Prologue: From Ambitus Dreams to the Ultimate Nightmare: The Revival of DanganRonpa, Part 1

When Hiroko eventually came to, she immediately noticed the weight pinning her to the cold, hard ground. She opened her eyes to find that she was lying face down on what appeared to be a wooden floor, though it was difficult to be sure as she wasn't wearing her glasses.

The teenaged-girl was momentarily stunned as she tried moving around as best as she can in the dark room. How did she end up in this situation? No matter how and hard Hiroko thought, her memory yielded no answers for her.

Growing claustrophobic in the tight space she found herself in, Hiroko used her tired limbs to lift herself off the floor as the pile of books above her tumbled down her back. She breathed in the stale, musky air as she blindly around the room.

Just great, she thought to herself. Moments like this is why she hated her glasses…

Not allowing herself to panic, Hiroko quickly crawled on her hand and knees, shifting her hands through the old books as she tried feeling for her thick rectangular frames in the hopes that it was in the room with her. Luckily, it barely took her twenty seconds before her fingertips brushed up against a glass object. At least it was comforting to know that her talent hadn't abandoned her.

Finally regaining her vision upon putting on her glasses, Hiroko was able to see that she was in a small storage room of sorts. The shelves that lined the walls were mostly populated by other books from the ones that covered the floor. She wasn't able to make out the titles on the covers due to the lack of lighting, though that wasn't at the forefront of her concerns.

Hiroko found that the source of the room's near-useless lighting came from the cracks that outlined the room's only exit. Feeling lightheaded as she got to her feet, the Ultimate Seeker stepped over the aged books and placed her fingers into the door handle. She tugged in an effort to slide it open, only to find that it hardly budged.

"What?" Hiroko began to worry again as she tried pulling harder at the door without any success. The door was jammed shut and no matter how much she tugged at it, she couldn't move it with her feeble strength.

It was only when her hands started to cramp up from the pulling that she had to stop. Hiroko searched the cramped room for anything that she could to pry the door open but even her extraordinary searching abilities couldn't reveal anything useful in the intense darkness.

Exhausted with a sense of dread building up inside of her, she resorted to the only course of action she could think of.

"Hey! Is there anyone out there?!" Hiroko started banging her hands against the door as she pleaded as loudly as she could. "Please! I want to get out of here!" She continued to call out, making as much noise as she could as she hoped that someone could hear her.

Ten minutes later, Hiroko felt her chest tighten as a tingling sensation ran down her arm. The small girl immediately stopped her cries for help as she looked down at her hands with shallow, quickening breaths

No… This can't be happening to her! Not now…

Before she knew it, Hiroko pressed her back on the door and slid into a seated position of the floor as one of her panic attacks took a tight hold of her. She remained motionless as she broke into a cold sweat and was became overwhelmed by her apathetic thoughts.

Did anyone even know where she is right now? What if no one came by to save her? Is she going to die alone in this unknown place?

The feeling of despair that she was all too familiar with was like poison running through her veins as she pulled her knees over her chest in defeat. The memories that she'd rather forget returned to the surface, effectively paralysing her. She couldn't do anything but sob into her thigh-high socks as her mind was caught in a dark, bottomless spiral.

"Are you okay it there?" A masculine voice rung out from the other side of the door, snapping Hiroko out of her poor mental state. She practically leapt to her feet as she noticed the potential rescuer.

"I-I can't get out!" Hiroko wiped her eyes of the last of her tears as she hoped whoever was there didn't hear her crying. "Can you get the door to open!" Without responding, the person on the other side of the door shook the wooden barrier that had the Ultimate Seeker trapped.

"Damn! It looks like it's jammed." The person gave the door a few more tugs before speaking up again. "Are you able to help me with this? Maybe we can force it open if we pull on it together."

"I'll try!" Hiroko pushed herself onto her feet and placed her fingertips back inside the door handle. "I'm ready."

"We go on three. One, two… three!" After the boy finished counting up, the teenaged girl tugged hard on the door. The combined strength of the pulls from either side of the door proved to be enough as the wooden blockage suddenly slid aside, taking Hiroko with it.

"Ah!" The door's sudden acceleration caused the Ultimate Seeker to lose her footing. She ended up tumbling into a nearby bookcase, triggering an avalanche of books that the poor girl was unfortunate enough to feel the full wrath of.

It was fair to say that today wasn't her day.

"Hey! Are you hurt?!" With light streaming in from outside the cramped room, Hiroko was able to get a good look at her rescuer. The boy looked down at the book-covered girl through his gentle blue eyes as he extended a somewhat pale hand. He wore an unbuttoned blue cardigan over a white dress shirt and black tie. His tan-coloured pants were accessorised with a black belt bearing a silver buckle and his black shoes completed the boy's attire.

At least, it would have had he not had a white face mask sitting slightly towards the right side of the top of his head amongst his short, sandy-brown-coloured hair. The mask had a smiling expression that immediately reminded Hiroko of something that would be used in theatre.

"N-No… I think I'm okay." Hiroko grabbed the young boy's hand as he helped lift her out from the books and back onto her feet. Getting a better look at him, Hiroko noticed that he most likely had the age of a high school student, just like her.

The boy led Hiroko out of the cramped space and into the larger room, which appeared to be a regular classroom at a glance, before he released her hand.

"I'm sorry about that," the male teenager apologised as he ran his fingers through the hair at the back of his head. "I should have gotten something to pry the door open instead of getting you to force it open."

"I-It's not your fault! If I didn't need your help, that never would have happened." Feeling thankful enough just to have her freedom, Hiroko was quick to respond. "Ah! I should properly thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't find me, so… thanks." The green-eyed girl smiled awkwardly at the boy, who responded in kind, albeit in a more confident and charming manner.

"An exchange of names will be more than enough thanks. My name is Touma Torisaki. I'm a student of Hope's Peak Academy, though… something tells me that I'm in the wrong school." The boy looked around the classroom with slight discomfort as his name started to ring bells in Hiroko's mind.

"Did I hear that correctly? You said your name was Touma Torisaki, right?" Hiroko looked up admirably at the taller boy as she showed off her knowledge of him. "My friends are huge fans of yours. You're the Ultimate Stage Actor, though they've always said that you're talented enough to make it to Hollywood."

"Did they really say that? I'm flattered." Touma wore an embarrassed grin briefly before reverting back to his usual warm expression. "Anyway, I'm glad to make your acquaintance."


Touma Torisaki

The Ultimate Stage Actor


In truth, Hiroko knew more about Touma than she was willing to admit to him. It was true that her friends were the ones that brought the young stage actor to her attention, but she became a fan of his as well. Even if she wasn't usually the sort to obsess over celebrities, the talented actor always had that air of mystery surrounding him that Hiroko couldn't help but be intrigued by. It became clearer as she examined him that the boy was the same she'd admired back in middle school, with only served to make Hiroko more nervous.

"So, do you mind introducing yourself?" Touma raised an eyebrow as he interrupted Hiroko from her trance.

"I-I'm sorry. I was…" Noticing that she was getting flustered, Hiroko forcefully shut her mouth to stop herself from talking before she could blurt out something embarrassing. "N-Nevermind. I'm Hiroko Soma. I also go by the Ultimate Seeker… though it's not as interesting as it might sound."


Hiroko Soma

The Ultimate Seeker


Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Hiroko lowered her eyes from the actor. It was only then when she took notice of her clothing.

Resting over the girl's shoulders and covering parts of her forearms and back was a white shawl with a strip of magenta just inside of the cloth's edges. A deep blue sash ran beneath the shawl's collar and was tied in a bow over Hiroko's chest to keep it in place. Beneath the shawl was a long-sleeved magenta shirt that fitted firmly over her petite figure. Both her skirt and thigh-high socks were predominantly white with the same magenta strip pattern as the shawl. Her polished black shoes and rectangular black-framed glasses were the final touches that round off what was really an ordinary school uniform.

It was an outfit that she never wore in her life before waking up in that dark room, though she didn't mind it all that much. Hiroko found it cute enough and it fitted her fairly well. On the other hand, her chocolate brown hair was in its usually pony-tail-and-fringe hairstyle with that rebellious ahoge of hers.

"So you're a Hope's Peak Academy student as well? Strange." Touma spoke in a hushed voice as he looked off towards the corner of the room. "I'm certain that I would have remembered a cute girl like that if we went to the same school."

"Huh?!"

"Oh, don't mind me. I was just thinking aloud." Touma smiled at her in a way that made it obvious that he was intentionally teasing her. It sounded like he was flirting with her, but Hiroko wasn't ready to take it as praise. Sure, her friends had commented about her nicely curved figure whenever they wanted to poke fun at her during discussions about boys, but she couldn't get past the fact that she was so plain… especially for an Ultimate.

Touma chuckled as Hiroko failed to keep herself from pouting angrily at the actor, though his expression quickly turned serious again.

"But, now that I really think about it, I don't remember any of my classmates at all."

"I… think it's happened to me as well," Hiroko spoke after she was able to calm down. "I clearly remember getting my invitation from the academy and going to the opening ceremony… but nothing more recent than that."

"It's not just me then…" Touma appeared troubled initially, but he didn't allow himself to dwell on that realisation for long as he looked expectantly at the gifted seeker. "Why don't we have a look around the building? Maybe we can find someone who knows more about this place or why we're here."

"You don't mind me tagging along?" Hiroko questioned, unsure if she could be of much help.

"Of course not. I imagine that your talent would be of use when it comes to gathering information." Touma held a thumbs up in Hiroko's direction and gave her a slick wink. "I'm counting on you!"

"Don't get your hopes up!" Hiroko could feel her cheeks start to heat up again as Touma seemed to be looking to mess around with her heart. "My talent involves locating missing or hidden persons or objects. I'm not a detective or anything like that."

"Those skills of yours would be at least somewhat related, so I'm such that you could turn out to be a great detective." Again, Touma glanced away from the shorter girl as audibly spoke to himself. "Given the circumstances, we may need one more than ever…"

"Did you say something?"

"Ah, I was just thinking aloud again," Touma said in a carefree manner as he innocently ran his fingers through his hair again. "Why don't we give the room a sweep before we move on."

"Sure. I can do that."

Hiroko turned her attention to the room that the pair was standing in. The empty, largely-white classroom looked normal enough at first, but Hiroko knew from experience that first impressions are never accurate. She'd have to be observative if she was to be sure that there's nothing here worth finding.


Investigation Mode: ON

Location: Empty Classroom

Student Desks

Hiroko: (The desks here are all in good condition. Each of them are arranged neatly in rows, just as you'd expect from any normal classroom.)

Hiroko: Hey, Touma. You said that this place doesn't look like Hope's Peak Academy. Are you sure this couldn't be one of its classrooms?

Touma: It's not like I remember a whole lot about what Hope's Peak's school building looks like, but I just get the feeling that this wouldn't be it.

Touma: I actually get the sense that this isn't really a classroom.

Hiroko: Really? What makes you say that?

Touma: I don't know. It's like the desks don't actually belong here.

Touma: Oh! Notice how most of the room is covered in dust, but the desks are completely spotless?

Hiroko: I see. Now that you mention it, it really does stand out.

Hiroko: (Wow. Touma's a lot more perceptive than I would have thought. He told me that he'd be relying on me, yet he seems quite capable.)

Hiroko: (I guess I just have to work hard to impress him!)

Wire-cover Windows

Hiroko: (The windows here are almost entirely covered with razor-sharp barbed wire.)

Hiroko: (Who on Earth spent the time doing all this? And why?)

Touma: I wouldn't try opening the windows here if I were you. With this much sharp wire, it would be impossible to move it without cutting up your hands.

Hiroko: I know. I was just looking.

Touma: It's a shame that the glass is so dirty. It would have been nice if we could see what's outside.

Touma: Oh well! I guess we can see if we can step out of the building once we're done here.

Side Room

Hiroko: (This where I woke up before Touma freed me. The overwhelming scent created by the old books is so potent that it's almost sickening.)

Touma: If you do decide to go in there, don't close the door behind you. There's no telling whether or not it would get stuck again.

Hiroko: Trust me, I'm aware. I'd hate to go through that again.

Hiroko: (The lights for the room is busted, but I should be able to read the titles of the books using the lights from the classroom.)

Hiroko: (…)

Hiroko: (There are at least a hundred books in there but they're all just textbooks on various schooling subjects. There's nothing else of interest here.)

Touma Torisaki

Hiroko: So, Touma. Have you been able to see what's outside of the classroom?

Touma: Unfortunately, no. I was slouched over one of the desks here before I woke up.

Touma: The sound of you crying was actually what woke me up, so I haven't had any time to go exploring.

Hiroko: Wait! You heard that?!

Touma: How else would I have known that you were trapped in that room?

Hiroko: I guess but… it's just embarrassing to know that that's how you found me when we hadn't even met before.

Touma: Cheer up! I won't go telling anyone or anything like that.

Touma: If you want me to keep it a secret, just know that it's safe with me.

Hiroko: …Thanks

Hiroko: (I really just wish that he didn't hear me when I get into one of those moods, but's good to know that he's considerate of my feelings, at least.)

Camera

Hiroko: (There's a security camera attached to the top corner of the classroom. It's large and bulky, so it stands out more than it should.)

Touma: To say that the camera seems out of place would be an understatement.

Hiroko: Yeah. I imagine that it would be distracting for anyone who'd have classes here.

Touma: …

Hiroko: (Touma is starting to look a little disturbed as he's staring at the camera.)

Hiroko: (It does seem out of place, but why does it have him looking so uneasy?)

Monitor

Hiroko: (A monitor surrounded with speakers hangs from the ceiling above the whiteboard. It's currently switched off.)

Touma: That monitor doesn't look like anything I've seen before…

Hiroko: It does seem unique. I imagine that messages are broadcasted with the building through this.

Touma: …That would make sense.


"I think that everything here of note," Touma stated as he turned back to Hiroko.

"I guess I wasn't all that much help, huh?" Hiroko twirled her finger around one of her bangs, a little disappointed that her talent didn't help reveal anything useful. Her exploring companion, on the other hand, wasn't as bothered as he shrugged it off.

"No need to stress. Even the world's greatest detective can't find clues that don't exist. For now, let's turn our attention elsewhere." Touma was the picture of confidence as he approached the room's exit. Hiroko began following him for a couple of steps before hesitating. Things seemed pretty calm considering the wiring of the windows and suspicious-looking camera, but she had a very bad feeling about all of this.

"You don't think… that we're in any danger here, do you?" Hiroko's nervous question stopped Touma just before he reached the door.

"It's too early for me to say," The actor's honest words only cemented her fears. However, when he turned to face the bespectacled girl, he wore a gentle smile. "Hey, relax. I won't let anything happen to you while I'm around. I promise."

Despite his calm demeanour, Hiroko could sense the strength behind Touma's words. Between watching how well the actor was handling the worrisome scenario and the promise he made to her, she was already feeling better.

"T-Thanks…" Blushing, Hiroko returned a shy smile to Touma. When it came to stressful situations, Hiroko would often get overwhelmed and has even suffered panic attacks in particularly bad cases. As a result, she would always turn to others for support from her friends or aunt to keep her calm and focused.

Hiroko was relieved that, each in this strange foreign building, she had someone she could rely on.

"We'll move on when you're ready." Having quickly caught on to Hiroko's dependence, Touma considerately waited by the door for the shorter girl to prepare herself. Not wanting to hold him up any longer, the Ultimate Seeker joined the brown-haired boy and slid open the door leading to the rest of the building.

On the other side was a series of hallways, constructed with white walls and light marble tiles. The area felt abnormally sterile with much of the lighting coming from the lights installed on the ceiling. Only a small window let through any sort of natural light, which was too high for Hiroko to be able to look through it.

"Dammit! Another blockage." As Hiroko was taking in her surroundings, the sudden outburst of an unfamiliar voice made her jump. It came from behind the corner up ahead. Not looking anywhere near as fazed, Touma quietly made his way towards the voice. Hiroko stayed close to him as they peaked around the corner to find another male teenager investigating a pile of chairs and desks that was large and dense enough to keep him from moving past it.

The boy in question was a similar height to Touma, standing at around 5 foot 9 inches, slim and had tanned skin. From the back, Hiroko noticed his short and spiky black hair, black zipped-up jacket with a grey shuriken design on the back, dark grey pants with an unusual amount of pockets and black sandals.

"Jeez! What is all this stuff doing here anyway?" The teenager backed up from the makeshift blockage after he failed to deconstruct it.

"Howdy! You looking for something?" Touma called out to the boy, who eagerly turned his head to face the prying pair with his emerald eyes.

"You could say that…" The boy glanced back at the pile that prevented his advance before approaching Touma and Hiroko. Now that he was closer, Hiroko was able to spot the boy's digital watch on his left wrist as well as a lengthy scar that ran along the right side of his neck. "I've been searching everywhere, but I keep running into these damn blockages."

"Blockages?" Touma examined the mass of wood over the boy's shoulder, who simply nodded.

"Yeah. This school building is massive but I've only been able to explore the first floor and this hallway." The boy scratched his head as he appeared to rack his brain over something. "Could the faculty at Hope's Peak have put us here?"

"If you don't mind me asking, what makes you think that this is their doing?" Touma crossed his arms as he continued to question the stranger. Hiroko was content to silently watch from behind the actor.

"Every student I've spoken to here told me that they're students at the academy… Unless you guys aren't Ultimates as well."

"No, we are," The actor confirmed as he gave a friendly smile. "We might as well introduce ourselves while we're at it. I'm Touma Torisaki, the Ultimate Stage Actor."

"Hiroko Soma… Ultimate Seeker." While the boy looked friendly enough, Hiroko couldn't shake her timidness as she half-heartedly gave her name. The green-eyed teen didn't seem to mind as he put on a bright smile.

"Nice meeting you two. While it's not usually my style, I don't mind doing the blander introductions all that much. My name's Hayate Kamukura. I'm best known as the Ultimate Prankster."


Hayate Kamukura

Ultimate Prankster


Instinctually, Hiroko glanced down at the boy's hands as they made their way into the pockets of his jackets. She knew that Ultimates tend to no be all that shy about showing off their talents, so she couldn't help but expect that Hayate was looking to pull something. Noticing this, Hayate had a mischievous glint in his eye.

"I don't blame you for getting so cautious all of a sudden, though you can both relax. When I woke up earlier, I didn't have any of my tools on me. Besides, I'm not the mean-spirited sort you might have expected from someone with my title."

"Kamukura, huh?" Unlike Hiroko, something aside from the talent caught Touma's interest during the introduction. "You wouldn't have any relation to the founder of Hope's Peak Academy by any chance, would you?"

"I do. Think of his grandson, add a great or two in front of it and that's the person standing before you." Hayate was full of pride as he straightened his posture before his facial expression showed that he was suddenly hit with a realisation. "Ah, that reminds me… Has either of you seen my sister around? She's about this high, has straight black hair that goes partway down her back, blue eyes, and is super nice. Also-"

"Hold up there!" Touma put a halt to Hayate's eager dialogue as held up his hands. "The two of us had only just come to. You're the first person we saw since then."

"But we'll keep an eye out for her." Without a thought, Hiroko spoke up. Hayate looked back in her direction, this time with a genuinely happy expression.

"Oh, you said that you're the Ultimate Seeker, right? If you could, that would be a huge relief for me. Her name is Hinata and if you find her, let her know that her little brother is looking for her."

"Sure… I can do that." Knowing that she was going to be searching the entire building anyway, Hiroko felt that offering her help was a no-brainer. Hayate also seemed like a nice person so his sister would probably be the same.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me. If anyone ever gets on your nerves, let me know. I can always teach them a lesson for you." Hayate wore another of his Cheshire-like smiles, fitting for someone who had a talent for creating havoc. "Well, I gotta get back to searching. See you guys later!"

Before another word could be uttered, Hayate bolted with impressive speed in the opposite direction of the empty classroom and disappeared behind another corner.

"I guess he didn't want to hang around." Touma clicked his tongue after seeing the prankster vanish in an instant. "I still had some more questions for him."

"Should I not have agreed to help until you finished questioning him…?" Hiroko started to feel guilty before the blue-eyed teen firmly shook his head.

"Nah, it's fine. He said that there were other Ultimates here. We can try talking to them as we search for the guy's sister."

With that, Touma and Hiroko approached the tight pile of desks and chairs to give it a closer inspection.

"Is there really no way past this blockage?" A few firm tugs of various parts of the pile confirmed Hiroko's suspicions. It didn't even budge a tiny bit.

"Looks like its crammed up quite nicely. Maybe we're better off spending our time on areas we can access more easily," Touma said as he brought a hand to his chin.

"How about we check all the rooms on this floor first. Hayate mentioned that the lower floor isn't blocked off so we can go there afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan."

When the pair left to check the rest of the floor, they found that they had access to two other rooms. The first was a classroom identical to the one that Hiroko had woken up in, which they spent little time in, and the second was a much larger room filled with bookshelves, a couple of wooden tables with chairs surrounding them and an empty counter by the door that they entered through.

"I guess this is the library." Hiroko approached one of the oak bookshelves as she skimmed her eyes over the enormous collection of books. "Do you think there'll be something of use around here?"

"It won't be worth checking everything now," Touma replied. "Let's just give the place a quick search and look for those other Ultimates right away."

"Right."


Investigation Mode: ON

Location: Second-floor Library

Globe of the World

Hiroko: (There's a large model of the world on top of the waist-high bookshelf in the centre of the room.)

Hiroko: (I'll give it a closer look.)

Hiroko: (…)

Hiroko: (As I spin the globe, I get the sense that it's a little off…)

Hiroko: This globe's outdated.

Touma: Outdated? You mean that it's a pre-Tragedy model?

Hiroko: That's right. There are some countries here that don't exist anymore. It's also missing the nations that formed in the wake of the Tragedy.

Hiroko: I can't imagine what it must have been like… watching your home vanish before your own eyes.

Touma: Japan can consider themselves lucky considering how bad it got here. If it wasn't an island nation, it could have easily gotten swallowed up by its neighbours as well.

Hiroko: (I'm not sure if "lucky" would be the right word to describe us…)

Blocked spiral staircase

Hiroko: (A narrow spiral staircase stands towards the back corner of the library.)

Hiroko: (It would allow us to go to the third floor had the stairs not been boarded up partway.)

Toura: Looks like there's no getting up there. The opening in the ceiling has been blocked off with those thick sheets of metal.

Hiroko: This must be one of the blockages that Hayate was talking about.

Toura: Whoever put these up didn't want us to go far.

Hiroko: That's worrying…

Toura: We'll be fine. We just have to stay together until we know more about what happened to us.

Grand bookcase

Hiroko: (Giant bookcases are standing against the wall, holding a variety of books. They're so tall that they've got mobile ladders attached to each of them.)

Toura: We can't spend too much time on those books. We're more likely to learn something from those other Ultimates.

Hiroko: Got it. I won't be long.

Hiroko: (Looking at some of these titles, they appear to be fictional stories. A lot of these look familiar.)

Hiroko: (It might be nice to read some of these… but it's not like I intend to stay here for long.)

Pile of books

Hiroko: (Compared to the rest of the books that are neatly placed in bookcases, these books are piled up on the ground. It's almost as tall as me.)

Hiroko: (…!)

Hiroko: (Did I just see those books move?)


"H-Hello?" Hiroko softly called out as she crept apprehensively towards the pile of books. She kept approaching it until the green-eyed girl was close enough to reach one of the books. Once she moved several of the books aside, she was startled when she saw a pair of eyes staring at her from where these books once were.

"Ahhh!" Hiroko and the second person screamed as they saw one another.

"Hiroko!" Hearing her cry from the opposite end of the library, Touma rushed over to the gifted seeker. He was quickly relieved to find that she won't in any danger. "Oh, it was just another student."

The third student was an olive-skinned girl who stood only a couple of inches taller than Hiroko. Her brown hair was styled in a bob cut with bangs reaching over her forehead as she looked at the pair fearfully through her round brown eyes. Hiroko noticed that the frightened girl's face was covered in makeup. The black mascara and deep red lipstick, along with the light amount of blush and foundation she wore, gave her face a shiny and somewhat doll-like appearance.

As she leapt out from behind the books and hurriedly reached inside of a rose pouch sewn into her dress, Hiroko was able to see the girl's eccentric outfit in full.

The girl wore a sleeveless, black lace dress that was also asymmetric, with the back of the dress reaching the back of her knees while the front only reached part way down her thighs. The dress fitted nicely over her thin, but nicely curved, figure and was decorated with red roses that were attached to various spots, complementing the rose clip in her hair towards the left side of her head.

In addition, she had a pair of black gloves spanning up to her elbows, a pair of black platform heels beneath three black anklets that circled around each of her ankles, a black choker with a ruby embedded on the front and a simple black opera necklace. Her right shoulder bore a tattoo of a red rose with a black stem and thorns that wrapped around her arm. The opposite arm had a black armlet which completed what had to be the most surreal outfit that Hiroko had ever seen.

After fumbling around inside the pouch for a moment, the girl eventually pulled out a snow-white rabbit in the form of a sock puppet. The rabbit's dark eyes stared blankly at Hiroko as it obscured most of the puppet-wielder's face.

"S-S-Stand back! I may not look it, b-but I can bite really hard!" Hiroko went from frightened to confused in a blink of an eye as the girl spoke from behind the hand puppet in a slightly gruff voice, though she couldn't mask how high-pitched her voice actually was.

"Can hand puppets really bite?" Touma raised an eyebrow at the rabbit in amusement, only infuriating the animal further.

"Don't mess with me, buster!" The rabbit pointed an arm squarely at Touma's chest as it maintained its emotionless gaze.

"H-Hey, please don't be mad at Touma," Hiroko interjected, unsure of if the dispute was about to escalate. "I'm sorry that I startled you."

The rabbit turned its head towards Hiroko as the strange girl sent her free hand into another pouch on her dress. When she pulled her hand from out of the pouch, a worn, brown sock puppet with googly eyes was covering the girl's hand.

"You don't need to say sorry. We were the ones who spooked you," the girl spoke in a more cheerful voice, still peering nervously from behind the rabbit as she moved the fingers beneath the sock to make it 'talk'. "What brings you all here, anyway? Are you guys looking to read as well?"

"Oh… You have another puppet?" Touma seemed to have trouble keeping a straight face as he looked at the old sock on the girl's face.

"Who are you calling puppets!" The girl outstretched her arm supporting the rabbit puppet, making it close the distance towards Touma as it lashed out.

"Don't be a grouch, Chomei. They just want to get to know us!" The sock puppet scolded the rabbit before facing the two teenagers again. "There's three of us. I'm Maru, the rabbit's name Chomei…" The girl paused as she returned the sock puppet to its pouch and fished out a marionette from a third pocket. The figure attached to the strings was a green-eyed girl with long black hair wearing a simple red dress. "And my name is Anda. We're all friends of Miyako." Just like with the previous puppets, the girl spoke from behind with a more mature and elegant voice.

"Ah, so your name's Miyako?" Hiroko looked past the marionette at the girl, who shyly retreated further behind the figure in response. "I'm Hiroko Soma, and this is Touma. We're both Ultimates. Do you have a talent too?" Miyako's eyes didn't leave Hiroko's as the Ultimate Seeker patiently waited for a response. After a few rather tense moments, the doll-like girl slowly lowered Anda.

"A-A-Are you really interested in me?" Miyako looked down bashfully at her feet as she clutched her arm. "M-My name… is Miyako Iwashimizu… Ultimate Puppeteer."


Miyako Iwashimizu

Ultimate Puppeteer


"Nice to meet you, Miyako." Hiroko smiled pleasantly, content that she was able to talk to the girl directly. "What were you doing hiding behind those books?"

"…I was reading… before I heard some people enter the library." Miyako would glance up towards Hiroko and Touma on occasion, but her eyes would shoot back down before eye contact could be held for an uncomfortable length of time. "I-I was afraid that you might have been the people who kidnapped me and my friends… so I hid behind all the books I was reading."

"Kidnapped?" Listening from behind Hiroko, Touma scratched his head. "Can you be certain that that's what happened to us?"

"What else do you think happened?" Suddenly, Chomei the rabbit leapt out of nowhere as Miyako cowered behind the puppet again. "Maybe if you knew how to use that microscopic brain of yours, you would have come to that conclusion yourself!" Touma blinked at the rabbit, at a loss with how to react.

"How about I leave the talking to you, Hiroko."

"S-Sure." Both she and Touma realised that Miyako wasn't warming up to the actor quite as quickly as she was with Hiroko. "You don't think that this could be the school's doing? Like this is all some sort of orientation activity or scavenger hunt they orchestrated."

"I-I don't think so…" Miyako lower Chomei from her face again as Touma remained silent. "It would be strange… if that was the case a-and we weren't told… about it beforehand. Also… d-do you remember… anything about the school p-possibly doing this to us?" Before Hiroko could continue the conversation, she heard the nearby library doors burst open as a fourth person entered the room.

"Oooh, jackpot!" An excitable voice echoed around the library as another girl look around in awe at the massive collection of books with her emerald eyes. The new arrival stood at a similar height to Miyako and had long black hair that spilt out from beneath her black trilby with a green band. Her skin was of a healthy light tone and she had smaller, feminine facial features, though the clothing she was wear was rather masculine.

She wore a black dress shirt with a dark overcoat hanging freely from her slender shoulders. Her pants were of the same formal style that the shirt was and her shoes were pointed and well-polished, both were black in colour. Hiroko also noticed that the girl's hands were completely covered in white bandages.

It took the girl until after she took the first few steps into the library before she realised that she wasn't alone. After spotting the other three teenagers, her expression swiftly changed from one of total glee to one that was far more stoic. She pulled her hat further down her forehead as she gave each person a gaze of great intensity.

"What's with the expectant stare? Are you waiting for an introduction? Under usual circumstances, I'd be happy to oblige. However, this is one of those instances where such things are best kept secret." Hiroko and Miyako stared blankly at the mysterious girl as she seemed to act totally different from the girl who almost busted the doors off their hinges. Touma, on the other hand, smirked as he took a step towards her.

"Then how do you propose we go forward from here, stranger?" Touma's mannerisms and tone his voice both changed in ways that made him come across as more girl-like as he responded to the hat-wearing girl. Oddly enough, it looked as though he was taking on a role like he would in a performance. "You are hardly in any position to remain tight-lipped. After all, the truth is nigh impossible to find for those who keep their hearts closed from others." From beneath the trilby, Hiroko could see a change in the girl's eyes. They almost seemed to sparkle as looked at Touma.

"Ohmygodyouknowthelines!" The long-haired girl quickly dropped character as she rushed over to Touma until she stood uncomfortably close to him. "We were just like Klein and Hanna from the books! Have you read the other books in the series? What's your favourite entry? What about your favourite character? Don't you think Klein's the coolest? Do you remember the part where-"

The girl was rapid-firing a bunch of questions at breakneck speeds until her wrist, as her arms were shaking from pure excitement, slammed down hard on the corner of a nearby bookshelf.

"Awu!" The girl clutched her sore hand and pulled it close to her chest as tears started to form in her eyes.

"Hey, take it easy!" Touma stealthily took a half-step back from the girl before placing a concerned hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah… I tend to bump into things a lot so…" The girl wiped the tears away with her hand as she looked at Touma in embarrassment. Watching on in silence, Hiroko couldn't help but feel a little jealous as Touma took the girl's arm gave the wrist a closer inspection and pressed lightly around sore area.

"It doesn't look like you did anything major to it, but you should be careful with your surroundings."

"I know…" The girl pouted like a child as Touma released his grip of her.

"I know the lines from a production that adapted the Crimson Epitaph novels to stage," Touma explained while the girl seemed to have calmed down. "I take it that you're a fan of Haru Mitsuka's novels."

"While it's kind of embarrassing, you could say that..." The girl sheepishly grinned as she used a bandage-covered finger to pull the hair over her face behind her ear. "You see, I'm actually Haru Mitsuka, the Ultimate Thriller Novelist. It's a pleasure to finally meet someone here who's read my novels!"


Haru Mitsuka

Ultimate Thriller Novelist


Haru's bright, enthusiastic smile got a gentle chuckle out of Touma.

"Shouldn't I be the one who's supposed to be star-struck by this meeting? Anyway, my name is Touma Torisaki. As you might have guessed, I'm the Ultimate Stage Actor." Touma then gestured towards Hiroko. "My companion over here is Hiroko Soma. She's the Ultimate Seeker."

"It's nice to meet-"

"Heya, Hiroko! Have you read any of my novels?" Seemingly forgetting about the accident she had moments ago, Haru ran up to her as she waited eagerly for her response.

"I know of them…" Hiroko started, unsure of how to say that she didn't in the most polite way possible. "I don't usually get into dark narratives. I tend to get into romantic light novels more than anything."

"Oh! But my stories have romance!"

"It does?"

"Well… it may not be like your typical schoolyard drama, but a lot of love and passion goes into my novels," Haru beamed as spoke vigorously. "It would mean a lot to me if you could give them a read. I'm certain that you'll love them if you gave them a chance!"

"I'll definitely keep it in mind." Hiroko had to admit that seeing Haru get so excited while talking about her writing got her curious.

Meanwhile, Miyako had crept further towards one of the grand bookcases at the back of the room in the hopes that she could hide from the excitable author. Unfortunately for her, Haru had noticed her too and made her way over to her.

"What about you?" The timid Miyako jumped as Haru quickly raced over to her. "Have you read any of my books?" The puppeteer glanced over to her pouches on her dress but eventually answered the question herself.

"I-I usually enjoy reading older classics… but I do think… that yours are p-pretty good too."

"You do?!" The volume of Haru's voice increased drastically as though she took it as an enormous compliment. "What do you like the most about them? Do you like the characters? What about Klein? Isn't he the coolest?!"

As Miyako struggled to pull out a puppet to help intervene on the bombarding of questions, Touma silently looked at Hiroko and jerked his head towards the door, suggesting that they should take their leave. The gifted seeker looked sympathetically towards Miyako but knew that her investigation couldn't wait.

Apologising to the puppeteer in her thoughts, Hiroko left the library with Touma and gently closed the door behind them so it would make as little noise as possible.

"Those two are… unique." Now in the hallway, Hiroko was able to talk freely about the two strange girls.

"That can be said for at least half of every Ultimate, but I must admit, those two were on a whole other level." Touma ran his fingers through his hair as he returned his attention to the more pressing issue. "This floor looks to be covered. There'll probably be more things to see downstairs."

With that, the pair headed for the stairs and descended to the first floor. While she was worried about what she was doing in an unfamiliar building with no memories of her time at Hope's Peak Academy, she couldn't help but be curious about what other Ultimates awaited her.