Thank you all for the kind words! Lol, I'm glad you're all enjoying this so far, so let's get ahead to the next chapter! Also note that I'm really bad at placing the setting. I wanted to make this more detailed, but since the setting's not all extravagent, then... :(

I remembered the time when I first met Reina.

We were merely in the same art class, however I didn't bother to even greet her. I couldn't care less about others aside from my longtime friends and family. I was busy. I had commissions to take care of and family to tend to.

I didn't want to bother with her, but she always nagged me. "Hey!" She would always begin, speaking too loudly when we were drawing. I had to always hide my face out of embarrassment since the teacher would always glare at us. "What're you drawing?"

And I would always ignore her. Why should I talk to her? I didn't care about making friends at Hope's Peak. I had friends at my local neighborhood and elementary school. Besides, I was much more focused on the fact that I didn't want to become a professional sketch artist. I wanted to become like my older siblings and pave my own road.

Honestly, I was jealous of Reina. She was always the one to push forward and pave her own road. She took the classes that somehow tended to her liking. Despite being a fashion designer, Reina could've been more than that. She was the student council president of the school. She was always in the top fifty of our year's class. She was always great at singing and drawing. Honestly, she was perfect, and I despised her for it.

That was the only thing on my mind until she called me.

I was staring directly at her, the two of us behind the school. I didn't know why she wanted me to meet her here, and especially with such a setting. With the Sun shining down upon us and with how fiercely she was staring at me, I couldn't help but worry that she'd confessed to me. I didn't know her well, after all, and honestly speaking, I was a dick towards her.

"Katsumi."

My eyes widened. I couldn't help but hold my breath. "Yeah?"

"You..." She was playing with her locks of hair. "Do you... Do you know, um, Osami Nakamura?"

I raised an eyebrow. Osami Nakamura. At times, I did like to tease him since he tends to get flustered easily (like, I think they call them "tsunderes" in anime?), but other than that, I never paid much attention to him. He was merely an Ultimate Investigator, and nothing more. I didn't bother to care about people anyways. "Yeah, he's in my math class. Why?"

"Oh! Then can you, uh..." Reina quickly shoved an envelope to my chest. "Can you please tell him that's from me?!"

I blinked for a couple of seconds. "Sure..."

I wouldn't have ever guessed that this would be the start of our friendship.

I was dumbfounded for a few minutes, unable to move as I could hear the faint murmurs from around me. I was unable to process what had just happened. Rakuen was a doll who had taken us hostage. I was in a ship filled with my supposed classmates, supposedly to be experimented on like lab rats. Why? Why the fuck is this happening?

I was unable to do anything until I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I looked back to find Elise, smiling my way. "We should just do as Rakuen says for now," she suggested, speaking loudly to gain the others' attention. "I think that will be the best course of action!"

"You think?" Rekishi frowned, thinking on the idea. "I mean, we do not have a choice, do we?"

"Hmph." Nakaatsu crossed his arms. "Feebleminded humans can only think for each other."

"Asshole, shut it." I threw a disgusted look at the mythologist before looking at Elise, Rekishi, and the others. "So, the plan's to look around the ship right? Maybe we'll find Rakuen hiding somewhere. Maybe she'll be cooking in the dining room or some shit?"

Tatsuo shook his head, raising a finger. "Considering our setting right now, I would not call our setting for dinner a dining room. More specifically, I would label it as nothing more than a mess hall. We do not seem to be in the best of circumstances."

"Okay, genre savvy." I rolled my eyes. "Are we all just gonna barge in and trash the place down?"

"Ooh, we should do this all together!" Airi smiled brightly, throwing her hands high to the air. "I think it would be nice for us all to get together. Especially with Rakuen plotting something, being in a group will provide with us safety."

Victor scoffed. "I rather go alone, thank you very much peasant."

I frowned. Although it was obvious some people were unwilling to cooperate and get along, I honestly hoped for the meantime. "Then why don't the guys who want to be alone just travel alone?"

Nakaatsu smugly looked my way. "Sounds like the obvious idea."

I held back the urge to slap him, instead sighing. "So, is that the plan?"

"I-I mean, whatever works best." Naosu was in the background, rubbing her hands together.

"Our choice is our choice." Elise nodded, accepting that statement as fact. "Alright, those who wish to not travel with us, please leave to your discretion!"

One by one, those who did not want to join began to leave. Unsurprisingly, Nakaatsu was the first to take the lead, going through the rusty door. Victor began to leave, Kanon and Mamoru following suit. Some other people began to leave, those people being Rei and Akahoshi, surprisingly. I then eyed Naosu, noticing her hesitating. I questioned her thoughts before she began to leave the room as well, a doubtful look on her face.

Why does she look so unsure of herself? I decided to not ask that aloud, instead eyeing the rest of the people inside the room. Rekishi was the first to speak, smiling at the rest. "I suppose we should go now?"

Mizuki cupped her hands together, speaking happily. "Right."

"Alright!" Elise smiled brightly. "Let's do this!"

I wanted to pump my fist up and scream like how people would do in a volleyball match, but I didn't feel like it at the moment. Rather, I didn't want people to look my way, eyebrows raised in confusion. I wasn't that crazy, I assure you.

Anyways, we began to head out of the room, Elise leading the way and slamming the door open.

"... Damn, this place does not look like a fucking cruise ship at all."

Tatsuo nodded knowingly, almost smirking. "Hah! I knew it! We are in a- Mmph!"

I did my best to shut the boy up, covering his mouth. "Tatsuo, shut it."

"This is..." Rekishi smiled awkwardly at us, scratching his head. "This is quite the depressing sight, almost as depressing as The Anguished Man."

I shuddered, almost wanting to release the film critic from my grip and lock the art historian in a threshold. Instead, I sarcastically, but sweetly, smiled his way. "Rekishi sweetheart, do not mention that artwork again."

Airi tiled her head. "Sounds scary." She then smiled, saluting no one. "Alright, this may look depressing, but let's just think of the good things! We're gonna have dinner soon, right?"

Mizuki had gotten ahold of her notebook, writing into it and smiling widely. "I hope the food's tasty and healthy enough for us."

Rokuro barked happily. Everyone looked as if they had wanted to say something, but I couldn't care less. I could only care about our surroundings. I didn't even bother to eye Tatsuo who was begging me to release him, instead staring at our surroundings.

Everything... Everything was old and rusty. The hallways were dirty, rust to be seen on the walls. The ground slightly covered in grime, and I swore I could spot a few cobwebs hanging from either the corners or atop of the walls. The door which I spotted just to the left of where we were was nothing more than a rusty iron door. The rust made parts of the door the color of a horrible brown, then dust seen everywhere. The lights which lit the hallways were flickering, the ceiling mount lights flickering from every feet. Disgusting. It was truly disgusting.

"Rakuen expects us to live here?" I was utterly disgusted and horrified. "What the fuck? Are we fucking waste to her?!"

Tatsuo was able to loosen my grip, now moving down and standing to the side. "You must calm yourself. We are here to investigate, not cry."

"Why're you so calm?" I couldn't believe it. "She's treating us like lab rats!"

"Tatsuo's right though." Shinsuke eyed me with a stern expression, lips curved to disgust. "As much as how disgusting this is, we shouldn't allow ourselves to be overwhelmed."

"I mean..." I wanted to curse, but I shook my head instead and frowned. "Yeah, I guess so."

I sighed as we began to head to the door to the left. Elise was the first to lead, opening the iron door and walking inside, us following suit. We walked inside to find ourselves eyeing a long white folding table, metal benches spread around. It was a long table, the benched extending long as well. If I had to guess, this was the dining hall. Rather, the mess hall, if I were to follow what Tatsuo said. Like the hallways, the mess hall was rusty as well as dirty. There were cobwebs everywhere and the lights were dim. I spotted the kitchen at the back, an iron door to the corner. I did not bother to enter, a wooden plate saying "DO NOT ENTER". I knew better than to open it.

"Wow, this place is a mess," Airi said, frowning. She crossed her arms and eyed the group. "You think we could ask Rakuen to clean it up?"

"I doubt she'd do that," Rosetta (or Akari, I'm guessing I should call her that before she yells at me again) said, lips curved in disgust. "Hmph! This is not a place where fairies would live in! Stupid doll!"

I deadpanned. "I think this is a place suited for no one."

Mizuki giggled. "Agreed."

"So this is where we're going to eat..." Rekishi frowned, almost scowling at how bad the room looked. He eyed the folding table, which, not surprisingly in all honestly, was quite dusty. He placed a finger onto it and scrunched his nose, blowing the dust away. "How unhygenic."

"I suppose we could ask her to clean the table." Tatsuo eyed me without a sense of care. "She does want to experiment on us, so she should understand that being unhygenic will lead to quicker deaths."

"Oh my god," Shinsuke murmured underneath his breath. "I did not need to hear that."

Airi laughed awkwardly and slapped Tatsuo on the back. "Don't worry about that, Mr. Tatsuo! Let's worry more about what food she'll feed us instead, alright?"

"It's probably going to be porridge and a single glass of water."

"Wow, aren't you excited?" I eyed the film critic with a sarcstic laugh.

Anyways, I didn't bother. There was nothing else to be seen inside of the mess hall, that is, unless you care about counting the dust bunnies on the ground as perfectly as possible. That, or you could count off the cobwebs. It's your choice. Who am I to judge?

As much as I would love to enter into the other door, I decided against it. Honestly, it was not a smart move if I were to enter. My hunch was telling me such.

We agreed that we should continue to move, escaping from the mess hall and moving back into the ship's floor. We moved towards the middle from the mess hall to the cargo room (where we were held hostage) and headed down the hallway, suddenly finding ourselves eyeing an array of wooden (though, unsurprisingly to me) worn, rusty doors. An array of doors from both sides, the left and right. To be more exact, eight on the left and nine on the right. I was intruiged by the setting, however once I eyed the strange icons on the doors, I realized what the rooms were.

"These are our bedrooms, right?"

Elise pursed her lips as she eyed each room, looking from left to right. She then nodded her head with a wide smile, picking up Rokuro who barked happily while she spoke. "Yes! And, to add on to Katsumi's words, the boys and girls' rooms are seperated!"

Shinsuke muttered to himself, eyeballing the Akita. "Okay, no, seriously, why is a dog an Ultimate...?"

"That's nothing new," Rosetta (yeah, I'm too nice to call her Akari in my head) said, pouting with her cheeks puffed out.

Amari frowned, eyeing the so-called fairy. "Don't be mean to Elise."

Rosetta scoffed, averting her gaze and crossing her arms. "Hmph!"

"I wonder if our rooms are anything alike to the mess hall?" Mizuki signed to me.

I sighed. Mizuki did have a point. There was nothing "new" about this place at all. To hell with calling this place a "cruise ship". This was nothing more than a dungeon, and we were its prisoners.

"We should check our rooms later," Rekishi suggested, smiling. "We should investigate every other place first, right Kat?"

"Aww, you gave me a nickname. Cute." I smirked at the art historian before eyeing the group, nodding my head. "Alright, I think Rekishi-Kishi has a point. We could eye our own rooms later. I'm more interested in finding a damn escape route."

"Ah, right." Shinsuke frowned, agreeing. "An escape route."

"Will there even be one?" Amari asked, pondering.

Airi frowned and raised her hands up. "Do not worry! We'll definitely find a way out. Just think positively!"

"Agreed!" Elise stood firm, confident and tall.

Rosetta scoffed. "Well, we better find a way out!"

Rokuro barked happily and jumped out of Elise's arms, running around in circles. I knew what he was doing- he was trying his best to make us feel relaxed. I couldn't help but smile at him, my shoulders relaxing. "Yeah, we'll escape. Thanks, Rokuro."

With our newfound sense of confidence, we continued down the hallways and looked to the first room on the right. It was a metallic, iron door. Strangely a door which would be used to hide a stash of money. I frowned, now genuinely curious as I turned the handle on the knob. The door creaked, and I walked inside, the rest following suit.

It was a white, full-on white room. There were white walls, white ceiling, and a blue tiled ground. It was certainly a medical-looking room, yet it wasn't. There were no medical supplies anywhere, nothing. The only thing to be seen was the examination chair and few couches to the sides. There was a potted bonsai tree to the left corner of the room. There was also a television screen attached to the wall to the right, near the chair, but other than that- there was nothing.

"What is this place?" I asked, unaware that I had just spoken out, loud.

Tatsuo was the one to answer me, speaking without hesitation. "A therapy room."

My eyes widened as I observed the room again. "Really?" I wanted to question the room's eligibility to be a therapy room, but I didn't. "Why the hell is there a therapy room?"

Shinsuke averted his gaze. "If I had to make a guess, it's for the experiments Rakuen plans to do to us. She'll experiment on us and then provide consultation afterwards so we aren't too broken."

"What..." I pursed my lips, a wave of disgust and fear overwhelming me. "T-that's bullshit. I did not sign up for this shit. I didn't even want to be here!"

"Calm down, Katsumi." Tatsuo said, crossing his arms.

"R...right..." I hated how hotheaded I was sometimes. I could feel angry tears beginning to form near the corners of my eyes, but I held it back. To have people see me break down would be a disaster.

Mizuki signed to me with a worried look. "Although this room may be a therapy room, it... It makes me feel the opposite."

"Honestly? It does." I sighed. "I hate it."

We left the moment I spoke. To even think about the therapy room's purpose would hinder us, and so we walked straight down from the door and to the next rusted door. Elise opened it, and we walked inside.

"Oh, I see." Amari crossed her arms. "An entertainment room."

I eyed the room. Amari was right- this was an entertainment room. The ceiling was a velvet color as well as the walls, only the ground to be a smooth, dark green. I was shocked to find that this room was the least bit tidy. Though the television from the left corner was a bit dusty, I spotted the video game systems from below. There were two green baskets to the right, the baskets filled with controllers and video games. There were a few scattered folding chairs in the room, but honestly? I think this room's decent, especially considering everything else I've seen.

I walked over to the baskets and took out a game. Super Smash Bros. 4... I frowned. Rakuen did have a variety of games. I took ahold of a couple more, finding all sorts of games. From kid-friendly games to fighting games to straight-up gorey games- everything was here. There were even visual novels as well, to my liking. I cannot even believe there were American games and European games in the basket.

"Maybe Rakuen wants us to bond over video games?" Airi suggested, a kind smile on her lips. "I think this is a marvelous place!"

Rosetta frowned. "I doubt that, honestly..."

"I'm shocked that she'd even prepare us this kind of place," I said, suspicious. Is she trying to make us comfortable here or something?

"Well, this place isn't the most pretty, but it's decent." Rekishi nodded. "I would've expected for Rakuen to not provide us with such a place either."

Airi walked over to the television, swiping the dust away before looking down at the systems. "Who wants to play?"

Shinsuke grunted. "Now?"

"No." Amari was blunt. "We need to investigate this floor first before we do anything else."

Airi pouted, but sighed in defeat and nodded. "Yes."

We moved to the next room, which was, strangely a small building of its own. I moved to the door in hopes of opening it, however the iron door didn't budge. It was locked. "Well, damn." I frowned.

Rekishi frowned to himself. "Huh. Must be important if Rakuen has it locked."

"Mhm..." I sighed. I wondered what the doll might have with the door locked. Probably something sinister, I imagine. For the "experiments"? Ugh, actually, don't think about that.

I looked from behind, then noticing a barred up furnace. I eyed it for a moment, watching the fire blooming from the machine. "Huh. It's like a fireplace."

Shinsuke scoffed. "Well, I would call it that if this place does not have any heating."

I watched as the fire inside of the furnace burnt the coals, possibly to make this ship continuing sailing. I reached my hand through the bar, ignoring Elise who was shocked beyond her wits. I couldn't reach more than three fingers though, and at the same time the furnace was quite far from my sight. It was about an arm and a half if I were to estimate.

"Then again, I'm not the tallest person here..." I murmured underneath my breath, then looking at the taller members of the group. I deadpanned at them before crossing my arms. "Let's go."

We were about to move north, noticing a stairway which seemed to be locked and covered with metal bars, but then we noticed a strange machine next to the furnace. It was a simple machine. It was rusted and dirty, but nonetheless it looked like it would work fine. It was nothing more than an iron box with strange buttons. I toyed with the buttons for a moment, yet nothing happened. It was impossible to move the machine as well, it being bolted to the floor. The use of this machine was simple- I had no fucking answer.

Rekishi awkwardly smiled my way. "Alright, let's go north. I think our last destination's up there."

"Mhm." I followed the group north, us eyeing the staircase. As expected, it was locked. There was no way for us to go upstairs, which, in that case, also meant that our chances of escape were at a bare minimum. Well, fuck. I frowned upon the bars and held my hands over them, pulling on it. Expectedly, nothing happened. I groaned and peeked upstairs. Nothing but darkness. I can only suppose there was a door blocking the way.

Tatsuo hummed. "Katsumi, I found the restrooms."

"Why the fuck do I care?" I said, eyeing him before looking to the right. I noticed that there were the girls and boys' restrooms. Obviously, if I had to guess, the bathrooms would look alike to those in some gas station. Small, dirty, and smelly. I didn't even need to use the restroom, my eyes targeting Tatsuo accusingly. He didn't seem to notice however, and I just sighed.

"So, this place is definitely a catastrophe!" Elise said, almost too perky at that. She held her chin high.

Airi shook her head, frowning. "Let's not think too much about that and think about the bright side- we aren't dead. Let's instead focus on maintaining good relations with one another."

I smirked at the idea. With Victor and Nakaatsu? Hell no. My thoughts then revolved around people such as Kanon and Naosu. They were certainly cautious of everyone, and I cannot blame them. I can only hope those two, and the others at that point, would be fine.

"Are we actually gonna be living here?" Rosetta asked, cheeks puffy. "I cannot accept this!"

Rokuro barked out of agreement, though at the same time it looked as if he just wanted to say something.

Shinsuke frowned. "It's either stay here and become dolls to Rakuen herself, or kill and somehow escape."

"Why would anyone kill though?" Mizuki said through her notes. A look of disgust was written on her face. "It's not at all moral."

Amari crossed her arms, eyes flaring up in a demanding hue. "Let's focus more on learning who exactly Rakuen is and figure out a plan from there."

I cupped my chin. "Rakuen... I've never even heard about her till now."

"I don't think anyone heard about her before we all got here," the film critic said, scratching his head.

"True." Rekishi was adjusting his blazer, a serious look on his face. "Hm, I don't suppose she'll straight-up tell us who exactly she is and what exactly is her goal. To experiment on us... It's not at all a comprehensible concept."

I nodded. "Yeah, but, like, she wants to experiment on us merely because we're Ultimates." I eyed the art historian strangely. "She said that the idea of Ultimates being so-called imperfect disgusts her, right? She's trying to turn us into mere slaves who'll do anything within their so-called talent. She basically wants us to live only one life, and that is the fucking life of what title we have."

Rekishi's eyes widened. He eyed me strangely, almost wanting to say something but then deciding against it. I, however, already knew what he wanted to say. I knew what the others wanted to say too, considering the looks they're throwing at me. That, itself, was- 'Why wouldn't you embrace your Ultimate title?'

I bit into my lips and ignored the group for now, pacing myself around the floor. I didn't want to bother explaining to them. People who were conditioned to only think under Hope's Peak's agenda- I can never explain it to them. I can never explain to them that some people were pressured into becoming Ultimates, that some people only became their title merely because of a hobby and not because they desire to become that title. I can never explain anything to these people.

"So," the matchmaker began, trying to break the awkward mood in the ship. "Do you guys want to bond over some video games now?"

Mizuki voiced her thoughts with a nod, Rokuro barking as well. "Sure!"

"I'd be up for it!" Elise replied, clapping her hands together with a large smile.

Rosetta shook her head, an angry expression on her face. "No! Fairies need to rest!"

Tatsuo shook his head, beginning to walk straight to his room (I'm betting). "I'll pass on it, thank you very much."

Rekishi smiled. "No thanks, but your offer is greatly appreciated, Airi."

"I want to rest for a while," Shinsuke said, stretching his arms out. He waved to the group and began his way. "I'll pass."

Airi giggled before eyeing me. I simply shook my head as she eyed me worriedly.

Amari crossed her arms. "I'll watch over you guys then."

I watched as most of the group began to left, leaving to either rest or move into the gameroom. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I should do. I simply kicked my feet around and sighed, thinking about what I had said earlier. A cough. I looked back to find Rekishi who smiled my way.

I frowned. Honestly, I was not in the mood to speak with anyone at the moment. As someone who held very strong morals and ideals, I tend to be quite stubborn. That also means that I always tend to be a bit moody whenever my ideals doesn't go through the minds of the people. I shouldn't even be mad at my classmates. They were all (mostly) nice people, and especially Rekishi. I didn't even know why I was ignoring him.

"Kat," Rekishi began, trying to get my attention. An awkward smile was on his face. "Did you know that Jackson Pollock used to have a job cleaning statues for the Emergency Relief Bureau?"

I eyed him strangely. "What the fuck?" My lips couldn't help but curve into a smile. "Kishi, why the hell are you telling me an art fact? I already knew that one too!"

The art historian grinned, brushing back his hair. "I expected you would know that. I was just trying to make you smile, milady."

"You are sooo cheesy." I chuckled, but then crossed my arms and sighed. "Well, thanks for that though."

Rekishi nodded my way before a nervous frown escaped his fair complexion. "Did I made you mad earlier? I didn't mean to eye you like that."

My eyes widened. "I knew you would ask," I mumbled, shaking my head. "No, I wasn't at you nor at anyone. I, well, I usually get moody whenever someone seems to not understand my values. I don't blame any of you guys though, so you should seriously not mind me at all."

"I see." The boy sighed, relieved. He then winked my way. "Well, Kat, you look much more like a painter's bride when you smile."

My cheeks flushed. Seriously, I've always hated it when people complimented me. "Shut it, Rekishi."

Rekishi smiled before leaving. I sighed, shaking my head out of exhaustion. Wondering what the time was, I decided it was best to take a rest. I headed over to what should be the dormitories and walked over towards my room, opening it and heading inside.

As expected, the room was not at all gorgeous. It was merely a simple brown wooden bedroom. There was a small white mattress with white sheets stacked in the middle alongside a white pillow. Merely, it was a simple makeshift bed. I frowned and eyed the other things around me. To the side I noticed a wooden basket which held, questionably, the same five more outfits that I was wearing. There was a wooden chair to the left which was next to the desk. The desk held a small lamp and a vase with one single red rose. I eyed it strangely before noticing a box at the right corner.

I walked over to the right and pulled the yellow notepad from the box.

"For the Ultimate Sketch Artist, Katsumi Himura,

Here is a vast amount of supplies that is needed to hone your talent as a sketch artist. Inside of this box will contain the needed ingredients to help you reach your utmost potential, and, well, at the same time... Take away your boredom.

- Rakuen"

I frowned and quickly crumpled the note, throwing it to the side. Eyeing the box, I forfeited my stubborness and opened it, tearing apart the tape and using my strength to pull the flaps open.

What the fuck. To my utter shock, there was a vast amount of sketchbooks inside of the box. Alongside the sketchbooks were various types of erasers and pencils, then charcoal and different types of sketch utensils to add on to the shock factor. I can finally finish my commissions! My heart instantly jumped and I couldn't help but smile, almost wanting to hug the box itself before realizing who actually gave it to me. I quickly closed the box and sat on the bed, screaming into the pillow.

"Fuck." I said, staring at the empty ceiling. Rakuen's definitely trying to keep us forever. Shit, what should we do? I'm so exhausted. If only Reina and Osami were here... Mom, dad... My siblings...

I eyed the clock which ticked atop from the door. It was about five in the afternoon. I groaned. I should've been taking my nap by now. Closing my eyes, I slowly began to drift to sleep.

I didn't know how, but Rakuen was sitting on top of me. I was awoken suddenly by her presence, and being the hateful person I am, I quickly tried to kick her out of my sight. She merely jumped back with a graceful step, eyeing me with a smile. "Dinner's ready."

I glared at the doll, standing on my two feet as she was right at the doorway. "You didn't have to greet me personally, stupid doll!"

"Please eat if you're hungry." Rakuen continued to smile and somehow, the door opened. She left my sight within seconds after speaking. Even when I ran to open the door and charge my way out, she disappeared. She was gone.

I didn't want to move, but my stomach betrayed me. It was grumbling, begging me to move. I groaned and slapped my stomach, heading my way into the mess hall. There, I found everyone else, eyeing me strangely.

"What?" I said, frowning. "Did a bird just dropped shit on me?"

"No, it's not that," Rekishi said, smiling. "It's just... I think you're going to be quite disappointed in the food, Kat."

I repeated my statement again. "What?"

Naosu worriedly eyeballed me. "T-the food isn't good, at all."

"This food only serves to be eaten by a lowly pest," Victor murmured under his lips, glaring at the food.

Worriedly, I took the empty seat, sitting next to Rokuro who barked at me. He was trying his best to comfort me, I could tell. From the distance I could see another empty seat in front of me, lips curving to a frown before I noticed Kanon in the corner. "Um..." I grabbed the attention of the others. "Why is she there?"

"She doesn't want us near her," Mamoru said, sipping into what I noticed was very chunky porridge. "Leave her be."

"But..." I eyed her worriedly, but once I did she jumped and hid herself. I did not know why she was avoiding us, but I decided to keep the question for later and looked down at the plate on my side. It was porridge. Simple, chunky porridge. To the side was a smaller plate with a biscuit and corn on the cob, then to the left side being a simple glass of water. My lips curved to a frown. "This is dinner?"

"Seems more like breakfast," Tatsuo deadpanned.

I slowly grabbed ahold of the wooden spoon, using it to take a spoonful of the porridge. I sipped into it, my stomach suddenly wanting to cry. The porridge was a horrible mixture of hot and cold. It was too chunky, yet at the same time it didn't even taste like anything. It was just water and untasteful ingredients. There was nothing special about the porridge at all.

And even the biscuit and corn wasn't that tasteful. The corn tasted like nothing, only the taste of bland water to be found. The biscuit was hard, almost as hard as rock. The only thing that even tasted decent was, unsurprisingly, the water.

"Well, shit!" I laughed sarcastically. "Rakuen's definitely fucking with us."

"I mean, it was obvious in the first place." Nakaatsu crossed his arms, then a smug smirk appearing on his lips. "Well, if you lowly humans are desperate to escape, then why not follow Rakuen's words and kill someone to ease your stress?"

"What?" Rosetta's eyes widened.

"We would never do that!" Elise glared at the boy. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Rei crossed her arms, eyeing Nakaatsu with displeasure. "I would not want to hear you say that again."

"He does have a point though." Victor cupped his chin, pondering. "It won't take long for a measly peasant to snap and kill someone, now would it?"

"Can you not?" Akahoshi bit into his lips.

I frowned. Fuck, why are we even arguing about this? Fucking Nakaatsu! I slammed my fists down onto the table. "Can you all just shut up?! You're making the food taste worse than it already is!"

The whole class was silent.

I was about to speak again until Rakuen suddenly opened the door. Her uncanny smile was still apparent on her lips. "My poor Ultimates, do not fight! It's inappropiate for people of your status to be fighting."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, can you shut up? It's your fault in the first place! You're treating us like shit!"

"Am I?" Rakuen threw on an innocent look. "Anyways, I am here to inform you Ultimates that the experiments will begin tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Rosetta's face began to pale.

Rakuen nodded. "Yes, it is tomorrow. Each of you will be put into the experiment lab for me to experiment you guys on. It isn't anything sinister, but it's simply more of a way to push you Ultimates further into either becoming numb and prosper further into your talent as Ultimates, or fall into despair and kill someone." She then stopped, smiling. "But, well, if you were to kill now, then the experiments will stop easily and there is a chance for you to escape, alone. The experiments will only stop if someone kills another. Suicides do not count."

"Escape? Alone?" Rei frowned. "What're you talking about?"

The doll chuckled. "Well, if someone were to kill someone, like I mentioned earlier, then a trial-like situation would commence. You all would have to figure out who killed that person and call them out in a class trial. If you all failed to figure out who killed the victim, then the murderer will get to escape this cruise ship, alive and alone. You all would be stuck here. Understand?"

Everyone was silent.

"I'm glad you all seem to understand!" Rakuen clapped her hands together. "Well, now that that's settled with, I will take my leave. Goodbye."

And just as she appeared, she disappeared the same.

I gritted my teeth, and before I was able to say anything, a question rose into the air that made me shudder.

"So if we kill, we could escape this place?"

I'm seeing, from the poll, that Katsumi and Kanon are the most popular so far! I'm glad you guys are liking Katsumi! Surprisingly, Nakaatsu is also a popular choice. I guess it's because of how big of a jerk he is lol. I'm also glad you all like Rakuen so far! Anyways, hoped you guys love the chapter! There's gonna be a lot to come in the future! Woot woot!

Also, if you hadn't already, please vote on the poll on who would you like to see in the ftes!

Glass-Lady-of-the-Opera: Glad you liked it! Yeah, I hoped Shinsuke and Katsumi's relationship would stay stable for the most part. Thanks for the support!

FairyBookworm: Lol, yeah, poor Victor! XD I'm glad I did your boy justice! Yeah, horror stories tend to swing toward experiments and dolls. Then I hope you enjoyed this one!

RioA: Yeah, nice to see your impressions friend! XD I'm glad you like Katsumi too! Hope you enjoy the next things to come.

Sparkquill: Yeah, reviews and notifications were bugging out. I was only able to see you and the others' reviews from my email too. ): Haha, you can thank my friend for pestering me to write faster XD Glad you're loving it so far! Also, seeing your first impressions very much interests me! Glad to see what you think of the characters so far~ Yeah I chose Rakuen over Monokuma because Monokuma would not fit this sort of story, especially if I'm trying to make it a bit over the top dark. Also, yeah to mention it, I'm glad you're loving Mizuki and that she reminds you of your OC!

liammarklh88: Glad you're glad! Ooh, well, what a coincidence! Maybe Katsumi and your protagonist are best friends? Love your first impressions, and glad I portrayed Rekishi dude correctly! Lol, don't worry, he'll be fine~

Agrael: Hoorah! Glad you like Rakuen! Lol, everyone always cry over deaths, and I love Rokuro too. ): Yeah, they're all eccentric in their own right! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

aWasTooShort: Lol, thank my friend for bugging me all day to update. Glad you felt the creepiness too, and also thanks for liking Rakuen! Yeah, I'm loving your impressions, and it's nice to see what you think about the characters so far! Glad I portrayed Rokuro well~

TheRoseShadow21: Yeah, glad you noticed the world building! I was hoping people would recongize how different Hope's Peak here is. Yeah, Rakuen's name is soooo unfitting! I find it nice that you'd search up on what her name means since it actually holds an ironic meaning to it lol. Lol love your impressions!

Fluffytail15: No problem, Rosetta's an interesting girl! Lol, glad you enjoy a lot of the characters!