Authors note: Hello! I hope you enjoy this! I've poured my heart into it! This first chapter is made to introduce the characters, and might go a bit fast. I was going for short interactions with each character, similar to how Naegi had to talk to each person rather quickly. This way, the characters will be all introduced, and we can get to the good stuff! There will be obvious references to different things, so hopefully that's not too cheesy! Thanks for reading!
Want to see what each character looks like? Check out Fanganronpasupernova on tumblr!
The ground was cold. The beautiful marble floor nearly reflected the pale young man who slowly awoken from unconsciousness. He pushed against the floor, pushing himself to sit up. Scanning the room, He noticed a piece of crumpled paper on the floor beside him. In messy handwriting, it read the following:
Welcome to Hotel Despair! Please make your way to the ballroom. Go out of this room, and enter the big doors to the ballroom! Have fun, Haru!
Haru couldn't understand what this was about. He tried to remember where he was, and how he got here. The last thing he remembered was working on his latest novel, slamming down a coffee. Then, nothing. He rubbed his temples, and brought himself to his feet. Following the directions, The young man stopped before a door. The chatter of people could be heard from within. That gave Haru a more comfortable feeling. If there are people here, someone must know what is going on. Right? He hoped so.
As the door opened, Haru saw fifteen other students. They were all kinds of personalities, and he didn't really recognize any of them. Staring at the scene for a long moment, He became lost in thought. It wasn't until he felt the soft grasp of someone's hand on his sleeve. Haru glanced at the source. A small, pale blonde young lady holding what seemed to be a silver tablet.
"Haru, Right?" She asked with the sweetest of smiles.
"Oh. Yeah. Um, Who are you?" He replied in confusion.
"My name is Emiri Arima. I'm trying to figure out what's going on. At the moment, I've come to the conclusion that everyone here is talented with the title of Ultimate." She spoke rather calmly, not at all worried about the situation.
"Really? What's yours?" Haru was curious. The girl by him seemed very amazed by her research.
"Ultimate Psychologist, I suppose. I've helped quite a few famous people and criminals."
That's when Haru's attention was caught. With a big, cheesy smile, he grabbed her hands, and spoke brightly, "Really?! Do you have stories about the brutal crimes they committed? Did any kill anyone? If so, can you go into full detail?!" It was like the situation didn't matter anymore. Haru was known as the Ultimate Horror Author. He was insanely skilled at writing gorey, and terrifying scenes that could make even the bold's skin crawl. He was a horror junkie at heart. The thrill of death intrigued him. The smell of blood made him crave more. But Haru would never harm another human being himself. Too messy. He didn't think it was worth it. A strange boy, he was.
Before she could answer all of his questions, a tall young man with black hair wandered over. Silver eyes glared down at the two, as he bluntly asked, "Hey. What's going on? The door is locked."
Taking advantage of the situation, Emiri spoke again, "Ah. Haru, This is Akihisa Domen, the Ultimate Bartender. He might be young, but he has quite the talent for mixing drinks. Akihisa, This is Haru Fukuhara, The Ultimate Horror Author."
"Horror?" The taller man groaned. He hated the sight of blood. Even cheesy horror movies made him sick. Instead, he shook his head and repeated, "The doors are locked. Do either of you know what's going on?"
Both saying no at different moments, Akihisa sighed again, and walked away. This wasn't his concern anymore if they couldn't help.
"I'll introduce you to the others. I've been asking names, and using my tablet to google them." Emiri said with a smile. She boldly took Haru's hand, and led him off. She decided to go to a sweet-looking young lady whose hair was in a messy bun, "Haru, This is Rio Kudo. She is the Ultimate Baker. Did you know that President Quinn once sought after her baked goods?"
Rio smiled shyly and said, "Oh, I only really met his secretary. It's nothing special. Hello, Haru." She waved at Haru, who smiled and waved back.
Haru noticed Akihisa nearby and brightly said, "Hey Akihisa, Have you found the way out yet?"
"Idiot, It's been two damn minutes." The sharp reply was, as he walked over. His expression softened when he got closer to Rio. He looked at her, "Um, Hello. I'm Akihisa."
"Rio. Pleased to meet you." She smiled at his awkward face.
Haru spoke again obnoxiously, "Akihisa can hook us up with alcohol! I think!"
Before Akihisa could yell at him, Rio turned to Akihisa, "Is that so? I don't have money, but I could make you some baked goods in return."
The taller man's expression softened again as he turned away, "Yeah, Sounds good. I'm going to keep walking around." With that, he quickly left, leaving Haru confused.
Emiri giggled a bit, and excused them, taking Haru to the next one. A ginger young man wearing a monocle. Emiri felt this one was kind, and so he'd be good for Haru to meet. She spoke, "Haru, This is Keiju Matsuri, the Ultimate Clockwork. He's not as popular as he once was, but he's still very skilled."
"Oh, um. Hello?" Keiju said, confused at why she was going into detail about his job,"I really don't mind less attention, honestly. It's comforting to just sit there, listen to music, and tinker with clocks."
Haru said, "Sounds boring." He was the type of guy who probably couldn't even tell time on an older clock, so it didn't interest him.
Keiju just smiled a bit at that, "Clocks have nostalgic value to them. So do books, right?"
Haru understood that much. He loved that old book smell. So he smiled and nodded.
Next, Emiri brought him to a small girl wearing all pastels. Emiri said, "This is Fuka Hirata. I..." She paused, as if confused, "I do not know what Ultimate she is."
"I'm ultimately cute!" Fuka replied, seeming to just playfully avoid the subject. She tugged on Haru's sleeve, "Hey, hey. You're Haru, right? I've read your stories! I liked the one about the medieval knight's spirit that vowed to execute the descendants of his enemies!"
Haru, pleased and willing to ignore the previous subject, replied, "Oh, Thanks! I appreciate it! That one was an older story of mine, but I still like it!"
"Hey hey, If you want creepy, come with me!" Fuka dragged him off, with poor Emiri running after them.
Fuka brought him to a young lady with lavender braids. The young lady was staring, pale at the wall across from her. It was like she was in a trance that she couldn't break out of. That is, until Fuka grabbed her, "Hey! Miss Medium! What cha see?!"
The girl yelped, jumping in surprise. She took a moment to breathe, then replied, "Oh, Um. It's nothing." She seemed afraid.
Emiri huffed a bit, as she caught up, "Don't scare her, Fuka! Haru, this is Mayu Yanagi, The Ultimate Medium. Some are unsure if she really is magical, but others claim that she could help those who died move on. I'm honestly not sure what to believe myself."
Mayu gently touched a black choker around her neck, still uneasy, but spoke again, "Nice to meet you."
Haru, yet again, seemed too happy to be true. Taking her hands in his, he said, "Hey, when you work, do you ever go to crime scenes and see dead bodies?!"
"I-I typically only see the spirits. Usually when I arrive to the crime scene, It's cleaned up." His mannerisms made her uneasy. She couldn't understand how someone could be so eager to see death.
Emiri calmly pushed Haru to move, "We have another nine people to meet. So keep going."
"Bye Mayu! Talk to me later with creepy stories!" He shouted back.
Emiri next brought him to a young woman dressed nicely who had a cold glance. Emiri spoke again, "Hello, Setsuna. Haru, This is Setsuna. She won't tell me her last name, nor can I find it online. She is the Ultimate Forger."
"Isn't that a crime?" Haru asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Isn't it a crime to not mind your own business?" Was the cold reply he received.
"Fair enough." Haru shrugged. He wasn't about to anger her. It was a bad idea, and even he knew that. His attention was caught when he heard arguing nearby.
Seeing as though Setsuna didn't seem to want to speak more, Emiri brought him over to see what was going on. A young man in a lab coat glared at a young lady with a daisy in her hair. He spoke, pissed, "I told you no, I will not let you test your dangerous ass shit on any animal."
"Oh common! It's safe! It's just not safe for human consumption!"
"Then how is it safe for animals?!" He snapped back.
Emiri coughed to catch their attention, then spoke calmly, "Haru, This is Ryuu Oshiro, the Ultimate Veterinarian. And the young lady is Chizuru Yasuda, The Ultimate Chemist."
Ryuu took this opportunity to say, "Nice to meet you, but I'd rather not be here. So I'm going to find a way out." And with that, he left.
Chizuru, however, was happy to talk. She spoke up, "Hello! Would you like to be my guinea pig?" She spoke as if she had one too many cups of coffee today. Perhaps she was nervous? Haru couldn't quite understand it.
"No, Thank you. I'd like to not die, or suffer."
"That's too bad. I'll ask someone else then!" With that, she hopped off, going to harass someone else.
Next was a rather short young lady with snow white hair. Such an innocent face, the girl was peeking around, probably trying to find a clue on where they were. Emiri spoke up,"This is Suzu Azuma, The Ultimate Waitress."
Haru smirked, amused,"Aren't you known for roasting people?"
The innocent young lady turned to him, and with a bright smile said,"Do you live under a fucking rock, or are you just good at asking dumb questions?" She cheerfully spoke again,"Either way, Yes. I'm paid handsomely to take orders and sass people. I think some people are just masochistic, honestly. They come for the thrill of being insulted. It's disgusting, really."
Honestly, Haru was amazed. For such a small, cute young lady, she had a tongue sharper than a knife. He remembered seeing it on the news. This little lady snapped at a customer in such a manner that got most of the restaurant laughing. She was going to be fired, but the story blew up. People began to come just to see if she'd sass them back. So they kept her, and paid her extra to become a comedy act basically. Suzu didn't mind. It wasn't hard for her to insult people, and it felt good to let out the anger. She also worked on their Twitter, sassing anyone interesting. The tiny lady was very proud that she even once sassed President Ohama when he was in office.
Next, Emiri brought him to a curly-haired young lady, who looked like she hadn't got a good night of sleep in weeks. Emiri spoke,"This is Miho Otome, The Ultimate Game Dev. She's made some very popular games. Including Ever Heart-Skipping Track Team, which has a huge following right now."
Again with Haru's drooling,"You made Ever Heart-Skipping?! I loved that one! It looked so cute, then BAM! Gore!" He grinned.
Miho looked at him, grasping onto the blue strap of her bag,"Yes, I did. I'm glad you liked it. Is there any sign of WiFi here? I need to work on my next project..."
Haru looked around,"I'm not sure. I haven't seen any papers or anything. Maybe we can find a worker and ask?"
Miho gave a small nod,"I'll go look for someone. Nice to meet you." She politely bowed, and walked off.
Emiri took Haru by his arm, bringing him to a tall, tattooed young man. She said,"This is Banri Hattori, The Ultimate Tattoo Artist. You can see his work on his body. It's very impressive."
Banri looked at her,"Thanks. I do everything out of spite. My pops wanted me to be a lawyer. Now I'm a famous tattoo artist. He can't help but to be proud, even if he doesn't approve." He gave a small smirk, amused about his life decisions.
"That's impressive. Don't you care if he doesn't approve?" The author asked, confused.
"Well, It doesn't matter. The dude was an asshole, I guess." He shrugged.
Emiri smiled gently, and spoke again,"Well, You seem happy, and that's all that matters."
Banri grinned and said,"Yeah, I am. My clients are are chill, and it's fun to get to be creative."
"Can you tattoo a cool skull on me?" Haru asked, curious.
"If you have the money," That comment made Haru's face scrunch, and his mind change. Needles didn't sound fun anyways.
Haru's attention was caught on a young man with a phone out. The young man held the phone up, seeming to be taking a video. He spoke,"Yo, kids! It's your boy, Moriade! Today we found the evasive Ultimate Wanderer. How did he end up in this hotel? How did I end up in this hotel? You're gonna have to watch and find out! Oh, Don't forget to like this video. And subscribe too, if you're new! Love ya all!" He grinned, his arm wrapped around a blue-haired young man who seemed to be in a daze.
Emiri spoke,"That is Touya Morioka, also known as Moriade on Youtube. He's the Ultimate Youtube star, and has a following of almost a billion subscribers. Everyone loves his cheery personality, and he does a lot of good with the money he's given. And next to him is the Ultimate Wanderer, Ikki Nitta. He's known to travel the world and survive on the smallest amount, despite how people send him money for his adventures. I heard he once survived off of a slice of white bread and a can of soda."
Haru looked amazed,"Hey, think Touya would promote my next book?"
"If you can handle his personality, perhaps." Emiri replied with a tired smile. It was very obvious from the way the young man was acting that he was very active and pushy. Since they were busy, she brought him to the last one. A tall young man with a terrifying glare.
"This is Yuma Taira, the Ultimate Bouncer. He's worked at the most famous clubs, and is really strong!" Emiri chirped happily. She didn't seem bothered by his cold expression.
Yuma turned to them, and simply said,"Hey." He didn't seem much for talking, and wasn't sure what to say anyways.
Haru said,"Hey, have you killed a guy? I heard you did."
"No, I don't really need to. Do you really just listen to any rumor you hear?" The tall man asked in response.
"Basically." Haru replied in the simplest manner. They were interrupted when the door opened again. But instead of another student, a strange sight was seen. It wasn't even human. A stuffed racoon trotted along inside, its feet making small squeaky noises as it trotted. It made its way to the stage of the ballroom. Everyone watched in silence and confusion as this creature crawled up the stairs. As it made its way to centerstage, it actually spoke.
"Hello there, Ladies and Gentleman! Let's start this game!" It lifted its front paws, the sakura petal on its head somehow sticking to it.