CHAPTER 3: Setting the Stage for Hope
EARLY AFTERNOON
Location: Hope's Peak Academy Entrance Hall
"Do my eyes deceive me or is Kagura Kiyomaru actually on time for class, this time around?" Mrs. Raibana mocked Kagura's previous tardiness as she walked inside with the rest of the class in tow, one female noticeably missing.
"Sounds like the mute chick isn't coming now..." Shinjiro commented. "Gonna throw a knife her way too, teach?" he poked his tounge out with his arms crossed on his chest. "I'd pay to see that!"
Mrs. Raibana sat at the front desk and gestured everyone else to sit in their respective seats in order to continue class presentations. "I'll have you know my circus days are behind me, so I won't accept do any more shows for quite a while - I'm on indefinite hiatus. If you'd like to pay me everytime I get a knife stuck to the wall, though, I am afraid you'll be dirt poor by the end of the week!" she said jokingly, eyeing Leo, who wasn't paying too much attention, and then turning to Kagura. "Where were we?"
"Introductions!" Chika reminded from her seat. "You were handing out handbooks... you don't remember? Happened like forty minutes ago, maybe fifty. Can't be that hard to remember, right?" she went on a bit of a complaining tangent before quieting down.
"Yes, indeed... Masaru, Kikenna, Harumi, Tomomi, Shinjiro, Leo, Ryuk, Chika and Kagura have all introduced themselves already... correct? Next up would be... Yura Murao." she jolted in her seat as a flash of realization struck her. "Oh, Yura will be unable to attend to the rest of our little meetup, for family reasons. I take you all will make her a part of the class nonetheless, right?" she threw everyone a threateningly nice smile, almost like she was ready to pin one more hat onto the wall, making Shinji's wallet grow ever sadder. "After Yura would be... Shiro Murakami?"
"That'd be me!" a nasally voice responded and a short-ish boy took the front of the classroom.
Kagura appreciated the silent pause he threw into his presentation to have a look at the boy's overall appearance and getup. He wore the official - although not obligatory - school uniform, contrasting the rest of the class that chose their own unique styles for the first day outfit. On top of the uniform shirt, he wore a hoodie from which protruded two wired headphones he had around his ears. He also chose to swap out the brown loafers from some red sneakers, making his outfit a bit on the messy side - fashion-wise. His hair was a spiky, light brown even cut with a cowlick and a fringe, and a few bags under his big brown eyes.
"I-I'm sorry my voice is so nasal today... I've got a cold... My name is Shiro Murakami, and I'm this year's Ultimate Editor! Very nice to, um, meet you and stuff."
SHIRO MURAKAMI
Ultimate Editor
The former Circus Performer kept on handing out the handbooks to other people in class, all of which Kagura recognized, until an unfamiliar name caught her attention.
By the time she was freed from the thoughtless daze, a girl that sat behind her limped over to the front of the class, with a messy blond bedhead drooping down as she dragged her feet to her destination. Her head was hanging from her neck, and the curtain of hair around it made it hard to see her face. Suddenly, the girl - fully dressed in the school uniform, although a bit more messy and sloppily variant of it - cocked her head up and her eyes shot open, only to hang drowsily between open and closed once again, revealing dark blue irises.
"Oh... hi... I'm new... I..." she yawned, reminding Kagura of Harumi - the Ultimate Slacker she'd met before the principal's speech. "I'm Shizuka... Masuda..." her name were the last words she could mutter before her eyes closed back down and she walked over, not unlike a zombie, to Kikenna's seat and, kneeling down, laid her head over it. "Night..."
"What the bloody hells is her deal?" the Survivor asked aloud, replied to by the overall confusion of the other classmates. "Can I kick her outta my desk, teach? Kinda buggin' me."
Mrs. Raibana sighed and left her seat to go pick her up. As she stood on two feet, the girl limped over back to her seat and sat down, with a ladylike posture which was quite weird coming from a sleeping girl. "She's sleepwalking... right?" Masaru asked Shinjiro beside him.
"Right on, my bro." the DJ responded. "Sure seems like it to me, anyways."
"You are, in fact, correct. I do have problems with sleepwalking, which is surprisingly what led me here to meet you." Judging by sheer coherence and vocabulary, Kagura would be weirded out by it not being Arturo speaking, but sure enough, the voice was nothing like his. "I, Shizuka Masuda, have been brought to Hope's Peak Academy by my talent of being semi-conscious during my sleep. A bit of an unusual talent, to be sure, but I do hope it doesn't inconvenience you too bad. I hope we ca all coexist peacefully over the course of the school year."
SHIZUKA MASUDA
Ultimate Sleepwalker
Ryuk tapped on the desk with an eyebrow raised. "She talks in her sleep?"
"I do." Shizuka answered calmly. "In fact, I can do anything you do while you are awake, except I am not. As a matter of fact, actually, I can't do much of anything without sleeping - my awake self is what you first witnessed, a lazy and eternally tired girl." she laughed, and seeing a clearly sleeping girl laugh was something Kagura wasn't expecting on seeing, even knowing first hand that there were some pretty funky folks around.
"Now that Shizuka has introduced herself... next up is... Sasaki?"
Chika immediately perked up on her seat, but stopped herself. "Sasaki... that'd be me. I've already gone up there, though, ma'am."
"I believe Mrs. Raibana refers to me." the final student spoke up and made himself visible by standing up and walking away to the front of the class.
Coincidentally, he was also wearing the school uniform, minus the signature tie that had been replaced by a black one with a musical note motif. The boy himself was rather large, not in a muscular kind of way, but in a sheer body mass way. His face boasted green eyes, as well as a distinctively foreign appeal to it that Kagura found interesting. From his scalp, a poofy tuft of brown hair covered the top of his head.
"My name is Isamu Sasaki, pleased to meet you." He spoke calmly, and his voice was soothing to listen to. "I am a brass player - the Ultimate Brass Player - although I'd rather be called Ultimate Hornist. I just think it rolls off the tongue a whole lot better so, if you don't mind, that's my (unofficial) talent." he airquoted the word 'unofficial' and finished his small introduction with a smile.
ISAMU SASAKI
Ultimate Hornist
"With that, I do believe we've finished up presentations for today!" Mrs. Raibana chirped, tossing the name list back onto the drawer along with an empty cardboard box where she'd stored the Electro-IDs she had given the students. "We've got a few more minutes of class before I'm allowed to let you go and explore campus so... socialize for a little bit while I sort out some stuff, okay?"
The homeroom teacher's attention immediately went to the desk in front of her before any of us could muster a reply, but a collective group of shrugs were followed by chairs and desks being dragged across the class, as people were curious to see their new classmates. Masaru and Shinji were talking to the Editor that had just introduced himself, and so Kagura met them.
"Ultimate Editor, huh?" Shinjiro asked. "What do you edit really? Photos? Music? We can have some sick collabs if you edit music!"
The Editor laughed and shook his head. "Unfortunately I work with videos more than anything... TV series, movies, anime, music videos... stuff like that. I do know how to work my way around audio editing and photos as well, if you ever need my help!" he smiled shyly and shook Shinjiro's hand.
"It's a deal!" The DJ cheered excitedly. "Hey, Kagura, you heard!? Me and Shiro here are gonna collab sometime!"
"Yeah, yeah, I was right here!" Kagura replied. "'Sup, Shiro, I'm Kagura. Nice to meet you."
"Candid Photographer, right?" he asked as he shook Kagura's hand firmly, but not as firmly as he'd done with Shinjiro before her. "What does candid photography mean, anyway? You take pictures of people secretly, right?"
Kagura tilted her head both ways, syncing it with her hand and had a pensive pout on her face. "Not quite. I take pictures of people while they're not posing! It doesn't matter if the person knows they're being photographer or not, as long as they're not posing. Taking pictures of people walking is candid photography, get it?"
"Ahhh, I see! If people didn't know they were being photographed, that'd be pretty creepy too... and that'd make you an Ultimate Paparazzi or something, huh?" Shiro tried to break the ice with his small talk before being interrupted by a certain Sculptor.
"What are the odds of having two people named Sasaki in the same class?" Chika sighed. "I mean, you all have unique names and talents and such... and I have that stupid Hornist buzzing around me, stealing my name!? The nerve of some people, I swe-"
"Woah, woah, woah, back off Chika." Shinjiro interrupted. "Aren't you cousins or something?"
Chika took out a mass of moldable play-doh out of her apron and brought her arm back, threatening to throw the red substance bull's eye into the DJ's face. "Don't even get me started! I'm nothing like that name-stealer!" she puffed her cheeks and stomped her right foot on the ground in annoyance. "Why are you all soooo much more special than me!?" she complained, although Kagura noticed a bit of sarcasm in her annoyance.
"We're all just as special as you, Chika, c'mon." Masaru tried to comfort the fakely hurt Sculptor. "No need to feel bad!" he approached her slowly and hugged her, startling Chika into a funny face Kagura can only wish she captured on film before hugging the Match Maker back.
"I was kidding, y'know, Masaru?"
"O-Oh!" the red-haired boy blushed and let go of Chika quickly, returning to Shinjiro's side. "Sorry about that... thought you needed a hug..." he chuckled in embarassment, and the young DJ got his arm wrapped around Masaru's neck once again, making the smaller boy flinch once, and once again when they were interrupted by the loud - and extremely obnoxious - noise of the school bell sounding right on their ears.
"See you tomorrow, everyone!" Mrs. Raibana shouted over the incessant ringing. "Have a good afternoon, you're all dismissed!"
AFTERNOON
Location: Hope's Brew
Kagura and Masaru went over to the school café to throw the young girl's coffee addiction a little bone - although a brown, bitter and liquid bone. "So what do we do now?" the Candid Photographer asked. "It's still too early to go back to the dorms... and we've already been thorugh the entire campus once over."
"I registered everyone from our class on Hope's Peek... we can message someone and meet up or something. Oh, oh, we can check out the clubs or the sports teams, too!" Masaru started, leaving Kagura a bit on the confused side regarding his first statement. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Where did you register everyone? Hope's Peak? Aren't already in here, though?"
"No, no, I said Hope's Peek! P-E-E-K. It's the academy's very own social media platform, for students only. You don't know about it?" the Match Maker was taken aback by Kagura's lack of knowledge on the virtual aid provided by the academy head. "It's pretty recent... If I recall correctly, a third-year student made it a part of his practical exam last year. He made the entire platform in forty-five minutes!"
Kagura was reminded of an Ultimate Programmer doing something of the sort while she browsed the internet archives of Hope's Peak alumni. "I think I remember something like that... still, I can't believe I didn't know about it!" she sighed in defeat and brought the hot coffee cup up to her lips, exhaling a puff of steam as she swallowed the first drops. "I'm a disgrace to the Hope's Peak Academy fanbase, Masaru, I might as well drop out now!"
"Woah, woah, woah, dramatic..." Masaru joked, giving the coffee drinker a pat on the shoulder.
"You're one to talk, drama junkie." Kagura teased her friend for his acting tendencies, as she slipped her new handbook out of her jacket's breast pocket and turning it on, only to be welcomed by a flurry of notifications. "HOLY CRAP, WHAT IS THIS!?" she complained at the slow down the handbook suffered from the amount of new information popping up in quick succession.
"Friend invitations?" Masaru guessed, receiving only a nod as a reply. "Probably from our classmates... maybe some other people, too. I've added that Ultimate Fangirl that spoke to us on our way out of the auditorium today, and sent that boy who was behind us an invite too!"
"Why the hell does Mrs. Raibana want to add me as a friend... to throw me knife stickers on the chat?" Kagura thought aloud, throwing in a laugh at her own joke. "Let's see, then... accept, accept, accept..." she chanted as the clicked the green option below each of her classmates names, as well, as the Fangirl's - although it took a bit more thinking before she finally gave in to her own kindness and patience. "There we go, all done."
"Want to text anyone in particular?" the Match Maker asked, ignorant to the fact that she was not listening. "Maybe ask for someone in the class group chat?"
"We've got one of those already?" Kagura sighed, remembering her middle school's class attempt at a group chat, which was flooded before every test by the lazy bums in her class asking for last-minute study tips or the entirety of the class's notes, and every other day with social media promo... she shuddered at the thought and opened the chat window, ignoring the texts before her.
Masaru opened the chat as well as asked Kagura before typing. "What should we do this afternoon then? Go over to the clubs?" the Candid Photographer simply nodded.
CHAT: 72-1 Class
Online: Masaru | Arturo | Hokuto | Harumi | Kagura | Isamu
Masaru: Is anyone around the café area?
Masaru: Kagura and I are going to check out a few afterschool clubs.
Arturo: Which ones?
Harumi: nah, stil need 2 sleep
Harumi Ueda is now offline.
Kagura: I want to go to the drama, gaming and archery clubs
Masaru: I'm going to the drama club with her, and then photography and cooking.
Hokuto: Which clubs are there?
Arturo: Hochi, there is a list in the main page.
Hokuto: Oh, ok! I'll go check it out!
Arturo: I will go and see the Drama Club with you.
Isamu: I'll go to the archery club
Masaru: Arturo, meet us at the café, we'll walk there together
Kagura: Okay, Isamu!
Arturo: Will do, see you there.
Shinjiro Minoto is now online.
Shinjiro: my phone wont stop vibrating guys whats up xD
Masaru: Shinjiro!
Masaru: Want to come over to any clubs with us?
Shinjiro: sure bro where u going
Masaru: Drama, photography and cooking
Kagura: Drama, gaming and archery
Shinjiro: yeah sure
Shinjiro: ill go check out the cooking one
Shinjiro: mixing ingredients and mixing songs can't be too different right xD
Masaru: Hahaha, sure, thanks! I'll text you later when I'm heading there?
Shinjiro: k then
Hokuto: GUYS WHY IS THERE NO ASTRONOMY CLUB?
Hokuto: I'M GONNA MAKE AN ASTRONOMY CLUB!
Hokuto Nanto is now offline.
Shinjiro: that was something xD haha
Shinjiro: im gonna get ready for the cooking and stuff, see u
Shinjiro Minoto is now offline.
Masaru: See you!
"Hello there." It wasn't long after Masaru typed that message that the familiar voice of the class's Linguist made itself clear in the café's beige walls, right after the soft tingle of the bell above the entrance door. "Ahh, the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Although I'm not the biggest fan of its taste, I do believe its aroma is one of the most exquisite, don't you agree?"
"Hell yeah I do!" Kagura cheered, standing up with her cup in hand as she started walking towards Arturo, Masaru quickly following suit. "You got here quickly, Arturo, were you hanging around here?"
Arturo nodded slightly before replying. "Yes, indeed I was." he said, stopping himself to open the door, letting Kagura and Masaru pass in front of him, both of which with thankful smiles. "I happened to be walking around campus with Tomomi and Leo, just enjoying a friendly chat before your invitation arrived through the class's group conversation. Speaking of which, Tomomi showed some interest in accompanying you to the gaming club, if you'd be so inclined as to want her company."
"Sure thing! The more the merrier, that's what I always say! I bet the tech geeks over there are gonna flip with Teshima, too!" Kagura voiced her thoughts gleefully, with an honest smile on her face. "I'll text her when we get out of the Drama club, though."
"Speaking of which..." Masaru chimes in. "Where's the drama practice anyway? The auditorium?"
"Yep" Kagura confirms Masaru's guess. "That's why we're heading there, dummy." she teases her friend once again, right as the auditorium's shadow started consuming the three students' bodies.
AFTERNOON
Location: Hope's Peak Academy Auditorium
"How the fuck am I supposed to work in these conditions, you filthy pig!? I'm insulted! Take this!" an unfamiliar female voice shouted as Kagura entered the wide, cold auditorium, at the right moment for her to witness a tall woman with a jet-black mop of curls reaching her breasts slap a limp - almost dead-looking - body, right in the face. The slap quickly became a fighting scene, as around six or seven other people just watched in awe, not doing anything.
Kagura immediately sprung into action, as the lady on stage was straddling the struggling man, hands pressed strongly against his neck, and a faint choking noise reached her ears. She leapt onto the wooden stage and grabbed the woman, who surprisingly enough, let go of the body in the ground easily and without any fight back. "Hey, hey, knock it off, dude, what's your deal!?" she kept pulling her and quickly threw her into the ground, being met by something she was not expecting. Behind the curly black hair Kagura now noticed was a wig, stood a tall man with light brown hair peeking behind the wig and green/hazel eyes, his tan skin melding the shades of brown together perfectly. "Wh-Why are y-you a man...?"
The Candid Photographer looked to her left, off the stage and into the audience, where the unfamiliar faces boasted either a mocking, shocked or embarassed expression - the latter being prominent in Masaru's face. "Excuse me, miss!?" the female voice complained, throwing Kagura off and onto the body aggressively. Upon further inspection, Kagura examined the grounded body that the man was choking earlier to find it being a mere puppet - a fake. "How dare you interrupt my discussion!? That man has ripped me of every right I've ever had! This is slavery!"
"Woah, woah, woah, what's going on!?" Kagura shouted back, confused as she stood up to get her bearing straight once again. "Bitch, are you delusional!?"
"What did you just call me, slut!? Do you wanna fight!? You just came onto my boss's office and attacked me!" the male approached Kagura with lightning speed and drove her down into the ground, pinning her down by placing her black stiletto on the Candid Photographer's stomach. "Don't get in my way, you hear!?" And then a bell rang. Loudly.
Kagura covered her ears and squirmed away from the woman who she was convinced had gone completely bonkers, as she noticed, again, no resistance at all. "What the hell are you doing, dude!? Or... girl!?" she managed to say in between huffs, as the girlman simply took his wig off, revealing a light brown mess with an ahoge pointing up and to the right. "W-Wait a minute... Mr... you're..."
"This, everyone, is how you improv." the man threw an award-winning smile towards the audience, making Masaru shuffle uncomfortably. "Aaron Young, head of the Drama Club and Former Ultimate Actor. Is everything alright with you? You seem quite distraught."
AARON YOUNG
Former Ultimate Actor
"I-I-I'm s-s-s-so s-sorry, s-s-sir!"
"Don't stutter, miss, it's unbecoming of an actress. Which I believe is your reason for coming?" the Actor responded with serenity. "Welcome to the Drama Club, Miss...?"
"K-Kagura K-K-Kiyomaru!" the young girl presents herself, absolutely terrified of what'd just happened. "Did I... Did I just interrupt your play...?"
Mr. Young nodded and walked Kagura off the stage alongside him. "I was showing these young men and woman, the dialogue everyone has to play in order to enter the Drama Club. You have given me the chance to teach them a good lesson in improvising, however! As always, the universe has steered us in the right direction, yes?" the man laughed, and gestured Kagura to have a seat, which she reluctantly did, next to Masaru and Arturo. "As I said previously, this dialogue will be presented by two of you at a time, and those who I deem worthy of entering the club, will do just that. The only things I need you to bring to the table are your availability, professionalism and versatility. We'll iron out the rest during the year, understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Young!" the front row responded, Kagura remaining quiet.
"Very well. You're all dismissed, except those who have questions, and those who've arrived late." he said, throwing a side-look towards the three 72-1 students. "You can find the scripts for this monologue in Hope's Peek, if you browse hard enough." the entire front row, except for one male.
In the dim lighting of the audience portion of the auditorium, it was hard for Kagura to make out his light brown eyes or bright red hair with burnt black tips, dark tan skin covered with bandages much like Ryuk - although this boy had more of a nutty feel. He bore a black dress shirt with a dirty dark grey tie, underneath brown overalls. His red hair was pinned down by charred goggles, matching his gloves and small satchel. "Mr. Young, are we allowed to change the way the story flows?"
"You can make minor changes to movements or dialogue, but the story as a whole must remain the same."
"And do we have to play a woman?"
"Yes, I'm afraid this dialogue is between a woman and a man. Be sure to partner up with a girl if you want to play the man, Akira." the older man ruffled the younger boy's hair with a playful rub and smiled. "And please, no big explosions this time."
The boy - Akira, if Kagura heard correctly - cackled lowly and shook his head. "I'll try to keep those to a mininum, hehe... but there'll be a few, or my name isn't Akira Batora!" he then started into sort of a maniac laughter, not unlike cartoonish witches and left the auditorium in a rush, hugging his satchel tightly.
AKIRA BATORA
Ultimate Demolition Expert
"Oh, what have I wrought upon this poor auditorium..." Mr. Young sighed and shook his head. "Very well... you three just arrived, correct? Let me tell you, as an actor, you must never be late to a rehearsal or a play. You'll be dumped from the cast in a matter of seconds. So I'm hoping this will be the first and last time I see any of you arriving late to the Drama Club, understood?" his voice grew more and more stern as he spoke, giving the three newbies a sense of fear and pressure, but they eventually nodded in agreement. "Great! I'll be looking forward to seeing you work. I'm going to have another scheduled showing for the second years later on, would you like to stay and wait?"
"Yes, please, sir, if it's not too much of a hassle!" Masaru swooned over what Kagura didn't remember to be one of his idols. "It'd be an honor to witness your work once again!"
The former Actor chuckled and got on stage once again, walking away towards the backstage rooms before peeking his head out and reminding the Candid Photographer. "When I come back, please make sure to stay seated." he winked at the young girl, making her blush in embarassment.
"Wow... talk about unexpected..." Kagura muttered to a dreamy Masaru and a quiet Arturo, trying his best to maintain his composure and not laugh at what had just happened. "I thought Mr. Young would be such a diva, and get super pissed at me when I did that, but he's so nice! This just goes to show how wonderful of an alumni this academy is capable of making!"
"Didja say something, Kagura?" Masaru mumbled had his chin on the palm of his hand, and a dumb smile on his face as he watched the curtain intently.
"Is something wrong with that drape, Masaru? You've been staring at it for quite a while but I'm unable to discern any irregularities that could have such an effect..." Arturo asked in his abnormally wellpaced speech.
The Match Maker's face quickly turned red and he shook it off, trying to go back to his normal coloring. "I-It's nothing, really. I'm just a big fan of Mr. Young, so having them around is really nice." he replied, a bit flustered.
"Oh, is something the matter, Masaru? You seem to be a bit embarassed to admit that."
"I-It's not like that. It's just kinda... well, normally actors like Mr. Young only have fangirls so it's kind of awkward to be a fanboy, get me? People assume stuff..." he trailed off and started muttering to himself. Suddenly, an interruption erupted from backstage. "M-Mr. Young!"
"Do any of you want to check out the backstage area of the auditorium? All school plays are acted out here in this stage, so we've got a few utilities in the back that you'll have to be familiar with later on. Should I let you join our club, that is. Either way, it'll be good for you, are any of you interested?"
Masaru was the first to bolt his butt off the seat and excitedly scream out. "Y-Yes, sir! I'd really like to see!" he turned around with a little child's sparkle in his eyes. "Kagura, Arturo, do you wanna come!?" The Linguist was quick to stand up next to Masaru, who awaited his friend's response, but the young Candid Photographer didn't bother to look at her friend, as she was searching for the schedule for the next club presentations. "Kaguraaa? You coming?" he called.
"Yeah, yeah, coming" Kagura said a bit dazed and absent, confusing the Linguist beside her but leaving Masaru fully unfazed, as he had already switched his attention to focus on the former Actor instead. The Candid Photographer stood up and got up the wooden stairs and onto the stage she'd just leapt onto a few minutes ago, and sighed. "God I'm dumb" she thought, mocking herself jokingly and subsequently shrugged. "Oh well!"
Behind the black curtain that covered what part of the stage shouldn't be seen was a dark hallway leading to a lit room in the back. The three students followed the teacher as he led the way silently and Kagura observed her surroundings as they walked. The walls of the hallway were covered by a black drape and there were tables in front of them full of props, as well as buttons and levers on the walls. At the end of the hall, Kagura got to the lit room and looked around to check out its structure. It was a linear room with two wooden doors on the left and an elevator to the right, standing between two racks with various hangers, from which dangled all kinds of costumes.
"These are the changing rooms!" Mr. Young explained, breaking the silence. "Along the walls, as you could see were various objects we use during plays, a.k.a. props, and these are all the costumes you guys might be wearing soon." he added, Masaru flailing around the place in his kidlike enthusiasm for theatre. "What is the young boy's name?"
"M-Me?" Masaru heard Mr. Young speak attentively, although he sure didn't seem to be paying mind to it. "Masaru Arakawa, Ultimate Match Maker... I thought I'd introduced myself already, sorry!"
The former Actor shook his head and politely refused his apology. "No need, young man. You're into acting, right? You sure seem like you are."
"Y-Yes! I've liked acting and entertaining people ever since I was a kid... I really want to make it far in the acting business and such... if match making doesn't cut it for me." he explained a dream that Kagura had heard multiple times, but Arturo and Mr. Young hadn't.
The older brunette had a soft smile in his face and a bit of a spark in his eye. "You remind me of myself as a kid." he chuckled. "When I was a bit younger than you, I really wanted to be an entertainer... and that's why I busted my ass off trying to go to every casting and participating in everything I could. A few strings and a bit of luck later, and I was a child star and asked to enroll in Hope's Peak." he boasted, with calmness and serenity in his voice. "Not to brag, of course! I just want to tell you... dreams do come true, if you work for them. So go for them with everything you've got!" he cheered Masaru, putting a stern hand on his shoulder and looking at the younger boy's grin. Then, he turned to Kagura and Arturo, who just witnessed his little inspirational speech. "And this goes for you two as well, you hear? If you need anything, I'm sure your homeroom teacher can help. You first years have got a great batch of nutjobs to take care of yo-"
"Heeeeeey! Mr. Aaron Young!?" a shout came from the front of the stage, the main auditorium.
"Ah, sounds like people are already arriving! Please go back and have a seat. I'll be right there!" and with that, he dismissed the young talents away.
A/N: With that I've finished off introducing the main class, and I've even thrown in a couple other 72-2 students and two teachers in the mix! I'm super sorry these first chapters have been so introduction-heavy but I've got to get the characters some screentime before everything starts happening! With that, I'll be sure to make the next chapters much more interesting (although next chapter has a few more introductions), marking the beggining of the first Arc - which you'll see soon enough.
In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying my best to get these out a bit faster now that I have the time, so enjoy it while it lasts. Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you thought of everyone (in the main class and otherwise) and the overall chapter!
I'll see you next time, but until then... Yamazaki out!