Danganronpa: Laughable Rejects

by Prince PokePersona

Come one, come all! Are you an Ultimate? Tired of success being handed to you? Feeling singled out and excluded by the normies? Do you want to run away from it all? Have no fear a miracle is here, called the Reverse Revival Project! Do you crave a normal life that badly? That's what two twins aim to find out...What's the harm in a little fun...and screaming. (SYOC CLOSED)

4. LR: Character Intros Part 2

Editor: Crimson Spider Lily

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My sister and I rushed over to where we thought the loud noises came from and ended up encountering a very strange sight, maybe one of the creepiest and most disturbing things we've ever seen.

There was a large garish yellow building that seemed to take up some of the carnival space with how wide it was in terms of exterior appearances. The front entrance was shaped like a giant clown's mouth with the edges being a rusty, chipped red color resembling lips. The door seemed to be in the shape of one of the many teeth forming the clown's smile; some square-shaped and the rest sharp and toothy. The entrance lit up like a Christmas tree, with a myriad of colors such as bright reds, cool blues, zesty oranges, mild greens and smooth purples that blinked in a flashy manner. The clown's red eyes seemed to stare at us everytime we walked past them, as if a spirit had possessed it and was waiting for the right time to strike us when we weren't looking. The pasty white face and dripping black smile running down the clown's pointed chin only seemed to heighten our anxiety even more.

Upon further inspection, a laughing noise could be heard from inside the building itself, almost as if someone was mocking us, obscured from view or in the shadows. The building itself sported rainbow polka dots spread throughout the tacky design, only adding to my ensuing headache, simply from observing it a few meters away.

"Is that a funhouse?" I thought to myself, a bit perturbed by the clown's face and bare-toothed, evil grin, "I never knew a wacky and jovial place such as this could look so ominous and foreboding."

"I-It's kind of creepy…" Cherika mumbled, sticking close to me, "I d-don't want to go in there…"

Cherika clung to me like a sloth to a tree branch, her grip not letting go of my jacket. Her body trembled and her lips moved, trailing behind me as we walked to where we thought the noise originated from.

"Hahahaha, what a fucking loser!" said a voice coming from nearby the funhouse, laughing hysterically, "This is pure comedic gold!"

The voice sounded like a girl's voice, maybe a bit on the rougher side. We turned around a corner, witnessing a peculiar sight in front of us that left me baffled. There was a girl leaning up against the wall of the funhouse, her arms wrapped around herself and a smile plastered on her face as she clutched her chest, bursting out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

Her hair was red and wavy, reaching past her shoulders with some strands covering the left side of her face, resembling a velvet cape flowing in the wind. Her hair had some random streaks of green scattered throughout to contrast with the red hue; her nails were painted the same color as the highlights in her hair. Her skin was a fairly light complexion, almost bordering on pale. Her pale blue eyes complimented her pasty skin, accentuated with dark black eyeshadow and she had a very skinny body type with a decently sized chest, maybe a C cup but I'm not judging.

She sported a black leather jacket over a white shirt with a graphic design of an eggplant on the front, her blue jeans were tattered and ripped as if they survived going through a paper shredder, black boots were worn on her feet while black fingerless gloves covered her hands to match. As for accessories, she wore silver stud earrings in her ears and a chain necklace hung around her neck.

She looked very punk rock and somewhat gothic from the copious amounts of black clothing she wore. However this look screamed a more 'don't fuck with me' kind of vibe instead of 'leave me alone to die sad and miserable'.

"Can't even walk in that oversized tin can," she continued, spewing out even more chuckles, "What a joke!"

We kept a fair distance from the scene, noticing that she was snickering at an unusual sight. It appeared to be a suit of metal armor resting on the floor with it's arms and legs all spread out unevenly, almost as if it fell flat on its face and twisted some parts.

"I don't even want to know anymore…" I sighed, inevitably walking over there with a hesitant expression on my face, "Excuse me, are you here for the Reverse Revival Project as well?"

The girl stopped her fit of laughter, stared at us and snorted. She looked up and down at the two of us, as if she was scoping out her competition or sizing us up for something.

"What's it to you, leprechaun," she clicked her tongue, giving me a side-eyed look. Her good mood seemed to have vanished instantly, like a ghost in a darkly lit room.

"Umm..leprechaun?" I questioned, suddenly realizing that she was referring to my overly green attire, "Oh I see...it's just a washing machine mishap is all, hah..."

She didn't seem too amused with my lame excuse as she continued looking at us with contempt, as if we were infringing upon her free time or something.

"H-Hello…" Cherika mumbled as she meekly hid behind me, greeting the red headed girl, "N-Nice to m-meet you…"

"Whatever, you losers ruined the mood," she scoffed, "Just get out of my face already."

She's pleasantly charming isn't she? I guess I found Shannon a friend if that's the case. Then again, we just met this girl and she's already criticized my appearance and told us to go away without any provocation whatsoever. I can tell she's a real treat at parties.

"Can we at least get your name first?" I asked her calmly and politely, trying not to piss her off further, "It's going to be rather awkward if we call you 'that girl' instead."

"If I tell you, will you two get off my fucking dick and leave me alone?" she growled, glaring at the two of us, clearly we weren't welcome in her eyes.

I nodded in response, as Cherika hid behind me. Seeming bit scared by the girl's overly aggressive aura and nasty attitude towards strangers.

"Chihaya Sato….I'm known as the Ultimate Clown," she angrily muttered under her breath, "You better not fucking laugh!"

CHIHAYA SATO - ULTIMATE CLOWN

"A clown…" I was a bit shocked by what she said her talent was, "Are you serious?"

"I'm sorry, do you have a problem with that, luck of the Irish?" she stared at me, shooting ice cold daggers piercing my skin; if looks could kill I'd be dead already.

"N-No just trying to be friendly is all," I remarked, trying to assuage her anger, "Nice to meet you, I'm Ekichirou and this is my sister, Cherika."

"Who cares...just leave me alone and never talk to me again, got it?" she demanded.

Chihaya is such a peach, isn't she? I can tell she's someone who would be good in a fight, but more so if she was on your side if anything. A hostile look was glued to her face, for a clown she's not that happy, no pun intended. My sister and I slowly backed away from her, forgetting that there was a suit of armor resting on the ground.

"Ahh!" Cherika tripped behind me on the suit of armor, "Not a-again…"

Chihaya noticed Cherika trip over and started stifling laughter, as it seemed the suit of armor moved for a split second, almost from the simple jostle.

"Oh crap!" I grabbed Cherika, pulling her to the side as the suit of armor stood up. It looked almost like a mountain as the dirty metal shone in the sunlight, reflecting into our eyes, almost blinding us.

"I-Is it p-p-possessed?!" Cherika panicked, cowering behind me, watching the suit of armor move around a bit, as if there was someone inside of it.

The armor rattled as it stood on its legs, almost as if a spirit had come to life inside of it. I have to admit it was a magnificent suit at that.

It was a normal metal suit of armor with a helmet, gloves and arm pieces; almost as if the suit itself made up its entire body. It had a left shoulder pauldron with a chest part that was wrapped in a blue cloth over the metal chestplate, which bore the insignia of a dragon on the front. What seemed to be metal legs turned out to be foot and knee pieces of armor. It sported a belt around its waist with what appeared to be a short sword sheath attached as well as another belt wrapped around it's back with a metal shield perched behind it.

It was kind of hard to tell, but it seemed there were some clothes underneath the armor, poking out in some of the seams.

"Is..someone inside of that armor?" I wondered nervously, a bit curious also, "Hello, are you alright?... Is s-someone in there?"

The suit of armor stood up tall, their arms posed on the side of their hips as they stood galiantly. It seemed there was someone inside of said armor and my response seems to have caught their attention.

"No need to worry," the person inside of the armor said, their voice slightly muffled, but I was able to make out their words, "I'm alright, no need to fret."

"Umm…" Cherika wondered, "What did it s-say?"

The suit of armor began taking off their helmet- let me rephrase that, tried to take off their helmet. It seemed the person inside had a bit of trouble getting it off, almost as if someone had stuck it down on their head or if it was too small for them.

"Confound this helmet!" the armor shouted, sounding like a man's voice, in a very majestic tone, "Wherefore is this not coming off!"

"Do you need any help with that?" I asked him, sweat dropping at the same time.

"No thank you, I can manage this," he told me, continuing to fumble with the helmet some more, before finally pulling it off of his head almost violently.

"There, that's better!" he sighed with relief, his face slightly red from the metal rubbing against his cheeks, "Finally I can breathe more easily."

As he rested the helmet in his arm, he looked at the two of us and smiled happily, almost as if he didn't care that he was resting on the ground just a few minutes ago. He seemed almost carefree from how he dusted off some dirt from his armor, but judging from his overall outfit, he must be some cosplayer or something.

He had short light brown hair that he brushed back and forth with his free hand. His skin was tanned almost as if he worked outdoors a lot while his dark green eyes gleamed like two emeralds sparkling in the sunlight. Despite his bulky looking armor, he seemed to be muscular, judging from his tall stature and his build, probably from wearing all that heavy armor all the time, as it must weigh him down a lot.

"Hello fellow classmates, I presume!" he remarked, smiling dumbly and rubbing the back of his head, "Mayhaps you two are here for the program that is about to congregate here in this abandoned carnival as well?"

I wasn't sure how to respond to his very verbose and strange vernacular; it was a mix of formal wordplay with a bit of an English accent mixed in, meaning he must have been a foreigner. I wasn't sure if he was in the right place, but this is a carnival, so anything goes I suppose.

"It's nice to meet you…" I responded with a small delay, a bit taken aback by his weird way of speaking, "I'm Ekichirou Yoshirenku and this is my sister Cherika."

The knightly man bent down on one knee as he put his hand on his heart and greeted us. I sweatdropped some more at how into this knightly act he seemed to be in, but to each their own I suppose. At least he's going all out with this.

"Greetings sir Ekichirou and lady Cherika," the knight looked at us with a determined look on his face, "Fear not, for I, Sir Christopher O'Donnell, The Ultimate Knight, will not let ill omen come to your persons, I swear to you on my honor as a knight!"

A knight...well that's something you don't see everyday. I have to say, if this is how all knights acted, then I wonder if there are any dragons around for him to start fighting.

"K-Knight?" Cherika mumbled, standing up from behind me, "T-That's...so cool…"

"Well my fair lady…" he blushed slightly, emitting a nervous laugh, "I'm actually called the Ultimate Tragic Knight…"

CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL - ULTIMATE TRAGIC KNIGHT

"Tragic knight?" I raised an eyebrow, "So…..how is that different from being a regular knight, Chris?"

"Mind thee, I'm still a knight good sir," he rose up from his kneeling position, "It is my sworn duty to protect and serve, that is why I was knighted by the Queen herself."

Despite his interesting way of expressing his accomplishment, I still had no idea what he was talking about.

"T-Tragic?" Cherika wondered, "W-What's that?"

Chris seemed to be a bit shaken up by the sudden question. I mean, he comes in wearing a suit of armor, has this very odd way of speaking and calls himself a 'tragic knight'. Nashi was one thing, but Chris is something else.

"I can see how you m-might be curious, l-lady Cherika," he stuttered a bit, trying to find the right words to say, "Although I am indeed a knight, tragedy seems to follow me around like a fiendish shadow lurking in the night, waiting for me."

Ok that didn't answer the question whatsoever, but I shouldn't really delve too deep into it. We continued stumbling upon new people with even weirder quirks by the minute, almost as if this program chose these specific people to help remove their talents. But I will say the diverse and motley personalities never cease to amaze me; I can tell this program put forth a lot of time and money into acquiring these people.

"Blah blah blah," mocked Chihaya, walking up from behind from Chris and mouthing off, "Who the hell actually cares, you massive nerd."

"G-Good lady Chihaya," Chris quivered a bit, "Your words cut deeper than daggers upon my soul."

"Whatever floats your boat, dork," she mumbled, rolling her eyes, clearly annoyed with him.

She walked off without saying goodbye, her grumpy attitude only increasing by the minute, as she left my sister and I with the knight.

"Well it was nice meeting you, Chris," I took Cherika's hand and started to walk off as well, "We'll see you later, I suppose."

"Fare thee well you two," he waved back at us, his armor clanking as he walked to a nearby stall, "Now where was I…"

We sauntered away from the funhouse at a brisk pace, wanting to avoid passing by the creepy clown face that seemed to be watching us.

"K-Kichi what are you d-doing?" Cherika asked worriedly, as I dragged her away like a child wanting to go to a toy store, "I told you to stop doing that…"

"Sorry sis…" I apologized, letting go of her hand as we stopped near a large tent, "But those two are a bit….strange to say the least."

Cherika tilted her head, a droopy disappointed look was plastered on her face. She rubbed her hand from me pulling on it too much.

"Chihaya was...a b-bit mean…." she played with the sleeves on her coat, "But Chris….he's a little weird…but he doesn't s-seem that b-bad..he was n-nice..."

I mean she's sort of right, but you can never be too careful around these types of people. I mean, for all we know, they could be dangerous or could be hiding their true intentions. Call me paranoid, but I've seen a lot of TV dramas: the people most likely to betray you, are the ones who put on a nice smile and act all friendly and carefree around you, trying to earn your trust. So who knows who we might meet next.

"Do you hear t-that?" Cherika asked, poking her head out, "Do you hear a p-pinging noise…?"

I turned around and started hearing the noise as well, this time it seemed to get a bit louder, almost robotic in nature. We walked around the tent and headed to the front, noticing a sign on the top, shining in bright neon colors reading 'ARCADE'.

"Oh there's an arcade here too?" I noticed, "And it's still in working order? Awesome!"

"T-That's weird…" Cherika mumbled, her body trembling slightly, "Is s-someone inside?"

I shrugged my shoulders, walking inside the large red and white tent, pushing aside the curtain entrance and was immediately bombarded with a display of bright flashing colors.

"Agh! Gosh darn it, and I thought the funhouse was bad," I rubbed my eyes, adjusting to the seizure-inducing lighting, "This place is huge!"

The arcade itself was very kaleidoscopic in terms of decor. The lights ranged from a fluorescent blue shade that almost made me feel sick upon entering. There were rainbow party strobe lights scattered around, making the place look like some high school party you'd throw when your parents weren't home. A lot of arcade games were scattered around the tent, each one from a different genre. There were first person shooters with handheld gun controllers for games such as 'Answer To Action', 'Undead Risen', 'Extermination' and a bunch of other game titles I wasn't familiar with. I saw a wide variety of crane machines lined up next to each other; some prizes included rolled up T-shirts from comic books, video games and TV shows, stuffed plush animals, expensive looking watches with geeky designs on the insides of each one, wireless headphones still in boxes, phones and even cheap prizes like wristbands, rubber toys and bouncy balls.

Walking further into the arcade, we came across some more machines: racing games such 'Want For Nitro', 'Farzi' and even a game for the old movie franchise 'Accelerated And Angry', some fighting video games as well such as 'Tokken', 'Road Brawler' and one of my favorites, 'Melee'. Further adding entertainment to the tent were two pool hockey tables, a basketball hoops game, a 'Galactic Interlopers' game, three 'Rave Rave Domination' dancing games and finally there was a prize booth in the left corner of the tent near the entrance for people to purchase prizes that were lined up on the shelves with the number of tickets required to get each one taped onto them.

"This place looks so cool!" I gazed at all that it had to offer, like a child in a candy store eyeing the sweets he was about to eat, "I wish I'd come here first."

"L-Look over there Kichi…" Cherika pointed to an RRD machine where the pinging noise was coming from, "The n-noise…"

"Is someone playing it right now?" I thought, as I decided to check it out, "I wonder if there are people in here as well?"

I walked further into the dazzlingly flashy arcade and came across an interesting sight, this time seeming normal compared to the other things we've seen so far in this abandoned carnival. Despite the obnoxious choice of lighting, I could see two people by the RRD machine; it appeared the two of them were dancing along to the music of an obscure song which name I didn't know.

Their dancing was mesmerizing, almost hypnotic in a sense. It was as if their rhythmic movements were a snake charmer, alluring me closer and closer to them. I stood nearby, leaning against a crane machine to witness them dancing their hearts out to the upbeat pop music.

"Can you keep up?!" one of the dancers, a girl, remarked. A few sweat droplets flicked onto the ground as her feet moved around rapidly to match the prompts on screen, "You losing your game?"

"In your dreams, girlfriend," the person next to her, a guy with a somewhat sarcastic tone replied. He, in contrast, didn't seem to be breaking a sweat at all, "I can do this all day!"

From their vivacious movements, I could tell the two of them had had some sort of experience playing this game or at the very least were professional dancers. I was too busy being entranced by their fluid movements to care, as none of them stopped moving, with the girl starting to slow down her pace a little.

"EXCELLENT! You're a superstar!" shouted the RRD machine, "Player 2 wins!"

The two of them stepped off the sides of the machine, the guy adjusting his clothing and the girl trying to catch her breath as she leaned against the railing near the machine.

"Hah, told you I would win," the guy smirked proudly, "No one can beat me at this game, it's one of my favorites!"

"Not bad…." the girl panted from all the jumping around, "You're better than….I thought you'd...be."

As the two of them conversed back and forth, the guy smiling at his victory and the girl trying to speak less infrequently. I stretched out loud as Cherika stumbled forward and tripped on a crane machine plug cord on the floor.

"Aah!" she yelped, landing on her butt again, "Owie… why does this k-keep happening.."

It seemed her cry alerted the two of them. Before I could act myself, the guy rushed to my sister's aide almost immediately, helping her up as the girl, resting on the railing, dusted off her clothes from all that arduous dancing.

"Woah, are you alright?" he asked her, helping her up, "You took a nasty fall there, sweetie."

"S-S-Sweetie?!" Cherika blushed nervously as she got to her feet, "I-I'm fine...t-thanks.."

The guy chuckled as the girl from before tapped me on the shoulder, wiping some sweat from her forehead with her left arm as she looked at the scene behind me.

"Is she good?" she asked with an confused expression on her face, "That fall didn't seem fun at all."

"Y-Yeah.." I snapped back to reality quickly, "It's nothing, this usually happens."

"Oh...ok then," the girl raised an eyebrow at my claim, "Well no harm no foul, buddy!"

I got a good look at her appearance as she began stretching her limbs some more, yawning sleepily from moving too much.

Her straight long, dark chocolate brown hair was pushed back, ending near her waist and trailed behind her as she walked while her side-swept bangs were pushed to the left side. Her grey-green eyes were a bit swampy-looking and her eyebrows were sharp and thin, colored similarly to her hair. Her skin was a fair peachy tone and she had an average build that was skinny but not noticeable with a normal sized chest as well.

She wore a navy blue crimson jersey with a group, named 'Floodgates', logo on its front as well as a light grey long sleeved undershirt while a white hoodie was tied around her waist, like a makeshift belt of sorts. She wore black compression gloves on both of hands that ended at her fingers, lored jeans with olive colored running shoes. A pair of earbuds hung around her neck; one in her left ear and the other wrapped around her neck like a necklace. She had a black facemask resting around her neck as well, probably some fashion choice, I don't know.

She looked very tomboyish from her outfit alone. And judging from her very chill nature, she seemed like an alright person so far. But as usual, I just met her, so no need to jump to conclusions.

"Oh yeah I forgot to introduce myself, my bad, dude," she pushed some hair back from her shoulders, "Name's Ayano Akatsuka, though you can call me Seagull, most people do. I'm the Ultimate eSports Pro, nice to meet you!"

AYANO AKATSUKA - ULTIMATE eSPORTS PRO

eSports Pro? Oh, she's one of those professional gamers! That's so cool, she gets to play video games for a living, I'm lucky, but not that lucky.

"Wow you have such a cool talent, Ayano!" I beamed with interest.

"Heh, you think so?" she chuckled, "It's not as fun as it's made out to be when it comes to training, but I guess the media likes to portray most of us as wasting our lives."

"And that's why I don't listen to the mainstream media," I gestured a chuckle, "If only they knew how much money the gaming industry actually makes, then they'd shut up."

"You said it," Ayano smiled happily, raising her hand up as I high fived it in response, "Nice one!"

Ayano seems like an alright person, she seems to be cool with all of this, so I guess I shouldn't be too worried around her. It's nice to meet some normal people here for once.

"It's nice to meet you, Ayano," I greeted her, "I'm Ekichirou Yoshirenku, Ultimate Lucky Student and that's my sister, Cherika, Ultimate Unlucky Student."

"Lucky student?...Unlucky Student?" she questioned, scratching her head in bewilderment, "That's a bit weird, I've never heard of those talents before."

"O-Oh...yeah about that…" I looked away a bit embarrassed, "I'll tell you later.."

"No problem," she patted me on the back, "But I think you better attend to your sister before flirty pants over there can get to her."

I turned around to see Cherika blushing intensely as the man dancing with Ayano smiled, he seemed to be teasing her or something, making her weak at the knees as they say.

"Excuse me, what are you doing with my sister?" I stepped in front of them, almost sounding a bit coarse, "There better not be any funny business here."

"Heyyy pal! Just having a nice friendly conversation, that's all, no need to get your panties in a twist," he giggled, greeting me in a very casual tone, "Your sister already told me your name, so I might as well do the same."

"Are you talking to me?" I asked him.

He shrugged his arms, sighing in response, wearing a sarcastic smile on his face as he winked at my sister. It was like he was signalling something to her, or maybe I'm just overthinking it. Cherika didn't know what to say as she continued playing with her hair and mumbling to herself.

"Yeah I'm talking to you~ pretty boy," he giggled mischievously, "Who else would I be talking to, a brick wall?"

His playful attitude came across a bit obnoxious to say the least. The way he spoke sounded so cheesy but in a very smooth way, as if he loved talking a lot and hearing his own voice, like a parrot who wouldn't stop reiterating your words.

"P-Pretty boy?!" I blushed in response, a bit flustered, "O-Oh….right."

"You're so cute," he giggled playfully, "Yep, you two are definitely twins!"

After coming to my senses, I decided to get a better look at his appearance. It's no surprise his appearance and outfit matched his almost flirtatious nature.

His thick auburn hair shone and glistened as it ended near the middle of his neck while his wide bright mint green eyes almost dazzled in this arcade lighting. His complexion was tan and he was lean, a bit fit but not that noticeable upfront. His skin was soft and it appeared that he wore makeup on his face, as his nails were painted in very garish colors like magenta, light blue, red, green with random designs on each nail, such as rainbows, hearts, flowers, cat faces and dog faces.

He wore a yellow shirt with white polka dots over the design, with the collar unbuttoned to almost reveal his chest. A dark pink jacket that seemingly wanted to run away from his shoulders with the way they looked, hanging from his elbows. Adding to his outfit were red plaid pants as well as yellow and pink high top sneakers. His accessories consisted of a three dog tag choker-like necklace around his neck, very colorful feather clips in his hair as well as a few shimmery rainbow bracelets on both of his wrists. He also wore few rings; one on his right index finger, one on his left middle finger and one more on his left thumb.

Not only was his demeanor very over the top and in your face, but his attire matched him to a T, almost as if it were tailor made for him. It was very poppy and exuberant; he's definitely someone who would stick out in a crowd of people, not that he would mind the attention one bit.

"Anyways, name's Hibiki Miyamoto, Ultimate J-pop Idol," he waved to me, "I know I know, I look amazing, I see you staring at me~"

HIBIKI MIYAMOTO - ULTIMATE J-POP IDOL

I have to say I didn't expect a guy as eccentric as him to be a J-Pop Idol- no, scratch that, I should have expected it. It explains how he's able to outdance Ayano so easily; he must have had a lot of dance lessons and training in order to pull off such fantastic moves. I heard idols like him train almost every day, so props to him.

"It's nice to meet you Hibiki.." I extended my hand out for a shake, "Thanks for helping my sister up, I appreciate it, man."

"No problem," he winked at me, "I assume you two are here for the program as well?"

"Yes," I answered him briefly, "I never expected a person like yourself to want to join this program, given how much luxuries are at your disposal, why'd you join?"

Hibiki looked at his colorfully designed nails and sighed; it seemed he didn't want to discuss his reasons either. His playful nature seemed to have diminished after I asked him that question.

"You'd never understand anyway," he mumbled, sighing despondently, "Being myself in my position isn't all sunshine and rainbows like the media would portray it to be."

"I bet," I chuckled at his wry comment, poking fun at the media, "Sorry for asking, I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries."

"Nah, it's fine," he brushed it off, as he adjusted his jacket, "I get that a lot, especially from my fangirls. Oi vey they would not stop hassling me, heh."

"Welp," I patted his back, "What can you do."

I comforted Hibiki, as I noticed Cherika talking with Ayano by the RRD machine. It seemed Cherry was interested in what she was talking about, from the small smile forming on her face. I mean the both of us like video games, and with her being a gaming pro, it's no surprise the two of them were able to get along so quickly. If she's happy, I'm happy.

"Oh sweet! you like Melee too, Cherry!" Ayano chirped up, pumping her fists up, "That's awesome!"

"T-Thanks…" Cherika looked to the side, playing with her messy hair, "It's just so a-addictive…I've logged in lots of h-hours into that game.."

"If you want I could also teach you some sweet cheat codes as well, to get all the unlockable characters and custom outfits in one go?" Ayano beamed with excitement.

"O-Oh...that sounds f-fun...thanks A-Ayano.." Cherika mumbled back, shaking less than before.

I couldn't help but form a small smile on my face, seeing Cherika so happy to be around other people in general. Sure, she may not be the most social person out there, but it's moments like these that almost make me proud as a big brother….gosh I'm getting too sentimental now. I'm just happy she was able to make a friend in this place already.

"Well, I'll see you two later, peace out!" Ayano waved to us, approaching Hibiki, "Want to have another round at it, Mr. Idol?"

"Sure," Hibiki smirked, "I can't pass up a chance to win once again."

"In your dreams, princess," Ayano smugly smiled, "I'm gonna end your winning streak this time!"

The two of them continued to exchange witty banter while walking back to the RRD machine, as I went over to check on Cherika, to make sure she was alright.

"You ok, Cherry?" I asked her, rubbing her shoulders, "You didn't hurt yourself anywhere?"

"Yeah...j-just fine.." she nodded, nervously smiling at me, "Ayano is s-so cool….she t-taught me new gaming t-tips..and m-more.."

"That's good to hear," I smiled back, "Well come on, let's get out of this disco nightmare of an arcade, I'm getting a headache."

"Same h-here…" she rubbed her eyes, yawning a bit, "I'm feeling a bit s-sleepy from all the dark lights…"

The two of us left the arcade, the harsh sunlight entering our eyes as it seemed to be dying down a bit from the way it loomed behind a mountain. I don't think we spent too much time in there, so I'm guessing it was around the afternoon time for us, wherever we were.

"I wonder what else this carnival has in store for us?" I pondered, walking around, Cherika following closely behind me, "Let's go see a few more attractions, then we can go find somewhere to rest."

"O-Okay.." Cherika yawned again, stretching her arms out wide.

We both walked around the carnival some more, hoping to find more signs of life. From what I can tell, there must be more people here since we've yet to fully explore it, but I have a feeling it's just going to get weirder as we go along.

"This must be fate!" shouted a voice coming from nearby, "The wheels of destiny have spun in favor of this inevitable meeting!"

"Not you again…" moaned an annoyed voice, "What crappy luck…"

We stopped, hearing the voices close by and wondering if these were people we hadn't met yet.

"I wonder what's happening," I thought, "Let's go sis."

"O-Okay…" she nodded, walking behind me.

We followed the source of the voices and came across another large park attraction. It seemed to be some sort of waterpark themed area that also took up a large portion of the amusement park. It was a cool watery haven of purples, blues, greens, corals and other seaside colors, like a underwater paradise on land.

There were a lot of aquatic themed rides such as a slip and slide that stretched halfway across the waterpark with water gushing from the sides on yellow and white mats on the flat aquamarine rubbery surface. Adding to the attractions was a large wave pool with the water gushing onto the sandy ground surrounding the pool itself, a lazy river with orange life jackets and green inner tubes resting on the sides near the entrance, where the water moved for itself, a giant hot tub with bubbles forming inside of the steamy azure water, a giant log flume ride with two log cars that could seat about ten people in total and a small kiddie pool area. An aquatic park area with cartoon fishes and marine life painted onto the blue stone walls stood near a rope course running over the lazy river in which, if you fell through one of the giant holes, you'd get swept away by the water. Bumper boats as well with yellow boats were floating on still water while some moss was forming on the edges of the pool. Nearby was a large castle like structure filled with all sorts of water themed contraptions for younger children to play on.

However the main attraction of this grandiose water park were the giant water slides; there seemed to be about three of them in total. One of the rides was called 'Double Duo' where two people rested on one large raft and slid down the large purple tubes while the second one was called 'Single's Surf' where only one person went down the ride at a time and the final one was called 'Roaring Ravine' where it seemed to reach the sky itself with how high up it reached. The ride itself was on top of this wooden structure, which most likely had a large set of stairs you had to climb in order to reach the top.

"Wow, this place looks fun!" I commented, my eyes lighting up with excitement, "Needs a bit of maintenance and cleaning, but it looks great!"

"These places m-make me a bit queasy…" Cherika muttered, "I throw up easily on these rides…."

That's right...I usually have to stay by her side, since she tends to get a bit nervous around crowded areas like this. It sucks too, she always wanted to do things like this by herself, but the heights always freaked her out and she usually ended up having to go down the lazy river instead. And even that ride somehow made her stomach upset. I don't even know how she threw up on it, but what can you do?

"You cannot deny it," said a female voice with a hint of a German accent, "Kukuku~ We are ever tied by the same string of justice, forever to be rivals till the day we die."

"And this is why I wanted to remove my talent…" the annoyed voice, belonging to a male remarked, "You're one of the reasons."

It seemed the two voices had some sort of history based on how comfortable they sounded speaking to each other. However, it sounded like a mix of professional and casual talk.

I headed to the source of the voices and saw two people standing next to a male and female changing room section.

The two people, a boy and a girl, were looking at each other with looks of both irritation and surprise. However, between the two of them, the girl is the one who caught my attention first due to how she presented herself and her eye-catching choices in attire.

She was tall in appearance, maybe an inch taller than me. She was lean but looked like she was a bit athletic with an average sized chest, which was hard to tell based from her clothing which covered up most of her body. Her white complexion complimented her semi long wheat gold hair that reached her mid waist in a braided ponytail while her round face highlighted her sharp facial features. She didn't seem to be wearing any makeup, showing off her natural beauty.

However the most noteworthy part of her appearance were her eyes; her right eye was a bright icy grey-blue color, like a glacier, and her left one was a deep greenish hazel. like tree bark.

Her attire was nothing if not regal in nature, it's as if she was a descendant of royalty or something ripped straight from a fantasy story or fairytale.

She wore a fancy royal blue suit and a magician's tunic-like top, with whitish silvery designs at the ends of her sleeves and near the bottom of the shirt, going downward and covering a small portion of the upper half of her legs. The shirt was adorned with silver buttons buttoned all the way with pockets on the lower sides of it, from where a gold chain was hanging. There was a large bluish-purple colored, triangle-shaped Tanzanite gemstone in the middle of her collar, instead of a button. She wore a pair of dark blue pants, elegant black gloves on her hands and shiny black boots on her feet.

If that wasn't enough, she also wore a long flowing black cape behind her, in the middle of which was a sewn in crest; bordered by silvery edges, the background was a dark royal purple color and in the center there were two figures present, one being a long maroon colored dragon holding a harp in one scaly claw and a sword in the other one, while the other figure was a blue colored tiger with a flaming torch in its mouth. The beasts were linked together in unison by a chain around both of their necks in a way similar to Siamese twins, which made them appear almost bound together. The cape was pinned around her neck by what appears to be a badge of sorts.

I have to say this girl certainly knew how to accessorize and dress, which would put Shannon to shame. Her look screamed fancy and too expensive for normal people like us to afford, but all the power to her I suppose.

Meanwhile the clearly disinterested guy right next to her, who she seemed to be monologuing to, was more than happy to leave the conversation at a short moment's notice.

He was fairly tall but maybe around my height while his build was slim and skinny with not much muscle mass to his frame nor was he scrawny. His face was short with a square jawline and I could see some dimples on his face. His forest green hair was cut short and was neatly slicked back with gel, his eyes were a few shades darker than his hair color. His complexion was tan, almost as if he tanned regularly. In terms of looks he wasn't a bad-looking person nor could he be described as handsome.

Unlike the girl next to him, his attire was simple and a bit more business casual if anything. He wore a blue green silk shirt with the collar button undone, tan dress pants with a black leather belt and polished black dress shoes. Completing his outfit were a silver wristwatch on his right wrist and a silver necklace with a medallion of a patron saint like pendant around his neck, but it was hard to see from afar.

These two looked as if they worked in white collar tier jobs, judging from their overall clothing and appearance. An aura of formality emanated from the two of them, almost as if, if you got too close to either one of them, the aura might dissipate and fade away from us normies stinking it up or something.

"Well no matter, the blade of truth will see that we both strive for excellence in this due process of removing our bestowed talents," the regal girl spouted, almost in a very over the top manner.

"Do you always have to talk like that?" the snazzily dressed guy retorted, "Makes me wonder how you even got to where you are in the first place..."

Admittedly I didn't want to interrupt these two's conversation, not wanting to get tangled up in some drama that would only lead to more confusion and hostility like with Itsuki and Shannon. However, we were too late to leave as the girl noticed us and walked over, her cape flowing behind her elegantly and majestically as if there was a wind machine following her.

"Good day, fellow citizens," the girl spoke, "It seems that we are not the only ones here to receive the blessing of the god of normalcy."

"Umm…" Cherika mumbled, tilting her head in confusion, "What?"

"Oh? Are you not here to join in the ritual of talent removal?" she raised an eyebrow, possibly not expecting that answer, "Are you perhaps lost?"

I was just as speechless as she was, but I didn't want to leave a bad first impression, so I cleared my throat and stepped into the mix.

"Pardon me, but can you rephrase that please?" I asked in a polite manner as to not upset her, "We don't quite understand what you're saying.."

"You'll get used to it," the snazzily dressed guy interjected, walking to the regal girl's side, "She talks like this a lot, it'll never grow on you."

From his overall tone, it seemed he knew her from before this meeting had occurred, were they perhaps associates or partners? Maybe coworkers who didn't quite see eye-to-eye?

"Forgive me for asking," I added, still trying to wrap my head around what she just said, "But are you two perhaps partners or something?"

"Partners! Hah!" the guy laughed, almost as if I made a tasteless joke, "I'd certainly hope not, I would go nuts after the first day."

"Come now, King Of Liars," the girl snapped back, "Must you taint their ears with such cruel words regarding your adversary?"

"I was just warning them is all, Queen of Crazy," he smugly smiled back, "Your noble nature can be a bit...much."

"W-Who are you t-two?" Cherika asked anxiously as the two of them looked at her quivering behind me.

"Aha yes! How callous of me not to introduce myself," she cleared her throat as her cape flowed behind her, "I shall enlighten you both, remember this name well! I am Galiana Al Earnestine, and I am known throughout the world as The Silver Dragon Prosecutor!"

I stood there, dumbfounded by her grandiose intro, not sure who she was or why she talked like that. That is until the guy stepped in, sighing ashamedly.

"She's the Ultimate Prosecutor," he bluntly said, the girl clearly frustrated that he ruined her spectacular intro, "Nothing special."

GALIANA AL EARNESTINE - ULTIMATE PROSECUTOR

Ok now that makes more sense. I knew she must have been in some high paying profession, but a prosecutor who acts like that...that's quite intriguing indeed, you don't come across people like her all that much. Although she does remind me of this one prosecutor in a game that I love to play. Can't quite put my finger on it though.

"Oh….ok, it's nice to meet you Galiana," I nodded accordingly, "And you are?"

The guy adjusted his collar and looked at us with a confident-looking smile. It seemed he was relieved to be around people who didn't speak and act like her.

"Name's Daiko Hakazi. Ultimate Defense Attorney, at your service," he extended his hand out for a shake.

DAIKO HAKAZI - ULTIMATE DEFENSE ATTORNEY

"It's nice to meet the both of you," I composed myself, shaking Daiko's hand in return,"I'm Ekichirou Yoshirenku and this is my twin sister Cherika behind me."

Cherika stood up properly, pushing back her messy hair and making an awkward smile at the two of them, "H-Hello…"

"So I see you two are here for the project as well?" I wondered, not sure if they were genuine about it.

"Yes we are," Galiana chimed in, "For the life of a prosecutor such as I, it's more than stressful, it's almost a burden on my shoulders."

"It's just a coincidence that the two of us both ended up in the same place, at the same time," Daiko added, "We both work in the same field but on the opposite sides of the court."

Well that's interesting to note, so it seems the two of them do work together but are more so rivals, in a sense. Figures, I can't quite see the two of them getting along that much if that would be the case.

"Oh, that's neat," I mused, stifling some laughter "You two actually remind me of these characters from a video game I love, what was the name of it...A-"

"Alas, my image will soon change," Galiana interrupted me, "I wish you both the same luck in acquiring fresh new lives as well."

"Umm...thanks, I guess," I responded, standing there, still unsure of what she meant as Daiko rubbed his temples.

"Remind me to find a new job that's as far away from you as possible.." he mumbled.

The mood of the room got a bit awkward, as the lawyers both exchanged looks of reluctant willingness to cooperate with each other.

"Well, we're just checking out the carnival at the moment," I told them, "I think we'll catch up with you two later."

"See ya!" Daiko waved as Galiana pulled him by his collar and dragged him somewhere, "Ouch! Stop doing that please, this is my favorite shirt!"

"Hush, let us further discuss what to do for our lives after this program," Galiana pulled him away, "Farewell you two."

We left the duo to discuss whatever it was that they were going to discuss. Poor Daiko, he must not really have a good relationship with Galiana if that's how he reacts to her bringing him back into the fold.

"T-They were...odd.." Cherika looked back at the two arguing once more.

"Sure were…" I sighed deeply as we both left the waterpark area.

As we both left the lively waterpark, we came across what seemed to be a tranquil flower garden area filled with vibrantly colored flowers of every species. There were crimson blood red roses, sunshine yellow sunflowers, orange daffodils, angel white tulips, purple violets, cool blue bells, pink hydrangeas and even black bleeding hearts.

"Wow….these f-flowers are really pretty.." Cherika stood in awe at how magnificent each flower was, kneeling down to admire the flowers closer.

"Be careful of bees, Cherry," I reminded her, "They're everywhere, especially this season."

"Ok…" she nodded, gazing at the roses, as the sickly sweet scent entered her nose, "Ooh…"

She sat down criss-cross and admired the rainbow floral display in front of her. I stretched some more, yawning loudly from all the excitement wearing me down and looked up at the sunset sky.

"If only this place could have even more beautiful treasures such as this," I pondered, "I wonder why Mr. Yanagi chose this place to hold the project?...Aah who cares."

I felt like I could get lost here, the fragrant aroma of flowers permeated the air with a sense of warmth and comfort you'd feel from fabric softeners washed on clothes and combined with the heat straight from the dryer. I didn't want this succinct tranquility to fade….

"Kichi..d-do you smell s-something burning?' Cherika mumbled, her face changed to worry, "I-Is it smoke!?"

As soon as she said that, I was alerted of the smell as well. It seemed there were smoke trails coming from the distance off to the far left side of the flower field.

"Oh shit!" I headed over there to see what the fuss was about, "Cherry, stay behind me!"

"O-Okay!" she said, slowly following behind me and cowering like a scared puppy.

As we followed where the smoke originated from, we saw some daffodils and daisies being set ablaze. A small fire scattered throughout the flower glades, huge orange and yellow embers dancing around the field like demonic dancers singing a deathly song.

"Wow, I didn't expect something as dynamic as this!" said a voice further inside the fields, "AMAZING!"

I followed the source of the voice and saw what appeared to be a girl, standing above the cinders and ashes of burnt flower petals and weeds, mesmerized by the blazing fire in front of her. She laughed mischievously and revelled in the flames, spinning around as smoke fumes filled the air, darkening the warm sky with a black cloud.

Without hesitation, I ran over to the nearest faucet tap, found a steel bucket nearby, filled it with running cold water and carried the bucket with me near the girls and the flames.

"Duck!" I shouted, splashing water over the fire, dousing them out immediately.

"Hey!" the girl yelled back, "What are you doing!?"

After the flames fizzled out, I noticed some of the flowers were burnt to a crisp, some black cinders even spreading to untouched flowers like thrown away candy wrappers in the wind, ruining the once radiant gardens' splendor.

"Phew...that was a close one…" I wiped some sweat from my forehead, "Good thing that I took that fire training course.."

"I-Is it...over?" Cherika mumbled, coughing from the smoke fumes.

"I hope so…" I sighed, dropping the bucket to the ground.

Then as some of the smoke cleared, the girl from earlier, stomped her feet and walked up to me, angrily gritting her teeth.

"Why did you do that for!" she pouted, "I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN!"

Despite the smoke fogging up the flower glades, I was able to make out her appearance, her overall expression heated and her face red with fury, no pun intended.

She was very small, shorter than me, her petite frame and pale skin making her look almost cute in appearance. Her short tangerine hair matched the flames she gazed at and was cut short to look similar to a boy's hairstyle while her round baby blue eyes cemented her childlike appearance and she was very slender like most girls. Her overall frame looked unhealthy with some veins sticking out from her arms and legs from what I could see; almost bony in fact. Her neatly trimmed eyebrows and three-freckled cheeks stood out in contrast to her extremely pale skin and her teeth were a slightly yellow color, as if she didn't brush them whatsoever.

She wore a black sleeveless hoodie with a fire image emerging from the lower part and stopping below her chest. I could see a long sleeved black shirt with tight orange cuffs at the ends and what seemed to be red gardening gloves on her hands. She wore a oversized black beanie on her head with a picture of a skull on the top, with red cargo trousers and camouflage combat boots on her feet.

I can say for certain, out of everyone else here, this girl was the most liable to cause trouble, just from her grungy appearance alone. I could tell she was bad news before she even opened her mouth.

"You were having fun?" I asked, completely baffled by what she said, "I'm sorry but that was dangerous, you could have been burned severely!"

"Nuh uh, I wear fire retardant clothing, so it won't harm me!" she retorted, sticking her tongue out at me, "I just wanted to test out these new matches I got!"

There's obviously no point in arguing with her if she's going to be stubborn about almost setting the place on fire so nonchalantly. I didn't even need to make a good first impression with her.

"Excuse me, miss," I said to her sternly, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with matches?"

"Whatever, you're no fun!" she crossed her arms and pouted even more, like a child who lost their favorite toy, "I can see why no one would want to be around someone like you."

Has she looked in a mirror recently? Just as I suspected, this girl is intolerable.

"Can you at least tell me your name?" I calmed down and asked her politely.

"Not until you apologize for messing up my flames!" she childishly mused, "I'm waiting!"

"Are you serious…." I looked at her disappointedly, "Fine, I'm sorry for messing up your precious flames."

"Good, that wasn't so hard now was it," she mischievously smirked, "I'm the one! The only! BLAZING ARSONIST HERSELF! HOTARU IKERU! WOO YEAH! AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!"

HOTARU IKERU - ULTIMATE ARSONIST

Wow she's wi- Wait a minute! Did she say arsonist!? What the hell!? Why is there a criminal here!? This is insane….

"I'm sorry, am I hearing this right?" I was dumbfounded to hear that, "Did you just say…"

"Arsonist, yeah I did... and?" Hotaru tilted her head and smiled slyly, "Is there a problem mister?"

Ok now this is going a bit too far, I mean I understand this project offers talent removals for people like her, but where is the security of this place?! I mean, she can just do this with no consequences whatsoever, jeez….thanks a lot Mr. Yanagi, so much for a safe environment.

"U-Um…" Cherika coughed some more, "Kichi...cough…"

"Let's get out of here sis," I carried Cherika out of the flower field, "It was "nice" meeting you Hotaru…don't burn down the place while we're gone..."

"Nice meeting ya too, buzzkill!" she grinned mischievously and skipped off, dancing in the ashes of her handiwork like a child playing with their new toys on their birthday, "No promises!"

I rushed out of the garden as quickly as humanly possible, being slightly hysteric, trying my best to keep calm despite our intense encounter with Hotaru.

"You okay, sis?" I asked Cherika, gasping for fresh air.

"Y-Yeah….I'm f-f-fine.." Cherika panted and paced.

I should have expected this quite honestly. The program encouraged expunging taboo and unethical talents, so Hotaru being here isn't really all that surprising. I'm more worried over the fact she can openly desecrate private property like that and have no repercussions come her way. No rest for the wicked I guess..

"Thanks K-Kichi…" Cherika mumbled, "H-Hotaru kind of...creeps me out.."

"Well I'm just glad you're safe Cherry," I smiled, rubbing her head.

"Now let's go-" I was interrupted as I bumped into something, "Oof…"

I fell to the ground, falling on my back onto the rocky surface. Whatever I bumped into, it seemed to push me back with enough force to push down a tree, almost.

"Oh man…" I rubbed my back, "That suck- Agh!"

I felt my body rise up sharply as I arose to my feet, it seemed as if I was magically lifted up by a crane claw with how forceful the pull was. My wrist was slightly red due to the forceful pull.

"Oh!" I dusted off my clothes and looked up to see something I didn't expect to see at all.

In front of me, I saw someone standing stiffly in place. They seemed to be about the same height as me, maybe a bit shorter, it was hard to tell. Their intimidating appearance left me tongue-tied for words as I couldn't help but stand in awe at this person.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry," I apologized profusely.

"Hmph…" the person grunted, their voice a bit deeper than I imagined.

From first impressions, I could tell the person was a guy. He had a very muscular build, almost bodybuilder-like with how defined his large biceps looked even when at his sides. His tan skin was rough looking while his eyes were a bright golden color. His silver hair was short, spiky and unkempt as it formed a cool buzz cut style look. He was probably shorter than me despite his intimidating frame.

His clothes are what astonished me the most; I was a bit worried but also curious as to his choice in fashion, as it was very concerning. He wore a black jacket hoodie with a skeleton ribcage design on the front along with skeleton arms on the sleeves. It was hard to tell, but he wore a black shirt underneath the hoodie and I could see some red stripes on its edges. Completing his outfit were a black turtleneck undershirt, dark grey cargo slacks and a pair of leather brown shoes, almost military-fashioned boots. A lot of people wore boots, I noticed. Oh well.

His dark attire made me almost mistake him for some type of thug. Of course, since he is almost as tall as me given his domineering stance, I didn't feel like openly voicing my complaints about that in front of him.

"You alright?" the hooded man asked in a deep grumbly voice.

"Yeah...I can walk it off.." I told him, "Thanks for helping me up."

He didn't respond, just nodded stoically and went along his way, casually ignoring us as if we were just obstacles in his path. He's probably one of those man of few words types.

"H-Hey…" Cherika added, "Y-You're..leaving already?"

"Yeah...got a an issue with that?" he sternly looked at us.

"N-N-No…" Cherika cowardly hid behind me.

"Can you at least tell us your name?" I asked as he stopped in his tracks, turning to face us, his golden eyes looking furrowed and sunken in.

"The name's Norio Kuromiya, The Ultimate Vigilante," he curtly said, matter-of-factly, "Is that all, or are we going to have a problem?"

NORIO KUROMIYA - ULTIMATE VIGILANTE

"N-No no, none at all, Norio!" I quickly responded back, not hesitating one bit, "Just wanted to know is all.."

"Suit yourself kid," he said, walking off firmly, "Just don't get in my way."

Well...he was interesting….that was by far the most brief introduction I've ever seen in my life. I can tell that he's someone you didn't want on your bad side, that's for sure. So we best leave him be for now, unless we want to get beaten to a pulp.

A vigilante though? So he's like some type of crime fighter or something like in those comics? That's strange, but actually kind of magnanimous of him to do. I mean, what he's doing is illegal, but if justice is served, then who am I to complain?

"H-He looked s-scary…" Cherika cowered behind me, "I hope w-we didn't a-annoy him…"

"I hope so too…" I sweat dropped out of fear.

After our curt encounter with Norio, we walked around the carnival some more, my head still spinning from the fall I took earlier and Cherika still anxious and frantic from all the people we've met so far. We just needed to sit down and rest as it seemed all the introductions were wearing us out.

"Oh man….I just want to sleep right now…" I sighed as we approached a nearby bench, "I could pass out right here on this bench..."

"S-Same...but maybe not like T-Tsukae…" Cherika mumbled, sneaking in a cute giggle.

We both chuckled wholeheartedly, staring at the late afternoon sky above. The vivid reds, the translucent oranges and the faded yellows collided with each other, forming a fiery aurora of warm colors and impending nightfall.

"How pretty…" said a soft voice next to me, "This scene...it's so illuminating."

I turned to my side to see that someone else was sitting right next to me. It was a girl, she seemed to be deep in thought as she twirled her pencil around and drew on a sketchpad resting on her lap.

"Oh uh...hello," I said, coming to my senses, "I didn't see you there, my bad."

"H-Hi…" Cherika muttered.

The girl didn't seem to hear us as she continued with her sketching, her dull grey pencil strokes flowing across the page so effortlessly, as if she could do it with her eyes closed. She must be some kind of artist if that's the case.

"Uh...hey anyone home?" I asked worriedly, waving to her, "Hello?"

She once again still didn't seem to hear us as she continued to focus on her drawing. Almost lost in thought at that, her head in the clouds as she continued fiddling with her pencil.

"I need to get a better angle of this…" she muttered as she stood up, "Can't see much from here…"

As she stood up from her seat, what shocked me the most about this girl was the fact that she was inhumanely tall. She was as tall as a light post, looking to be about 7ft. tall. It was a sight to see as she looked as if she was standing on wooden stilts.

"Woah…" Cherika stood in awe at the girl's amazing height, "She's t-tall…"

"Yeah…" I nodded as the girl put her hand up in the air and positioned herself so that she could get a better view of the sunset.

The girl's appearance was very simple looking, in contrast to her height which made her look a bit awkward and gangly. It was hard to tell, but she looked somewhat flabby, but not overweight by any means. Her light skin tone wasn't pale nor was it on the fair side, almost as if she rarely went outside, aside from a few occasions. Her skin was smooth but her hands had calluses on them, probably from all the drawing and sketching. Her eyes were a dull brown color so her expression almost looked like a glazed stare and her lavender, wavy mid length hair ended at her back, looking somewhat tangled and messy like a grassy bush or a shrub.

Her clothing consisted of a purple hoodie that almost looked snug to the touch with an abstract white rabbit on its back. From the outline of the hoodie, she must be wearing an undershirt underneath along with dark blue jeans and a pair of brown sneakers with colorful socks that were decorated with pawprints as the pattern around the ankles. Lastly, she wore a pair of silver glasses with very large round frames that had some scratches on the lenses, a pair of earrings, one shaped like a sun and the other a moon, and she toted a large dark blue purse that seemed to be filled with personal items.

This girl had a very mellow and simplistic sense of fashion, compared to the bombastic clothing that some other people here were sporting. It's as if she just slapped on that outfit and went out of her house without checking her appearance to see if it needed grooming or a second glance in the mirror.

"Perfect...this is just what I need to complete this sketch," she softly remarked.

"Excuse me!" I called out to her, this time a bit louder, "Down here."

She turned her head in response and looked around a bit, then looking down to see us sitting on the bench.

"Oh...you were talking to me?" she seemed surprised to see us, "I thought I was hearing things….sorry about that."

"Um yeah...that's a really cool drawing you have there," I told her looking at her half finished sketch in her hand, "Also no worries."

"Oh...thanks…" she formed a small smile on her face, "Excuse me for not seeing you guys….I guess I got lost in my art…"

I chuckled at her remark as Cherika eyed her sketch with an intense look, almost as if she was analyzing it like an art critic at a museum gallery. The astonished look on her face said it all: she was enamored with the sketch.

"Y-You like t-to draw too?" Cherika asked, "Wow….your art is better t-than mine.."

"You think so…" the tall girl looked at her half drawn sketch, "I guess it's okay…."

"Pardon me for asking, but what's your name?" I asked politely, "Sorry for the abrupt question, just curious is all."

"My name….oh yeah sorry…." she snapped out of her daze and fixed her glasses, "What was it...oh yeah, I'm Jun Nousagi. I draw pictures, they're not that great honestly, but some people like them I guess…"

"And are you an artist by chance?" I asked her, "You must be an Ultimate if that's the case?"

"Yes...more specifically people, call me the Ultimate Digital Artist….I think."

JUN NOUSAGI - ULTIMATE DIGITAL ARTIST

A digital artist, that's actually a normal talent, considering the ones we've seen so far. Aside from her height, Jun seemed like a very easygoing and nice person to talk to. Her absent-minded greeting made her come off a bit aloof, but at least she's not insulting us or talking in weird terms or, god forbid, setting stuff on fire.

"Ooh you l-like to d-draw too?" Cherika piped up, "M-Me too…"

"Oh...cool," Jun calmly noted, "Maybe you can show me your work later….if you want to."

Cherika nodded affirmingly. It's nice that she met someone else here with a common interest as her. I'm glad she's opening up to more people.

"I think….I want to stay here a bit," Jun looked at the slowly moving sunset ahead, "It was nice meeting you too…"

"And the same to you too Jun," I tipped my hat to her, "Good luck with your sketch."

"See you later J-Jun…" Cherika shakily waved to her.

"Bye…" she softly spoke, going back to her drawing.

We left Jun by herself as she continued staring at the sunset, almost hypnotized by its beauty. We wandered around the carnival some more, contemplating if there was anyone else or anything left to see.

As we walked around aimlessly, we came across a weirdly colored tent that seemed different from the other ones in the area.

Unlike the red and white striped tents we saw before, this one sported black and white colors with a red flag flying in the wind at the top of it. It wasn't too large and it seemed to be closed with a handmade lock attached to the zipper forming the tent's entrance. It seems as if someone was trying to hide something inside.

"Huh….I wonder why this is locked," I knelt down to observe the lock further, "Was it always like this?"

"M-Maybe someone did that...b-before we c-came here.." Cherika thought.

Not sure of what to do, we gave up trying to inspect the tent further and turned around to notice someone behind us. It was a guy this time, and he seemed to be observing the tent as well, with his finger to his chin.

"Oh crap!" I jumped in surprise, "W-What's that!?"

"Oh, excuse me," he apologized to us, walking over to the tent, "Huh...odd choice for security.."

My sister and I stared at the boy, who, much like Jun, was lost in thought. He perused the tent from top to bottom, inspecting the material it was made from and was thinking deeply about something.

"N-No worries.." I said, letting him continue what he was doing.

"U-Um….where did y-you come from?" Cherika asked, a bit anxious.

"I was located over there," he pointed over to a yellow bench he was previously sitting on, not taking his eyes off of the tent, "You two didn't see me since I was out of your line of sight."

His tone sounded very blunt, but in a very professional manner, almost as if you were talking to an adult rather than a teenager. It was kind of off putting, but I'm not one to judge.

"Hm….." he thought to himself, not saying much as he just kept on observing the tent.

While he was busy with his inspection, I took this time to get a good grasp of what he looked like.

He was taller than me by a few inches and his dark pink hair was slicked back, very cleanly at that. His green eyes were big and very expressive while his face was a diamond shape. His skin was pale and he was a mixture of both slender and fit.

He wore a white button-down shirt with the first few buttons undone on his collar, a red leather jacket left open, a pair of black pants and black boots on his feet, along with a gold wristwatch on his right wrist.

His look didn't seem that impressive aside from his pink hair and it was more casual for a businessman style look. He seemed like a rich kid of sorts but I didn't get that vibe from him; he seemed more responsible if that makes sense. It was hard to describe him exactly.

"Ok…umm..." I replied, "And you are?

He coldly looked at the both of us, almost analyzing us like a computer AI, his eyes scanning us up and down like one of those futuristic machines in sci-fi shows.

"Genki Ohno, nice to meet you two," he plainly introduced himself, adjusting his watch, "I'm the Ultimate Risk Analyst."

GENKI OHNO - ULTIMATE RISK ANALYST

A risk analyst? I wasn't sure what that was. Does he analyze risk? Of what exactly? I'm not really sure, this talent is lost on me.

"From your very confused looks," he noticed, "You're probably wondering what my talent entails."

"I-I…" Cherika stammered, lost for words, "Umm…"

"I basically calculate and use statistics to determine if a possible outcome will lead to a fruitful success or a spiraling downfall," he remarked, very matter-of-factly, almost like a robot.

"So you basically analyze if an endeavor is worth pursuing or not?" I asked, trying to word it carefully as to not offend him.

"In layman's terms, yes." he nodded, sighing deeply, "But enough about me, you two are participants in this program as well, am I correct?"

Genki sure didn't waste anytime cutting to the point, I can respect that in a person. So far he's not as quirky as the others we've met, yet I still knew nothing about him, even though we had just met.

"Yes we are," I responded, "I guess so are you?"

"Correct," he looked at the tent behind us, "I've done my research on this program and have come to the conclusion that this will most definitely be beneficial for everyone, myself included."

He's blunt, but his words sounded similar to that of a teacher who talks in long-winded statements and over-explains everything.

"Alright…." I sweatdropped.

"Is that all?" Genki crossed his arms, wondering if we had anything else to say.

"N-No…." I told him, still wondering what he was talking about, shaking my head.

Genki sighed, he seemed a bit disappointed, but not upset, "Then, if you'll excuse me…"

He then walked off. It seemed he was going to observe the other booths in the meantime, probably wondering if they held any secrets like this mysterious tent.

"Ok then…." I looked on as he walked off, "He's….special, I guess?"

"Probably…" Cherika thought, scratching her head, "W-What was h-he talking about?"

"I honestly don't know...too tired to care right now.." I replied, yawning loudly.

My sister also stretched and yawned, it seems she was just as exhausted as I was, considering we both did it in unison.

"Let's go sis," I told her, "Time to take a break."

"You said it…" she sleepily mumbled, yawning some more.

We walked away from the mysterious tent, still unsure of what it contained and why Genki was so infatuated with it. I guess that's something we'll discover later on.

It seemed we've met about twenty other people so far, which means, including us, there are 22 participants going through this program.

"Wow..there's a lot of people here," I chuckled in response, "I guess this program attracted a lot of people...interesting ones for that matter."

"I-I guess…." Cherika sighed, "A-At least we're not alone here…"

That was true. Despite the amount of shady and questionable characters we've met so far, I have to say this amount of willing participants is pretty impressive for one session that was going to last months. If this project is supposed to last that long, then that means these people are also going to be our acquaintances as well. Therefore, getting to know them better just might help.

"I suppose we might as well get used to seeing them everyday…" I told her, "I hope that's alright Cherry...I know this is a lot for you to take in."

"Mhm…." she nodded shakily, "I'm j-just...I don't h-have a good feeling about all of t-this…"

"Will you stop worrying sis?" I shook my head in denial, "It's going to be alright, as long as I'm here to help you...this will all be over before you know it."

"I-I hope...you're r-right about this.." she nervously glanced to her side and rubbed her shoulders.

I don't blame her for being cautious, so far we've met nothing but strange people who've either weirded us out, been unusually hostile despite having just met us, talked in the weirdest vernacular ever or were unbelievably chipper and candid to people they just met. So it's understandable she'd be a bit wary of them.

It was very hard to gauge who was someone to potentially keep as a friend or someone who you'd need to keep a mindful eye on 24/7. Either way, we were each going to get our own specially cared-for treatments, for helping us get rid of our talents. I hope this works...it must work.

"Kichi...do you-" Cherika tried to talk, before getting cut off by a static noise coming from above.

"What's that?" I covered my ears from the deafening sound, "It hurts my ears!"

"I d-don't know!" Cherika trembled, "Make i-it stop.."

The static noises ceased after five minutes and started to clear up as a voice of sorts started to resound from the megaphones located on tops of nearby wooden poles. It patted the microphone a few times, testing it to see if it worked.

I wonder what it was? Is it….Mr. Yanagi?

---

Meanwhile...

It felt like any other ordinary day. The morning felt like another endless loop of the same repetitive formula for me. But despite how dull it felt at first, this morning was an exception, it was special compared to the usual.

I arose from my bed, stretching loosely and scratching myself before I forced myself out of my warm bed and headed to the bathroom. The usual routine of showering, brushing my teeth and shaving seemed to have become such a chore to me. My dull brown hair was poofy and messy, my sleepy blue eyes couldn't remain open for too long and my five o'clock shadow looked as prickly as ever.

"I miss sleeping in…." I mumbled, grabbing my toothbrush, "Oh well...sacrifices have to be made."

I finished everything I needed to do and headed back into my bedroom. It was nothing to brag about, being a simple room with a square king-sized bed with blue covers, a brown wooden desk in the front with paperwork stacked high as the ceiling itself with some papers coming loose, grey carpet floors and a closet filled with my clothes all recently neatly pressed and ironed.

"What to wear today…" I sleepily yawned, gazing at the wide array of suits to choose from, "Maybe this one.."

I eventually decided on an outfit for the day; it was nothing special, considering my line of work.

It was a white dress shirt with the sleeves cuffed with gold buttons, a blue dress vest, a dark blue blazer jacket, dark blue dress pants, black polished dress shoes with black socks, a black tie around my neck and my hair slicked back with some cheap hair gel I got at the store during a sale.

"Let's hope this all works out…" I sighed tiredly, "Hopefully, Miyumi doesn't get mad at me for being late again….she's so finicky."

I exited the comfort of my bedroom, carrying my briefcase and headed downstairs. I didn't have time for breakfast so I texted Miyumi that I needed a quick coffee fix and to buy me a glazed scone from the bakery.

I exited my home, embracing the warm sunlight on my skin as I entered my car, resting my suitcase on the passenger's seat and heading off to work like almost everyone else.

"I wonder what kinds of kids I'll meet today?" I thought to myself, driving down the oddly clear street, "Let's hope it won't be as disastrous as last time."

After about an hour of driving, I made it to my workplace. A tall building with glass windows, about ten stories high, stood before me as other businessmen and women were walking in and out of it like clockwork, some leaving work early or some heading off to grab an early lunch.

"Another day, another life to save.." I grabbed my things and exited my car after parking it in a designated spot.

Oh, I forgot to mention this spot was made for me. To specify, I'm the boss of this company.

The sign above the parking spot said 'reserved for the RRP Founder, Kiichigo Yanagi'.

I headed through the glass double doors and entered into the lobby of the building where there were lots of people inside, some who worked under me while the others were teenagers who were here for a reason or two.

"Good morning, Mr. Yanagi," smiled the receptionist at the front desk, "How are you today?"

"Just peachy," I chuckled at her, "And you, Kiyomi, how's the family?"

"We're doing great, thank you for asking sir," she responded, "It was my daughter's second birthday yesterday."

"Oh, then tell her I wish her a happy belated birthday," I said in response.

"I will, Mr. Yanagi," she smiled, "That's very nice of you."

"Please, I've told you a million times," I looked at her, "Call me Kiichigo, Mr. Yanagi is my father."

She giggled at my lame joke as she went ahead to type on her computer while I headed up to my office. I passed through some people walking by and made my way to the nearest elevator.

"I hope today goes smoothly…" I buttoned up my blazer nervously, "I don't need to have the fire department involved this time…"

I entered the elevator, pressing the button reading the number 10 and as people walked in and out of the elevator, they all wished me a good morning before I stepped out onto the tenth floor, my office area.

"Good morning, Mr. Yanagi," smiled my secretary, "You're two minutes early I see."

"Yes Miyumi, I got here before you could start scolding me," I chuckled again, "And how many times must I tell you, call me Kiichigo, you make me sound old, I'm only 34."

She laughed happily as I sweatdropped. Do I really look that old to people? Maybe it's the aftershave. Then again, she always did like to tease me, so it's nothing new.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" I asked her, "Hopefully these kids aren't all troublemakers like last time."

"Well, the 22 Ultimates are supposed to arrive today, they should be here shortly," Miyumi replied, checking her computer, "In about...twenty minutes or so."

"Great, thanks a lot," I smiled giving her a thumbs up, heading inside my office, "What would I do without you."

"Nothing really," she snorted, "Your breakfast is already inside on your desk. You were lucky, I just got the last scone, Kiichigo."

"I can always count on you, Yumi," I teased her, as she blushed at my cheesy nickname for her, "I'll be in my office if you need me."

I headed inside my office through the wooden double doors and was greeted with a large room that I knew all too well. Aside from my own house, this office was like second home to me.

The floor was a freshly cleaned black granite tiling with a large blue circle carpet in its middle. My desk was mahogany, freshly carved, courtesy of the Ultimate Woodshop Technician. My notes, papers, office supplies and a few picture frames rested on top of it, near a black leather swivel chair to sit on. A few mounted awards were scattered on the walls while the windows displayed a picturesque view of the busy streets below. A few bookshelves were filled with books, each one based around psychology, sociology or business marketing tactics for dummies. Everything I need to help these kids remove their talents.

"You can do this Kiichigo…" I reassured myself as I sat near my desk, "Another day, another group of Ultimates wanting to change their lives for the better."

I took out a black ink pen from the desk and began looking through files of previous cases of Ultimates having revoked their talents and began approving and signing each document accordingly. My hand got a bit tired after a while due to reading the same files over and over again, but being the head of the program, I need to get this done.

"Hah, the Ultimate Horseback Rider, poor girl," I laughed while signing her document, "Hopefully she doesn't have to worry about being kicked in the face anymore."

I continued signing more documents, stacking them inside of the outbox before sighing tiredly, taking off my jacket, resting it on the side and stretching my arms out to wear off the drowsiness.

"Ugh...thank goodness I got all that out of the way," I groaned loudly, "Now for a break, time for that scone!"

I noticed a brown bag next to a white coffee cup on my desk's right side. It was from a local bakery that the Ultimate Baker ran, I knew them from a while back. I pulled out the scone from the bag and ate it.

"Mmm...so good, flaky, nutty and gooey in the middle," I licked my lips and smacked my fingers, "Just how I like it."

I glanced over to a picture frame on the left side of my desk. Looking at it brings back memories I can't bring myself to stomach. It was a picture of me and a woman with dark blonde hair and brown eyes, she and I were smiling as it seemed we enjoyed each other's company in that moment in time.

"Oh Nanako…" I looked at it and rubbed her face on the picture, "I miss you…"

I looked more closely at the picture, getting a better look at it as I noticed that, in the picture, Nanako's stomach was larger than her body shape. I didn't feel good knowing that all those years of getting to know her...vanished like the fleeting hours in the day.

"Why did you leave…?" I sighed disappointedly, sipping my coffee, "Was I...not good enough?"

Then I heard a sudden buzzing noise that alerted me, almost making me jump from my seat and choke on my drink.

"Oh crap...what is it this time?" I sighed, pressing the button, "Yes Miyumi, I'm just taking a break right now."

"Sir….um…" she stammered for a bit, "We have an issue here…"

"I told you to call me Kiichigo," I sternly told her, "What's the matter?"

I didn't get a response from her as the doors to my office burst open as she hurriedly entered through them while she stifled her frantic movements but, knowing her all these years, she was probably going to give me some bad news.

"Sir...we have a bit of a problem…" she sweated, "You remember those new Ultimates who were supposed to come in today?…"

"Yes, what about them?" I sat back in my seat, a bit curious as to what she was about to say as I sipped more of my coffee.

"Uhh…..how do I put this nicely…" she mumbled anxiously, "The Ultimates are…...nowhere to be found."

In that moment, my body was still and my blood pressure almost skyrocketed. My body turned cold and lifeless.

"Is this a joke?" I chuckled nervously, "No, seriously where are they, did I miss them?"

Miyumi didn't seem to be giggling, as her uneasy body language said it all; she wasn't joking around.

"Kiichigo.." she apologized, bending forward, "They're gone…"

"What!?" I started to worry, almost spitting my coffee, "What do you meant they're nowhere to be found!?"

"I'm s-sorry sir…" she panicked, "It seems our limo drivers that were supposed to retrieve the Ultimates were found in a ditch this morning…their bodies...oh my god.."

She showed me a picture on her tablet, showing all 21 drivers' bodies inside a dirty ditch, their bodies mutilated beyond recognition and the limos set on fire.

"Shit!" I growled, "Get me the police! Get our team working on finding those kids, now!"

"Yes sir!" she responded, rushing out of my office.

"Goddamnit! This has never happened before, what the fuck is going on?!" I slammed my hand onto my desk, spilling my coffee, "Argh!"

I know Hope's Peak doesn't really view my corporation as the best and that it isn't well received by the headmaster... Then again, I don't think he'd stoop this low or go so far to ruin my reputation this disastrously. No...this is even worse.

"If it's not that school...and it's not an angry ex-participant…" I thought to myself tapping my foot,

"Then who would kidnap these teenagers so brazenly?"

A rush of emotions ran through my head as I grabbed my phone on the desk. I typed in a number and waited for them to ring.

"Yes, hello?" said a voice over the phone, "What can I do for you Mr. Yanagi?"

"We've got a problem…" I told them, "I need your help."

---

"Ahem, attention all RRP participants!" said a squeaky voice coming from the megaphones, "Please report to the circular main plaza for immediate orientation!"

The staticky voice disappeared from the megaphones, almost instantly, as I looked at Cherika, who was just as confused as I.

"I-Is that….for us?" she asked, a bit worried.

"I'm not sure…" I told her, "But there's only one way to find out."

My sister and I decided to follow the voice's instructions as we made our way to the circular plaza area. There were tents formed into the shape of a circle with a wooden podium stand in the center of a wooden stage, itself in the middle of the plaza.

I saw the others gather to the rendezvous point as well, at the same time as us. Some were walking in groups while others were walking in by themselves. I could tell they were a bit unsure or curious as to what was going on as well, considering it just seemed to be the 22 of us alone and it looked as if there weren't any representatives of the program around either. So I guess this should be a sign that something was wrong.

"W-What's going on, Kichi?" Cherika mumbled, eyeing everyone nervously and cowering behind me.

"I'm not sure Cherry...I'm just as much in the dark as you and everyone else are," I told her, a bit hesitant of what was to come next.

The indistinct mumbling coming from the others was hard to make out, as it was a mixture of anxiety, worry and cold dead somber silence in this abandoned-looking carnival. For once, this place inspired only one thing: the fear of the unknown.

"Ahem!" announced a loud high-pitched voice, "Thank you all for congregating here and joining me, my lovely participants!"

We all turned to face the wooden stage and, out from nowhere, something popped out from behind the podium, like a jack in the box. It surprised us as something suddenly landed on top of the podium and sat on it, looking at us motionlessly.

It was...a bear!?

"Welcome rejects!" a voice snickered, "Thank you all for joining me… I hope you enjoy your stay!"

---

A/N: Hello hello hello lovely people, I hope all of you are doing well. Here it is, the long awaited second and final part of LR intros, hallelujah!

I'm so sorry this part took so long to come out everyone, I've been busy with IRL life as per usual. I've started taking some lessons and other things so I keep busy when I can. Also, something else came up in my life that's a bit personal, so I won't go into too much detail about it, however that event put me in a somewhat bad mood as of late and my writing mojo kind of disappeared for a bit.

But I'm back now with a brand new chapter and I hope you guys loved it and to the people whose OC's were introduced, I hope you enjoyed this part overall. If there are mistakes I made with portraying your OC, please let me know ASAP.

For now, I will be focusing a bit on my first story's third case since it's been a while since I've worked on that one and the second story is still in the process of reworking submissions, so feel free to check it out, *insert shameless plug here* XD.

Danganronpa Salty Waves and Bloody Coral

But if you're interested in submitting an OC have fun, there are three spots left X3.

With that all out of the way, I hope you guys are doing well, I've been pushing through a lot of stress and this was a generally bad week for me in terms of emotional stress and such, but I'm still alive XD.

If you have questions on potential case ideas, please feel free to let me know in the reviews or the PM's. Also thank you once again for supporting me and my lackluster upload dates, I know these are infrequent, but I make due with what I can :3.

I hope you all are having a great day, night, holiday or whatever it is you're celebrating right now. School is starting back for some of you, but not for me hehehe.

Happy reading my fellow readers, authors and otaku alike, I will see you lovely people in the next upload whenever I decide to post next.

Bye bye!