Ultimates. That was the title given to young people that displayed remarkable skill at a particular Talent. In the society of the future, the role of the Ultimates was greater than it had ever been in the past. They were the inspiration for all the children and teenagers who had to find their own way in the world.
However, simply spreading awareness of their feats proved not enough to really inspire the population to sufficient levels. So various alternatives were tried, of which the most successful were those that involved creating programs focused on the ultimates, specially on situations where they were out of their comfort zone.
And many of those programs came and went, each of them trying new gimmicks and refining the formula... Until one single series managed to stand above all others.
Its name was Death Road of Despair and Hope.
The main gimmick of that show was not difficult to understand. Sixteen ultimates were gathered for a series of events, some of them individual while others were in groups, some were competitive while others were cooperative... But they all had a single thing in common: They were based upon crossing a series of obstacles.
And of course, the obstacles were changed every time, and every season created obstacles well suited for the cast of ultimates that were going to attempt it, preventing a few from monopolizing victories just due to having particular talents. And yet, perhaps the most important part of the show was the fact that the ultimates lived together for a long period, and their interactions that showed the more normal sides of the Ultimates became one of the biggest focuses of the show.
A new season was about to start. And there was going to be a whole new group of Ultimates for the fans to get to know. It all began with a black and white bear speaking into a microphone.
-0-
"Welcome everyone!" He announced grandly, as the lights on the stage where he was standing started to turn on "It is time for us to start a new season!"
There was no studio audience for the program(at least not at that moment), but if there were, the resulting cheers would be enough to match any kind of music show you could care to name. The series was incredibly popular, and the start of a new season was always popular, so the livestream was getting amazing numbers.
Perhaps an explanation was necessary. The format of Death Road of Despair was slightly unusual. The episodes shown on television were footage that had been edited for viewing convenience, just like most reality shows. However, there were also paid live streams of any "events", not only the platforming challenges, but also games, shows or similar things created by the ultimates themselves. As well as constant streams from special locations, like the cafeteria and the research labs.
But those that didn't have the time to watch streams also weren't left in the lurch. The DVDs containing the episodes also came with a lot of extra footage.
Still, all that only meant that the show knew how to make money. So let's go back to the story.
"Hereeeeeeeeeee's Monokuma!" The bear introduced himself "However, you already knew that, I'm sure. What you guys are really interested in are the ultimates!"
He made another pause to let the nonexistent cheer calm down, and then continued "And you shall find that we have quite an interesting assortment this time. So, without further ado, let's begin introducing our contestants..."
A side of the stage lit up, revealing a corridor leading to a tunnel.
"First, we have the traveler who went all over the world, including the most dangerous places, and has seen and did more before his sixteenth birthday than most people manage on their entire lives! I am talking about the Ultimate Adventurer, Rantaro... Amami!"
From the tunnel, a teenage boy with green hair ran towards the stage and assumed position in a predetermined spot. He started waving to the cameras.
"After that, we have the wild boy with the soul of a gentleman. The bug researcher who can find even the smallest creatures and knows them as well as his own hands! The Ultimate Entomologist, Gonta... Gokuhara!"
This time, the person coming from the tunnel was a tall, heavily built and muscled boy with wild brown hair, who ran over to stand next to Rantaro.
"Also, there is someone who is an ally to parents everywhere... Someone who can truly be said to be a friend to all children... Someone with a heart as big as the earth... It's the Ultimate Child Caregiver, Maki... Harukawa!"
The next was a girl with black hair and red eyes.
"The fourth is someone who can be trusted to take on even the hardest jobs and complete them perfectly! Someone whose skills have already earned her some of the most vital positions in the country... It's the Ultimate Maid, Kirumi... Toujou!"
The next to run over was a gray haired girl in a maid uniform.
"Next, is someone whose skills can be said to be heavenly! An achiever with many talents, going from painting to sculpting. I am talking about the Ultimate Artist, Angie... Yonaga!"
This one was a dark skinned girl with platinum blonde hair.
"And then we have another great traveler... Someone whose knowledge is as broad and deep as the ocean... And someone who loves humanity like no one else can. The Ultimate Anthropologist, Korekiyo... Shinguuji!"
And a boy who wore a mask hiding the bottom half of his face.
"The next one is another person who has worldwide fame and acclaim for their feats. Someone who has dedicated their life and their skills to the noble task of finding missing people... It's the Ultimate Detective, Shuuichi... Saihara!"
Another boy came, this one wearing a cap and a black uniform.
"Next we have someone who is truly worthy of the title of genius! An eccentric mind whose work has already begun spreading into the daily lives of people... I am talking about the Ultimate Inventor, Miu... Iruma!"
And then came a blonde girl with straps binding her clothing.
"After that, we have someone whose very existence can already be considered an achievement. A person with a very different origin from most Ultimates... It is the Ultimate Robot, K1B0!"
The person who came was a very lifelike robot.
"And then there's someone who brings smiles to everyone with their skills... Someone who dazzles people with impossible feats... The Ultimate Magician, Himiko... Yumeno!"
This time it was a very short and childlike girl with red hair and a witch hat. If you looked closely, you could see she mouthing something that sounded like "actually a mage".
"Following, we have someone who mixes old and new... Someone who seeks the peak of one of the most ancient human pursuits... I am talking about the Ultimate Aikido Master, Tenko... Chabashira!"
This time, it was a girl with dark hair wearing an unusual four point, green hair decoration.
"And after that we have a leader... Someone whose activities have earned both admiration and irritation in equal measure... An existence dedicated to making fun of the world itself! This is the Ultimate Supreme Leader, Kokichi... Ouma!"
And the one who came next was a short boy wearing white clothes and a black and white chessboard scarf.
"Up next, the one I want to introduce is an enthusiast of the final frontier... Someone who can be said to represent the dreams of countless young people... It's the Ultimate Astronaut, Kaito... Momota!"
This one was a boy with purple hair.
"And the next one is a person who has both fame and infamy... A symbol of victory that lost his way, but may yet find it back... It is the Ultimate Tennis Pro, Ryoma... Hoshi!"
Said boy was very short and wore a hat that completely covered up his hair.
"The penultimate participant of this season is someone who is used to the spotlight... Someone who has a deep and unashamed love for their hobbies... Someone who understands the idea of 'clothes make the man'... The Ultimate Cosplayer, Tsumugi... Shirogane!"
And the next person to move and stand in line was a blue haired girl with glasses.
"And finally, our last participant for this season of Death Road of Despair and Hope... It is someone who has entertained even kings... Someone with skills that can be called miraculous... I am talking about the Ultimate Pianist, Kaede... Akamatsu!"
And the last person to run through and line up next to the other Ultimates was a blonde girl wearing music note style decorations on her hair and with a backpack.
"And now that we have our participants, it's time to introduce the first challenge of this season... A little thing that our creators have called: Road of the Box of Surprises!"
The space in front of the stage lit up, and the true form of the challenge was revealed. It was a narrow road suspended over a dark abyss where the lights of the show didn't get. The road was barely wide enough to be able to stand with both legs spread, and its length was around half a mile.
However, if that was the only challenge, it would be easy for those Ultimates, so there was something else as well. Suspended on both sides of the road, and above it were square boxes, which had openings pointed towards the road.
Monokuma explained the situation "Each of those boxes hold a variety of surprises that the Ultimates will have to deal with in order to get through this challenge. The specific boxes which will activate change each run, and the specific surprises they will shoot will also change. This is a challenge created in such a way that no particular talent of those gathered here will have an easy time."
Monokuma then turned and looked at the Ultimates "Our contestants will try their luck and skills in the same order as they were introduced... Which means Rantaro Amami will be the first to try and cross the Road of the Box of Surprises!"
A part of the stage directly in front of Monokuma lit up, and he motioned for Rantaro to go there. The Ultimate did so, and that part of the stage revealed itself to be a moving platform, which quickly floated over to the start of the Road.
"Now it's time to start... Rantaro Amami, get ready. Three, two, one, GO!" Monokuma shouted.
Rantaro started running.
-0-
"He has pretty good balance." Korekiyo said, seeing Rantaro running easily on such a narrow path.
"He has a lot of experience running away in all sorts of situations, so it's no wonder." Shuuichi said.
"Oh, you sound like you know from experience..." Korekiyo was interested.
"I traveled with him for two years to search for his missing sisters, so I do indeed have the experience."
"Hmm... And did you find his sisters?"
"Of course, otherwise we would still be traveling together, looking for them." Shuuichi assured.
Korekiyo nodded, satisfied by that answer. Then he focused back on Rantaro when the first "surprise" appeared.
-0-
One of the top boxes shot something on the bridge just ahead of Rantaro, and it only took a single glance to understand what it was: Liquid soap.
The first surprise of the Road was already that vicious!
But Rantaro didn't lose his focus. Instead of trying to stop himself and probably falling, he decided to jump forward. And with the strength of his legs, he managed to almost clear the patch of slippery floor.
He didn't quite jump far enough to avoid slipping, but that had never been his actual intention. Instead, he fell with his feet in a position similar to a skater, and managed to slide on the soap and get right back to running.
-0-
Kaito expressed his admiration "He reacted very quickly and decisively... I wonder what kind of training he went through."
"Training?" Ryoma, by his side, disagreed "I don't think he went through any training. This seems more like he has a lot of experience dealing with unexpected situation."
Kaito crossed his arms "Now that you say that... I suppose that would be fitting for the Ultimate Adventurer." His eyes shone with eagerness "I wonder how far he'll be able to go."
-0-
And it was at that point that another one of the surprises went off. To the right of Rantaro, the box shoot a barrage of pillows in his direction.
There were a lot of pillows, and they were flying fairly fast. Rantaro immediately realized that he wouldn't be able to dodge all of them, so instead he decided to ignore dodging completely. Instead, Rantaro crouched and held the edge of the Road with both hands.
With this, he managed to avoid most of the pillows, and his position was stable enough that the pillows that managed to hit him weren't enough to dislodge him from his position.
Standing up again, he returned to his run, but this time the next surprise appeared even faster than the previous ones. Falling from one of the top boxes, a wall landed in front of Rantaro, completely blocking his path through the Road.
To be more precise, it was actually a climbing wall, with places where it was possible to put your hands and feet. Also, the wall was actually shaped more like a cube, and it didn't have a path to climb to the top and go over it, instead having paths by the sides that would force Rantaro to climb perilously over the darkness.
Still, it was necessary, so Rantaro barely hesitated before grabbing at the handholds and stepping up with his feet. He wasn't exactly an expert in climbing, but he had some experience, and so he made his way smoothly through the left side of the wall.
However, that particular obstacle wasn't as simple as it first appeared to be.
One of the handholds near Rantaro fell off and dropped into the darkness.
-0-
"Well, that is certainly an interesting development." Korekiyo said.
"I knew this was going to be difficult, but..." Shuuichi commented, already worrying about his own attempt.
-0-
Meanwhile, Rantaro had kept moving. He knew that hurrying would only lead to him falling off, so he simply moved steadily and hoped that things would work out.
But it wasn't to be.
After only a few more seconds, one of the handholds that fell off was exactly a place were Rantaro was putting his weight on at the time. Specifically, it was one that was being held by his left hand.
With that falling off, Rantaro started to fall backwards, and he didn't manage to grab hold of another handhold before vanishing into the abyss.
"And Rantaro has FALLEN OFF!" Monokuma laughed "The Road of the Box of Surprises has taken its first victim!"
The bear then raised a hand and four different screens appeared around the stage, showing the scene of Rantaro falling off from various different angles.
After a few seconds of that, the screens changed to show some of the successful maneuvers Rantaro had done, the "highlights". And it was still showing those things when a platform raised up from the dark abyss, carrying Rantaro in it. And he was perfectly fine.
The Adventurer returned to his previous spot on the line as Monokuma introduced the next participant:
"Now, may our second contestant, Gonta Gokuhara start his on attempt at the Road?"
Gonta stepped forward, and he got to the start of the Road in the same way as Rantaro had done. Upon Monokuma's signal, the second challenge started.
Gonta immediately ran forward, just like Rantaro had done, but that was pretty much the only similarity between their two approaches. While Rantaro used his balance to avoid falling off, Gonta simply "bounded" forward and spent most of the time in the air.
This was also highlighted by his approach to the first challenge, as the Road of the Box of Surprises happened to reuse the climbing challenge which had led to Rantaro's defeat.
Instead of trying to climb, Gonta just jumped directly to the top, crossing the obstacle in an incredibly short time.
-0-
Kokichi noted that Tenko, who was beside him, was murmuring things that sounded like "perhaps a throw done at the right time... but I need to deal with his legs... using weapons might be the best choice..."
"What are you doing?" He asked, genuinely curious.
Tenko made a face upon seeing that a boy was talking to her, but this was a chance to talk about her interests, so... "Neo-Aikido is an art created to be able to counter anything. I was just thinking about how I could defeat Gonta if it came to that."
Kokichi turned to look at the boy in the Road, then he said "Good luck with that."
-0-
Gonta also didn't have any difficulty with the second challenge of the Box of Surprises. It was a missile carrying a net that flew over him and enveloped Gonta with the net, trying to drag him away from the road. But Gonta simply held on to the ground and the power of the missile simply wasn't enough to move him.
Removing the net after the missile stopped flying, Gonta returned to his path, only to finally find something that gave him trouble.
The next obstacle merely seemed like a smoke curtain hiding part of the stage at first, and Gonta was confident that he would be able to find his way through, but just after setting foot on the hidden part, he slipped on a bunch of small balls.
Desperately trying to maintain his balance, Gonta slid while shaking his arms, but that combined with his lack of orientation, caused him to fall to the side of the road.
But he extended a hand and grabbed onto the Road, unwilling to give up so easily.
-0-
The students could see Gonta hanging off the edge of the road.
"What was inside that to make Gonta fall so easily?" Tsumugi asked.
"A bunch of small marble balls." Kaede said.
"How do you know that?" Tsumugi was curious.
"I heard it." Kaede said simply "But I really want to know how they prevented the balls from falling off the edge as well."
Tsumugi nodded. That did indeed seem curious.
-0-
Gonta used his powerful strength to swing himself over, beyond the area of the smoke, and after taking a moment to recover, he went back to running.
But it was at that time that the Box showed how surprising it could really be.
The left box shot a deceptively small projectile, shaped like a dart. It flew quickly and lodged itself on the road beneath Gonta's feet.
And that whole section of the road just fell off.
It wasn't a large section, and Gonta even tried to jump off to reach it. But unless you were a character from a platformer game, it was impossible to jump off a falling platform, and Gonta fell into the darkness.
"And Gonta Gokuhara has FALLEN OFF!" Monokuma laughed, as the screens once more lit up to show the fall and the highlights.
-0-
The next person to challenge the Road of Surprises was Maki Harukawa, and she didn't break the streak of successive challengers running from the start. The way she did so was more similar to Rantaro's than Gonta's, but it was still unique, seeming somewhat military in manner.
Her speed was high, and she had already crossed a good portion of the road before the first obstacle activated.
Again, an obstacle that had been seen before reappeared, and this time it was the multiple pillow cannon. But Maki didn't deal with it in the same way Rantaro had.
Instead, as soon as she noticed the pillows flying towards her, Maki stopped for a moment before vanishing and reappearing several meters forward, completely avoiding the area of effect of the pillows.
-0-
"What was that...?" Kaito asked, surprised.
"That's the Shadowless Step." Ryoma said, with the air of an expert "It's a technique based around doing an extreme movement from one place to another in an instant. It's similar to my Shukuchi method, but instead of being purely focused on speed, it uses particular movements to make it hard for the eye to track."
Kaito nodded at the explanation "But how did Maki learn something like that?"
"I have no idea." Was Ryoma's answer.
-0-
Maki's second obstacle was also something that had been seen before, the same smoke cloud that had almost finished Gonta's attempt at the Road. But since she knew that the smoke held a secret, Maki actually slowed down before entering it.
And when she did enter, Maki was focused enough to control her slide through the small marbles, managing to get through the entire obstacle without trouble.
But the next thing that showed up was completely new.
The top box shot a small hoop onto the road Maki was walking, and then it suddenly started to tilt to the side. Maki accelerated, but the tilting was fast, and she was forced to grab hold of the edge of the platform to remain on top as it became completely horizontal.
It stopped, and Maki took the chance to climb on top of the edge, before resuming her run. But that had been the wrong thing to do.
A moment later, the entire thing fell to the abyss, dragging Maki with it, who was unable to reach the next section in time.
-0-
"How would you actually get through that?" Rantaro asked.
"Gonta thinks Maki should have pulled the hoop." The boy at his side said "It connected with the platform, so it should have some use."
Rantaro nodded "That's probably the case."
-0-
Again, the same process repeated itself. The screens lit up, the Ultimate was brought back to the line and the next Ultimate walked forward to take their turn to challenge the Road.
And it was another girl who did so. Kirumi Toujou, the Ultimate Maid.
As soon as Monokuma indicated the start, she started moving at an incredible speed.
-0-
"She's fast..." Kaito noted "Is this another one of those movement techniques?" He asked Ryoma, who seemed to understand that kind of thing.
"No. Actually, it's more like she is doing every single movement in the most perfect manner possible, thus moving in an extremely efficient way." Ryoma said "It reminds me of Tezuka's 'Perfection of Ten Thousand Strikes'. As expected of the Ultimate Maid who is good at everything."
-0-
The first obstacle was a small spherical robot that floated in the middle of the Road and blew high speed winds in all directions.
But such a thing wouldn't be a problem for Kirumi. Her movements slowed down noticeably, but she retained complete control and didn't stumble in any way as she passed through the danger area.
Accelerating again, Kirumi soon came across the next obstacle, which was once again something none of the other students had seen in their attempts. A floating robot was shot from one of the boxes and it started hovering beside the road.
Then it shot numerous strings at different angles and positions, creating something that seemed like a spiderweb and covered the path Kirumi had to go through.
Except that wasn't a problem for Kirumi either. With a single look, the girl identified all possible paths and determined which was the best one.
Then she started going through the complicated web of strings with a speed and efficiency which would bring a Parkour expert to shame, and without even ruffling her clothes. Kirumi flipped, spun, and dolphin leaped her way without stopping, and demonstrating amazing elegance.
-0-
"Is she actually a Combat Maid?" Tsumugi muttered.
"What?" Kaede asked.
"Ah, nothing. My hobbies just kind of slipped through." She said "Perhaps I should cosplay as some sort of Maid character soon..."
-0-
Finally, Kirumi had to face an obstacle that had appeared before, and it was exactly the same obstacle that had previously defeated Gonta.
When the dart came flying, Kirumi already knew what would happen, so she leaped into the air and managed to avoid the trap, clearing the part of the Road that had fallen off and managing to land on a safe spot.
But that turned out to be her limit, as the next challenge of the Box of Surprises proved to be the most vicious yet.
A mechanical sphere was shot at the road in front of Kirumi, and it unfolded into a floating robot that looked like a humanoid torso with four arms.
Seeing that it was another new thing, Kirumi slowed down again to try and deal with it. And the robot proved to be just as articulate as a real human, using its arms in some sort of martial arts combination.
Kirumi didn't panic at that. After all, she had received a request to "do her best" at the competition, she defended herself with precise movements, seeking a chance to slip through that guardian.
She finally found it, as all four arms of the enemy made a downward sweep, she jumped up and climbed over the floating robot with a fast speed.
However, the robot still had one final secret. An extra arm came out of a hidden compartment in its back, and it grabbed Kirumi, who was still in the air.
The Maid immediately twisted to try and free herself from the grip of the robot, but being in the air made it so that she was unable to exert strength properly, and even though she struggled as much as she could for the next few seconds, it wasn't enough, as the robot floated away from the road and dropped into the dark abyss, carrying Kirumi with it.
"And Kirumi Toujou has FALLEN OFF!" Came the familiar voice of Monokuma.
-0-
The next person to try their skills on the Road was Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist. And she had something to say as she started on her way:
"Great Atua, show me the path!" She prayed, with her hands joined.
Then, she broke the streak of the other Ultimates and actually started walking instead of running.
That action made it fairly obvious something which the sharper eyed Ultimates had already suspected: The release of the "surprises" was not based on the time that transpired, but instead on the distance traveled. Of course, it wasn't something exact by any means, since being surprising was the point, but it did mean that the slowest Ultimates would have to deal with just as many obstacles as the fastest ones, if they wanted to win.
Regardless, Angie finally reached the first obstacle, and it was the same barrage of pillows that Rantaro had faced before, only she decided to deal with it in a very different manner.
She simply kept walking, and she passed through the area of effect of the pillows. She first slowed down, then she sped up, and like she knew exactly where the pillows would be, Angie managed to avoid every single one of them by a hair's breath.
-0-
"Is she psychic?" Kaito asked himself, then turned to Ryoma "Ryoma, do you understand what she just did?"
Ryoma was thinking hard "The only thing I can think about is the Artist's Eye..."
"And what is that?"
"I once played against a painter who played tennis not to win, but to 'paint pictures on the court' using the strokes." Ryoma began to explain "He had a very good ability to predict the results of his strikes and mine, and I think she may have used some kind of similar process to predict a good path." He stopped for a second "But I'm not really sure. Art is not really my specialty, and I don't understand those types of methods."
"Huh..." Kaito nodded, thoughtfully.
-0-
Angie kept going, and her second obstacle was the same wind robot that Kirumi had faced before.
She slowed down and walked carefully, fighting against the wind. It definitely was not as smooth and elegant as the way Kirumi had done it, but she surpassed the obstacle all the same. Then she had to deal with the liquid soap, which was much easier, since she had enough balance to just slide through.
After that came the same fighting robot which had defeated Kirumi, and Angie, not having the same hand to hand skill the Maid had, was immediately forced into a bad position.
She fought with all she had, and even managed to block the surprise arm after passing through the enemy, but the robot proceeded to spin and grab at her again with all four hands, which ended up being too much after she had gotten tired.
That same robot had claimed to victims in a row.
-0-
As Monokuma did his customary reaction, Tsumugi frowned "I wonder what is the way to deal with that thing... According to the rules, any obstacle can be completed even without Ultimate Abilities, so..."
Kaede was also thoughtful "Maybe it has a limited fuel supply or something and you just have to wait?"
"That's a good idea." Tsumugi said "Maybe I'll try it myself if I don't see any other options... Though it would be better if I didn't have to deal with it at all..."
-0-
The next Ultimate to step up was Korekiyo Shinguuji, the Ultimate Anthropologist. And he would soon prove that even Angie's strange prediction abilities were only scratching the surface of how weird things could get once Ultimates went all out with their abilities.
And this was already highlighted on the first obstacle, which proved to be the same wind machine that had already appeared twice in a row. Korekiyo got close to it in a similar way as Angie had, but that was the only thing in common between their approaches.
He took out a rope from... somewhere, and threw it at the robot, lassoing it like it was a bull. And after that it was easy for him to get through the area of effect of that thing.
He was also running, so it didn't take long for him to find the second obstacle, which was the same climbing wall that both Rantaro and Gonta had faced. Again he used his rope, managing to snag it into the handholds and swing himself through the area much faster than a traditional climbing could do.
-0-
"Wow... He is pretty good at using that rope" Miu said, with her eyes open wide "I wonder what other kinds of things he could do with it..." She finished, a little bit of drool coming out of the corner of her mouth.
"Yes, it indeed seems to be a very useful ability." Keebo said innocently "You could easily wrap up packages and get things which were far without needing to move!"
"Oh yes... Of course... That too..." Miu said, snapping out of her delusions.
"One of my modular functions has effects similar to that." Keebo boasted.
"Really...?" Miu said, getting ideas.
-0-
Korekiyo kept going, and finally saw a new obstacle. And it was a very strange one.
One of the boxes shot the Road with some kind of beam, and a large portion of it simply disappeared. Korekiyo stopped at the edge of that part of the Road and was surprised when he saw a huge sphere float up and stop just next to him. That was obviously the way to go.
Taking a deep breath, Korekiyo climbed up atop the sphere and started walking on it, making the sphere roll and slowly move towards the next part of the bridge.
It was a very strange sight, since Korekiyo needed to walk backwards in order to make the sphere move forward. It was a very awkward way to move, but Korekiyo managed it with some difficulty, and soon reached the end and jumped out from the sphere.
He kept going, but the bizarreness didn't stop with just one obstacle. The next one was some kind of ribbon that crossed over the Road without seeming to do anything at first, but when Korekiyo ran a few more steps, the Road started shaking.
Korekiyo was immediately forced to stop running and walk, and even then it was difficult, with each step being a struggle. The shaking was really too much, and the Anthropologist suffered the risk of being flung off the narrow Road.
Still, he persevered, going step by step. But that particular obstacle still had one more secret up its proverbial sleeves.
The road started moving from side to side, before breaking into two sections that moved in synchrony but mirroring each other instead of moving in the same pattern.
They weren't moving that fast, but it was still fast enough that there was only a brief period of time in which Korekiyo could possibly move from one section to the other. It would be a difficult maneuver.
He waited and timed things, and then jumped.
He landed on the other section successfully, but not perfectly. The movement of the Road had hindered his jump, and he landed on the edge of the other part. And that was just not good enough.
The movement of the platform flung him out of the Road, and Korekiyo was the next to fall into the darkness.
-0-
After that, the contestant who took the stage was Shuuichi Saihara, and like Angie before him, he walked instead of running.
The first obstacle he had to face was not a new one, but the same tilting ground obstacle that had defeated Maki previously. However, the same thing would not happen with Shuuichi, as he managed to prove Gonta's prior speculations right.
As soon as the handle was shot, Shuuichi crouched on the ground, and when the tilting started, he was already reaching for it. Pulling on the handle, he made the tilting stop immediately, and then the road quickly returned to normal, allowing Shuuichi to keep going.
The next obstacle was the missile net that Gonta had dealt with. And as soon as he saw it, Shuuichi knew that he could not use the same tactics as Gonta. Instead he stopped and waited, allowing the missile to come closer and closer... And then he suddenly lay flat on the ground, allowing the net of the missile to pass just over him, since he knew it would not be able to adjust height so fast.
-0-
Rantaro nodded "Shuuichi has always been rather good at that, so it's nice to see he hasn't lost his skill since then."
"What do you mean?" Gonta asked.
"Shuuichi traveled with me for two years to help find my sisters." Rantaro said "Only we kept getting into trouble, so Shuuichi had to get really good at ducking quickly." He nodded "I'm just happy he kept up this habit even after we parted."
"Gonta understands."
-0-
Shuuichi then met with the falling bridge obstacle that had defeated Gonta but was surpassed by Maki, only his response to it was much different from anything before. Instead of advancing quickly, he actually moved back hurriedly, and he managed to get away from the area in which the path fell.
Then, after a few seconds, the path was put back in place, which was something Shuuichi had noticed during Maki's attempt, and thus he was able to simply walk through without any fear. But after that came another new obstacle.
It was a rolling ball made of what appeared to be fabric, and it was rolling directly at Shuuichi. He stopped in place and seemed to consider his options for a bit, before taking a running start and doing a dive-jump over the ball, which was only at chest height for him.
This resulted in Shuuichi almost falling off, but he managed to grab a hold of the edge of the platform and pull himself back up.
He returned to his walk, and the next obstacle he met was the liquid soap. Shuuichi stepped into it and slid, but things didn't go as planned.
Shuuichi's impulse wasn't properly centered, so his angle of moving was pointing towards the edge of the Road. Seeing this, he tried to use his other foot to adjust, but ended up slipping and falling, proceeding to roll down the edge and into the darkness.
-0-
"Is he okay?" Kaede asked, concerned over Shuuichi's fall.
"Of course!" Tsumugi assured her "The whole bridge has special technology to absorb impacts from any direction, and there are a lot of other security measures too."
"That's nice."
-0-
Miu Iruma was the next Ultimate to participate, and she started with a bang. Pressing a button on her sleeve, she made a rocket backpack appear on her back.
"This is the power of SCIENCE!" She bragged, as she started flying over the course.
Then, the first obstacle that welcomed her was the good old missile net. And her flight wasn't fast enough to outrun it.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" She repeated, as the net grabbed her and the missile dragged her towards the abyss.
-0-
"Wow. What bad luck." Kaede commented.
"Of all the things that could have come first..." Tsumugi said.
-0-
Keebo was the next contestant, and he was another Ultimate who decided to say something before starting:
"It is time for me to show the wonder of the technologies of Professor Idabashi!" He declared, and then started bouncing.
-0-
"Wow. That is some pretty nice technology if he can control his bounces that well." Miu said.
-0-
And it really seemed like Keebo could control his bounces perfectly, as he moved in a perfect straight line while alternating between long and short bounces.
It was a very fast way to advance, so he quickly got to and got through the first two obstacles, which were unable to make him even slow down.
The first was the climbing wall, and the second was the same rolling ball of fabric that Shuuichi had faced earlier. Both of them were avoided by the simple expedient of jumping over them.
The third however, was a completely new obstacle, and it wouldn't be as easy to surpass.
One of the boxes released dozens of small flying cubes, and then they started to burst open, releasing some kind of slippery liquid that was very definitely not the same thing as the liquid soap from the other obstacle and managed to cover that entire part of the road, along with Keebo himself.
And as soon as Keebo landed on the Road again, that liquid showed just how slippery it really was. Keebo immediately lost his balance, and his subsequent bounce threw him a long distance away from the Road.
However, he would not give up so easily. Keebo proceeded to launch one of his hands like a combination of a rocket punch and grappling hook, and it managed to reach the road.
But his struggle was in vain. The extremely slippery liquid was still there, and his grappling hand could not get a grip on the road, leaving Keebo to fall into the abyss.
-0-
After that, it was the turn of the Ultimate Magician, Himiko Yumeno.
Himiko also said something at the start of her attempt. In her case it was:
"Let me show you, the wonder that is my EXTREME FLIGHT MAGIC!"
And she floated upwards into the air, before slowly moving forward.
-0-
"How is she doing that?" Rantaro asked.
"Ah, there are strings connected to the ceiling!" Gonta realized.
"You must have some really good eyesight if you can see then, because I can't."
"Gonta does." He confirmed.
"I guess that means she must have prepared things during the other attempts..." Rantaro theorized.
-0-
Meanwhile, in a different part of the Ultimate line.
"Himiko is so wonderful!" Tenko squeed.
"I am so incredibly jealous right now!" Kokichi declared, clenching his fists as he looked at Himiko.
-0-
Similar to Keebo, Himiko had no trouble with the first two obstacles, due to being able to fly over them. The first of those obstacles being the tilting floor and the second being the climbing wall again. The third obstacle was a little different, however.
It was the net missile that had appeared previously and even defeated Miu. So of course, Himiko could not avoid it just by flying over. She had a different strategy in mind.
The Ultimate Magician stopped in the air and waited until the missile came close, before pointing her right hand at it and yelling "Telekinesis Magic!"
And the net moved upwards, thus avoiding Himiko when the missile passed above her.
-0-
"That's some really precise string manipulation." Tsumugi said.
"String manipulation?" Kaede asked.
"Yeah, that's what she just did." Tsumugi nodded "You use precise hand movements to manipulate strings. I can do the same with threads, but I mostly use it to weave clothes quickly."
"That's..." Kaede thought of a way to respond "That's a pretty mundane use of such an awesome ability, but I like it."
-0-
Having finished with that obstacle, Himiko kept moving forward.
But then, the next obstacle ended up defeating her, even though it was one that had failed to block other Ultimates more than once.
It was the pillow barrage. A huge amount of pillows were fired at Himiko's position, even though she was in the air.
While she could dodge the pillows by manipulating the strings lifting her up, and she did in fact do so, the barrage of pillows was too fast and intense to allow her to maneuver her strings out of the way of it as she had done for the missile.
This resulted in her strings being cut through and Himiko plummeting down in a spin that took her right into the abyss.
-0-
Tenko was sad to see Himiko fall, but she quickly got her head back into gear when it came her turn to challenge the Road of the Box of Surprises.
She ran, showing that her martial skills included both speed and balance, and she quickly reached her first obstacle.
It was that feared penta-armed floating fighting robot, which was definitely not an easy way to start, but different from the two Ultimates who had fallen to it, Tenko was a martial artist, and so she took a different tack to facing that challenge.
Tenko parried a few hits from the robot while she got closer and closer, but then she reached up with a kick straight to the bottom of the machine, damaging its propulsion system.
As the robot tried desperately to right itself, Tenko used a throw to make it go over the edge. Then she went back to running.
-0-
"Ah, truly a masterful use of the 'kick-in-the-nuts' technique" Rantaro snarked.
"Gonta afraid now." He crossed his legs.
-0-
The second obstacle Tenko faced was the tilting ground, where she easily replicated Shuuichi's technique to get through safely. And after that came the climbing wall.
Tenko elected to actually do that obstacle properly, different from the Ultimates that had bypassed it. But she showed an amazing amount of agility, breezing through the section with the ease of a monkey.
After that came the same smoke cloud/marbles combination that had caused Gonta a lot of trouble, and it turned out that Tenko didn't find it any easier.
She managed to keep her balance instead of falling, but the effort of doing so ended up causing her to lose track of her position, which resulted in Tenko sliding right off the edge.
-0-
After Tenko's return, Kokichi Ouma was the next Ultimate to stand at the beginning of the Road.
He also mugged for the camera while en route to it, showing the most confidence out of all the contestants thus far.
This was reflected by the fact that he actually walked through the road, even though he was more than capable of running, as would become clear very soon.
The first obstacle Kokichi reached was the dart begetting the falling platform. Shuuichi had previously demonstrated how it could be dealt with by moving backwards, but Kokichi instead burst into a run, then jumped just before the platform started to fall, managing to clear the danger zone.
-0-
"That's some really good running technique." Ryoma noted "I bet he's had plenty of practice."
"Considering the pranks he's played, I imagine it was necessary." Kaito said.
-0-
The next challenge was the fighting robot again, and Kokichi demonstrated another way of dealing with it: He ran right at the robot and did a slide at the last moment, managing to get past the thing without having to deal with the fifth arm due to his low position.
Proceeding forward, Kokichi was faced with the same obstacle that had defeated Keebo: The spheres which exploded into slippery liquid.
Kokichi sped up just a bit from his walking, and then proceeded to repeat his previous strategy: Sliding.
He started sliding just as the liquid fell, and his control over it was good enough that Kokichi managed to get across the entire distance without issue.
However, in a spectacular bit of bad luck, his very next obstacle was the climbing wall, and even though Kokichi tried to wipe the remains of the liquid from his hands and feet, enough remained that he ended up losing his grip while in the middle of the wall, falling into the darkness.
-0-
Kokichi didn't really seem to get down due to his defeat, which Kaito noted before moving forward for his own attempt.
Compared to most of the participants, Kaito was refreshingly normal. The best comparison would be with Rantaro, in which he demonstrated a high level of skill and ability to adapt, but nothing that a well-trained person wouldn't be able to reach. There was nothing of special techniques, or super fast movements, or predictions that other Ultimates had relied on. However, that did not mean that his attempt was any less exciting.
Kaito managed to face the climbing wall properly as his first obstacle, and he escaped from being caught by the missile net by way of a quick dive and roll. Following that, he made his way through the smoke cloud + marbles with an amazing steadiness, and after that, came the shaking floor.
It had defeated Korekiyo previously, and Kaito's experience showed that it had not been a fluke. The Astronaut walked with heavy steps, and using his hands to maintain balance. The speed of his advance could very well be called a "crawl", and after getting to the jump part, Kaito stopped and waited for a bit before trying.
He jumped, and managed to land right in the middle of the moving platform, but despite trying to keep himself there, he ended up slipping off, and even his heroic attempt at grabbing on the edge ended up failing, and he also fell into the abyss.
-0-
"I think I get the trick for that one..." Ryoma said, preparing for his own attempt.
-0-
The first obstacle he had to face on his own challenge was the pillow barrage, and he dealt with it in nearly the same way in which Maki had done, except with the Shukuchi method instead of the Shadowless Step.
And after that, he had the "luck" of being able to test his hypothesis, as the second obstacle was the dangerous shaking floor and leap. Ryoma's initial strategy to get past it was the same as Kaito, continuing up until the point where he prepared to jump.
But instead of trying to jump to the center of the moving platform, Ryoma aimed for the edge, specifically, the edge that would be going upwards at the time.
Grabbing the edge with both hands, Ryoma pretty much glued himself to the moving platform, managing to hang on until it started moving back, upon which he stood up and ran until he managed to get out of the area of effect of the obstacle.
Ryoma kept moving forward, and easily avoided the third obstacle, which was the barrage of pillows, but after that came the very dangerous slippery liquid obstacle.
Ryoma tried to follow in Kokichi's footsteps, and just slide to victory, but that was very definitely harder than it seemed, and he was simply unable to correct his route after it went wrong, ending up falling over the edge.
-0-
"That slide movement seems to be really difficult." Kaito noted, then looked at Kokichi "How did you do it so easily?"
The small boy put his hands behind his back and pretended to think deeply, before answering:
"Talent."
Kaito was not amused.
-0-
And then it was time for Tsumugi Shirogane to start her own attempt, and she was another one of those that walked on the Road instead of running.
And the first obstacle she faced was the missile net, which proved an early opportunity for her to show her "particular" skills.
She pointed her hands forward and wove.
The result of her weaving was akin to a clothesline, complete with clothes. It looked more than just a little ridiculous, but it was undeniably effective, as the line basically flew at the missile and blocked off its output, making the flying obstacle fall straight into the abyss together with its net.
-0-
"I didn't realize someone else in this group could cast magic." Himiko said, in a slightly higher tone that was her being impressed.
"So, she's using magic, then?" Tenko said, surprised at the fact that Himiko was actually speaking.
"Of course." The self-proclaimed mage nodded "I'm the Ultimate Mage, but there are other mages all around the world, and Tsumugi is one of them."
-0-
Tsumugi also used her skill in another weird manner to get past the second obstacle, which was the climbing wall.
She created a double clothesline that sneaked around the handholds and allowed her to walk on a line while holding onto another. And there were so many handholds supporting the lines that even if a few of them fell off, it still didn't affect the overall balance.
-0-
"Where does she even keep that much thread?" Shuuichi asked, exasperated.
"I imagine she does it in a similar way to how I keep my ropes." Korekiyo said.
"And how is that?" Shuuichi asked, eyebrow raised.
Korekiyo only smiled (it was covered by the mask, but Shuuichi could tell) and said nothing.
-0-
And after that came the liquid soap, which Tsumugi still refused to face in a standard manner, instead weaving a large sweater which she used as a board. And after that came the fighting robot.
Tsumugi once again used her weaving, trying to create a barrier of clothes to slow down the robot. However, it didn't go as planned.
The robot managed to grip onto the clothes and pull on them very fast, before Tsumugi had a chance to let go, pulling Tsumugi close enough to be grabbed by the arms, whereupon the robot subsequently dragged her into defeat.
-0-
There was only one student who hadn't had a chance to try the Road yet, and Monokuma explained a few things before that student (Kaede Akamatsu) went to do her attempt.
"Now, we are going to have the final attempt of the first round of this stage of the game!" He declared "That means that, if Kaede fails to reach the end as well, we are going to restart from the beginning, and if no winner has been found after three rounds, the winner will be the contestant who reached furthest." He stopped for a moment "And now, without further ado... Let's get this started!"
-0-
Obviously, for the last contestant of the first round, expectations were high. It would be hilariously anticlimactic if she ended up falling at the first obstacle.
But that didn't happen.
Kaede walked until reaching her first challenge, which was the falling floor, and she overcame it by using the same technique Shuuichi had demonstrated before. Simply moving backwards and waiting for the trap to pass.
And she also lucked out for her second obstacle, as it was the tilting platform which also had an easy way to be dealt with. But after that she showed something very interesting. While she was walking calmly down the path, Kaede suddenly broke into a run, and when the third obstacle appeared (the liquid soap), she had already managed to pass through its area of effect.
-0-
"How did she do that?" Kaito asked, looking at Ryoma "Did she just predict it?"
The Tennis Pro shook his head "I don't know. It seems like she knew what would happen, but I have no idea how she could have done it."
"I think..." Tsumugi, who was next to them, decided to pipe up "I think she's hearing it."
"What do you mean?" Kaito asked.
"She was able to determine what was inside the smoke cloud just because of the sounds." Tsumugi explained "Maybe she has memorized the sounds that each particular obstacle makes while it is being prepared inside the box." She put a hand on her chin "That would mean that being the last one was an advantage for her."
"With this, she would also know which boxes would release the traps. It is indeed something very useful for this challenge." Ryoma said.
-0-
After that came the climbing wall, and while Kaede's agility wasn't good enough to easily overcome it, she could hear the movement of the mechanisms inside to predict which handholds would fall. And that, combined with a good amount of effort, allowed her to overcome that obstacle.
Kaede recovered for a bit before going back to walking, and then an extremely familiar obstacle reappeared. It was the same fighting robot that had just defeated Tsumugi.
Kaede had seen Tenko get past the robot, but she wasn't capable of using the same strategy as her, so the pianist was forced to test her own assumptions about how the machine worked.
She slowly got close, and the robot tried to reach for her. Kaede then retreated, and the robot didn't chase after.
Seeing that a possibility existed, Kaede started moving in and out of the "aggro area" of the enemy, and the robot was simply unable to touch her, until eventually, it ran out of energy and fell to the ground.
-0-
"Hmm... So she was right about that..." Tsumugi muttered.
-0-
Not trusting it, Kaede cautiously made her way closer and pushed the thing out of the Road.
Nodding, she went back to moving forward, only to be faced with yet another dangerous obstacle: The shaking Road.
And from the beginning, Kaede tried a different tactic from the other Ultimates who had faced it. Instead of braving the shaking with balance and strong legs, she crouched and held onto the edge of the Road, slowly crawling forward.
Even after the Road started moving left and right, Kaede's tactic still allowed her to maintain her balance until she got to the jump portion.
She hesitated for three whole seconds there, trying to prepare herself mentally, and then she jumped.
Following Ryoma's lead perfectly, Kaede managed to grab on to the edge of the next part of the Road, and instead of standing up and running off, she actually repeated her earlier strategy and slowly crawled along towards safety.
And after Kaede finally stood up and started walking again, the other fifteen students were watching with baited breath. The Ultimate Pianist had already overcame six obstacles, and from what was left of the Road, it seemed likely that there would be just one more challenge before the end.
That was indeed the case, and an unnatural silence spread over the stage when the large number of cubes appeared and released their slippery payload.
In response, Kaede threw herself on the ground, sideways.
She started sliding, and was slowly slipping towards the right edge (where her head was). But there was a reason why she had chosen such a method of sliding. Kaede actually managed to stretch out her legs over the other edge and hook them over to adjust her movement.
If it were any other situation, someone would have probably made a comment about the cleverness of that tactic, but considering how close Kaede was to the end of the Road, no one could speak.
And she slid, and slid, and she finally hit the raised step representing the end of the Road.
Then Kaede pulled herself up that step with her hands and threw her body at the finishing line.
Immediately, lots of fireworks started to explode all around the set.
"Amazing!" Monokuma shouted "Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, has managed to reach the ending of the Road of the Box of Surprises, becoming the winner of the first challenge!"
A very nice musical number started to play, as the other Ultimates cheered and Kaede waved at them, smiling.
"I guess that means we are going to end this broadcast here for now." He declared "But this is only the beginning of the season! The next challenge will take a while, but during that time, you will be able to watch a lot more content involving our Ultimates!" Monokuma then pointed at a camera "How will they react to the labs we've prepared? Who will be the first eight pairs who will talk inside the Isolated Chambers? All that and much more, you will get to see soon! So until then, STAAAAAAY WATCHING!"