…

"Hey."

A muffled voice made it's way through the darkness.

"Can you hear me?"

The voice was raspy… did that person need a cough drop or something? The sun beat down against his eyelids, convincing him to try to open them.

"Are you okay?"

Our protagonist blinked blearily, his vision slowly fading in.

A boy was leaning over him. His unruly white hair fell around his pale face, his concerned ice-gray eyes looking into his own. "You seem pretty out of it. To be honest, I'm also… no, everyone else feels the same way, too."

The pale boy tugged on his green jacket sleeve. It seemed tattered at the bottom. A stylistic choice? "Since we suddenly… got put in this weird situation."

The guy seemed to notice his unfocused eyes then. "…Hey, are you listening?"

Our protagonist blinked a bit more, trying to clear his head of confusion. What…had happened? He didn't… He had to… Yes. Before anything else, he had to remember.

That day… that day had been a huge day for him.

He stood in front of a pair of large black gates, smiling up at the building beyond them. Hope's Peak Academy. A heavily esteemed school, highly valued by many. But that place… it was so much more than a school to him.

Because ever since he was little, he had longed to be a part of it. Just as baseball players longed to join the major leagues, people like him longed to join such a prestigious school.

Hope's Peak Academy was a government-funded school for the best of the best.

It scouted students who were the top of their field, earning them an Ultimate title. Those with an Ultimate title were truly the greatest of the bunch.

Whenever it was brought up, somebody would inevitably end up saying: "Everyone who graduates from that place will be set for life."

And it was true. Those who attended Hope's Peak Academy made big changes to the world, from leading huge corporations to saving species from extinction. It was what the academy was all about. Gathering amazing people to inspire hope to the world.

But even though he was finally going to attend the place he admired so much, his circumstances were a little different than everyone else's. But… he didn't want to think of that right now.

He wasn't so special that he had to introduce himself, and he'd always thought formalities were a little embarrassing… but he thought he might as well get some practice in. It was expected of him now, after all.

His name was Hajime Hinata. Attending Hope's Peak Academy… it had always been a dream of his. That's why, to feel like a member of society, to become someone he could be proud of, he'd always wanted to…

For that reason alone, he'd always wanted to…

For that reason alone, he'd always…

always always always always always always always always always always always always always always always al

ways, until now, he'd never really wanted to admit how painfully ordinary he really was. That's why…hope…

He might have admired talent◼️individuality…◼️but he had finally… forever ️tried his best… finally came tru3+d

…

…

…Huh?

A door. There was a door floating in the inky darkness. No… what even was this place!? He hadn't been here just before!

Hajime tried looking around the empty void, but his eyes ended up drawing themselves right back to the smooth wood. What else can I do? …I should probably go through that door.

He took a step closer, anticipation and anxiety simultaneously dancing through his nerves. I need to go through that door. Wait, what? Need…?

His feet almost seemed to be moving on their own now, the pull overriding all rational thought. His hand gripped the doorknob, and Hajime opened the door to find…

A classroom. A classroom with many colourful people inside. He found himself staring; why were there so many people all gathered here?

"Who goes there?" Stated an intimidating looking girl, braids over her shoulders. Hajime stared, frozen, his brain having trouble processing recent events.

"Um…A-are you okay…? You l-look quite pale…" A jittery looking girl stared at him, tugging at her bandages. Her hair looked like someone had cut parts of it off haphazardly. Had she been bullied or something?

Hajime stuttered. "Ah, um…"

A redheaded girl with a bob cut and a camera slung over her shoulder piped up. "Hey, could it be… you're also a freshman at the academy, right?"

"Wait, then you're all…?!"

"See for yourself. We're all freshmen, too." Cut in a guy with pink hair and a beanie. Jeez, his teeth looked like a shark's, they were so sharp.

They're all…? So these are also people who were accepted into Hope's Peak Academy… The Ultimates.

"So new students like us have been gathered in this classroom… I think." Mumbled a girl with what seemed to be a galaga hair pin.

A snooty-looking guy wearing a pristine white suit scowled at him. "Hey, why don't you just come inside for now?" Hajime startled a bit.

"Er, ah, yes, of course!" He fumbled. Wait, why was he being so polite? Even if they're Ultimates, they're still high school students like me. First impressions were crucial in moments like these! He needed to act confident!

And so, trying his best to act cool and to hide his nerves from the other teens, he stepped inside the classroom went to sit in an open seat in the back of the class, making sure to close the door behind him.

…

Now… what had even happened earlier?! He was at Hope's Peak, then a door just seemed to appear in front of him… it just didn't make any sense. It was as if I was drawn to it… But how did he get to this classroom?

…He didn't remember.

The realisation frightened him. Something wasn't right here. "Um, excuse me?" Hajime spoke up. "What is it?" The arrogant rich boy from before addressed him again.

"Why are we all gathered in this classroom? No one said anything about coming here, so is there like, an entrance ceremony or homeroom happening now?" That was what made the most sense, but even then it didn't actually explain anything…

Rich guy looked over to the side. "Actually… we were just about to discuss that matter. Well, since you are the last to arrive, we should begin."

A very colourful punk rock girl looked shocked. "Eh? This is everyone? How do you know?"

Rich guy scoffed. "There are only sixteen desks in this classroom, and this person is the sixteenth student. It's obvious if you bother to think about it…!"

A short boy wearing a chef uniform interjected. "And just what are we gonna talk about? The reason we're all gathered here in this classroom?"

"First, I need to confirm something. Out of everyone here… Is there anyone who actually remembers how they came to this classroom?"

The students all looked around at each other uncomfortably. An alarmed look appeared on everyone's face. Not a single person raised their hand.

"So before you realised it, you were in this classroom," Rich guy clarified. "Then everyone here is in the same predicament… No matter how you look at it, it's unnatural. Even you stupid-looking ones would agree, right?"

The girl with the camera responded. "It sure is strange. Nobody actually remembers how they got here…"

Then the rest of rich guy's words processed. "…Hey! What do you mean, 'stupid-looking'?" She snapped, hands on her hips.

Rich guy continued, disregarding her words. "The moment you set foot on campus, you felt strangely dizzy, and now you're here and you don't know why…

"That is what I experienced before I arrived here. Am I correct in assuming that's true of all of you?"

Hajime furrowed his brow. "Th-that happened to me too, but…"

"Eh? Are you saying that wasn't just me?!" Chef outfit blurted out.

Bandages spoke up. "E-even if it's just a coincidence… it feels too good to be true…" She mumbled, clasping her hands together nervously.

Rich guy looked satisfied with himself. "So you're saying it's not just a coincidence, then. Meaning… we can only speculate who's responsible for this strange phenomenon."

"Hah! I don't know what you're so worried about, but that doesn't sound like a huge deal…" An absolutely yoked guy said. Weren't they all supposed to be high schoolers? This dude looked, like, forty!

"…What do you mean?" Shark teeth interjected.

"I mean it's a minor problem. Instead of trying to figure out why we're here, we should try and figure out why we can't leave…"

"Huh? Whaddaya mean we can't leave?" A seemingly-airheaded girl echoed back.

Chef outfit panicked. "Eh?! S-Seriously?!" They all watched him rush over to the door and try with all his might to pull it open, but…

"I-It won't open! I can't open it!"

Camera looked startled. "…Huh, why!?"

Buff dude stared at his clenched fist, dismayed. "A little while after I got here, I tried to leave to go take a shit… But that door wouldn't budge at all!"

"Hey, hey… what's going on?" Shark teeth clutched at his beanie.

"Even with all my might, I couldn't open it! It'd be absolutely impossible for all of you…"

A new person spoke up, a girl with pigtails who's figure resembled that of a child. There sure were a lot of questionable high schoolers here… "Eh? What do you mean you couldn't open it? Why? That's not possible!"

"Sh-She's right! It's impossible!" Hajime latched onto the opening. "Because… When I went through the door, it opened normally… it wasn't locked at all…!"

The intimidating girl with the braids gazed sharply at them, effectively shutting their protests down. "Though I don't understand what forces are at work here… There's no denying that we have been locked inside this classroom."

Hajime suddenly became aware of how heavy his body felt… As if a feeling of unspeakable dread began settling onto his shoulders.

"A-are we… getting mixed up… in something dangerous?" Shark teeth grinned nervously, but it was easy to tell just how fake it was.

A pale boy with a dark green jacket spoke up. "Or perhaps… Doesn't it make more sense for this to be the entrance exam?"

"The entrance exam?" Hajime questioned. "You mean, Hope's Peak Academy's?"

A beautiful, regal girl with a sequinned bow tilted her head. "But… according to Hope's Peak Academy, no such entrance exam exists."

"They may say that publicly, but it's possible that this is actually a special entrance exam." The pale boy continued.

"Ah, you're wrong. This is not an entrance exam." A new voice piped up.

Rich guy crossed his arms. "What was that just now?"

"Hey, fatass… Why'd you make that cutesy voice all of a sudden?" Another childlike teen wearing a suit and tie snapped rudely.

"I won't dispute your blunt remark about my weight. But that voice you heard was not mine…"

"Huh? Then whose is it?" Airhead loudly remarked.

"Um, it's actually mine!" The new voice added.

Buff dude looked around wildly. "Who's there!? Where are you!?"

"It sounds like it came from behind the teacher's desk… I think." Hair pin squinted.

Behind the teacher's desk…?

"Alright! I see everyone has arrived! Let's begin!"

There was a pause as everyone turned to look apprehensively at the teacher's desk. And after a few moments… They got their answer.

A white plush rabbit sprung out, her wings flapping. With a pink and white frilly skirt and a bow attached to one ear, it almost seemed like it was glowing. With a twirl of it's toy wand, hearts appeared in the air.

"What…is that…?" The regal girl looked like she was about to pass out from shock. Hajime could relate.

"Um… It looks like a stuffed animal…" Camera observed.

The rabbit beamed. "That's right, I am a squeezably soft stuffed animal. Magical Miracle Girl Usami… A.K.A Usami!" It seemed proud of itself, somehow.

"I may not look like it, but I am your squeezably soft teacher. Nice to meet you all!"