Prologue Part 3:
It took not even half of a second to take in the stadium's grand atmosphere and-
"Hiiiiiiii!", shouted a lively woman who sprinted towards me halfway across the stadium grounds. Admittedly, the speed she was able to run for the formality of her outfit was astonishing. That talent could be an Ultimate in itself.
When she reached me, the woman cheered, "It's so nice to meet you! May I treat you to anything?"
After a few seconds of overwhelmingness, I replied, "N-no thank you. I've barely had time to comprehend this place."
"Let me know if you ever need anything! I'll be over in that area." The woman pointed to a non-descripted area on the left side of the stadium and trotted back towards that area. What seemed more amazing at the time than her balance was the animated smile she never dropped the entire time she greeted me. I couldn't decide whether she was choosing to be unaware of this outlandish situation and whether she's already accepted that situation. Either way, even her head was in a more organized place than mine was.
Another woman from the opposite side of the stadium shouted, "Can you please just not be a fucking weirdo for one second?! You'll give the frail boy a heart attack with that demeanor!"
It was then when I realized that I was in for a wild, wild ride. On top of hearing that exchange, no one student was even close to looking like another; it's like we were all born in different worlds. I suppose that line on the university brochure about wearing "what fits your truest personality" was easily the most proven thing the university's had to offer so far.
The man I talked to in the auditorium was in the small crowd of students talking to a woman in overalls. Since he came to me first, I figured to kick the introductions off with him, but I was stopped by some of the other crew.
A scary looking man with face paint first spoke, "That is an… interesting look. But may that model guide you towards righteousness."
"Eek! Just as intimidating as I expected it to be," a short, stubby man in less-detailed face paint reacted.
The man from earlier finally stated, "Ah! You finally made it. It seems like almost everyone's just as confused about this whole thing as you are."
"You need to zip it, ya literal pea-brain! I know what's behind those eyes," a woman in a glittery one piece said.
The man responded with a tone of defeat not heard from earlier, "I'm sorry, but why can't you just give me more than a minute to get over this tragedy?"
The subject of their conversation spoke up in a smooth voice, "Already the talk of the town. I gotta say, I'm impressed with everyone here, including myself." His rather large, bodybuilder image admittedly justified his ego at least a little bit.
A formally dressed woman with short blonde hair then approached, "Now, now, let's not get so antsy. It's a strange situation, indeed, but letting the newcomer introduce himself to everyone lets everyone's minds be a little more in-sync."
Another woman in much more casual attire joined her, "Not a bad plan I'd say. Team work makes the dream work! Am I right or what?"
I replied with a slight smile, "I suppose."
While that conversation didn't necessarily answer any questions I had about the place, it did confirm how unique this experience was going to be although, so far, the students have been doing all of the work to make that happen.
As I was walking over to the green-haired man for introductions, I finally absorbed the stadium and its features in my mind. Just as that man said, it is very inspired by the Roman Colosseum with its traditional seating for the audience and the elliptic shape of the field in the center. I vaguely remember tours of the Colosseum where I could only go in the basement and the sides of the Colosseum, but being on what felt like the field itself was humbling. I stared into the sunny sky with wonder, pondering on this bizarre place, but even then I couldn't find peace. Something about the sky itself was wrong, like it was distorted or twisted in some way. It just didn't look right. 'Don't let this be some sort of weird harbringer,' I thought, trying to rid my nagging worries.
The feat didn't take long to accomplish as I was introduced by the green-haired man I was heading towards.
"Long time, no see," he happily said, "You've told me everything I want to know about you earlier, so I'll tell you who I am now."
Feeling a degree of humiliation, I stated, "Huh? But I've got plenty of other things you would want to know." After a second, I went limp and said, "Are you already finished with me?"
The man chuckled, "Of course not! I was just teasing you. Anyways, my name's Todd Jinzaburo and I'm the Ultimate Accountant." Besides the hair, he's got just the look for such a title.
Todd continued, "I said that proudly, but, sometimes, looking at other people's incomes and debts can feel pretty dirty."
I responded, "Isn't that what confidentiality is for, so only you know what your clients have?"
"It's complicated. My inner drama queen is curious for some juicy info, even if it's just for internal closure on people I want to get revenge on. At the same time, though, I feel for anyone whose been through rough times like that because I've had my fair share of those growing up."
"Yeah, I can see how that could be tough to balance." I paused for a couple of seconds and then continued, "Does being an accountant at such a high level have any fun parts to it?"
"Oh, yeah! Playing mind games with tax-dodgers trying to loophole their way through life is always a showdown. Not only do I get more exposure from many of those sleazeballs, but I know I'll neither feel bad for those rich pricks nor lose."
"Damn, you make this whole thing sound way more engaging than I've ever heard of it."
"Eh, that stuff only started over the last few years. Being a run-of-a-mill accountant as a kid was booooring."
Todd let out a slight sigh and said, "Anyways, you should go meet everyone else. It's a real crew, I'll tell you. You should hit me up later if you wanna hang out."
I replied, "Sure thing," and left.