It took them a while to reach the theater lounge because while on the way, Atsuko mixed up the directions, and they took a few wrong turns, too. After some careful retracing, though, Hiroshi and Atsuko properly arrived at the theater lounge. The atmosphere was wonderful, with many comfortable, red plush seats laid out from row to row in the theater. It was quite dark inside, but Hiroshi could see that the walls around him were colored in black and red. In front of the rows of seats, there was a very large screen playing some kind of popular action film, and the other five students were sitting in the rows, eating popcorn and enjoying the movie.

Damn, this school has its own theater lounge? How rich is this "Glendale Preparatory Academy", anyway? If they can afford this, they must be stacked with dough. You know, maybe this won't be as bad as I thought. But I still don't understand why our kidnappers would leave all of these school rooms open for us. Hopefully Ayano figures out what's going on here sooner or later.

Hiroshi noticed that in the front row, there was a boy sitting there, but he didn't appear to be watching the movie. He looked rather depressed, actually. The boy was short, kind of scrawny looking, with light red, wavy hair. He was wearing a dark blue jacket with a picture of what looked like the solar system on it, and a dark-purple scarf. Hiroshi wanted to introduce himself to him, but Atsuko grabbed his shoulder and held him back. Wait, what was that for?

Atsuko: "Hey, Hiroshi, maybe you shouldn't talk to Tenmon right now."

Hiroshi: "Why not? I mean, he looks sort of depressed, but-"

Atsuko: "I talked to him before, and he said he doesn't really like talking to others. He seems like an introvert. From what I can tell, he's going through a hard time right now. I think he just wants to be left alone for now."

Hiroshi: "You said his name was Tenmon, right? What's his talent?"

Atsuko: "He's Tenmon Kojima. He's the Ultimate Astronomer."

Hiroshi: "Oh. So he studies the stars, planets, galaxies, that kind of stuff?"

Atsuko: "Yeah, he does. He told me all about the Andromeda galaxy and Halley's Comet and a lot of other interesting things. He told me he doesn't feel very important, but I think his talent is really impressive. I could learn a thing or two from Tenmon."

Hiroshi: "He certainly sounds talented. Though we should probably keep our voices down. We don't want to disturb the others trying to watch the movie."

Atsuko: "Oh, okay. Let's go to the next student, then."

A few rows behind Tenmon, there were two girls sitting next to each other. One of them seemed to have some kind of Amelia Earhart hairstyle, with light pink hair, wearing a navy blue Air Force styled outfit, with several important badges across her uniform, specifically a badge of an eagle on the left side of her uniform. She was surprisingly taller than expected, too, and had light hazel eyes. The other had dirty orange hair, short and straight without any bangs. She had purple eyes, and her outfit was a light pink acrobatic suit, kind of like those you would see in a circus performance. They seemed to be having a good time with each other.

Hiroshi: "Let's go see them first."

Atsuko and Hiroshi quietly walked up to them to avoid disturbing the others and took a seat right next to them. They seemed to be rather focused on talking with each other than actually watching the movie. I hope they won't mind talking to me. Hiroshi decided to introduce himself first.

Hiroshi: "Hello, ladies. My name is Hiroshi Tanimoto. I'm just trying to get to know everyone here, so I'd really appreciate it if you would introduce yourselves, too."

The aviator girl was the first to respond.

Mariko: "Sure, why not? This movie isn't exactly my type of movie, anyway. Nice to meet you, Hiroshi. You can call me Mariko. Mariko Inaba. I'm the Ultimate Pilot."

Then the acrobatic girl introduced herself.

Ema: "I'm Ema Umetsu. I'm the Ultimate Trapeze Artist. I can do all sorts of air tricks and other acrobatic things."

Unique talents, I'll admit. Though I wonder what kind of pilot she is.

Mariko: "I was trained to fly all kinds of aircraft vehicles. Helicopters, planes, war planes, many others, too. I'm telling you, the feeling of soaring through the air at speeds of over five hundred miles per hour really gets my adrenaline running! It's amazing!"

Hiroshi: "Nice to meet you, Ema and Mariko. I hope you're having a decent time enjoying the film."

Mariko: "Please, with everything that's been going on, I could hardly care about that right now. Being kidnapped, brought here with other Ultimate students, in a school environment where it feels like we're prisoners?! It's absolutely horrible if I'm not counting the extra things this place has. We have to find a way out of this place, and fast! My family is probably worried sick about me."

Ema: "Mine, too. And on top of that, I can't find anywhere to practice my acrobatic skills, so that pisses me off! We can't just stay here like this! I want some answers!"

Hiroshi could clearly see that Mariko and Ema were getting very riled up about this, so much that it got to the point where the other two students in the row behind them had to quietly shush them. They were whispering.

?: "Could you two keep your damn voices down?! We're trying to watch this. Keep it up and I'll be kicking both of your asses out of this theater!"

?: "If you two have to speak, please do so quietly."

That immediately got their attention, and Mariko and Ema pipped down. They went back to speaking to Hiroshi and Atsuko.

Hiroshi: "I recently spoke to Ayano beforehand, you know, the forensics girl? She hasn't told me anything yet, but she's working to figure out how to get out of here. We just have to wait and see."

Mariko: "Wait and see?! I can't do that! We don't even know how long we're going to wait here!"

Atsuko: "Well, I mean, given our situation, I'd say it's actually better than it looks. Yeah, we got kidnapped, but at least our kidnappers let us roam around the place, and on top of it all, they're giving us good food and this fricking theater, too! Maybe we should just try to make the best of this!"

Ema: "I agree with you there. For now, it's best that we stick together and hope for the best. None of us will get out of here if we do it alone. We have to stay united."

Hiroshi: "That sounds like a good plan, Ema. And you're right, too, Atsuko. If we just try to work together, we'll have a better chance of escaping."

Mariko sighed before she answered back.

Mariko: "If it gets us out of here quicker, then fine by me."

It was here that Hiroshi noticed the two other students behind Mariko and Ema. There was one male and one female student sitting next to each other. They seemed to still be a little hostile towards them. The girl was wearing a long, luxurious black dress. For some reason, she looked like she came out of some late night sitcom TV show, actually. Her hair was long, silky, and dark green, too, with dark pink eyes. She looked like she could be some kind of model, too.

The guy next to her looked liked he meant absolute business. He was tall, black, and appeared to have a strong posture, not as strong as Haruto, but definitely strong. He was wearing a dark grey and red plastic armor-like suit, that looked similar to the ones used by the SWAT or higher trained soldiers. He had neatly trimmed, black hair, dark red eyes, and a long scar across the right side of his face. I definitely don't want to piss this guy off.

They're the last two I haven't met yet, so I might as well get that part done so I can move on. He gave Atsuko a little nudge and let her know he wanted to get to know the final two students. They got out of their seats and moved to the row behind them, and sat down close to the other students. The girl didn't seem to mind us sitting to next to them, but for some reason, I was getting some angry vibes coming off the strong guy. I should probably make this quick. Right before he was about to speak, the girl talked first.

?: "What are you doing here? Weren't you just sitting with those two trouble-makers in front of us?"

Hiroshi: "Yeah, you see, I'm trying to get to know everyone here, and you two are the only other people I have yet to meet. Well, excluding Tenmon, but okay."

?: "Fine. But you better not make too much noise. I'm trying to watch this film, you know. You first. Go on."

Hiroshi: "Oh, sure. My name is Hiroshi Tanimoto. I'm not an Ultimate like the rest of everyone here is. I'm a student in the Reserve Course."

Myoki: "Hmm...interesting. I didn't expect someone like you to be here. It must be weird, knowing you're the only one among us without an Ultimate talent. Uh, not trying to be mean to you or anything like that! I was just wondering what you were thinking. Anyway, I'm Myoki Endo, and I'm the Ultimate Comedian. You can just call me Myoki."

Hiroshi: "You're a comedian? Like, a stand-up comedian, or a sit-com comedian? Be specific."

Myoki: "You could say I'm more of a sit-com and rom-com kind of comedian, Hiroshi. I can do stand-up, too, but I don't do that as much."

Hiroshi: "So, since you're a comedian, could you, uh, tell me a joke?"

Myoki: "Normally I would, but I'm kind of preparing for my next comedy act right now, and I don't want to spoil any of the new jokes I'll be making just yet."

Just then, the strong guy started speaking up. He had a very intimidating and cautious tone.

?: "Don't get your hopes up, Myoki. Odds are we're going to stuck in this goddamn place for quite some time."

Hiroshi: "We've only been here for, like, a day or less already. I wouldn't jump to that conclusion just yet."

?: "I tried breaking off some of those metal plates on the windows forever, and I didn't even make a fucking dent in it! Same thing happened with the safe door out in front. This place is sealed up from the waist down. Whoever brought us here knows what they're doing."

Hiroshi: "Say, who are you, anyway?"

Saburo: "On a normal day, I wouldn't tell you anything, but these are special circumstances. No need to introduce yourself to me, Hiroshi. I heard you talking to Myoki here. My name is Saburo Yano. You might want to stay away from me, though. I'm the Ultimate Bounty Hunter."

Ultimate Bounty Hunter? Are you serious right now?! Hope's Peak Academy is supposed to scout for the talented to lead mankind into a brighter and more hopeful future, and they sign on the guy who gets paid to kidnap and murder people?! Doesn't that seem like an epic fail on their part? That would be like signing on, oh, I don't know, the 'Ultimate Supreme Leader', or the 'Ultimate Despair', or something like that. Why is this guy even here?!

Atsuko and Hiroshi's faces went pale when Saburo said those last few words.

Hiroshi: "When you said bounty hunter, does that mean-"

Saburo: "It means that I hunt down, kill and kidnap certain targets for money from my employers, smartass. What else do you think a bounty hunter does?"

Atsuko: "Uh...how many people have you...uh..."

Saburo: "You're just asking for death, aren't you? You don't want to know that, sweetheart. Now is there any other shit you guys want from me?"

Hiroshi: "No. Man, you must be a real gentleman," he said sarcastically.

Saburo: "Once you've seen the things I've seen, you'd understand that."

Atsuko seemed to be getting kind of squeamish, so she gave Hiroshi a little nudge and whispered to him.

Atsuko: "Uh, Hiroshi? I think we should probably stay away from this guy."

Hiroshi: "Yeah, no kidding."

Saburo: "You don't have to be afraid of me. I may be dangerous, but not to you, or any of the other students here. Besides, I may be a bounty hunter, but at least I have my standards."

Immediately, the film that was playing in the theater was cut off, and the lights inside the theater lounge turned back on. Myoki and Ema groaned and demanded to know who turned off the film projector, but then, a strange voice started speaking through the intercom announcement speaker. It was a male's voice, very high-pitched, almost like that of a cartoon character, and seemed to have a mix between a Jersey and a Brooklyn accent.

"Testing, testing, one two, one two, come on! Can you guys hear me speaking? Oh, wait, I think it's working now. Okay, one more time, just to be sure! Mic test, mic test...alright, it's working, everyone! May I have your attention, please? May I have your attention, please, everyone? All students here must gather at the theater lounge for the Opening Ceremony! This is a mandatory meeting, so everyone must be present there! This is where your orientation will take place!"

Everyone in the theater lounge was absolutely confused, especially Hiroshi. Orientation? What? I don't understand this. Atsuko was just as confused, too.

Atsuko: "I don't have the slightest clue of what the heck is happening."

Saburo: "That makes two of us."

Hiroshi: "Well, we're already where we need to be, so I guess we should just sit down and wait for everyone else to get here, and see what this is all about."

Mariko: "Yeah! Then we can finally get some answers! I want out of here already!"

For the next half hour, the rest of the students scattered across the room made their way to the theater lounge, and took their seat. They didn't have any clue what was going on, either. Hiroshi ended up sitting next to Atsuko on his left side and Ronin on his right. By the looks of it, Ronin wasn't feeling too bad. In fact, he seemed to be taking things pretty well. He brought along two bowls filled with frozen yogurt with him as well.

Ronin: "Hey, Hiro, I got you a bowl in case you wanted one. I didn't know what flavor you liked, so I picked plain chocolate. Here, take it."

He handed Hiroshi one of the bowls, which had a plastic spoon in there for him.

Hiroshi: "Uh...thanks, I guess? And I told you not to call me Hiro."

Ronin: "No problem, Hiroshi. I was just trying to be nice. Say, did you meet the rest of the Ultimates yet?"

Hiroshi: "Yeah, I did. A lot of them seem to have many amazing Ultimate talents, to be honest. Makes me feel kind of weird that I'm the only one who doesn't have one."

Ronin: "How did you like spending some more time with Atsuko? Tell me, did she introduce you to any cute girls yet? Gave you any tips or tricks?"

Hiroshi: "Please stop. I'm serious, Ronin."

Ronin: "Fine. I guess you don't kiss and tell, Hiroshi."

Just ignore him. He'll stop eventually. Don't get annoyed by him. While these thoughts ran through Hiroshi's mind, the intercom started speaking again. The same voice as before spoke again.

"Alright, thank goodness for that! That introduction took a bit too long! Well, it's nice to see you've already at least met each other, so now it's time to roll out the welcome wagon! Not literally, of course, I'm not even sure what that means literally. But you get it! So, students of Hope's Peak Academy, welcome to the orientation of Glendale Preparatory Academy! Now, allow me to introduce myself to you, kids!"

I'm sorry, are our kidnappers actually giving us an orientation to this school? I seriously have no idea what the hell is going on here anymore. I just hope that whatever this is will clear all of this up neatly.

I didn't know this then, but the confusion would only grow from that point on. Especially when suddenly, at the front of theater lounge, near the floor, a tiny trapdoor opened up. We were all curious to see what it was, but before we knew it, the most unexpected and random thing popped out of that trap door, and stood right in front of us. There was an animatronic-looking teddy bear, standing before us.

While this all on its own was very confusing and odd at the same time, there was something else about this teddy bear that startled Hiroshi. The bear had its whole face and body divided by the center into two parts: the left side showed a white, innocent looking teddy bear, with a black dot eye and a white bear snout, but the right side looked like it was dark steel black, and had a demonic-looking sharp, red eye and sharp teeth, grinning creepily. It actually looked somewhat of a mix between a teddy bear and a plastic-metallic mini animatronic, since it didn't appear to be fluffy at all. It had four little fingers on each hand.

It was at this point that I began to question my sanity, unaware that this little bear would bring more pain and despair to my life than anything else I've encountered.