And so begins what is probably my most ambitious story ever. I really, really hope you enjoy this, because I'm really nervous about my first time doing this kind of story.
Disclaimer: This work is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. The Danganronpa series and all related materials are owned by Kazutaka Kodaka and Spike Chunsoft, neither of which I'm affiliated with. All I own are the sixteen OCs introduced in the story.
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... Darkness. For the longest time that was all I could see. Pure, pitch-black darkness. Not unlike the kind you see when you enter a room without any lights in the dead of night. A void that resembled an empty vacuum with only myself as an occupant. And God, when did I start talking like a rank-amateur poet?
Eventually, the darkness started to slink away and vision returned to me. I found myself in what appeared to be a small bedroom. It looked normal enough, though could they have sprung for a better color scheme than light gray and darker blue? The sheets, the paintjob, the dresser, all such drab colors! And when I think something looks too depressing, you know there's a problem! I got out of the bed I was lying in and saw a note on top of the dresser addressed to a Ms. Yakumo Yukimura, A.K.A.: Me. Picking up the note, I had started to piece together what was going on, sort of.
"Dear Miss Yukimura, we at the Ultimate Project welcome you on your first day at our "Semester at Sea Program". We sincerely hope that you and your classmates all work together and strive forward to help build a brighter future for not only yourselves, but for the whole world! Your orientation will begin at 9:00 AM sharp, so please be on time. Again, we wish you all the greatest luck.
Sincerely,
The Ultimate Project"
Now I remembered. That stupid program my loving mother and father were oh-so-kind to sign me up for without even so much as a word of my own say. Because I clearly wanted nothing more than to spend the next three months with a bunch of stupid fakes with arbitrary titles given to them by a group of suits that wanted to use us all to make their wallets larger. Unfortunately, I didn't get much of a choice in the matter. "When are you ever going to get a chance like this again?" "You're so smart and talented, honey, this would be such a great opportunity for you!" "Think of all the things you could learn, the people you'd meet!" And this crap about working together and building a future for the world? Pass. People at their core are just terrible, why should I bother trying to help them? Sorry, is that too mean for you to hear? Well, too bad! It's how I feel and I don't see why that should change.
Anyway, about this "Semester at Sea" thing, it's pretty self-explanatory: For the next three months, a small number of teenagers from across the country- including yours truly- will be spending the next three months on a cruise around the southern regions of the continent, harnessing the "Ultimate Talents" that the Project assigned to us. Extraordinary talents that we high-schoolers possess and have a huge future in. As for me? I wouldn't call it a talent moreso a hobby, not even a particularly good one. It was around junior high, still adjusting to how horrid the world and the people around it were when I bumped into this teacher who was holding tryouts for the debate team. A chance to properly articulate my thoughts on how certain things sucked and getting to show up any phonies? Where was this club all my life? So, I tried out and everyone was so wowed, I got in. Don't know why because when I look back at my thesis, I can only cringe. Still, it got me out of the house and gave me something to do, so I kept at it, even at high school, winning debate after debate for my team (by which I mean myself. I could give a crap about my "teammates".) and by the end of Freshman Year was the first non-Senior to become "Captain". This caught the Project's attention and sent me an invitation to the Program as the Ultimate Debater. Such an inspiring story, isn't it? Would make a for a nice feel-good TV movie, if I do say so myself.
As for my condition that I woke up in? I do remember that the flight to where the boat I'd be calling "school" wasn't that long, but the drive in the rent-a-car to the dock certainly was. Isn't it great to have an airport and a seaport be on opposite sides of the city? I mean, what an amazing layout, perfectly constructed to be as difficult as possible for everybody! It was late at night when we arrived and by that point, most everyone was already inside the boat. And after I took in the sheer size of the thing, I started to feel a bit, dare I say it, nervous. Then suddenly, Mom comes from behind and grabs me in this big hug and Dad starts to join in too and I'm feeling so embarrassed and annoyed and wasn't crying at all, I'll kill whoever says I did.
"We're so proud of you, you know that?"
"Whatever else happens, Yakumo, we love you and we really do want you to be happy."
As I boarded the boat, I took one last look at my parents, smiling at me with tears in their eyes. A part of me genuinely thought for a moment that they were sad to see me off, but I quickly remembered that I knew better than that. They were glad to see me off, to be rid of their miserable shame of a daughter, if just for a little while. I waved back and tried to hide the tears from my eyes as I entered my temporary new home. And after that, all I can remember is... darkness.
This cruise, this "Ultimate Semester" or whatever, what could I possibly have to look forward to? I didn't want to be there to begin with, and now I'm gonna be stuck in a boat with a bunch of strangers, these alleged elite students. I'm so out of my depth that it isn't even funny, I thought.
Little did I know...
... that I would soon be wishing for those thoughts to be the most of my worries...
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PROLOGUE: Setting Sail for Ultimate Despair
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Getting back on topic, I took a look at the clock nearby my dresser and it read 8:15. I must've passed out as soon as I got in the bedroom last night. With 45 minutes before orientation, I figured that I'd better get a move on. There was a map of the cruise liner, at least the floor I was on. I was in the living quarters and the main deck was upstairs, conveniently enough. I went to the bathroom to... well y'know and gave myself a once-over to see if I looked presentable. Not that I'm trying to impress anybody, I just don't want to look like an idiot. I grabbed some clothes from my bag and when I was done dressing, looked over myself again. Normal white shirt under my navy blue school hoodie, Budogaoka High School's name across the chest in gold lettering. My lower half consisted of faded blue jeans with no belt and black shoes and my hair was done up in a messy ponytail with that one elusive bang sticking out making me look like the protagonist of one of my cousins' dumb Visual Novels.
Checking the clock, I saw that I was going to be running late, so I grabbed the map and orientation letter and walked out the door. Just then, the worst possible thing that could've happened well, happened.
"Argh!" I shouted as I was knocked down to the ground. I turned and glared at the perpetrator, a blonde girl in a red-and-white cheerleader outfit and white boots who was also on the floor. "There's these things on your head called "eyes", perhaps you could use them once in a while?" I scolded.
Cheerleader Girl's blue eyes went wide and she blushed in embarrassment. "S-Sorry!" she said, smiling nervously, doing that thing where somebody rubs the back of their head nervously that I thought only existed in stuff like anime. "I woke up pretty late and I remembered that orientation was starting soon so I kinda rushed right out the door and I wasn't paying attention-"
There was only so much rambling I could take and if she was so concerned about being late then why was she talking my ear off? "Look, it's fine," I said, dusting myself off. "We're going to be late if we just stand around here. Let's just get going."
"Okay!" she chirped as we walked together. "Sooooo, what's your name? Oh wait, I should probably introduce myself first, huh? Typical blonde moment, right? My name is Hikari Kuromine, and I happen to be the Ultimate Cheerleader, if the uniform didn't give it away! Hehehe..."
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Hikari Kuromine- Ultimate Cheerleader
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Realizing that by introducing herself, I'd have to do the same. What a pain... "Yakumo Yukimura, Ultimate Debater." I'm not one for small talk to begin with, combine that with Sunshine over here, and I'm doubly annoyed.
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Yakumo Yukimura- Ultimate Debater
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Hikari giggled. "That's a cool name you've got, Kumo! And your title sounds pretty neat too!" Did she just call me "Kumo"? Great, a nicknamer. Because those are always a joy to be around. I shook it off, it was too early in the day to deal with this nonsense. Thankfully, Hikari could pick up that I wasn't in a talkative mood and we walked in silence for the rest of the way.
After a few minutes, we had finally arrived on the main deck of the ship and came face-to-face with...
"We've got a live one, two actually!" I heard a voice say, presumably a male's. In front of Hikari and me were fourteen other teenagers, the other Ultimate Students.
"Just barely on time," a girl muttered. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only a few minutes to nine. Talk about cutting it close...
"So, counting them, we're at sixteen," said a boy as he did a headcount. "Bit of a small number, all things considered." He wasn't wrong, if I'm to be honest. I knew that this would be a small class, but I didn't think it'd be this small. Plus, there was no sign of any adults, no teachers, deckhands or anything. Just us sixteen kids. That... was a tad worrying. I pushed that thought in the back of my mind, thinking that this might've been part of the procedure here. I mean, there was a couple tables and seats in front of us, so obviously we were expected, at least somebody was.
"Hey, did you guys run into anybody else while coming here?" asked somebody.
"We came straight from our rooms, so no," I shrugged. Had I known this would be the situation however, I'd have kept an eye out. Not that I care, it's just that it's a pain having to wait for somebody to show up.
"And the only one I ran into was Kumo!" Hikari chirped, much to my annoyance.
"That doesn't disprove anything, however," someone pointed out.
"Well, maybe they're just running a bit late?" Hikari suggested. "Anyway, I'm Hikari Kuromine and she's Yakumo Yukimura. And while we're waiting for everyone else, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves?"
"Not a bad idea," nodded a boy who turned from looking out into the ocean. It was then that I had noticed that we were already out to sea. I really must've been tired last night if I forgot about that detail.
"Yeah," agreed another student. "I mean, we are classmates, right? So we should at least get to know each other a little." He turned to me and it was then I has noticed how physically large he was. I'm not one to be intimidated by some hulking meathead, but I made a mental note to not do anything to upset him. His type doesn't particularly care about how weak their targets are. "You said your name was Yakumo, right? I'm Asahi. Asahi Endo, that is. The Ultimate Judo Practitioner."
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Asahi Endo- Ultimate Judo Practitioner
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Asahi definitely looked the part of a Judo Practitioner (and that's a sentence I'd never thought I'd say) with his neat white uniform complete with black belt and bare feet. His hair was cut short and colored brown, his skin was a decent tan and most notably, his eyes were a pale gray, the same color as his glasses. "How're you doing today?" he asked, in a more polite tone than I thought he'd have.
I shrugged. "Can't complain." Yet. "I'm just waiting for orientation to start."
Asahi's face suddenly turned serious. and he put a fist to his chest. "Don't blame you. You're lucky to have only just got here, because I was one of the first to show up. A whole hour early, actually."
"A whole hour?" I asked in disbelief. Hikari seemed to be just as surprised, her twintails almost standing up in shock that someone could possibly have a sense of punctuality. Though it's not that you have room to judge, Ms Pickoutclothesfortenminutes, I self-deprecated.
Asahi nodded. "To kill time, I did my morning set of stretches, but after that was done, I didn't have anything else to do. I wanted to check around the area, but I got stopped by-"
"By me!" said a girl, the one who got snarky at me for almost being late. And wow, didn't we look like the model student? Long black hair going straight down, school uniform neatly pressed and worn with tie straight and skirt just reaching over the knee. The black armband that matched that tacky sweater vest was a dead giveaway as to why she'd be so anal about that- Public Morals. "There was no possible way that I would allow you to wander off and do as you pleased," she scolded. "If you'd left, there would be no guarantee you'd return on time, especially on such a large ship.
"I invited you to come along with me..." Asahi insisted.
"That's besides the point." It was then that she realized Hikari and I were standing right in front of her. Giving a bow, she said, "My apologies, classmates! I had forgotten I was speaking in front of you for a moment. I shall introduce myself now as penance! My name is Nana Ichimonji and I was granted the honor of being the Ultimate Moral Compass! I look very forward to working alongside you in our academic pursuits!"
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Nana Ichimonji- Ultimate Moral Compass
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Ultimate "Moral Compass", seriously? I thought to myself. Just how more pretentious can a title get?
"And now, Classmates Yukimura and Kuromine," Nana loudly addressed, "you will explain the reasoning behind your tardiness!"
"But we got here on time," Hikari tried to point out. I inwardly felt a bit (only a bit) sad for her. She definitely wasn't used to this type of person. Not that I'm a bad student, but the ones back home really hate it when you mouth off to them, intentionally or otherwise. And Nana was all too willing to prove the same. Her already dark eyes grew darker at the meek attempt at backtalk.
"Don't try and play semantics! You should always arrive early to a destination to avoid moments such as these!"
"B-But I didn't mean too, honest! I just overslept is all!"
"Your poor sleeping habits are your own fault!" Nana scoffed. "Do not try and use them as an excuse! You should consider yourself fortunate that there are currently no authority figures in the vicinity to properly discipline you!" She turned to me and gave me the same look. I returned it. "The same to you, Yukimura! You'd do well to not make these things a habit!"
"Hey, could you just not?" asked a boy. Nana turned and glared at the interloper, who brushed his shaggy black hair from his green eyes. He was probably the most normally-dressed of us, wearing a black T-shirt with olive jeans and white sneakers. "People sleep in late sometimes. It happens. Everyone's done it at least once, so what's the damage?"
"The "damage", as you so crudely put it, is that they are old enough to know better than to strut in just before the pre-approved time!" Nana said. Jeez, what a pain she's turning out to be... and my expectations weren't that high to begin with. I am so not looking forward to three months of dealing with this. "Furthermore, just who are you anyway?"
He smirked. "Goro Otomaru's the name, guitar playing's my game. Ultimate guitar playing in fact."
"So you're..." Hikari hesitantly began and I had to resist slapping my forehead.
"The Ultimate Guitar Player, yes," Goro nodded, not seeming to care at all about Hikari's slowness.
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Goro Otomaru- Ultimate Guitar Player
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"And for what it's worth, the tardy ones being a pair of cute chicks is just fine by me," he lazily smirked, thinking that line so clever.
"Oh, um, thank you?" Hikari unsurely replied, not sure of what to say. I on the other hand...
"Sorry, I don't date outside my own species." Maybe I could've worded that a with a bit more tact, but with these guys, sending the message quickly is the key.
"That's cool," Goro nodded, not fazed at all by the insult it seemed. "So, either of you ladies like rock music? 'Cuz I'd gladly play a song to pass the time if you want?"
"With what instrument?" I pointed out. "I'd assume the Ultimate Guitar Player would have his guitar on him at all times."
"Nah, Mio and my gear's in my room," he admitted. "I meant with my- Hey, what the!?" Goro fished his pockets, but they were empty.
"Ah, weak! My phone's gone! How'd that happen!?"
"Say what you mean, Mr. Otomaru! I do not follow what you are trying to say!" Nana demanded.
"I had these pants on last night, and my phone was in them when I went to bed." Okay, ew.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Hikari gasped. "Kumo, do you have your phone on you? 'Cuz when I woke up this morning, I couldn't find mine anywhere."
"I last had it in my bag," I admitted. Soon enough, everyone started to realize that their cellphones and other electronics were missing.
"This is just getting weird..." Asahi mumbled and I couldn't help but agree with him.
"Interesting, interesting...," said a girl, whose appearance may have been the most out-there of anyone I've ever met. Her blue hair was long and flowed to her mid-back, her eyes bright red and her skin pale. Her blouse was white, her blazer black and her tie red. Her skirt was gray as well as her thigh-highs with white flats. "Whatever spirit is behind this mustn't be one for the more advanced forms of communication. Fortunately, I have the tools needed to counter this inconvenience."
"I'm sorry... what?" I asked, not believing what I was hearing.
"Oh yes, you are unaware of whom I am. My apologies," she said as she bowed her head. "I happen to be one Reika Ayanuma. I have the happen to have been given the title of Ultimate Paranormal Researcher, thanks to my tireless efforts in investigating the spirits that inhabit our world." She said this all without a trace of sarcasm; not one word did not sound serious.
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Reika Ayanuma- Ultimate Paranormal Researcher
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I had no words. I really did not know how to respond to any of what I was hearing.
"Oh, you study ghosts! That's cool!" Hikari complimented.
Don't encourage her! I mentally shouted.
"I do not merely "study ghosts" as you put it," Reika dismissed, indignant at the choice of words. "I devote myself fully to researching the metaphysical world, and work my hardest to-"
"Sounds an awful like studying ghosts to me," Goro pointed out. Reika looked even more indignant and looked ready to go off on him. Thanks, guy, I totally wanted to hear her rant.
"Hey, lay off," Asahi spoke up. "Can't you see you're upsetting her?"
"Oh sorry," Hikari blushed. "Didn't mean to make you mad."
"I suppose I can forgive you this once," Reika cooly responded. "But do not make this mistake again!"
"Duly noted," I drawled.
Deciding I had enough of standing around this particular area, I tried moving to a new location. My destination: The edge of the ship. Unfortunately, it seemed I wasn't alone.
"Hey there," said a boy with blue eyes. His hair was black and spiky, cut short. He wore a green short-sleeved shirt over a navy long-sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans and white sneakers with black stripes. "How you holding up?"
"Fine," I curtly replied, trying to get the message of "leave me alone" across. Unfortunately, he was either stupid or deaf. Maybe both.
"So you're Yakumo, right?" he asked. "Nice to meet you. Tetsuya Arai's the name."
"And what about your talent?" I asked. Not that I particularly cared to ask, but everyone else so far's given me theirs, so might as well continue the pattern. The look on his face after I asked however, told me a different story.
"My... talent?" Tetsuya asked, looking pretty reluctant. "Um, about that..."
"Yeah, I just remembered something. I don't care." If he didn't want to tell me, then whatever. Fine by me.
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Tetsuya Arai- Ultimate ?
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I turned my back to Tetsuya, and came face-to-face with another person. This one was a pink-haired girl, curly ponytail reaching down to her waist and chocolate-colored eyes. She wore a blue collared shirt and pink skirt with a white apron. Her shoes were pink and her socks were blue.
"You know, you didn't have to be so rude," she said.
"What's it to you?" I asked, not in the mood for a lecture, least of all by a complete stranger.
The girl froze up for a moment. "Um well, it's just... It's not nice is what it is!"
"And who are you to tell me what's nice and what's not?" I asked, getting fed up with this conversation. I already get enough lectures about my attitude back home, I don't need that crap here too!
"Oh, um, I'm Ichigo," she introduced herself. "Ichigo Kitano. The Ultimate Baker, as it would seem."
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Ichigo Kitano- Ultimate Baker
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"Alright, but that doesn't answer my question," I replied.
"Well, you see..."
"Nah, it's fine," Tetsuya cut in. "She's probably just confused as to what's goin' on right now. Can't say I blame her." Okay, was this guy defending me just now? After giving him the cold shoulder? Weirdo.
"If you say so..." Ichigo hesitantly relented. She started rubbing her arm, some kind of nervous tell, I assume. "Um, if you're feeling up to it, maybe I can bake something for you later- Yakumo, was it? Sweets always make me feel better, though don't count on mine being that great or anything..."
What kind of Ultimate Baker has so little confidence in themselves like that? I couldn't help but think to myself as I found myself introduced to another classmate.
He was tall, probably the tallest of the entire group of students. His hair was blue and cut neatly, reaching his ears, making an interesting contrast with his tanned skin. His eyes were green, framed by black glasses and wore a crimson dress shirt with a white tie, black slacks and brown shoes.
"Guten tag- um, that's "Good day" in German, in case you didn't know," he greeted in a surprisingly goofy voice. "My name is Guy Higashikata and I am the Ultimate Foreign Exchange Student. A pleasure to meet you, fellow classmate!"
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Guy Higashikata- Ultimate Foreign Exchange Student
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"Ultimate... Foreign Exchange Student?" I dumbly repeated. I couldn't help it, though!
"Corretto!" Guy cheerfully said. "I've been a student in over a dozen different countries across the world, pretty interessant, no?"
"I guess so..." I said, trying to keep up with this. A dozen countries? That couldn't be legit... could it?
"If you ever want to learn more about the exciting and amazing world around us, just come to me!" Guy proudly declared, putting a hand to his hip dramatically.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind..." You crazy weirdo...
After talking to Guy, I looked out to the sea and saw the deep ocean surrounding the boat,casting far as the eye could see, probably even beyond that. With the morning light reflecting it, I couldn't help but find it mesmerizing.
"Looks pretty, doesn't it?" asked a voice. I turned to see that it belonged to a chubby-looking boy, dressed in a white shirt with black cardigan, khaki pants and black shoes and had a one-strap gray backpack around his shoulder. His face looked like something very doughy and made him look rather creepy.
"And you are...?" I asked.
"Yuji Matsumoto," he greeted, bowing his head slightly. "Ultimate Masseuse as it would seem." Okay, this guy? A masseuse? Good grief, whatever I did to get trolled this badly, I'm mostly sorry for it!
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Yuji Matsumoto- Ultimate Masseuse
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"I understand your skepticism, you're far from the first to doubt my profession," Yuji continued, seemingly managing to read my mind. "But I am what I say I am. I'm not a liar, that you can be certain."
"Everyone lies about something," I dryly replied.
"You seem... rather tense," Yuji noted.
"So? It's a weird situation. Sue me for being a little on-edge." I was not about to let this guy get the better of me.
"I apologize if I offended," he humbly bowed his head, which made me internally cringe. "I was only making an observation. ... If you ever wish to well, relieve that tension of yours-"
I cut him off with a slap. Okay, I'm not sure if he was really that perverted or not, but there's just some things you don't say out loud.
"A "no" would have sufficed," Yuji drawled as I moved away from him as quickly as I could.
As I moved, I bumped into yet another person; this seemed to be happening a lot with me today. As I apologized, the abnormally tall girl that I bumped into just stared at me with a blank expression. Her hair was dark, cut into a neat bob, which was complimented by her icy blue eyes and unusually-sharp-for-a-girl facial features. She wore a plain white blouse with a khaki skirt and black flats with white socks.
"..." I could feel that this conversation was off to a most riveting start already. "... Tsu...baki. My name... is Tsubaki. Tsubaki Iwata," she forced out in a deep and scratchy voice, which implied a severe case of disuse, at least to me. "I... I'm the Ulti...mate Florist..."
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Tsubaki Iwata- Ultimate Florist
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Tsubaki's odd voice and features were somewhat starting to creep me out, in all honesty. She doesn't seem like a bad person, and it is pretty shallow of me to say, but I'm nothing if not honest.
"You...re the first..." she mumbled. "First one to... talk to me." Okay, that's pretty messed up, but what do you expect? Nobody wants to talk to someone who doesn't fit their standard of physicality in this looks-obsessed world of ours. Even you, remarked my internal voice.
"Thank you..." she said, her face never changing from that neutral expression of hers. I nodded and went on my way.
I tried heading towards the starboard side (that's left, right? I'm not that familiar with nautical terms) and saw five more people there. I internally sighed. Might as well, I thought. I saw a girl standing away from them and realized a kindred spirit of sorts. I decided to start with her, just to get a move on.
"Um, hey," I awkwardly greeted to her. She looked up at me with her wide bespectacled eyes nervously. Her hair was blue, reaching her bottom, matching her eyes and glasses frames. Her skin was paler than most, almost making me think she was one of Reika's "spirits". She wore a light blue turtleneck with a black cardigan, black leggings and blue shoes.
"H-Hello..." she quietly said, in a mousy voice that I almost couldn't make out. "I-I'm Hijiri Uehara and um, I'm... the Ultimate Librarian. Um, it's n-nice to meet you."
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Hijiri Uehara- Ultimate Librarian
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"Yeah, you too, I guess," I mumbled in return. Librarian, her? Aren't they supposed to be more... older? Eh, not my problem.
"Um... uh..." Hijiri blushed as she tried to say something aloud.
"Yeah, go on. Use your words," I couldn't help but snark.
"Oh!" she jumped. "I-I'm sorry, but um, sorry if this is too forward, but um, have we met before?" This actually got me confused. I'm certain that if I knew any of these yahoos beforehand, I'd remember them. "Be-because you just seem so familiar..."
"No, I've never met any of you before," I shook my head. This seemed to disappoint her.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry..." You know you don't need to apologize for anything, right? I thought as I turned away from her.
Next up was this boy in a brown longcoat and black shirt with worn jeans and brown boots. On his head were a pair of goggles and he had a pair of fingerless gloves on his hands.
"Good morning," he widely smiled. "I'm Kyohei Ishida, the Ultimate Repairman of Ishida and Son's Repair Shop."
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Kyohei Ishida- Ultimate Repairman
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These titles were really starting to get weird. Isn't this guy supposed to be a high-schooler?
"Is everything okay?" Kyokei asked me. I answered in the affirmative.
"That's good. I mean, I'm not a doctor or anything, so I guess that well, you know..."
"No, I don't know," I dryly remarked.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "if you need anything, just look for me. I'm pretty good at making stuff and uh..."
"Sure, whatever," I rolled my eyes as I walked away from him.
Person #3 was a girl wearing a lilac sleeveless dress and black heels. Her hair was black and her eyes were red. She looked at me almost boredly. "I assume this is the part where you and I introduce ourselves? Well, get on with it. I've little time to waste, especially on the likes of you."
Well, screw you too. "I'm Yakumo, the Ultimate Debater. And whom might be you, Your Majesty?"
She haughtily turned her head up, refusing to look me in the eye. "I am Shoko Ryugami, the Ultimate Thespian. You do know what that is, don't you? I'm guessing not. After all, most plebeians these days are unaware of the dying art that is the theater."
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Shoko Ryugami- Ultimate Thespian
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Theater, a dying art? I mean, yeah it's not as popular as it used to be, but I'm pretty sure it's still alive and well. But something tells me, if I vocalized that, I'd get the earful of the century.
"I know what it means," I said, not letting her attitude faze me. "But shockingly enough, I don't care."
"Just like how nobody cares for your pathetic and useless talent, I'm assuming?" Shoko bit back, which shocked me a bit. I'm not used to being on the receiving end of the snarky retorts.
"Kay, I'm hitting the emergency exit of this conversation. Later," I remarked, as I clenched my fist behind my back. Shoko smirked, apparently happy that she managed to get under my skin. Bitch.
I walked over to the next person, who was a boy wearing a neat-looking black tuxedo with red bowtie and black shoes.
"Ah, good day, Miss," he said, bowing deeply to me. He straightened up and gave a small smile as he introduced himself. "You would be Miss Yakumo Yukimura, correct? I am Ito Aizawa, the Ultimate Butler. If you ever require my services, do not hesitate to say so. I would be happy to help you as well as all of our fellow classmates."
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Ito Aizawa- Ultimate Butler
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Okay, I'm not gonna bother commenting on the whole "butler" thing. I've come to realize that these "Ultimate" things are pretty stupid and arbitrary.
"Are you alright, Miss Yakumo?" Ito asked me. "I could not help but overhear your discussion with Miss Shoko and-"
"It's fine, really," I asked. "If I got worked up over every jerk I've met, I'd have gone gray a long time ago."
"I see," Ito noted. "Well, if you ever do need to talk about something, I am willing to lend an ear. The young mistress back home says I am a very good listener." Looks like Mr. Butler isn't one for contractions. Weird.
"I'll make a note of that," i said as I went to the last person- thank God. He was a brunet with short hair, tanned skin and brown eyes, wearing a blue muscle shirt and orange shorts with white running shoes and ankle socks. He gave a lazy wave to me as I introduced myself.
"The name's Osamu Fujitaka," he replied. "It's not really that big a deal but, I'm the Ultimate Track Star. S'up?"
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Osamu Fujitaka- Ultimate Track Star
...
"Eh," I shrugged.
"That's cool," Osamu nodded. "I mean, yeah there's some stuff to worry about like the lack of phones and how we're the only ones here, but no need to worry, y'know?"
Actually, that's plenty of reason to worry. I internally snarked.
"Yeah, I'm certain," Osamu nodded, as though as if he came to a conclusion. "There's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this, we just gotta take things easy and it'll all work out. I'm certain." Yeah, keep telling yourself that while the rest of us in Reality try and figure out what's going on.
"Alright, is everyone done with their self-introductions?" asked Nana, who looked very impatient. "We must get a move on and ascertain the situation we've found ourselves in."
"I've been keeping an eye on the door," said Asahi, pointing at the entrance where Hikari and I came through, "and nobody's come through since."
"Maybe we sixteen really are the only ones here..." mused Shoko.
"Or the rest could be running late?" suggested Guy.
"That doesn't seem likely," I said, with a negative nod. "We've been here for a while, and nobody's shown up."
"This is really starting to freak me out," Ichigo nervously said, biting her lip. I actually am starting to agree with her. This was getting too weird for my liking.
"Hey, check this out," Goro said, pointing at the door, where to our surprise was a monitor and next to it was a video camera.
"Holy schnikies!" Hikari cried. "How did we miss that!?" That's a good question, actually.
"Surveillance equipment? Here?" asked Reika. "Is that really necessary?"
"We live in some messed up times," I said, scoffing on the inside at her inability to grasp the idea. "You never know what kind of wackos will do what."
"I guess there's nothing wrong with taking precautions," agreed Tetsuya.
"Still kinda weird, though," Osamu shrugged.
"Is there anything we can do about it, though?" Kyohei asked.
"Master Kyohei raises a point," Ito nodded.
"Thanks, man," Kyohei said. "But don't call me "Master", too formal. Back to what I was saying though, we've got no idea what's going on, and have no clue as to what to do next."
"Actually, I have a suggestion," said Tetsuya.
"The floor is yours," Nana conceded, as though as if her approval meant anything worthwhile.
"I say we should leave the deck for now and search the area for anyone or anything," he suggested.
"S-Sorry to int-terrupt, but um, what if someone does show up and we're not around?" Hijiri asked.
"The maybe one or two of us should stick behind," suggested Asahi. "I'll do it if nobody else will," he added, raising his hand.
"I'll... stay as well..." Tsubaki volunteered.
"We all sincerely thank you for your sacrifice!" Nana bowed. Speak for yourself, I really don't care if they stay or not. "Alright then, we'll check the surrounding areas and in an hour or so, we'll reconvene to share our findings. Is that acceptable to everyone?" We all agreed to Nana's suggestion.
"Right, then let us get our moves on," Guy fist-pumped and speed-walked out the door. Everyone started to follow suit, myself included. As I walked to the door, I found somebody tugging my sleeve. I turned to see Hikari smiling widely at me, which I retaliated with a glare.
"Do not. Touch me," I growled as I removed her hand from my sleeve. Little known fact about me: I cannot stand being touched. By anybody. Period. Not even by my parents. As somebody who values her personal space, it irritates me when people see fit to violate it.
"Sorries!" she giggled. "So, Kumo, I was thinking..."
Already not a good sign, I thought.
"And I figure that we should investigate together!" she continued cheerfully. I scoffed. Like I said, I'm not into the "Friendship is Magic" bullcrap that so many try and spew. And I especially don't need it from the type of person Hikari falls under, the "I'm so happy and cheerful that I have to spread it to others where they want it or not!" type. I cannot tell you just how much those kinds of people annoy me, especially with how unbelievably fake they are. And this one was no different.
"No," I bluntly said, trying to move on.
Hikari looked genuinely surprised by my rejection; typical. Newsflash: Not everybody wants to be one big, happy family with you phonies! Some of us want to be left alone, thank you very much! "But, um, don't you want-"
"Don't assume you know what I want, you ignorant child," I scowled. Hikari's surprised look turned into a sad one, which surprised me. Usually, this was the part where they'd get nasty right back.
"I, I see. Sorry..." Hikari slowly walked away and I felt a glare behind me. I briefly turned to see Asahi cross his arms and glare at me like a stern parent. Tsubaki was also seemingly annoyed.
"She was just trying to be nice," he said, as though as if that would have any effect on me. "You didn't have to be so rude about it."
I scoffed. "Like I never heard that before." Typical fakers, quick to get all pissy when you try and get them off your back, especially when one of their own is attacked. I felt a pit grow in my stomach as I saw Hikari walk down the steps and tried to shake it off. I didn't care about her; I didn't care about any of them. Caring is just an empty concept and no one can truly emphasize with someone, so why bother?
Right now, my main priority is the check out this boat for any clues as to my situation, not to make nice with the fakers. So, ignoring my growing pit, I began my investigation.
And so it begins! The sixteen Ultimate Students have arrived on their cruise and set out to figure out just what's going on here.
I get that this was a short chapter, mostly just introductions, but I swear as the story goes on, they'll get longer. Next time for sure will have more interactions as we explore the ship.
As this is a type of story I'm radically unfamilir with writing for, any and all criticism is not only welcomed, but encouraged. I really have a lot of ideas for this, and it would mean a lot if you gave me some ideas/tips as to what I could do better. All I ask in return is that you don't be a dick about it to me or the other commentators. Courtesy on the Internet is nowhere near the foreign concept it's oft made out to be. You're welcome to speculate on any twists/plot developments, but be warned that I'll probably not comment on your predictions for fear of spoilers.
This story is an AU, not set in either the Hope's Peak or V3 timelines. It's a completely independant story, set in its own world.
Be warned that updates for this one will be particularly slow as I have a lot of stuff to do with both my other fics/real life and I want to give you guys the best I can come up with.
And that's all for this one. As with all my other stuff, please tell me what you liked or didn't like; don't be afraid to be detailed as I love reading what you have to say, even if it's just "you suck".
So until next time, ja ne and have wonderful day!
- Brian