Hiroshi: "Alright, Atsuko, so where are we going to first?"
Atsuko: "I think we should go to the gym first before we head off elsewhere. I heard from two of the students that they were going there to check the place out, so we should probably go there first."
Hiroshi: "Sounds like a plan to me."
Atsuko: "The other students are scattered across the school. You've already met the first six, myself included, so there's two more in the gym, two in the research lab, and the other five are in the theater lounge, I think."
Hiroshi: "Thanks for the heads up."
They quickly headed off to the gym area, and when they got there, Hiroshi found that the gym area looked well established. The gym was very wide and had a lot of space, including two large basketball courts, a running track, a separate weight room, among other things, and it was very colorful, too. Most of the dominant colors were white, blue, and red, to be specific.
In the middle of the gym, there was a student on the basketball court, practicing his dribbling skills. This student in particular seemed to be incredible at it, and before Hiroshi knew it, the student dunked on the basketball hoop flawlessly. The student was tall, around six feet and eight inches to be exact, barrel-chested, and he had very large biceps and muscles. He had short, light brown combed hair, and was wearing a light blue and yellow basketball jersey with the number forty five embedded on it, with two lightning bolts on it as well, and a pair of black sports shorts. He also had a slight tan. That guy looks like he could literally throw me across the room and into one of those basketball hoops, not gonna lie.
Hiroshi and Atsuko were heavily impressed by the student's basketball skills, and they went over to him to see who he was. This guy's Ultimate talent must obviously be basketball. With his performance, I doubt it's anything else.
Atsuko: "Wow! That was amazing! You're really good at basketball!"
The student humbled himself and responded to Atsuko.
?: "Thanks! I gotta keep practicing if I don't want my skills to get rusty. Not like there's much else for us to do trapped in this school and everything. Say, Atsuko, who's your friend here? I haven't seen him around yet."
Hiroshi: "Oh, I'm Hiroshi Tanimoto, sir. How about you?"
Haruto: "I'm glad you asked, little man. I'm Haruto Okada, the Ultimate Basketball Star! Just call me Haruto. You could probably already tell that because of my amazing skills out on the court!"
Hiroshi: "Yeah, pretty much. So how good of a player are you, anyway?"
Haruto: "What do you think? I'm a great player, of course! I'm one of the top candidates for rookie of the year! Even the professional league teams have their eyes on me! That's how extreme I am! I can teach you how to play better, too, if you want to."
Eh...maybe. I'm not that athletic, but I wouldn't pass that offer down. I just hope he doesn't go full Michael Jordan on me or something like that.
Hiroshi: "Maybe some other time. Right now I'm just getting to know everyone here."
Haruto: "I understand. Besides, I gotta get back to practicing, anyway. Nice to meet ya, Hiroshi. See ya later!"
Haruto quickly went back to practicing dribbling and shooting baskets. I think Haruto's going to be a fun guy to be around. He looked around the room for the other student Atsuko mentioned, but he couldn't see anyone else.
Hiroshi: "Uh, Atsuko? I thought you said there were two students here. Where's the other one?"
Atsuko: "I think she's in the weight room over there. Let's go there and check it out!"
They headed over to the weight room to meet the next student. The weight room was somewhat wide, with many things from bench presses, dumb-bells, treadmills, rowing machines, and other things inside. There was a girl near the front of the room, practicing some dumb bell exercises.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be all about style. She had an hourglass figure, a very flashy, light purplish-pink zipped-up leather jacket, with small encrusted diamonds scattered across it, and some kind of logo on the back of her leather jacket. The logo looked kind of like a panther. She had silky, black hair, with long bangs, with part of her hair being dyed purple, too. She was also wearing a pair of purple aviator sunglasses.
I wonder what her Ultimate talent could be. Hiroshi and Atsuko walked over to her, but the student was the one who talked first.
?: "Need something from me? Just make it quick. I'm in the middle of working out."
Atsuko: "Don't worry, I'm just here with my friend Hiroshi. Ronin found him a short time ago, and now he's trying to get to know everyone here."
Hiroshi: "Oh, yes, my name's Hiroshi. Nice to meet you. Who are you?"
The stranger seemed kind of annoyed and irritated.
Kanon: "If you really need to know, then fine. I'm Kanon. Kanon Suisha. Nice to...meet you, I guess. You probably can't tell what my Ultimate talent is just by looking at me."
Hiroshi: "Given your stylish clothes, I'm going to guess, 'Ultimate Fashion Designer'."
Kanon: "Not even close, pretty boy. I just wear these fabulous clothes for showing off. I'm the Ultimate Street Racer."
She was right, I guess. I wasn't expecting that to be her Ultimate talent. So does she do illegal racing or something like that? Wait, did she just call me 'pretty boy'?
Atsuko: "Oh, I see. Do you compete in any racing competitions?"
Kanon: "When I said 'Street Racer', I meant it. I don't compete in any legal races or anything of that NASCAR or Indy 500 stuff. I compete in the most dangerous races in the streets. You know, kind of like those 'Fast and Furious' movies, except it's not nearly as ridiculous. It's a very hard and dangerous life out there, pretty boy. You take one wrong turn and you could end up in a flaming wreck."
Hiroshi: "That sounds way too dangerous! Why do you even-"
Kanon: "It's not like I had a choice in the matter. Don't ask me any other questions. Is there anything else you need from me?"
Hiroshi: "Not really. I got to know you and I introduced myself, so that's it for now."
Kanon: "Good. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get back to my exercise. You're welcome to work out with me, Hiroshi."
Hiroshi: "Uh...well, I...thanks, but I have to introduce myself to the other students first. So, maybe later, Kanon."
Kanon: "Oh. I see how it is. Well, see you later then, Hiroshi. Don't forget about my offer!"
Atsuko and Hiroshi left Kanon to her exercise and exited the weight room. They also left the gym on their way out. I can't tell if Kanon was flirting with me or if she was just messing around with me. I'm honestly fine with either. On to the next people. I better ask Atsuko where to go next. I still don't know my way around the building.
Hiroshi: "So, where to next?"
Atsuko: "I told you this before! There are two more of them in the research lab, and the other five are in the theater room."
Hiroshi: "So overall, there's sixteen of us here?"
Atsuko: "If you do the math right, yes, that should be the case. Let's go to the research lab first. I'm sure they won't mind."
Hiroshi: "Why there first?"
Atsuko: "Because I'm still confused about why we have these strange tablet devices."
Hiroshi: "I'm sorry, what?"
Hiroshi had no clue what Atsuko was talking about. He never once heard anyone else mention any tablets or anything before, so this was completely new to him.
Atsuko: "Everyone here got one. I found mine in my back pocket. Maybe if you empty your pockets, you'll find yours."
Alright, but I doubt I'm going to find anything. Hiroshi checked himself, and eventually felt something smooth and rectangular in his left pocket that he didn't recognize before. Huh! I didn't even know this was in here! He pulled it out to see what it was. The tablet had a blue, plastic casing, with some school symbol on the back he couldn't recognize, and the words "E-Handbook - Monopod" were embedded on the back, too. He tried turning it on, but all he saw was his profile report, stating his age, grade, status, and other information about him.
Hiroshi: "Wait, what the hell is all this? How does this know so much about me?"
Atsuko: "I think these were given to us as a sort of electronic handbook to give us a guide of the school and also as our ID's. Mine shows the same info as yours, but mine also shows my Ultimate talent, too. But don't ask me why we even have these. This isn't Hope's Peak Academy, so I don't know where we are."
Hiroshi: "Someone not only kidnapped and brought us here, but they've handed out separate e-handbooks to all of us, for some reason. Why would they do that? This is just getting more complicated."
Atsuko: "And that's not even the weirdest part of it. Apparently, there's a list of 'school rules' that are on these Monopads. For some reason, some of them have been crossed out, too. I can't even read the ones that are crossed out."
Hiroshi: "Really? Let me see?"
Hiroshi pulled out his Monopad and tried to see where these rules were. After he followed Atsuko's instructions correctly, he found himself at the rules page. They were certainly not what he expected. The following rules could be seen from his Monopad:
Rule #1: Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.
Rule #2: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
Rule #3: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.
Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Glendale Preparatory Academy at your discretion.
Rule #5: Violence against the headmaster is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.
Rule #7: Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.
Rule #10: Lending your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited.
Rule #12: Attempting to break into locked rooms is strictly prohibited.
What in the actual hell? Why are our kidnappers expecting us to follow all of these rules like it's an actual school? And how come some of the in-between rules are missing? I have so many unanswered questions. Well, at least I know where we are now. Some place called "Glendale Preparatory Academy". But what's the point in kidnapping students from Hope's Peak and me, a Reserve Course student, and putting them into a separate school? Why would anyone do that? You know what, I'm not going anywhere like this. I need to get some answers.
Hiroshi: "Atsuko, I haven't the faintest idea where we are, or why our kidnappers are forcing us to follow these rules, but I want some answers. And I'm pretty sure you do, too."
Atsuko: "That's what the Ultimate Forensics Specialist is trying to figure out right now. If we go to the research lab, I can bring you to her, and you can ask her all of the questions you have about this place. Got it?"
Hiroshi: "If she really has an idea about why all of this is happening, then I'm taking that chance. Lead the way."
Atsuko: "Then let's go!"
Atsuko lead him to the way to the research lab. It took them quite a while to get there because the research lab was across the other side of the school. Along the way, Hiroshi could see a few other rooms as well, but most of them didn't offer anything too interesting. Finally, after a while, they both ended up at the research lab, where there were two other students doing their own thing inside.
It looked liked what you would expect from a laboratory. At each table, there were several different scientific instruments like microscopes, test tubes, Bunsen burners, and other things. One student in particular seemed to be testing on something at the front table, while the other was in the back looking through her Monopad. Let's see what the girl at the front of the room has to say.
Hiroshi and Atsuko walked over to the girl at the front. She was wearing a white, lab coat, with a black undershirt, along with some other utensils. She had an hourglass figure. Her hair was dark brown, tied back into two silky pigtails, with a cute little pink bow in her hair. She was also wearing a pair of sharp glasses. At the moment, she seemed to be mixing chemicals in separate testing tubes together, talking to herself.
?: "Alright, just relax. Be focused. Need to add the right amount."
She was dead focused on it. Hiroshi tried to be very gentle when introducing himself now, just so he wouldn't disturb her.
Hiroshi: "Uh, hello? Can you help us?"
At that moment, the student messed up something, and the chemicals in the testing tubes formed a chemical reaction that exploded right in front of Hiroshi, Atsuko, and the student's faces. They all screamed in frustration and shock. It was only a gassy explosion, so there weren't any burn injuries from it. But it certainly gave Hiroshi a scare. Then the student immediately yelled at Hiroshi.
?: "DO YOU MIND?! I'M TRYING TO CONTINUE MY EXPERIMENTS IN PEACE! MY WORK REQUIRES ABSOLUTE SILENCE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
Hiroshi's face immediately went pale when she yelled at him, and he was still kind of scared to apologize.
Hiroshi: "I-I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to disturb you! I was just trying to introduce myself!", he said nervously.
?: "Oh, I see. Sorry I snapped at you. I take my work very seriously, and things like this, uh, tend to happen often with me. I'm kind of a work in progress, if you know what I mean. You don't have to be frightened of me or anything."
She appeared to be much nicer now, and changed her tone dramatically when she said that part.
Hiroshi: "No, no, I'm just a little shook from that explosion, and the way you yelled at me. I'm trying to calm down."
?: "Well, I hope I didn't scare you too much. Say, who are you, anyway? I don't recognize you."
Hiroshi: "Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately. I'm Hiroshi Tanimoto. Pleased to meet you, I suppose."
?: "Pleased to meet you, Hiroshi. My name is Jin Ezura, the Ultimate Scientist, as you can see." (Jin can technically be used as a boy AND a girl's name, just stating this)
That explains the lab coat and the testing tube part.
Hiroshi: "Really? What kind of scientist are you? Like an energy scientist, or a mad scientist? Be specific."
Jin: "You could say I'm a special mix between a lot of different types. I mean, I am THE Ultimate Scientist, after all. I've been trying to create this new substance for quite a while now, but I can't seem to find the right chemical balance to combine them. That little explosion you just saw...that was one of my tests."
Hiroshi: "I'm sorry about distracting you. I didn't know that explosion would've happened."
Jin: "Don't worry. I doubt you knew what kind of experiment I was testing, or what was going to happen. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I'll try to control my temper better next time."
Hiroshi: "Okay. Glad that we established that. I'll let you continue your experiment in peace now."
Jin: "Thanks, Hiroshi! Hope to see you later!"
Alright, I got to know her, now to move on to the Ultimate Forensics Specialist. Atsuko said she was here, and given that there's only one more student in the back, I'm guessing she must be the forensics specialist.
Atsuko: "Alright, now let's go talk to the Ultimate Forensics Specialist! I admit, while I did meet her, she never told me her name."
Hiroshi: "Well, then let's go already."
They left Jin to do her work in peace and, walked over to the other side of the research lab, where the forensics specialist was still examining one of the Monopads. She seemed to be investigating it very carefully and efficiently, not letting a single clue escape her sight. She had long, light blue hair that was wavy with some bangs. She had a shiny, navy-blue blazer jacket on, with a light cyan buttoned-up undershirt and a bronze-colored tie. She also seemed to be a bit slim, and a little pale-faced, too. She seemed to be kind of attractive, as well. Hiroshi decided to introduce himself first.
Hiroshi: "Hello? Miss Ultimate Forensics Specialist? I was told that I could ask you any problems I had with this place, because believe me, I have plenty-"
She immediately interrupted him. She had a very straight-forward, serious-toned voice. She wasn't wasting any time.
?: "And so do I, which is why, for the moment, I'm not sharing any new information I have found with you or anyone else until I am certain it is correct."
Hiroshi: "Huh? Wait, so you don't know anything about this place?"
?: "I do know some things about this place, yes, but I'm not willing to share them with you or anyone else here besides my partner. I'm not telling you my partner's name, either. Investigation work takes quality time, you know."
Hiroshi: "But why won't you tell me anything?"
?: "Because my findings are private, and besides, I already have a partner working with me, so I won't need you. I will tell you when I am certain my conclusion is correct."
Hiroshi: "Well, if you're not going to answer any of my questions, could you at least introduce yourself to me?"
Ayano: "I don't see the harm in doing so. I am Ayano Takeda, the Ultimate Forensics Specialist. I specialize in investigating crime scene evidence and analyzing it. From robberies, assaults, murders, you name it."
Atsuko: "I guess having you around is going to come in handy, then."
Ayano: "It already is, dear."
Hiroshi: "Okay, Ayano. I'm Hiroshi Tanimoto. I'm not an Ultimate student, though."
Ayano: "Then I'm guessing you wouldn't be very useful in helping my studies, would you?"
Hey! Enough of that kind of talk already! I'm sick and tired of being treated like this just because I don't have an Ultimate talent! While other rant-like statements ran through Hiroshi's mind, Ayano continued.
Ayano: "No need to get so offended, Hiroshi. I was only teasing you. If there's one thing I've learned in investigating, it's that appearances can be often misleading, and I believe you might be more useful than you think."
Hiroshi: "Uh...thank you?"
I had no idea how else to respond to this statement.
Ayano: "Anyway, that's enough chatter for now. I have to get back to my studies. I'm sure you have someplace to go, too, right?"
Hiroshi: "Yeah. I still haven't met up with everyone yet."
Ayano: "Then I suggest you do so soon. We don't know how long we're going to be trapped here, so it's good to know who everybody here is. Carry on, Hiroshi."
She doesn't seem too bad. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm getting some strange, mysterious vibes coming from her. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. Her talent will be pretty useful for the rest of us, though.
Atsuko: "So, is that it? You want to meet the last five students now?"
Hiroshi: "There's nothing really much else for me to do now, so why not? Let's go."
And with that, Atsuko and Hiroshi left Ayano alone, and prepared to go to the theater lounge where the other five Ultimates were waiting for them.