Ah, Hope's Peak. What began as a government-funded school for talented individuals, soon turned into the epicenter of the greatest tragedy known to mankind. Death and despair became the norm for many, and corpses were strewn through every street corner. Not just the academy, but the world in its entirety, were thrown into meaningless chaos.
Even after Enoshima Junko, the self-proclaimed "Ultimate Despair", finally perished through the means of an ultimate punishment, riots still took place. Finally, after intervention from both the Future Foundation and Mitarai Ryota, peace began to be restored. The world still isn't perfect, but with everyone's cooperation, we advance towards a future without despair.
I recited my little anecdote in my head time and time again. Would I bore my peers to death? Would I confuse them? And what the heck was I going to do about that cheesy ending, anyways? Questions flowing through the recesses of my mind, zoning out any other thoughts.
Oh! That reminds me. My name is Kirisaki Mirai, the Ultimate Storyteller. Give me a simple word, and with some practice, I can tell one hell of a story. Right now, I'm standing in front of a pair of iron gates, gazing up at the illustrious Hope's Peak Middle School.
You see, as the world reverted to an equilibrium of hope and despair, the survivors of Hope's Peak's original killing game decided to rebuild the entire academy and restore its reputation as a training ground for the next generation of hope. With new additions to the curriculum, Hope's Peak Middle School came to be. That leaves us here in the present, with me still standing at the institution's enormous gates. Behind these doors is the next chapter of my life, a fresh start, a new beginning… but I digress. With a triumphant move of my arm, the doorway to the supposed rest of my life opened.
...Huh?
A feeling of sleepiness engulfed me, as if my entire body was shutting down. What the..? I walked into the main hallway, and my priorities went from getting to my first class to simply laying down and taking a very long nap. Any attempts to move were futile, as my impudent muscles and disobedient joints refused to budge. My eyelids began to feel heavy, and everything faded to black.
"Excuse me, but are you alright?" A calming voice came from above me. I somehow managed to open my eyes to look at the concerned stranger standing over me. A boy with dark hair in a short ponytail peered down at me, adjusting his half-moon spectacles.
"W-what? Oh, I'm fine, thanks," I half-forced a smile at him.
"That's good to hear. I'm Omoi Yunosuke, Ultimate Therapist. It seems that everyone else has come to their senses already." Ultimate Therapist was believable. His soothing tone and kind words fit well with the whole 'therapist' image. Not to mention, several other people roamed the gymnasium surrounding me, all about my age.
"Good god, are you going to be lying on the floor the entire time?" Another figure walked over to us, a boy in a baseball cap wielding a spatula. "Unless we look around, we're going to be stuck here for the rest of time."
"We already established that we're stuck in this gym, Heiho-san," Yunosuke replied, maintaining his composure.
"Heiho-san?" I asked no one in particular.
"Heiho Spojin, Ultimate Fry Cook. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss I-Lay-on-Floors-for-Fun." Ouch. Not even five minutes in this place, and I already had a scathing nickname.
I looked around the enclosed space for any clues. If Yunosuke was to be trusted, then it seemed that we truly were stuck in this gym. Thinking of things to do, I traipsed towards a group of three more students, assuming they were a good group to hang out with for the time being. After all, my only option in a situation like this was to make alliances.
"You have to put more emotion into your voice, Yuki! Be passionate!" Yet another guy yelled, this one clutching an expensive-looking camera in his left hand, a messenger bag slung over his shoulder.
"I think I'd know if I have to be passionate, Chuuya. After all," the second boy, a youth with sparkling violet eyes, contorted his face into what seemed to be a smirk. "I'm totally a hit with the ladies..."
"Yeah, right!" The third member of the group, a girl clad in several shades of pink, giggled. "What's passion if you aren't graceful?" To prove her point, she smiled and instantly spun in place, a dainty pirouette, it seemed.
I lightly clapped my hands for the girl, both from her splendid move and sheet politeness. "Amazing! You must be some kind of dancer, I assume?"
"Why, yes! I'm Esme LeBrun, the Ultimate Ballerina." She smiled once more, apparently thankful for the sudden compliment.
"And who may you be, Miss?" The preteen with the purple eyes interjected, the smolder still plastered on his face.
"K-Kirisaki Mirai, Ultimate Storyteller..."
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Mirai. It's not often I find girls like you in a place like this. I'm Yuki Kanji, Ultimate Voice Act-ow!" He held his hand out for me in some no doubt failed romantic gesture, but quickly pulled it back as he received a hit to the gut by the guy with the camera.
"Quit hitting on the girls! I'm making my next masterpiece! Sorry for the inconvenience, Kirisaki-san. Chuuya Yuu, Ultimate Filmmaker."
"Nice to meet you, Yuu-san. If you're Ultimate Filmmaker, what are some of your other 'masterpieces' I may recognize?" I asked. It was a fair-enough question, in my opinion.
"Oh, you know, the C Movie, Thursday the 12th. Popular Oscar-winning movies like that..."
I guessed it was best not to question him any further after that.
In my next attempt to make friends in this confusing situation, I made my way towards a pair of girls who seemed to be examining something on the floor. Upon a closer look, one of the two was showing the other a potted Venus flytrap.
"...And when an insect walks on the plant's leaves, it snaps shut and eats it alive!" A girl with a sweet-smelling flower crown in her braided hair said, emphasizing the last couple words.
"W-why?!" The other girl, sporting an oversized jacket said, seemingly terrified.
"Why? That's how the plant gets it's food, of course."
"How cruel..."
I felt somewhat bad for the girl with the jacket, but even with my so-called Ultimate skills, no story was going to help me in this case. Instead, I kneeled on the floor along with them.
"Can those hurt people?" I asked, pointing at the flytrap's gaping leaves.
"Hmm... even if you leave your finger in there for a while, I doubt it would actually do any serious harm. They only can digest relatively small things, like insects!"
"That's pretty cool. Since we're practically trapped in here, can I ask your name in the meantime?"
"Sure! I'm Mao Kaiya, and as you can probably guess, I'm the Ultimate Botanist. You are..?"
"I'm Kirisaki Mirai, Ultimate Storyteller. Although it looks like I won't be going anywhere soon, I hope I won't forget your name!" She chuckled a bit, which is an instant success to me.
"D-don't remind me that we're trapped in here! Gah... I hate this..."
"This may be a stupid question, but... are you okay?" I knew the question was doomed to fail, but I really didn't care at this point.
"N-No! I hate crowds! And enclosed spaces. And loud people." I didn't see how 14 other kids were considered a crowd, but I didn't want to argue with her.
"If you don't mind, can I ask what type of Ultimate you are?"
"Huh?! Oh, uh, okay... I-I'm Fuan Amaya, Ultimate S-shut in... Literally, the worst talent you could be in here for."
"Oh... Nice to meet you, Fuan-san."
"N-nice to meet you too, I guess."
And with that, I moved on to my next group once again.