The last chapter certainly was fun to write, and introducing characters was a large part of why. This chapter will basically be exploring the school more, with Sora getting to meet the other students. If you're wondering when the killing game will begin, don't worry, it'll happen soon! As one of you correctly guessed in the reviews, I'll be taking around 3 more chapters to introduce the cast, as well as the premise of the killing game.
I feel that's a good steady way to continue introducing the cast and leave time for the reveal of the killing game. For those of you that have seen your characters already, I hope to continue doing them justice, and I hope to do the same for the ones yet to come!
"T-The Ultimate Detective...?" Sora managed to get out, her hand still clutched around the Hope's Peak insignia on her jacket. That... That explains the way he's acting... The raven-haired girl thought to herself as she looked up at him once more, her bright silver eyes locking with golden irises.
"Well, the Ultimate Jack of All Trades definitely sounds like an interesting Talent too..." Shin replied, his ever calm smirk shifting to a slight frown as he looked around the kitchen once more. "Still, even after having reasoned all of that out, it doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture, now does it?"
"That's certainly an understatement..." Sora let out, letting out a brief sigh as Shin broke their eye contact. There's something about the look in his eyes... "Being snatched up before coming to Hope's Peak really wasn't something I expected when I was accepted. I don't think most of the people I've talked to before realize it much, either..."
"The people you've talked to, huh? Well, you did say that you wanted to have a look around the school, didn't you?" Shin's attention was drawn back to Sora as she said that, the detective's eyes holding an almost expectant gaze. "So Sora, in light of the situation we're in, allow me to ask you this; what do you think we should do?"
The question certainly surprised Sora, the raven-haired girl's eyes widening slightly as she registered it. "Huh? Aren't you the detective here? I'd certainly value your opinion over my own..." One look at Shin's eyes told her that he expected an answer, however, prompting her to try racking her brain.
"W-Well, I haven't taken a look around the whole school yet, but there's gotta be some way to escape, right?" She proposed after thinking it over a bit. "Even if there isn't a clear way out, it'll be nice to get our bearings, right?"
"That's certainly a nice idea, I've got a few places that even I could look over again," Shin replied, his smirk finding its way onto his face once more as he stepped away from the counter he had been inspecting, making his way to the kitchen door. "It was nice to meet you, Sora."
"Y-You too, Shin, see you around!" Sora said, a small smile finding its way onto her own face as she bade the detective goodbye. Letting out a sigh as she looked around the kitchen, she figured she'd take a look around it for herself. Sora herself didn't doubt that what Shin had said was true, in fact, that was the very reason she'd decided to busy herself in the kitchen.
Even without having everything that Shin had said be one hundred percent confirmed, it was plausible enough for Sora to believe, the girl starting to look at her situation in a new light. She still had every intention of looking around the school and meeting everyone else that was in the same situation, but Sora felt as if she needed some time to herself. Taking a few minutes to process all of... this won't hurt, will it?
With those thoughts in mind, Sora set about looking around the kitchen, taking a few good minutes to do so. In the end, she couldn't find anything that Shin hadn't already informed her of. Nearly every corner of the kitchen was caked in dust, which only spoke to how long it'd been since someone had actually been in the room. Nor could she find any semblance of the Hope's Peak insignia anywhere in the room.
There were cooking utensils lying inside drawers, and food along with spices hiding inside the refrigerator and cupboards, and yet they were the only things in the kitchen to not be caked in dust or dirt. In fact, Sora realized, the things she found looked almost ripe, as if they had been placed there recently. At least we didn't get stuck with rotten food...
"Well, that's that, then," Sora let out, the girl wiping her brow as she finished looking around, heading for the door to the kitchen herself. Looking down at her hands, she couldn't help but notice that they were caked in a thin layer of dust. "I should probably find someplace to wash my hands, though..."
Still somewhat focused on her hands, Sora began to make her way towards the kitchen door, only to let out a yelp as she found herself faced with yet another boy. Did Shin wind up coming back? The girl wondered to herself, but her lack of needing to look up quickly took care of that suspicion, she realized as she took a slight step back.
"Ah-" The boy let out as Sora got a better look at him. He couldn't have been more than an inch or so taller than her, she noticed, with the boy having a rather thin build to match. Still, with her face currently met with his, she couldn't help but notice a small amount of freckles dotting his face, along with his onyx eyes, a beaming smile spread across his face. His jaw was rather angular, with what seemed to be short white hair combed back against his head. "Sorry if I startled you there, I just wanted to have a look around the kitchen."
"Oh, don't worry about it!" Sora said, returning his smile with one of her own. It was strange, but his smile seemed so relaxing, almost wiping away any leftover worries she'd carried while looking around the kitchen. "You're an Ultimate too, aren't you? It's nice to meet you, I'm Sora Amamiya, the Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades!"
"The Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades, huh?" He replied, a look of curiosity dancing across his eyes before he nodded, taking it in stride. "Well, it's great to meet you, Sora. As for me, I'm Ryuji Tenmyouji. My Talent's known as the Ultimate Therapist."
Ryuji Tenmyouji
Ultimate Therapist
"The Ultimate Therapist?" Sora questioned. He doesn't seem to be one of those stuffy kinds of therapists, at least. She thought to herself as she looked over him once more. He was wearing a white button-up shirt that was loose on his body, although a second glance showed her it was colored a really light shade of purple. Sora couldn't help thinking that it was more formal than anything else, until she noticed his dark blue jeans, which were faded in some areas, bearing patches of a lighter color.
Thinking about his Talent, Sora couldn't help but voice a question that popped into her mind. "Um... how did you become the Ultimate Therapist? Isn't that something you have to go to years of schooling?"
"What, doubting my Talent? And here I'd thought we'd be the best of friends," Ryuji joked, the smile on his face making it clear he wasn't as hurt as he let on. "For real, though, it's not exactly unheard for Hope's Peak to admit Talents like that, you know. Ever heard of the Ultimate Nurse?"
"O-Oh, I didn't know Hope's Peak let in students like that." Sora let out, her hands drifting up to the ribbon tied in her hair, fiddling with it slightly. "Although I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by that!"
"Eh, I don't blame you," Ryuji continued, his wide smile still on his face, although the look in his eyes had started to shift slightly. "The scouting system is pretty unbelievable to begin with. A bunch of people take a look at someone and decide that they're exceptional enough in their field to get a free ride for life?" He chuckled dryly after saying that, a wry smile finding its place onto his face. "All that prestige and pressure... and for what?"
Sora couldn't help but be confused by his words, it almost sounded like Ryuji didn't want to be here... It seemed Ryuji noticed the look on her face, however, his facial expression switching to a placating one as he held out his hands, the white-haired boy's chuckle a lot more natural-sounding now.
"Oh, sorry if that came out wrong! It's just, being selected and arriving at Hope's Peak is a little nerve-racking... I can't help but wonder whether or not I actually deserve to be here, with a Talent as mediocre as mine." Ryuji let out, although compared to the tone he'd had before, this one seemed almost like an act. His words still seemed to rub against Sora the wrong way, however, the raven-haired girl feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. "I mean, it's not like yours-"
"Your Talent's not like mine, that's right," Sora blurted out, surprising both herself and Ryuji as she cut the boy off. "I mean, you had to have had some kind of gift to be accepted into Hope's Peak, right?"
"Well, yeah, but-" Ryuji let out, only to have his words be cut off by Sora once more.
"Then you're right, your Talent's not like mine in the slightest," Sora continued, her silver eyes glancing downwards. "Everyone here has some kind of gift that makes them special, something that they were born with that makes them an Ultimate, right? That's not the case with me... Being the Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades means that I just have the potential to be an Ultimate, not that I came to Hope's Peak because I am one. Having a Talent like that, I'd want to use it the best I could if I had one. So hearing you call your own mediocre..."
An awkward silence fell over the two after Sora found herself trailing off, Ryuji speaking up after a while, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder, a gentle smile spreading across his face. "Hey, I'm sorry if what I said made you feel that way. If you ever feel like it, I'm always here to talk, you know. I may not feel the same about Talents as you, but I have no problem using mine to help out my fellow classmates."
"H-Huh? Oh, I didn't mean to-" Sora said with a start, only to be cut off by Ryuji this time.
"No worries there, Sora, just come to me whenever you feel like it!" The white-haired boy said, his smile spreading wider, before he started to look around the kitchen. "Just after I get what I came for... I'd heard the kitchen was here, so I was hoping I could get some coffee..."
"Coffee, huh...?" Sora let out, trying to recall if she'd seen anything like that while looking over the kitchen. Wasn't there a coffee machine on one of the counters? "I think I saw a coffee machine over there, you might be able to find some beans in the cupboards."
"Thanks!" Ryuji said, stepping into the kitchen himself and away from the doorway, starting to move towards the place Sora had indicated. "Don't forget, Sora, my offer still stands!"
"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind, Ryuji!" Sora replied, a smile spreading across her own face as she moved towards the door. Still, I hadn't expected to react like that to what he was saying... Maybe I'll take him up on his offer after I finish looking around this place.
On that note, Sora left the kitchen, entering the dining room once more. Both Yukiko and Ruhani had left, probably within the time she'd spent talking to Shin and looking around the kitchen, and Shin was nowhere to be seen either.
In their place were two other girls, talking as they sat at a table together. One of them had their back to Sora, so she couldn't see their face, but she recognized one of them as Madoka, waving at the brown-haired girl once she spotted her.
"Oh, howdy there, Sora!" Madoka let out, a wide smile spreading across her face as she spotted Sora, her eyes shifting from the girl she was talking to. "How've you been enjoying your time 'round the school?"
"Well, I can't say I've finished looking around the school yet..." Sora let out, her mind flashing back to the time that she'd spent in the kitchen before returning Madoka's smile. "I guess I'll feel better once I get to see the entire place though! Speaking of, who's your friend here?"
"Hm?" The girl let out, turning around in her seat to get a better look at Sora, letting Sora get a good look at her in turn. She was sporting a medium-length pixie cut, her honey-blonde hair parted to the side. She got up from her seat as Sora walked over, standing at just about an inch shorter than Sora, sporting a lean build. "Haven't seen you yet, but it's nice to meet you! Name's Kanna Shimizu, the Ultimate Archer!"
Kanna Shimizu
Ultimate Archer
"Oh, the Ultimate Archer?" Sora said, taking in the rest of Kanna's appearance. She was currently wearing a white low cut top under a pink vest that she'd left open, leaving a sizable chest on display on display. Her hands were by her sides at the moment, covered in white sports gloves, along with her pastel pink shorts that went down to around her thighs. "That's cool, the two of you both have athletic Talents!"
"Mhm!" Madoka said, getting up from her own seat. "Kanna here and I've been having a nice chat 'bout the things we've got in common!"
"It's definitely refreshing to get to talk one on one with someone that understands what it's like to constantly be competing," Kanna agreed, the honey-blonde playfully smiling over at Madoka.
"That's right, you said something being in competitions before, didn't you, Madoka?" Sora let out, to which Madoka nodded. That's right, she's the Ultimate Equestrian, so she'd have to have earned her spot here through races and shows... "I guess it'd be the same for you, huh, Kanna?"
"Yep! It's been fun hearing Madoka's stories about the events she's competed in, I've even gotten to share some of my own!" Kanna replied with a nod of her own, a playful smirk creeping onto her face as she glanced over at Madoka. "It's a shame we don't share the same Talent, though, it'd be fun to see which one of us would be better!"
"R-Really?" Madoka let out, seemingly taken aback by the question, raising a hand to her chin in thought. "I reckon I wouldn't be much good in archery... and I certainly don't like the idea of competing without my darling Epona."
"Well, I'd be happy to show you the basics whenever you'd want!" Kanna offered, apparently not satisfied with Madoka's answer. Sora could've sworn her smirk looked slightly aggressive for an instant, but whatever she'd seen in that instant quickly passed. "Maybe you could teach me my way around a horse as well!"
"You think there's a place like that around the school?" Sora spoke up, the reality of their situation still lingering in the back of her mind. She'd yet to finish her little investigation around the place, so she couldn't help but wonder what the rest of the school had to offer. If I can even still call it that...
Kanna looked thoughtful for a second, before pulling out a pad not unlike the one Sora woke up with, watching as it turned on before tapping an icon on the screen. "Well, if there is something like that, it's not at the places I've seen." She said, showing Sora a map on her tablet.
The image of Kanna's map was in the same style as the one Sora had looked at on her own tablet before, being incomplete while showing the places that Kanna had apparently been to. Whereas Sora's map had shown her starting point on the upper left of the screen, Kanna's map displayed two large sections near the bottom of her screen, the one on the left labeled "Boys' Dorms" while the other was labeled "Girls' Dorms", the two linked by a single hallway that branched upwards, the same hallway that led to the dining room that they were in now.
Two separate dorms, huh? That's gotta be where the others woke up, then. Assuming they all did wake up there, they would've hung around the bottom of the map or made their way up like Kenji... a different viewpoint from mine. Sora was brought out of her thoughts as Madoka spoke up.
"I don't suppose you've seen a place that'd be good for us around here, have you, Sora?" The brown-haired girl questioned, twirling one of her pigtails with her finger. "Sure 'nuff, I'm not too sold on learning archery, but I'd sure like something to do in between classes once they start."
There it was again, Sora realized. Both Kanna and Madoka were still thinking of this place as a school, someplace connected to Hope's Peak Academy. But judging from what she'd reasoned in the kitchen, wherever they were was anything but. And that came on top of the fact that Shin hadn't found anything that led out. Calm down, okay? Sora told herself. For all you know, both you and Shin could be horribly wrong about this place. It definitely won't do you any good if you start freaking out now in front of everyone.
"I can't say that I have..." The raven-haired girl replied, doing her best to put a smile on her face. "Although, to be fair, I haven't been around much of the school."
"In that case, would you mind letting us know if you find anything?" Kanna asked, smiling widely at Sora as her eyes darted over to the door to the kitchen. Her expression seemed off somehow... Is... is she trying to look embarrassed? "I'd totally do it myself, but I'm kinda hungry, and someone told me there was a kitchen around here."
At that moment, a rumbling noise came out, loud enough for all three girls to hear. Given Madoka's reddening face, it wasn't too hard for Sora to guess that someone else was feeling hungry as well.
A giggle coming from Sora's mouth, the raven-haired girl started to make her way out of the dining room, waving goodbye to Madoka and Kanna. "Well, I'll leave you girls to it, then! It was nice to meet you, Kanna!"
"See ya around, Sora!" Kanna replied back, a wide grin on her face as she took Madoka's hand, dragging the girl without so much as a word towards the kitchen door, the equestrian managing to let out a sheepish wave to Sora as she left.
Heading out of the dining room, Sora found herself in the same hallway as before, a path leading both left and right laid in front of her. Thinking it over, Sora figured that going left would take her to the bottom area displayed on the map, which would be where the other Ultimates had apparently woken up.
Hearing from Shin that there was no clear way out of this place had made her more interested in the one place that might've been a way out, however, Sora recalling the red doors that she had met Kenji by. Thinking on it now, it wouldn't have been a stretch to guess that Shin had been the one who had asked Kenji to linger by the double doors.
That area's to the right, though... Sora thought to herself, her silver eyes glancing down the right side of the hallway. Going down the right side of the hallway would take her back to the red doors, although she did note the path branched off to the left at some point. Aside from that, going right would get her back to the doors, allowing her to go left, which would bring her back to the classrooms she had woken up in, or right, an area that Sora hadn't seen before.
Kanna and Madoka have probably already gotten a good feel of what's down the left path, The raven-haired girl mused, turning her body to the right as she started to go back the way she'd come. And since Kanna's map didn't have anything on the upper area, what's right of the red doors should be a nice place to continue looking around. Who knows, I might even find a training room around for the two of them!
With that thought in mind, Sora soon reached the end of the hallway, arriving at the red doors once more, finding Kenji and two others standing there. Aside from Kenji, who was standing up now, Shin and a girl Sora hadn't met yet were both standing at the double doors.
Kenji had apparently said something that had made Shin close his eyes in thought, the Detective staying that way until he noticed Sora walking up to the three of them, his thoughtful look changing to the calm smirk he'd worn when she had met him. "Seems we run into each other once again, huh, Sora? Came to check out the doors as well, I gather?"
"After our conversation in the kitchen, it was hard not to," Sora admitted, frowning inwardly as she had to look up at Shin once again. "Plus, I figured looking around this area would help me get a better feel for the place."
"Well, it seems ever since I had Kenji here keep an eye on these doors, they haven't moved or budged an inch," Shin replied, glancing downward at the boy in question, his gold eyes shifting back to a thoughtful look, covering his mouth as he placed a hand on his chin. "This was one of the first places I'd checked out, so I'd hoped something would've happened after I'd finished looking around, but..."
Kenji cut in as Shin trailed off, nodding apologetically, his hood pulled over his head. Sora couldn't help but notice Hoppy perched on his shoulder, smiling at the cute sight. "S-Sorry I couldn't have been more help... I-I kept watch on it after Sora left, but n-nothing happened... A-After that, M-Masumi came up to me and started talking to me for a bit, and then you two showed up..."
"Masumi?" Sora questioned, as her attention was now on the other person that was with Kenji.
The girl's eyes widened at the mention of her name, a slight frown on her face as she glanced at Sora, her eyes starting up and down her body as if she was examining her. "Hmph, don't wear it out. You want an introduction or something?"
Looking over her, Sora noticed that Masumi had long and wavy pink hair that reached down to her waist, with bangs that were slightly parted on the left, with two rose-shaped hair clips on either side of her head. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald shade of green, peering out through the few strands of hair that fell down in front of her face, framed with gold-rimmed glasses.
She was definitely attractive in her own right as well with wide hips, a sizable chest, and porcelain skin being some of the other things Sora noticed about her. She stood at a couple of inches taller than Sora as well, the Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades having to angle her head up slightly.
She was wearing a silver necklace with what looked to be a ruby pendant at the end as well, along with heart-shaped earrings. Her outfit consisted of a green strapless blouse with short sleeves, along with a black tank top underneath. Her blouse was tucked underneath a pair of white work pants that went slightly above her waist, tied with a black belt, one that had some kind of brand game on it, although Sora couldn't recognize it.
"Fine," Masumi huffed out before Sora could respond, crossing her arms under her chest. "The other weirdos here asked me too, so I might as well. The name's Masumi Chiba. You've probably heard of my father before, but I'm known as the Ultimate Streamer."
Masumi Chiba
Ultimate Streamer
"Masumi Chiba...?" Sora let out, the girl's last name ringing a bell in her head. She frowned slightly as she racked her brain for the answer, before her face suddenly lit up. "Oh! Are you related to that Chiba?"
Shin's eyes widened slightly at Sora's realization, taking his hand off of his mouth to reveal his calm smirk once more. "Chiba, huh..? I didn't think much of your last name when I asked you for it, but if you're that sure we've heard of your father, then you've gotta be talking about him."
"Tch, aren't you supposed to be an Ultimate Detective?" Masumi let out, while Kenji frowned slightly, the fact that he wanted to say something being clearly written across his face.
"U-Um, who are you guys talking about?" He piped up, his face peeking out from under his hoodie as he turned to look at Masumi, craning his head upward.
"Huh?" Masumi said back, Kenji flinching slightly at her tone as the girl looked down at him. Sora noticed Masumi frown slightly as Kenji flinched, just for a second, though, before her expression switched back to being standoffish. "Have you ever spent a day in this country?"
Pretty sure she's talking about Japan... Sora mused, Masumi's words bringing her mind back to their situation once more. Although seeing as we have no clue where we are, I honestly don't know whether 'this country' applies anymore.
"Her father's Akira Chiba," Shin's voice rang out, bringing Sora from her thoughts. "The owner of one of Japan's biggest conglomerates, Chiba Consolidated. They've got assets practically all around the world, along with all the power one would expect from a business that influential. Hell, I'm pretty sure they could even rival the Togami family in terms of influence. To think their daughter would be admitted here as the Ultimate Streamer..."
"Yeah, yeah, I don't need to hear things I already know about my family," Masumi cut in, her expression souring as Shin explained her family's standing to Kenji. "And since you two interrupted my convo with spider boy here, I'm going to ask the questions now."
Before either Shin or Sora could give an answer, Masumi had already turned her body from Shin to Sora, the pink-haired girl's gaze piercing at her through her glasses. "The first thing you could do is bother to introduce yourself, y'know. It's the least you could do after I obliged for you."
"O-Oh, sorry!" Sora let out, a sheepish grin spreading across her face as she realized she had forgotten to do just that. "I'm Sora Amamiya, the Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades!"
"That's your Talent, huh...?" Masumi mused, bringing a hand to her chin as she registered Sora's words, a disinterested look settling over her face as she turned back to Shin. Unlike most of the other Ultimates she'd met, she'd didn't seem too curious about the details of her Talent. "Sounds kinda gimmicky to me."
G-Gimmicky?! Sora couldn't help but stew inwardly as Masumi switched her attention back to Shin so quickly, her green eyes flicking upward towards the detective. It was almost like she was disinterested in their situation as a whole.
"Aside from that, why were you two so interested in this door?" She continued, the pinkette casting a quick glance to the red doors behind Kenji. Not exactly wanting to voice her more concerning suspicions, Sora found her eyes drifting to the doors themselves. I don't know too much about Masumi yet, but I don't think Kenji's the kind of person to take the fact that we're all probably stuck here too lightly.
She hadn't paid much attention to them when she had first met Kenji, but now Sora couldn't help but take them into account. They were cushioned with dark red leather, with gold rims lining the edges. They definitely look thick as well, Sora thought, her silver eyes focusing on the space between the two doors as well as the floor and walls. They look like they're practically glued shut as well, I doubt even Hoppy could make his way through there.
Almost as if he had heard her thoughts, Kenji sneezed, causing his spider friend to shift slightly from its position on his shoulder, just as Shin spoke up. "No particular reason. I've looked across the entire school, and I thought it was weird that this was the only door I couldn't get through."
"This was the only door you couldn't get through, huh?" Masumi said, twirling a bit of her hair with her finger as she thought on Shin's words. She let out an annoyed sigh after a few seconds, though, before continuing what she was saying. "So I guess that means wherever we are, we're stuck aren't we? This is so not poggers.."
"H-Huh?!" Kenji let out, wrapping his arm around his body upon hearing that. Sora visibly winced as her eyes darted to Kenji's face, noting the panic visibly spreading across it, before turning to look up at Shin once more. "I-I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems, Kenji, isn't that right, Shin?"
Masumi answered Sora before Shin could, however, the pinkette seemingly mildly perturbed by what she had just realized. "Of course it isn't, you don't see me freaking out, do you? If we're really stuck here, I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before my dear old dad finds a way to get me out of here."
"You're betting on your father coming to get you? I suppose that's a rather reasonable assumption, knowing the influence he carries..." Shin let out, although Sora could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't quite buying into the idea. Although she really wanted to, Sora found that she couldn't either.
If someone did manage to stick all of us inside this place, that means they were powerful enough to steal about 18 Ultimates from under Hope's Peak's noses... Sora thought once more, her hand absentmindedly drifting upwards to fiddle with her red hair ribbon. And I don't have a clue as to how they were able to do it, seeing as the last thing I remember was walking into the school...
"S-So... w-we're gonna be safe then?" Sora found herself turning once more to Kenji, the raven-haired girl frowning inwardly at the uneasy expression. It was clear he wasn't taking the news of their situation well, and she couldn't help but feel the urge to wrap the boy in a big hug.
It seemed Masumi had just noticed how heavily Kenji was taking the situation as well, an apologetic look flashing briefly across her face as she focused her attention on him as well, fidgeting awkwardly with her hair as she spoke. "Oh, um... yeah, we're definitely gonna be alright! The worst-case scenario here is that we all just have to room together for a while, right?"
"Mhm, she's right!" Sora said, putting a reassuring smile on her face as she looked down at Kenji. "It's not like the whole country is gonna ignore 18 of Hope's Peak's prized students just up and vanishing, right? Rooming together shouldn't be too different from the school life we would've had together, right?"
Kenji nodded shakily, Hoppy shifting from his place on his shoulder as the boy looked up at both Masumi and Sora. "I-I guess it doesn't sound too bad when you put it like that..."
"See?" Masumi replied, a smile finding its way onto her face after seeing Kenji calm down. She must've remembered Sora and Shin were there, however, seeing as her look of indifference made its way back onto her face once more. "A-Anyway, how about we do what we were talking about before and head on over to the rec room? There's no reason for you to stay by the door anymore, right?"
Kenji turned his gaze from Masumi to Shin upon hearing that, soliciting a nod from the Detective.
"If nothing happened with the door in the time I left you with it, it's unlikely that you staying here will be much help..." Shin let out, closing his golden eyes in thought as he brought a hand to his chin. "I might as well just go around looking for a way to bust the door down, though... Even if it's not a way out, I'd at least like to know what's behind it..."
"Need any help with that?" Sora said, her curiosity of what the door had behind it having been peaked since she had walked up to it. It's like Shin said, if it's locked, there's gotta be something behind it, right?
"Huh?" Shin opened his eyes once more, letting out a slight chuckle as he registered Sora's words. "That's nice of you to offer, but I'd prefer to do this alone for now. Besides, you said you wanted to get a better grasp of the layout of this place, right? I can't imagine you've been able to do that since our little meeting in the kitchen. Why not check out the rec room with those two?"
"T-That sounds l-like a great idea!" Kenji chimed in, pulling his hoodie off of his head while Masumi turned her gaze to Sora, as if she was appraising her once again. "W-Wanna come with us, Sora?"
"Well, if you wanna come, I'm not stopping you," The pink-haired girl declared before starting to walk down the hallway to the right of the double red doors. "Just don't start raging when I kick your ass, got it?"
"A rec room, huh...?" Sora muttered, letting out a sigh as she watched Masumi walk off down the hallway, casting one last glance at Shin before starting to follow her. "I was coming over here to check out whatever was on the right side of this anyway, so it won't hurt to check it out, right?"
"R-Right!" Kenji said, nodding once again before following Sora, the two of them walking together after Masumi.
Keeping an eye on the pink-haired girl in front of them, it wasn't long before Sora noticed Masumi stop in the middle of the hallway, the pink-haired girl taking a moment to glance back at her and Kenji before turning to the right, grabbing a doorknob and turning it. She soon disappeared from sight, leaving Sora alone with Kenji and her thoughts.
That was fine with her, though, Masumi had certainly come off strong when she had first met her. Strong might not be the right word, but she's definitely something... The raven-haired girl thought to herself as her eyes drifted along the hallway. So far, with the exception of the door that Masumi had gone through, this hallway seemed to be almost exactly like the one that Sora had gone through after leaving the classroom area.
Sora couldn't help but be concerned about the state of the place once more, seeing as the hallways were even in the same worn-down condition that she'd seen around the rest of the school. There's not much I can do about it now, She admitted to herself as she watched Kenji walk up to the door that Masumi walked through, a dark blue door that had the words "Rec Room" painted in white.
It was then that she noticed Kenji looking at her, a slightly concerned look across his. "I-Is everything okay?" He asked, his hands slightly tugging at his hoodie.
"Mhm, I was just daydreaming for a second there!" Sora replied in an attempt to reassure him, before reaching out for the door handle. "No need to worry, let's just go inside, okay?"
Turning the door, Sora and Kenji walked into the rec room, the raven-haired girl surprised by how big it was. It was a rather large room, not as big as the dining room, yet still larger than the classroom Sora had woken up in. The walls were painted over a dark blue, the upper and lower ends checkered with black and white squares.
A number of lounge chairs and sofas lined the left side of the wall, while multiple variations of arcade machines lined the right. A number of gaming tables were placed down the middle as well, Sora spotting an air hockey and a foosball table among them. Two other people besides Masumi had taken up seats by the air hockey table, most likely Ultimates just like the others she'd met so far.
Looking past those, Sora could see a couple of flatscreen TVs lining the back of the room, a number of gaming consoles having been placed alongside them, with some chairs placed in front of them as well. Given the Talent she'd introduced herself with, Sora wasn't too surprised to see Masumi currently by one of the TVs, starting to hook up one of the consoles. There were two other students by the TVs as well, having set up a display on one of their own.
If this was the actual Hope's Peak Academy, this wouldn't be such a bad place to stay, Sora thought to herself, finding her eyes gliding over everything in the room. She noticed Kenji's gaze drifting over to where Masumi was, however, glancing down at the smaller body. "Come on, let's head over to where Masumi is, okay?"
"S-Sure!" Kenji let out, his dull blue eyes glancing up at Sora, his words returned with a quick smile from Sora. "A-Although Masumi mentioned v-video games... I'm not sure how w-well I'll do against her."
"I'd bet she's pretty good with video games, given that she's the Ultimate Streamer," Sora let out, smiling down reassuringly at Kenji. "But I'm sure you can't do that bad, right? I mean, you've played video games before, right?"
"Y-Yeah..." Kenji admitted, reaching a hand up to his shoulder to pet his spider, Hoppy. "T-They're nice to play once in a while, but I p-prefer to spend my time with my spiders..."
"As long as you're familiar with them, I'm sure it can't be too bad!" Sora assured him as the two of them started making their way towards the spot where Masumi was, walking down the middle of the rec room.
Masumi turned her head as the two of them got closer to the TVs, her earrings shifting slightly as the pinkette turned to look at them. She was currently in the process of hooking up one of the consoles to the TV, two controllers in her hand. "About time you guys got here, just let me connect these cables, alright?"
"Sounds good, I'll pull up some chairs!" Sora replied, turning around to get some of the chairs that were lined in front of the TVs, gathering one for each of the three. After she set up two of them for Masumi and Kenji, she couldn't help but take notice of the other TV that was currently on, the one that the other two students in the rec room were using. It seemed to be some kind of news report, although it took Sora a second to realize just what that could've meant.
"I'm happy to see you've taken notice of my exploits!" One of the students let out from where he was sitting, on a sofa beside the other student, a girl. The one who had spoken up as a guy, dressed in a button-up white dress shirt, along with black pants and shoes. His outfit would've been simple enough, had it not been for the black leather gloves on his hands and the dark orange scarf tied around his neck, a Karakusa spiral pattern stitched along it. "Although it'd be hard not to recognize masterful exploits of the legendary Tasai, the Ultimate Thief!"
Tasai
Ultimate Thief
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sora Amamiya, the Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades!" Sora let out, noticing he didn't say his last name, although the name he'd given sounded familiar regardless. "I'm pretty sure I've heard your name before though... Is that your first name or your last?"
"Neither, as a matter of fact!" The boy revealed, a playful smirk currently spreading across his face. "Due to my, shall we say 'line of work', I prefer to go by the alias I have crafted for myself. Never can be too safe with the authorities, you know! I have to put care into my appearance and the name I go by!"
Speaking of his appearance, from where he was sitting, Sora could see that Tasai had a lean build overall. His eyes were a surprising shade of light blue, with his hair being a much darker shade, short and spiky as well. She didn't have much trouble imagining him being able to slip away whenever it suited him, especially given his build being more on the athletic side. As for his name, Sora recalled hearing about an infamous thief that had yet to be caught going by that name.
Still, I never would've expected someone like him would've been accepted into Hope's Peak. Sora thought to herself as she turned her attention back to the TV. However, looking at it once again, Sora realized that a DVR player was connected to the TV that was playing the news report, as opposed to a cable box like she had hoped. I was at least hoping that if the news report was live, that'd mean we had some kind of connection outside of wherever this place is, but that doesn't seem to be the case...
Just to be sure, Sora turned back to Tasai, a question on her mind. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, you're not watching that on a cable box, are you?"
"It's a DVR player, as a matter of fact!" The girl beside Tasai chirped before the thief had a chance to respond. She got up from her seat, gesturing over to a bunch of plastic cases sitting by the DVR player. "We found a bunch of video cassettes that had a bunch of names on them, and found our own names among them!"
"Really?" Sora let out, that was interesting, to say the least. Her attention now on the girl, she couldn't help but observe her appearance as she had with everyone else.
She was short, around a couple of inches shorter than Sora, bearing a rather curvaceous build as well, bearing a large chest and sizable rear. Her facial structure and skin were soft, almost as if she had put a lot of time into taking care of it. She had long dark purple hair, which was currently tied up into a ponytail that reached down to her waist, with two bangs falling around the side of her head, framing her face, bringing Sora's attention to her eyes.
Her eyes stood out from on her face, Sora noticing that they were two different colors, her left eye colored emerald green, while her right was colored a royal blue. She had a light pink button-up sweater on, a few of her buttons undone to reveal a white blouse underneath, with a light pink bow placed on her hair. From the waist down, she was wearing a dark purple skirt, thigh-high leggings peeking out, going down to her white flats.
"Mhm!" The purple-haired girl replied, picking up a few of them and showing them to Sora from where she stood. "Look, see?" Indeed, Sora could see that the plastic cases had labels written on them, each of them bearing names, some of which she already knew. Shin Takanaka's, Kenji Hachashi's, Yukiko Shimatate's, and Kanna Shimizu's being among the few that she recognized.
"Seeing as the tape bearing my name contains various news reports and police chase revolving around my heists," Tasai said, entertained enough by the footage currently playing, which had shifted to a police chase. "The other tapes probably have footage of things pertaining to the Talents of the students currently here."
"There'd probably be recordings of certain events for those with competitive talents, as well as documentaries for those with talents more intellectual Talents..." Sora let out, wondering if there'd be anything worth watching in the case of her Talent, although, given the way she'd been scouted, she doubted there'd be much.
"By the way, I don't ask I asked for your name?" Sora said, looking over to the girl, watching as she set down the tapes. A confident, almost conceited look had begun to spread across her face as she let out a giggle.
"I'm glad you asked~! Allow me to introduce myself as Shiro Momoka!" She said, eccentrically running a hand through her hair as she introduced herself. "Otherwise known as the Ultimate Pageant Queen!"
Shiro Momoka
Ultimate Pageant Queen
"Feel free to bow, by the way~" She teased after introducing herself, leaving Sora slightly confused. Shiro must've thought that the look on her face was funny, seeing as she burst into laughter while looking at her. "I'm just kidding of course! But I mean, it's not every day you get to meet someone with a Talent as glamorous as mine, right?"
"The Ultimate Pageant Queen, right?" Sora repeated after letting a slight giggle at Shiro's antics. "That means you compete in beauty pageants and competitions, right?"
"Yep! I've been competing in beauty pageants and countless circuits since I was five, and I'm pretty darn good at it too!" Shiro said nodding, a teasing smile spreading across her face as she shifted her gaze over to Tasai, brushing a hand against the ribbon on her hair. "A far more glamorous Talent than simply stealing things, wouldn't you say, Sora?"
"Oh? You may find that my Talent to be more complex than you think, your highness." Tasai teased back from where he sat, a confident smirk along his own face. "For example..." He let out, before holding up his hands, Sora's red hair ribbon in one and Shiro's pink bow in the other.
"W-Whoa, how'd you do that? I didn't even feel you touch my hair!" Sora found herself saying, her left hand drifting upwards to her hair, only to confirm that her ribbon was no longer there.
Shiro's reaction was different, the purple-haired girl let out a huff, quickly leaning in to snatch her ribbon back, Tasai allowing her to with his smirk still on his face. "Y-You're lucky I haven't seen any teachers around her, otherwise you'd be in hot water!"
"For what, a simple display of my finesse?" The blue-haired boy said back, holding Sora's hair ribbon out to her, the girl still slightly amazed as she took it back. "I doubt I'd get into any trouble for practicing the Talent that got me accepted into this school, you know."
"F-For harassment, of course!" Shiro retorted, her face slightly flushed as she crossed her arms around herself, placing the cases that she had been holding back where she'd found them. Pouting slightly, she flopped back onto the sofa, back on her seat next to Tasai. "Besides, what kind of Talent revolves around a simple sleight of hand?"
"The kind that allows me to pull off countless heists for years without getting caught?" Tasai responded, turning his attention back to the TV, the tape containing the recordings of his heists still playing. "By the way, Sora, have you had a look around the school yet?"
"Hm?" The raven-haired girl let out before shaking her head. "That's what I've been going around and doing, actually, but I haven't filled up my map just yet."
"Heh, well, feel free to ask me if you need any help finding things around here!" Tasai replied, his smirk shifting to a rather wide grin as he pulled out a tablet of his own. "I wasted no time in looking all over the school, so I'm confident that I filled out the entire map."
"Huh, that's right..." Shiro let out, brushing a manicured hand against her bow before pulling out a tablet of her own, looking over her own map. "To be honest, I haven't really seen much besides the dormitories and this place."
"Well, my offer extends to you as well, Shiro," Tasai replied, the thief's grin shifting to a teasing smirk once more as he turned looking over at the girl. "Feel free to strut around like a pampered princess, and leave all your questions to the knowledgable Tasai!"
Shiro's eyebrow twitched, a rather spiteful grin spreading across the girl's face, her eyes getting a malicious glint to them. Sora got a bad feeling as the purple-haired girl got up from her seat, hand raised to swing. "Why you uppity little...!"
Now all that's left for me to check out is the lower part of the school, Sora thought to herself, taking a quick look at her tablet as she walked down the hallway, turning to her left after passing by the red double doors once again. The rec room was now filled out on her map, as were the profiles of all the Ultimates she'd met so far.
Kenji, Madoka, Ruhani, Yukiko, Shin, Masumi, Shiro, and Tasai... All the Ultimates she'd met so far were definitely unique in their own way, people that Sora would be excited to be classmates with under normal circumstances, although with everything that she'd seen so far, it seemed that they would be having a different kind of relationship going forward. Which certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I walked into Hope's Peak...
She couldn't help but think back to the situation she'd left behind; an angry Shiro angrily swinging at an entertained Tasai. Luckily for Tasai, his self-proclaimed skills didn't seem to be all talk, the boy easily evading most of her blows. She'd watched both Masumi and Kenji play some Plumber Kart 8 on the TV before heading out of the rec room, moving on to explore the rest of the building.
Following her map down the hallway, Sora passed by the cafeteria once more, walking past the pathway turning left, and heading straight down. If what she'd heard from Kanna was true, the dorms where everyone had woken up were located near the bottom of the map display, which was where this hallway would take her. She would simply go down the other pathway on her way back up, maybe if she wanted to check on the double doors again.
Eventually, the hallway stopped at a wall, the path ahead of her branching off to both the left and the right, most likely to the boys' and girls' dorm rooms respectively. However, there was a room with an open door right in the middle, not any of the dorm rooms by the looks of it. Walking up to it, Sora peered inside, finding a room filled to the brim with shelves that were stacked with crates.
"You're looking at a storage room, by the way," Sora heard a voice call out, a male voice with an incredibly lax tone. Her silver eyes glanced deeper into the room, taking notice of a boy rummaging through the crates. Even from afar, it was easy for Sora to tell that he was fairly taller than her, a little more than a couple of inches so. Green eyes peered out at her, framed by an angular face topped off with silver hair of the same nature, bearing a subdued spikiness.
He was wearing a scuffed gray blazer, decorated with yellow stitches along its hems, currently leaving it open to reveal a black felt shirt underneath. Along with that, he was wearing beige pants along with black flats. Looking closer, Sora could see his skin was a decent shade of tan, albeit on the lighter shade. He had a bit of muscle to his build as well, giving him a rather lean appearance thanks to his height.
"Is that right?" Sora questioned, taking a few steps inside, only for the boy to lazily pull out a tablet, much like the ones she'd seen from Kanna, Tasai, Shiro, and herself.
"That's what the map calls this place, anyway," He let out, looking at his tablet briefly before turning his attention back to the create stacked on the shelves. "Pretty fitting, I'd say, considering the fact that it stores all these crates pretty nicely."
"Well, it's not unfitting for a storage room..." Sora let out, looking around the room from where she stood. It was fairly small in size compared to the other places she'd, although it was just as dirty as the rest of the school had been. It was dimly lit as well, the only source of light being a single flickering bulb on the ceiling.
The shelves holding the crates were lined in rows along the left and right sides of the rooms, at least seven shelves being lined along each side, a couple of inches between each, just enough for a person to move in between. Sora could only assume that was what the silver-haired boy had been doing before she had gotten here, the raven-haired girl fingering the ribbon in her hair before she realized she had yet to introduce herself.
"Oh!" She let out with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her head as she brought her attention back to the boy, extending her other hand outward to him. "I forgot to introduce myself, heh! I'm Sora Amamiya, the Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades!"
The boy responded by glancing away from the crates to her hand, slowly extending his own and shaking it. "Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades, huh? That sounds pretty interesting. Name's Tohru Takagami."
He let go of her hand after returning her introduction, leaving Sora slightly confused. "Wait, aren't you an Ultimate?" She let out, her silver eyes peering into his green ones. "You have to have a Talent then, what is it?"
Tohru's brow furrowed slightly for a second before relaxing, a chuckle escaping the boy's mouth. "Heh, that's troublesome..." He let out before apparently remembering Sora was there, returning her look. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that... I can't seem to remember my Talent at the moment."
Sora's eyes widened at that, he was unable to remember his Talent? Figuring he had to be messing around with her, she gestured toward his tablet, currently lying within his blazer. "Check your tablet, then. If you've really forgotten your Talent, then it should be able to tell you what it is!"
"Already tried that not too long after I woke up," Tohru replied, a dry smirk spreading across his face as he opened the Profiles section on his tablet, displaying it to Sora. Skeptically looking at it, she soon found his profile displayed the same information as hers had when she'd looked at it, including his Ultimate Talent. True enough, in the spot where his Talent should've been, the tablet had his Talent displayed as so: Ultimate ? ? ?
"You really don't remember your Talent, then?" Sora asked again, just to make sure, double-checking Tohru's profile on her own tablet, only to find the same result.
"Sorry, but that's a no," Tohru answered, shaking his head before going back to looking within. "It probably has to do with how I don't remember waking up in Hope's Peak, but I'm beginning to think this place isn't even a school, to begin with."
"You've been looking around as well?" Sora let out, only to be met with a shake from Tohru.
"To be honest, judging from my tablet's map, I've only been looking around the bottom area." He replied, frowning slightly as he continued to rummage through the crates. "But even then, I've been able to see a lot of weird stuff. For example, there's the manner in which everyone woke up around the same time without knowing how they'd been brought here. There's no sign of any teachers around her either, which would probably be the first thing you'd expect to see in a school. And of course, there's this room."
Sora had found herself agreeing with what Tohru said been saying, seeing as it hadn't been all too different from what she had thought while looking around the place, up until he mentioned the storage room. "Hm?" She let out, her brow furrowing slightly as she glanced around the room once more. "All that other stuff is pretty concerning, but what's there to be worried about with this room?"
"Well, for starters..." Tohru let out, trailing off as he put his hand into the crate once more, taking out a rather sharp knife. "When your storage room is filled with countless weapons such as these, I sincerely doubt this place could ever be a school."
"W-Wait, then all the crates have...?" Sora let out, starting to pay more attention to the contents of the crates now. Shockingly enough, they were filled to the brim with objects that would be called dangerous under normal school circumstances. Of course, Sora had already worked out that this wasn't a normal school, but that didn't make it any less surprising to see the large number of weapons lining the crates, with knives, crowbars, swords, spears, dart guns, and daggers among them.
"Now, whatever kind of person could put a number of Ultimates inside a place like this without anyone noticing..." Tohru trailed off, fingering the knife in his hands before tossing it back into a crate. "While lining a place with weapons like this? I'd hate to imagine what their intentions could be."