thoughts.
Minoru nearly jumped back. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.
"Sorry, but it kinda is." Takara answered, trying not to laugh a little.
"I knew it, I'm an open book!" Minoru said. It looked like he was about to cry. "I've always been so easy to read! I was hoping that would change if I came here."
"I'm sure you'll get better in time, and grow a backbone while you're at it." Takara said with a smirk. "Well I'm still going to try talking to her. If there's one thing you can say about me, it's that I'm determined."
"I think you mean 'stubborn'." Minoru said. Takara gave him a strange look, causing him to flinch. "Woah, no need to glare like that! It was only a joke! I'll see you later, Takara!" He walked out of the room, probably to join in with the others in the exploration. Or maybe it was to get away from her gaze, she wasn't sure. Either way, that left left the journalist to approach the quiet girl.
"Hey there, nice to meet you!" Takara said, trying to get the girl to respond. Yet she received no reaction. That wasn't enough to make her give up though. "I'm Takara Tsukuda, Super High School Level Journalist! And you are?" Still no response. What was with this girl? "Hey, can you hear me? I'm trying to say hello to you." The girl blinked as she moved a strand of hair out of her face.
"Oh. Sorry." she said in a monotone voice. "I'm Miyako Morino."
Miyako Morino? That name didn't ring any bells. Takara tried to think about what her talent was, but nothing came to her. "So, what's your talent?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound like an idiot.
"...Super High School Level Good Luck." Miyako replied.
Ah, that explained it. Takara remembered reading that every year, Hope's Peak Academy held a randomized lottery with the name of every high school student in the country. If a person's name was drawn through that lottery, then they would be admitted into the school with the title of Super High School Level Good Luck. Even though she found it ridiculous, Takara had to admit that to have your name chosen from among thousands of other students, you would have to be pretty lucky. Even though she was pretty sure that good luck wasn't a talent, and she had found some pretty strange titles other Hope's Peak students had been given. To her knowledge, it was the only way an average student even had the chance of making it into the school. She would have thought that the one who was picked would at least be more...emotional.
"So, what do you think about all this?" Takara asked. There had to be a way to get some emotion out of her. "This whole resort situation seems pretty crazy, huh?"
Miyako stood in thought for a moment before saying. "I guess." Wow, she was certainly talkative. "Sorry. I'm not much of a conversation person. You should go look around."
"Are you sure? I mean, there's got to be something you want to talk about." Takara insisted. She wasn't about to give up easily.
"No. You should look around before the chaperone gets here. Good bye." As soon as she finished talking, Miyako immediately headed for the door. She really didn't want to talk to anyone.
"Wow, talk about being rude." Takara said. Though Miyako did have a point. There was no use standing around here all day. Everyone else had already left by this point, either to find their rooms or go see what they could find around the resort.
Takara decided that she should do so as well, she did want to make sure all her things were there like the letter said. But before she could leave, she found herself stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "You feeling alright to go off by yourself?" A male voice asked. Takara turned around to see the relaxed boy from before standing beside her, she didn't even know he was still here. The boy had tanned skin, most likely from being in the sun all day, and messy hair that she almost mistook for being blonde. He wasn't wearing anything special, just a plain t-shirt and jeans with a vest. Hanging around his neck were a set of goggles. "I'm just asking since you've been out cold for so long and all."
"Oh, no, I should be fine for now." Takara said. While it was true that she didn't need any help, she also didn't want someone following her around. Especially some guy she had never met before. "But thanks for the offer, um..."
"Oh, right, how foolish of me! I forgot to introduce myself! What poor manners I have!" The boy said, realizing that Takara was trying to figure out what to call him. "My name is Satoshi Teruya. I'm the Super High School Level Archaeologist."
That explained a lot. Takara didn't need to do much research when it came to him, as he was almost always talked about on the news and online. Satoshi Teruya was a major factor in scientific and historical finds in the past few years. He had found fossils and ancient artwork that shook the world by storm. No one knew how he did it, but he had a knack for finding buried relics. "That explains the tan skin." she said, trying to make a joke.
"Hehe, yeah, I've spent so much time excavating that I got a tan." Satoshi explained. "Though people keep thinking I'm not Japanese because of it. I don't know why though, my name is clearly Japanese."
"It's a mystery I suppose." Takara said.
"Well what about you, what's your name?" Satoshi asked.
"Oh right. I'm Takara Tsukuda." she said with a smirk.
Satoshi's eyes seemed to sparkle. "You mean you're the Takara Tsukuda? The journalist who's wrote countless articles and is a legend in the reporting world? You're actually her?" he asked, unable to contain his excitement. Takara just nodded her head. And here she thought her excitement would weird people out. "This is amazing! I'm such a fan of your work! Oh, I've always wanted to meet you! And here we are in the same class! This is amazing!"
"Yes, yes, it's wonderful." Takara said, trying not to sound rude. "Well, it was nice meeting you Satoshi, but I really must be going. I have things to unpack and all that."
"Oh, right, I'm sorry to have kept you!" Satoshi said. "Maybe we can talk later then?"
"Yeah, sure! Of course!" Takara said, eager to leave. "Well, um, bye!" With that, she tried to get out of the door as fast as possible.
"See you later, Kara-chan!" Satoshi yelled out to her as she walked away. Takara froze for a moment, unwilling to believe what she just heard.
"Did he just call me...Kara-chan?" she asked herself in a whisper. Without wanting to dwell too much on it at the moment, she walked away.
She found herself in what appeared to be the hotel lobby. Near the entrance was the front desk, which was strangely unoccupied. Shouldn't there have been someone working? The lobby itself was also quite spacious. She found signs pointing to different locations in the building. There was a restaurant, a pool, a recreational room (which appeared to be where she had just came from), and that was just on the first floor! She began to wonder what kind of place they had all found themselves in. Takara searched for hallways leading to the hotel rooms, but the only ones she found were all blocked off by warning tape. "Are you serious? Are they under repairs or something?" she asked herself.
"I'm not sure, but for one reason or another they want to keep us out of these halls. And that's not all, the pool locker rooms and the lounge appear to be blocked off as well." A voice from behind startled her enough to almost make her jump. She quickly turned around to find another boy standing behind her. His appearance was a drastic difference from Satoshi and Minoru, it was almost unreal. Though it was mostly the bright blue hair that stuck out and shocked her. Blue and black seemed to be what he was going for, as all of his clothes used only those colors. He was wearing a black waistcoat over a blue dress shirt, yet for some reason he had a black jacket tied around his waist. His dark blue pants were almost undistinguished from the black boots he was wearing. If not for the jacket around his waist, Takara would have assumed he was going to a fancy dinner party instead of a school. The boy pushed his glasses closer to his face, getting a closer look at Takara. "Ah, you're the girl who was still unconscious earlier. We all managed to introduce ourselves earlier, but you were left out of the loop."
"You don't need to talk down to me like I'm a child." Takara said, getting irritated with this guy and his condescending tone.
"I didn't mean to, I was only trying to help." The boy responded. "Anyway, I'm known as Arata Miyazaki."
Ah yes, the Super High School Level Designer. That explained the strange outfit. Arata Miyazaki had taken the world of Japanese fashion by surprise a few years ago. Although he was young, he had a knack for making the trendiest clothes in the country. There were people who would kill to have just one article of his clothing. They costed thousands of yen, but they were worth it. Anyone who was anyone wore his clothes, there were even rumors that Junko Enoshima wore pieces from his line. There was just no denying it, Arata was a starter of fashion trends, and even improved existing ones. The only problem was that he sometimes had an inflated ego.
"It's nice to meet you, Arata." Takara began. "I'm Takara Tsukuda." She began to prepare herself in case there was another similar case to Satoshi, but he didn't seem to react. Instead, he just stared down at her in a judging manner. The silence was kind of disturbing.
"Oh no, no, no. This just won't do at all." Arata said. "These clothes just don't suit you in the slightest! They're just so plain!"
Takara looked down at her outfit. All she was wearing was an orange t-shirt, and a beige skirt. Nothing fancy or flashy. Though to be fair, she had expected to be getting a school uniform when she had arrived and didn't bother to pack any special clothes. "What's wrong with my clothes?" she asked.
"It's just that someone of your talent deserves a much more fitting attire!" Arata began. "You need to look more like the journalist you truly are! The instant I can find the way to our rooms, I'll unpack a fitting set of clothes that you can change into!" He seriously packed outfits for other people?! What did he think he was going to need them for?!
"So if our rooms aren't on the first floor, then where are they?" Takara asked.
"All of our rooms are located on the second floor." A new voice answered. Takara and Arata turned to find a short girl standing beside them. Her long, wavy hair was black as night itself, and almost appeared to form a shroud around her. She wore a simple black dress under a cloak of the same color. Around her neck was what appeared to be a magatama necklace. If it hadn't been for her friendly face and the lack of a hat, Takara could have mistaken her for a witch. The girl smiled at Takara. "Greetings, my fellow classmate. My name is Chiyo Ueda, and I am the Super High School Level Medium."
Chiyo was the only one among them who Takara questioned their talent. She was supposedly an expert at dealing with ghosts and spirits. She could sense the presence of the departed who refused to move on and could communicate with them, figuring out what caused them to linger and finding a way to let them move on to the next world. She could also contact the spirit world in order to speak to someone who had already moved on. There were even rumors that she could sense when a person was close to death. Many believed her abilities came from her lineage, as her family owned a centuries old shrine that was famous throughout the country. Though Takara refused to believe in anything unless she could gain evidence. It wasn't that she believed the girl was a liar, but Takara was just the kind of person who required solid proof to believe something. Ghosts just happened to be one of those things.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Tsukuda." Chiyo said, bowing out of formality. She was certainly polite, nothing that Takara had been expecting. "I do hope we can become friends even in our peculiar situation."
Peculiar was one way to put it. "You mean you found our rooms?" Arata asked her.
"Yes. I have already taken my own room key and placed my bags away." Chiyo explained. "A few of the others are already there doing the very same."
"So how can I get upstairs?" Arata asked.
"You will have to take the stairs I am afraid." Chiyo said. "The elevator is not working. Do not worry though, Mr. Miyazaki, the staircase is right over there." She pointed at the stairs, which were on the right side of the large lobby to their convenience. "By taking them, you shall be directly beside the hallway that contains all of our rooms."
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." Arata said with relief. "I mean, I could have found it myself, but I'm not about to turn down help from a classmate. As for you Tsukuda, I'll find a much more fitting outfit for you. Until then!" With that, Arata walked off towards the stairs.
Takara wanted to follow him, but she couldn't help but wonder what the Medium was thinking about all this. Even with her skepticism, she thought that someone else's take on the situation at hand would help. "So what do you think happened to us, Chiyo?" Takara asked, interested in what theory she may have. "I know that letter said that this is all done by the school, but I just find that hard to believe don't you?"
Chiyo looked away in thought, trying to come up with an answer. "I can not say myself. Are you expecting me to say that we have been whisked away by some angry spirit?" she asked, letting out a giggle. Takara began to wonder if she was on to her. "All I can say for certain is that something is dangerous about this place."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Takara asked.
"I can sense an evil force lurking here. I do not know what it means just yet, but whatever it is can not lead to anything pleasant. I urge you Ms. Tsukuda, watch yourself. Unless you want misfortune to befall you." Chiyo answered. "But I digress, for now you should enjoy yourself and introduce yourself to our other classmates. I believe that we will be here for quite some time. I shall see you later." With that, Chiyo walked away towards the revolving doors, off to explore the remainder of the resort.
Takara decided that she didn't want to think about what she meant by an evil force. At least not now. Until there was reason to believe that things were dangerous, she was going to ignore that warning. Trying to shake off the strange feeling Chiyo's words gave her, Takara moved over to the stairs. She didn't want to waste anymore time in finding her room.