Author's note: Hello, new reader! Thanks for checking out my story! After reading through this again, I realized that this is an absolutely crappy introductory chapter, and when I can find a break lasting several hours, it will be almost completely rewritten. It's basically the same as any other intro chapter for a story like this, except it's much too brief and doesn't really characterize anyone very well. If you have found yourself to be interested in reading this story and trying to solve the cases, please skip ahead to chapter two. Everyone is sorta reintroduced to remind the reader who's who and what they do, so it shouldn't do too much harm if you want to skip ahead. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story at least a little bit! :D

Despair is a narcotic. It lulls the mind into indifference.

-Charlie Chaplin

Something was odd. I had received an invitation to attend the Hope's Peak Magnet School, the most elite school in the country. I remember how I used to walk past it on my way to elementary school wishing I would one day have enough of any kind of talent to be among those elite.

Ha! Recently all I do is stay home, watch tv, and read mystery novels. Apparently staying at home and wasting my life away is all that I'm good at doing. I'm not even sure I'm still registered with my school. Though I guess I am, since I somehow managed to have my name placed in the lottery for the "average" high school students that weren't singled out as the most talented in their fields.

Anyway, I'm getting depressed just thinking about all this. I should probably think about what the hell is actually going on. Fifteen elite students (and me) were gathered in the gymnasium of what I guess is Hope's Peak, since the school symbol was painted on the floor. While we all sat there confused and trying to figure out who everyone was and why they looked so familiar, sudden strange music started playing. A half-white, half blue cat plush jumped up and sat down on the podium on the stage.

"Hellooooo, my Super High School Level Subjects! Welcome to Hope's Peak Magnet School, which has a history of housing the most elite students and preparing them for years of success in their respective fields! I'm your principal, Hanneko, and unfortunately, you hapless bastards probably won't even last a year in this academy!"

Uh... What? I think everyone in the gym could agree that this was the weirdest thing to happen today. Even me, who had awoken less than half an hour ago behind the stage in the gym. After I woke up, I started freaking out because I was somehow supposed to be at the auditorium at 8:00 for opening ceremonies, but I guess the venue was changed to the gym, since I've found everyone here. Everyone seemed scared and confused for the most part, but as time passed, they all mellowed out and started socializing. That is, until, the cat plush showed up, leaving us at this point in the story.

"What? How are YOU our principal? You're very obviously some weird feline animatronic device," said one girl. She had long, black hair and large brown eyes, as well as well-defined facial features and ridiculously long legs. Needless to say, she was kinda beautiful. But her voice was commanding, scary, and kinda foreign. Maybe South American.

"Oh ho ho ho, but I am. I've been placed in charge, as a sort of overseer for the forecoming events," said Hanneko.

"Events? Like athletic events?" The question came from a slim, yet muscular male. He had orange hair that stopped at his neck and purple eyes. He seems somewhat athletic, and I caught myself wondering what sport he played.

"Uh, no," said Hanneko. "Like Battle Royale meets Detective Conan type events!"

"Battle Royale? You mean like the movie?" That came from a boy with short red hair and black eyes. He has a serious look to his face. He kinda reminded me of an anime character from an old semi-popular show. Well, a male version of that character.

"Oh em gee, I love that movie! It's one of my favorite older movies," said a skinny blonde girl. She had long, somewhat unruly blonde hair and round green eyes. She was loud and seemed like the kind of person I would hate.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand. As many of you may know, Hope's Peak stayed closed for approximately ten years. Do you pampered brats know why?" Jeez, Hanneko didn't need to insult so much. But I do remember hearing rumors that a huge incident that pretty much tore the school apart from the inside had occurred. Some say it was linked to the destruction of civilization, but that was a while before most of us were born. By the time I was born, the world was showing signs of becoming safer and more trusting. People were nicer, according to my parents. In fact, there hasn't been a war in a decade in a half. Of course, there was still crime, but it was at all-time lows in most countries. I almost wouldn't believe it happened, but plenty of ruins around the area suggested otherwise. Apparently, they were everywhere.

"Ugh, not this conspiracy bullshit again," said a tall guy with blue hair and glasses. He had an air of pretentiousness about him.

"Yes, it's just that conspiracy bullshit! Before you bastards were born, this school held 15 students hostage and forced them all to kill each other. The sole purpose of this event was to plunge the world into despair! What started in these metaphorical halls extended into worldwide chaos! So, what does that have to do with you bastards, you ask? Well, we are going to recreate all of that!" The cat's expression stayed mostly the same, but its voice became excited.

"So, what are you saying?!" The blonde girl said. Her voice went from excited to scared.

"..." The cat didn't respond. "Eh, I'll come back and tell you in an hour. I feel kinda tired. Until then, feel free to socialize in here." Hanneko then leapt off the top of the podium and crawled behind the stage.

What. The. Actual. Fuck. The room was quiet for a moment.

"So... Maybe we should do as he says? I mean, we are going to be classmates," said a small boy with wavy purple hair. He seemed scared.

"Weren't you listening?! All that he was saying was leading up to us having to murder each other!" This voice came from a pale girl with blonde, curled hair and a frilly sweet-lolita getup.

"Uh, we don't actually know that. For all we know, that could have just been leading up to us having to solve the mystery of why the school closed, or a sort of 'reenacting' of what he claims to have happened," said a girl with long, white hair and red eyes. She looked somewhat familiar, but all I could think about was some government stuff. She must have something to do with that.

"True. Anyway, what are the chances of it even leading to that? We should all try to talk with everyone." This came from a black girl with shoulder-length silver hair. She was dressed somewhat officially.

"Yay! Neko-chan gets to make more friends!" The blonde girl again. She doesn't seem like she's worried at all about what may soon happen.

With that, each student started conversing as if that strange opening ceremony didn't happen. I mostly sat and watched, going unnoticed, like normal. Surprisingly, a girl walked towards me and stared at me. She had black hair that stopped about halfway down her back and was kept in a ponytail.

"Uh... Hi?" I wondered why she stared.

"Hi! My name's Nezumi Karafuto. I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive, but what's your name?"

That's not particularly intrusive, is it? "I'm Rin Nakauchi," I say. She seems a bit distraught.

"Dang it! I couldn't tell if you were a boy or a girl. I thought your name would give me a hint, but 'Rin' is a pretty unisex name, isn't it?" Wow. I've never run into this kind of question before. Then again, I don't get out much. I think I'm going to mess with this girl a bit.

"Sorry, even I don't know what my gender is. I just wish there was some way I could check." The look on her face is priceless.

"Oh, come on! You have to know!" I'm very clearly enjoying this, and her irritated face is only making this funnier.

"Okay," she said decisively. "Can you tell me what your Super High School Level talent is, then?" Nezumi looked eager, like she somehow would get a hint from that. Actually, now that I think about it, what is my Super High School Level talent? I have no talents...

"I... I actually don't know. I don't have any talents, I just stay at home and watch tv all the time." She's even more upset.

"Aw, come on! Wait, are you the lottery student? That would explain it," she said. "Oh, well, you can become the Super High School Level Socializer!" She then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the crowd.

"Hey, what are you-"

"Ack! Who bumped into me?!" Oops. I accidentally hit the lolita girl.

"Oh, sorry, that was me," I told her. She didn't seem any happier with this closure.

"Well, watch it! This wig slips easily, and the fabric on this dress stains even more easily," she told me. That was kinda insulting. Do I really look that dirty?

"Oh, he/she didn't mean it! It was my fault for pulling him/her." Great. Mouse girl is sticking up for me now.

"He/she?" I recognized the voice as belonging to the pretentious glasses guy (sound familiar?). "You know you can use just one, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if Rin's a boy or girl," said Nezumi, sounding slightly upset.

"Hm... Now that I've got a good look at you, what are you? You look slightly androgynous." Great. Well, I guess it's mostly my fault, since more than one person can't tell.

"Well, whatever you are, watch it next time! I have a fondness for this dress, and I'd be very upset if I had to spend tonight detangling this wig," said the lolita girl. What talent could she possibly have?

"Hey, can I ask you guys someth-"

"You probably want to know our names and talents, don't you?" Interrupted again. By Glasses guy this time. "Don't worry, everyone's been asking everyone. I'm Tougo Hanai, the Super High School Level Interpreter," he said proudly. "I'm fluent in almost forty languages, and I like to translate popular young adult novels into different languages." Wow, that's actually pretty cool. I only really know Japanese and some words in English, so I'm impressed.

The lolita went next. "I'm Alice Darlington, the Super High School Level Lolita. I own my own lolita fashion brand, and am a pretty popular fashion icon in Japan." Well, that would explain why she has some familiarity to her appearance. I've seen a couple of her pictures in magazines, but I never knew her name. Speaking of which, that can't be her actual name. I know I said she was blonde, but that was revealed to be just a wig, and she has a very Oriental face. There's no way.

"Oh, I never told you my talent," Nezumi said to me. She decided to address the others as well. "I'm Nezumi Karafuto, the Super High School Level Artist," she said enthusiastically. Something was odd about how she said it, though... Almost as if it didn't fit for her to say it...

"Well, what are you?" I'm not entirely sure if Alice realized how rude she kinda sounded.

"I... I don't have a talent. I'm the lottery student," I said. Glasses looked somewhat disappointed.

"Well, I'm not really interested in making friends with someone without a talent. Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Okay, now she must realize she's being rude.

"I'm good at staying in my house. Or, I was," I say somewhat sarcastically.

"Oh, really? Then you can be the Super High School Level Hikikomori!" Okay, I'm about done talking to this kid.

"Alice, I don't think you should be so mean," said Nezumi. Okay, is sticking up for the no-talent going to be her thing?

"I'm not being mean. If I were mean, I would say that Rin smells and has gross skin and a horrible fashion sense, but I'm not." Alice turned to me. "Don't worry, I'm sure someone will want to be your friend!" She patted my shoulder and left, confidence and sophistication in her walk.

"Well, that looked awkward," said the black girl, expressing exactly what I was feeling. "Hi, nice to meet ya, Jay Caraway at your service, the Super High School Level Businesswoman." She extended her hand to me. She really was all-business. It was somewhat intimidating.

I took her hand and shook it. "I'm Rin Nakauchi, the lottery student."

"Lottery? Like you won one to come here? I thought they meticulously evaluated students to invite to the school," she said. She probably didn't know much about the school's selection process. She must have come directly from the Western Hemisphere.

"Rin's the Super High School Hikikomori!" I'm not sure if Nezumi remembers that Alice said that as a joke...

"Hiki-wha?" Oh, right. She's not Japanese.

"It's a person that mainly stays inside his or her house and doesn't interact socially," explained Tougo.

"Oh. Well, you seem like a social person! You had the most people around you a while ago," Jay said. Her businesswoman persona seems to have melted away a bit. Really, I just want to get this over with. The sooner I find out about these people, the easier it'll be to observe.

"Yeah, you look confident to say that you don't get out much," said yet another new voice. A girl with dark green hair and yellow eyes walked over. "I'm Ying Yanmei, the Super High School Level Survivalist! You might have heard of me," she said confidently. She was right. I read her book a while ago about how she was stranded in a Japanese forest for two months with no food or shelter. She was the only member of her family to survive, and she became pretty popular for variety show hosts.

"Oh my gosh, I LOVED your book! It was so sad! I've been wanting to meet you!" God damn it, it's the blonde chick with the unruly hair. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Neko-chan Kawaii!" She can't be serious. That sounds like the nickname for an American anime enthusiast.

"I believe the term you're thinking is 'weeaboo,'" whispered Tougo. "If you're wondering how I knew, we're probably not the only ones thinking it." I was wondering how he knew, and that was what I was thinking. This guy might be dangerous.

"Uh... Nice to meet you, Kawai-san," said Ying slightly hesitantly.

"You guys can call me Neko-chan!" Another one with a fake name. This could get annoying.

"Okay, Neko-san-" began Nezumi, but she was cut off.

"It's Neko-chan. Neko-chan Kawaii." I swear to God.

"Uh... Sorry. Pleased to meet you! I'm Nezumi Karafuto, the Super High School Level Artist. What's your talent?"

"Hm... Are you sure you're an artist? You don't really look like one. But I digress. I'm the Super High School Level Fangirl!" Okay, now I'm just completely done.

"While it sounds like she's just being stupid, being a fan really is her talent. She's used her online presence to help idols she loves become number one. Heck, she even managed to help one obscure band become number one on the charts," explained the commandingly accented female voice from earlier. I turned to see the pretty girl that first questioned Hanneko.

"I'm Irina Esperanza," she said. That didn't tell me enough.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's your Super High School Level talent?" I was curious as to if my guess was correct.

"I'm not entirely sure. I'm a singer, actress, and model. I can't decide on which one is my Super High School Level talent."

"Oh, that's easy," interjected Neko-chan. "You are a Super High School Level Triple Threat!"

"Hm... I kinda like that," said Irina. A slightly mischievous smile crossed her face.

"Hey, Irina, where are you from?" Jay seemed pretty curious as well.

"Uh... Japan? I think you might be the only one from outside the country, Caraway-san. Or maybe you prefer Miss Caraway," said Irina.

"Either is fine, but I'd rather you guys just call me Jay," she said. Surprisingly informal for a businesswoman.

"Hey, I've only been living here for a couple of years," said Ying.

As they continued talking to Irina, I decided to slip away. Of course, with my luck, I managed to bump into another student.

"Ah, I'm sorry for bumping into you!" A girl with light brown hair said, bowing. She seemed painfully shy, and she was kinda average-looking.

"Oh, no, it was my fault." I wasn't paying enough attention.

"Um... I'm a makeup artist!" She seemed slightly scared. I'm guessing that's her talent...

"Hi. I'm Rin Nakauchi," I told her.

"Uh, are you the hikikomori that Alice mentioned?" Damn that Alice. Now that's going to be my title.

"Yeah, that's me..." I've never felt so awkward around a person before...

"Oh... I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable!" Am I really that easy to read? "I've been told that I tend to make people uncomfortable," she continued. Poor girl.

"It's fine. Just try not to be so shy," I said as I walked away.

"Wait!" She stopped me. "Uh... could you help me? You don't seem to get out much, but you still seem more comfortable around these people than me..."

I sighed. I guess I could use this to my advantage. "Okay, since you seem to have met most of the others, at least, can you tell me who they are and what they do? This could be practice for speaking more comfortably." Also, this way I won't have to "socialize" much more.

"Sure... That boy over there is the Super High School Level Architect, and the taller boy next to him is the Super High School Level Construction Worker. I think they are the only ones that knew each other before coming here," she said as she pointed to the small, purple-haired boy from earlier and the taller, more muscular guy next to him. He was tan with light blonde hair. He kinda reminded me of another older anime character...

"Those two are Tobiki Wakabayashi and Kenzo Tsukuru, respectively," she continued. "The one with the orange hair is Bunpei Furuda, and he's the Super High School Level Athlete. He's talking to Shinobu Murai, the Super High School Level Martial Artist. The albino girl is the Super High School Level Politician, Kotaka Ido, and she's arguing with the Super High School Level Diplomat, Yasushi Sugihara." My attention was directed to the arguing pair, and I caught myself thinking that they would make a very attractive couple.

The shy girl continued. "The one with the shoulder-length brown hair and the green eyes is Tamaki Yanaihara, the Super High School Level Costume Maker. I think that's it..." she said indecisively.

Not quite. I still don't know who she is.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Ko Yamamoto, the Super High School Level Makeup Artist!"

Just Ko? Not Michiko or Hanako or anything? As I was getting ready to ask, Hanneko appeared back at the podium.

"Are you hapless bastards done talking yet? I'm going to continue the ceremony," said Hanneko. "You all are here to recreate the school arena that was started years ago! The rules are simple. One of you will commit murder. After a couple hours of investigating, we will have class trials that include mandatory attendance on the parts of all of the students. If you can figure out who committed the crime, your pathetic lives will be spared, and only the culprit will be punished. If not, you all will be punished as the culprit walks free. Simple."

We stood shocked. Kill the people that we just spent time getting to know in exchange or freedom? I don't believe anyone here could do it, to be honest. Then again, we've only spoken to each other for a short amount of time.

"I'll hand you guys a rulebook as well as an ElectroID later, so try not to do anything stupid in the meantime. The killing can't start until you know the rules. If you kill someone in the meantime, I'll just punish you there." Hanneko stopped to scratch his ear.

"Like hell we'll kill each other at all! None of us will stand for this," said a boy with slicked-back black hair and blue eyes. I think Ko said he was the diplomat, Sugihara.

"Oh, you will. Someone always kills," said Hanneko. I still don't think we have enough information.

"Excuse me, Hanneko, exactly what do you mean when you say 'punishment'? You never explained."

"Isn't it obvious? The punishment is a ridiculously theatrical death!" Hanneko seemed a bit too excited about that last part.

"Aaah! You CAN'T be serious!" Bunpei spoke up again.

"Oh, but I am. Well, until then, some classrooms have been converted into dwelling areas. You're dismissed to find the doors with your images on them. All of the doors lock, and only the girls showers lock. Have fun exploring!" Hanneko then left the podium and disappeared behind the curtains. Most of us were still too shocked to say anything. Eventually, students left the gym, probably to find their rooms and learn the layout of the school. Really, I wasn't interested. I probably stayed in the gym for another half an hour, and then left. Oh, well, I said to myself. I'm sure we won't commit any crimes.

Well, I could only really be certain that I wouldn't.