Prologue: Helplessness Blues (Part 2)
Junichi was laying in the dark with his knees pressed to his chest and his head curled up against his body as he felt like he could barely move his thin frame within the confines of what he felt like he was trapped in. He pushed his legs, and it felt as if it was tightening against him in another place he wasn't pushing. That was until he heard a familiar sound.
"...A zipper?" Junichi asked himself as he continued pushing his body, hearing the rip of a zipper as a small crack of light hit him on the face. Using his limited stretching ability, he dragged an arm from under his body and pressed his fingers through the hole of the zipper, feeling around for the tab. Junichi finally pulled it, opening the container he was in. The crack of light then widened, Junichi feeling the pressure around his body lighten as he desperately pushed his arms and head out only to realize his body was packed into a luggage case.
"Huh… I was in a suitcase?" Junichi asked, looking around the room he was in. The walls were a striped cream and gold color, the floor covered in a deep red plush carpet. On the back wall were a wall of mirrors with two polished marble countertops with a deep set sink on both sides. There was a bed with checker patterns the same cream and gold color that matched the walls. In the corner, there was a camera with a small LCD monitor underneath of it, and across from the bed was a flat screen TV. There were two doors on opposite sides of the room, Junichi wondering which door to take when the door to go through when one of the doors swung open.
"Good morning, Mr. Ando!" said a tall, lanky young man who stepped into the room. He was dressed in a tuxedo suit, white on the right side and black on the left from the jacket to the pants and even the dress shoes. The man had a long, dirty blonde hair, wrapped into a ponytail, dark green eyes wide and staring down at Junichi. His face was covered in a carefully-trimmed goatee, which only seemed to emphasize his smile as he walked over to Junichi.
"Gah! Wh-what? Who are you?! What am I doing here?! Where am I?" Junichi asked in rapid-fire succession as the suited man roughly grabbed him off the floor by the scruff of his shirt.
"The name's Hojo! And you are a guest here at the Hanging Garden Hotel!" he said with a wide grin full of large, blindingly white teeth. Junichi furrowed his brow, sticking his hands back in his pockets.
"...So, we're in a hotel. And you guys delivered me to a hotel in a carrying case? Where's Hope's Peak?" Junichi asked, feeling very confused and uneased by Hojo's unblinking stare and widening smile.
"Why, you're not just in any hotel, Mr. Ando! You are in the premier hotel in all of Japan! We have it all here! Gourmet meals, winning big bucks at the MonoRajah Casino, lounging by the pool, taking in a show at the Monokuma Theatre, and all sorts of luxuries to make you go Hojo~" the man raved, head shaking like a malfunctioning bobblehead as his eyes darted across the room.
"...O-okay?" Junichi said, feeling increasingly uncomfortable at Hojo's presence. "C-can you back up a bit, please?"
"And if you ever need anything, just holler for the MonoStaff! Our MonoServants and MonoMaids are here for you!" Hojo continued to rant, grabbing Junichi his jacket and roughly shaking him. "Any questions, sir?"
"Can you stop moving? And what happened to Hope's Peak? Why are you grabbing me?!" Junichi asked, feeling like none of his questions were being answered.
"Don't worry about Hope's Peak, kid! Hope's Peak is for losers! You're a cool kid now! Just enjoy your stay here at the Hanging Garden, because you're here for life! Now, here's your key!" Hojo said, tossing a key in the air. Junichi tried to reach out to snatch it out of the air. Junichi failed to catch the key, having to pick it up off the floor.
"And doooon't forget your handbook, you're gonna love it, kid!" Hojo said, shoving a small, thin object into Junichi's hand.
Junichi looked down to see a rectangular device in his hand, looking like a small tablet in his hand. "Uh…"
"Cmon turn it on kiddo! It's not out of batteries or anything, it's solar powered! It's got games on it to pass the time! Pool! Bird dodging things! Ball Chess! That game with the stacking bricks!" Hojo shouted, Junichi covering one of his ears.
"Okay, okay! Just stop yelling at me!" As Junichi looked for the power button.
"It's a handbook, buddy! You gotta open it!" Hojo explained, flipping open the handbook's screen. The handbook started up with a soft hum, screen glowing a bright white as a digital render of a weird looking teddy bear waved, a text box appearing above it.
Welcome, Junichi Ando!
Several menus appeared on the screen; Hotel Map, Student Profiles, Truth Bullets, Regulations. Oddly, in spite of Hojo's insistence, the handbook didn't have a section for games. Stranger still, Junichi couldn't press any of the screens. "Huh… what's with this handbook, Hojo? Is it broken?" Junichi asked, Hojo shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, the menus are locked until all the students meet up! I suggest you head to the lounge on floor 18!" Hojo said, suddenly shoving Junichi toward the door. "Now get outta here ya… beanie wearing kid!"
"Okay, okay!" Junichi said, stumbling out of the room. He looked around to find himself in a long hallway with several matching doors. Each door was marked with a nameplate and a picture of a person's face, with a small slotted door on the bottom. Junichi checked the door of the room as Hojo shut it open leaving, seeing his name and face on the door. That meant that the room he was in was his… but why?
Why was he here? What happened to Hope's Peak? Were the other students okay? Who kidnapped him? Where was this place? All these questions swirled through Junichi's head until heard another door open. He quickly turned to see another young man go flying through the open door with a yell as he slammed into the door across the hall. Junichi watched a young woman, looking to be around his age, in a black-and-white uniform dusting both of her hands off and putting her hands on her hips. He attire looked similar to Hojo's, though with a miniskirt and heels in place of the dress pants and shoes.
"Did you have to throw me?" The throw-ee said, coughing from feeling his back smash into the other door. The MonoMaid simply turned and walked off with a huff, rolling her eyes. Junichi walked over to the tossed student bending his knees to get at eye level with him.
"Hey, you alright?" Junichi asked, offering a hand as he got a look at the young man. He had chin length brown hair, parted to the left side and matching brown eyes. He was wearing a brown leather newsboy cap on his head and was dressed in a suit jacket and a tie, but with a T-shirt underneath. His hands were covered by brown leather gloves, he had a pair of brown dress pants and matching slip-on shoes, a black satchel hanging from his shoulder.
"Yeah, just… kind of shocked at that reaction." He said, adjusting his cap so less of his messy hair was falling out of it. "First time I see a person in three months and it's a cute girl. Of course, I'd be interested. Can't blame a guy for taking a swing, can ya?" he asked, getting a small chuckle from Junichi.
"I guess not, but did you say you were in there for three months?" Junichi asked, getting a nod from the other boy.
"Yeah, I was just chilling out at the food court and then these dudes in masks just jumped me and dragged me off into a panel van. They started opening fire on the other people in the mall," he said, tightening his gloves. "It was crazy. They were blowing stuff up everywhere! Once they got me in the van, one of them put me out with a chloroform rag and I woke up in here."
"How did you survive for three months in here? Did they ever let you out?" Junichi asked. The boy turned his body toward the door next to him.
"You see that little door on the bottom?" he asked, lightly kicking at the door. The door violently rattled, startling Junichi slightly. "Every morning, afternoon and evening, one of the hotel's staff would come by and slide a tray of food through the door. I could always tell they were coming because the others would start yelling, screaming, pleading and demanding. 'What am I doing here? Let me go! Who are you?! I'll kick your ass! Why are you doing this to me? What do you want? Where am I? How long have I been in here?' I could go on but I think you got the idea."
"Y-yeah… so, how many are in here?" Junichi asked, the boy looking around the hallway, pointing at each door, muttering softly as he counted each door.
"Looks like… sixteen of us, if all the rooms are taken." The boy said, turning back to Junichi. "So, the cute waitress girl said something about a lounge. That's where we're all supposed to meet up, right?"
"Oh yeah, that's what the crazy guy in the suit said. I think, he just kind of yelled at me a lot. You heard him too, right?" Junichi asked, the young man shaking his head.
"Nope, the walls are soundproof from the inside. I can't hear anything in anyone else's room," he explained, before suddenly smacking his palm against his right temple. "Ah jeez! I almost forgot to introduce myself! Name's Touki Minami, Nijitaka High School's #1 Journalist! They call me the Ultimate Journalist!" He said, flashing a grin and pointing a thumb to himself.
Touki Minami: Ultimate Journalist
"Nice to meet you, Touki. I'm Junichi Ando. I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, but I wouldn't really consider this lucky..." Junichi said, voice trailing off into a defeated tone. "My school blew up and a guy choked me out, or something. I don't remember that well. Everything still kinda feels like a bad dream…"
Junichi Ando: Ultimate Lucky Student
Touki lightly jabbed Junichi on the arm. "Ow! What was that for?!" Junichi shouted.
"Nope, you're not dreaming," Touki said with a chuckle. "Anyway, we better get to the lounge. It's on the… 18th floor right?" he asked rubbing his chin in thought.
"Yeah, that's what Hojo said. So, there's probably an elevator down the hall." Junichi said, looking to the end of the hall to see a set of double doors, white and black with a curious symbol on them; a bear head, with a simple beady eye on the while door, and a jagged red eye on the black door, its smile being cute and inviting on the white door and sharp and intimidating on the black door. As the doors slid together, it made a full face, but as the elevator opened, it revealed the well kept, luxury elevator.
"Whoa! That's a big elevator; It looks like it can fit at least a dozen people! This really must be a hotel." Touki said as they stepped in. Junichi turned to the panel of buttons, pressing the "18" button. The doors shut as the elevator began its descent, playing the sound of marimbas over the speaker. The doors opened to another hallway, where one of the MonoServants stood in front of them.
"Ah, Mr. Ando. Mr. Minami. Follow me to the lounge." the servant said with a polite bow, turning toward the hall. The two followed the servant down the hall, entering through a door into the lounge. The room, much like the bedroom Junichi found himself in, was quite lavish. The floor was covered in grey tiles buffed to a mirror polish, some tiles replaced with a pulsating neon light tile. The walls were covered in a red velvet curtain covering all sides of the room.
There were signs in certain doorways leading to other rooms, but Junichi's eyes were drawn to the massive 144 inch LCD television mounted against the wall, with a 10-seat, rounded leather couch in front of it and a brand new gaming system at the front. On the sides of the room sat two smaller loveseats, on opposite walls
An array of security cameras checked each door on the sides, along with a couple of smaller monitors underneath of them. There was also a few bean bag chairs strewn about, and vending machines for food, snacks, drinks, and what appeared to be called a 'MonoMono Machine' with a statue of a black-and-white bear riding atop a golden snake with rubies for eyes. The bear matched the same monochromatic theme that pervaded this whole hotel, its face drawn like the bear face on the elevator doors. Next to the television was an entertainment center with a rack of several video games, and a small coffee table in front of the couch.
"Holy crap! This place is awesome!" Touki exclaimed, his eyes lit up in excitement. "There has to be some kind of downside, though." He said, scratching the back of his head. "I can't afford fancy hotels."
"Yeah, who's paying for all of this?" Junichi asked, looking over the rack of games. "Are we on some sort of reality show where we have to compete for prizes? Is something in this room made of chocolate?" Junichi said, giving a side-eye to the door.
"I mean, most reality shows don't forcibly shove people into vans and keep them locked up in hotel rooms for months." Touki objected. "Also don't try to eat anything in here. I'm pretty sure nothing's made of chocolate. I don't want to see you lose your teeth on an assumption, dude."
"Yeah, good point. So, guess we just wait for the others?" Junichi asked, grabbing a small stack of games off the shelf. "How long do you think it will be before other people show up?"
Touki shrugged as he kicked his feet up on the coffee table. "Dunno, man. We probably should've waited for someone to get unlocked so we can time how long the interval between the doors is. So, what've we got?"
"A lot of Spike Chunsoft games… Fire Pro, Zero Escape but that's single player… What else?" Junichi said, tossing aside discs. "Oooh! Fatal Arena 3!"
"Oh, nice!" Touki exclaimed. "Pop that sucker in!"
As Junichi cracked open the case, the lounge door opened again. He turned around to see a young woman with long auburn hair, cut into an angular bob, skip lightly into the room, head down to monitor each tile before she made her next move. She soon brought her head up, tawny eyes looking to the couch where Junichi and Touki were looking at her, puzzled by her odd attire; a long blue dress patterned with constellations over orange suspenders with buckled straps, arms covered in multi-colored armbands with symbols printed onto the bands and purple velcro sandals on her feet. The young woman skipped her way to the couch.
"Greetings, humans," she said with a warm smile and a light wave. "I don't remember my name, but my host body is called Surumi Takeuchi."
"Hey, I'm Junichi Ando. And this is Touki Minami." Junichi said, pointing to himself and then to Touki.
"Wait, hold up. Did you say host body?" Touki asked, Surumi nodding her head.
"I did. You see, I am what your species refers to as an 'alien.' My race forms a parasitic symbiosis with other lifeforms, taking control of a host body." Surumi explained in an off-puttingly serene tone. "We latch ourselves onto their nervous system, taking control of their bodies," she said, Junichi and Touki turning to each other. Touki mouthed confused expletives to Junichi, who simply shrugged and turned back to Surumi.
"Wanna play Fatal Arena?" Junichi asked. Touki's face widened in shock, leaning into Junichi and cupping a hand over his mouth.
"Dude, don't invite her… she's weird." Touki whispered into his ear.
"People call me weird too, I kinda don't care," Junichi whispered back
"Ah, thank you, Junichi! I don't often play video games, but I wouldn't mind spectating for the time." Surumi said, skipping over to the couch before pressing her chest against the back of the couch, lifting herself over the edge and sliding stomach first to end up tumbling onto an empty seat beside Junichi. "Huzzah," she said cheerfully, Touki giving Junichi a concerned look.
"So uh… Surumi, you said your race hooks onto our brains, right?" Junichi said, figuring it wouldn't hurt to humor her for a bit.
"Mhm. My species requires specific nutrients to survive, so we absorb them through omnivorous lifeforms. We dominate the host body to better direct the flow of necessary nutrients and keep the host body alive to allow for continued feeding until our bodies fully mature." Surumi answered, awkwardly adjusting her body to assume a more natural sitting position.
"You're not gonna jump out of Surumi's ear and take over my brain, are you?" Touki asked, leaning back to avoid potentially being struck by Surumi's foot as she swung herself onto her rear.
"Oh no, once attached, our bodies cannot sever connection until fully matured or the results will prove fatal for both myself and my host," Surumi said, ripping apart the fastening of her sandal.
"Are you an Ultimate? I mean, I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student and Touki's the Ultimate Journalist, so you're an Ultimate too, right?" Junichi asked, eyes flitting between the character select screen and Surumi. Touki reached into the satchel, which he had set down on the couch onto a plush version of that same black-and-white bear, and began rooting around.
"Oh wait, don't answer! I actually looked up the student roster for the year before I got grabbed. I think I saw her name on it!" Touki said, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. He unfolded the paper and read, finger scanning each name. "Aha! There we go!"
Surumi Takeuchi: Ultimate Astronomer
"That's right! I've been charting out star patterns ever since this host body was small." Surumi said as she shook off each sandal. "It started since I had gained awareness of the world around me. I felt a strange distance from other humans. I didn't understand it growing up until I took to watching the night stars. I began noticing patterns in the stars, seeing similar patterns every night, so I would draw the patterns into notebooks. Since then, I've been charting stars, planets, and systems throughout our vast and ever-expanding galaxy until I can find my homeworld!"
"Oh… is that what the constellations on your dress are?" Junichi asked, feeling a strange comfort talking to Surumi.
"Ah! Good eye, Junichi! I knew there was a reason my host body felt drawn to you." she said happily before jumping up and performing a quick twirl in front of both boys, displaying the complexing patterns stitched into the dress. "Each of these constellations was charted by me. I also stitched the dress myself for special occasions, usually, I wear it for whenever I discover a new system or planet, but I decided to wear it for my acceptance into Hope's Peak. I was on my way to the academy when one of my chauffeurs put a cloth under my nose. I awoke in that room. Thankfully, my captor was mindful of my nutrient necessities and supplied me with adequate meals throughout, which kept my spirits up."
"Well, that's good, I guess…" Touki said. "I don't know about you, but I've been eating stale ramen for the last three months. Anyway, just lemme know when this rib is over."
"...Rib? Is there something wrong with your ribs?" Surumi asked, tilting her head quizzically at Touki. "Sadly, medical scanners of my species aren't available. It allows non-invasive biopsies and CAT scanning without having to use a giant magnet!"
"Okay, now I know you're messing with me!" Junichi exclaimed incredulously. "Either that or you've lost it being in that hotel room, but there's no way you seriously think you're an alien!"
Surumi's body suddenly went stiff and her eyes went wide, irises shrinking to small dots. "Think? Ehehehe~ But Touki, I am an alien. That's a silly thing to say. Hahahaha~" Surumi replied, giving off a stilted, rhythmic laugh that increased in pitch.
"...Do you think this hotel has restraining orders somewhere?" Touki asked, feeling very unsettled as Surumi continued to laugh, her body starting to shake. Junichi quickly got up, moving in front of Touki.
"Uh! Er… What's with the sandals?" he asked, trying to think of something to distract her. Surumi's laughter quickly subsided.
"Ah, glad you asked, Junichi. You see, this host body is omnidextrous," she explained.
"That's not a word, you know." Touki objected, Junichi quickly covering his mouth.
"Look, I know what I'm doing. Just shut your face and I'll get us out of this bind. Don't dig your own grave." Junichi said in a hushed tone. Touki just gave an annoyed sigh, lidding his eyes and rolling them to the side.
"In the event that my arms are damaged or incapacitated, I can use my feet to perform tasks. I find it easier to remove sandals and they don't require socks to wear, so they're super functional for all my needs." Surumi explained, sitting back down on the couch. Junichi made a zipping motion with his lips to Touki before taking his hand off his mouth.
"Okay, so why take off your sandals now? I mean, you're not gonna try and play with your toes, are ya?" Touki asked.
"To tell you the truth, shoes make me uncomfortable. They feel like I've trapped my feet in cloth and leather." Surumi explained. "Sandals at least offer a feeling of freedom, but even then I'd rather not wear them if I don't have to. I hope you two don't mind."
"It's cool. If it helps you feel at ease," Junichi said. "We're in a bad spot anyway, no need to raise a stink over little things."
"Yeah, it's fine. I was just wondering, is all." Touki replied as he selected his character. He and Junichi played a few rounds before the door opened.
Junichi turned to see a young woman with a sunny, outdoorsy complexion and jet black hair tied into a wild bun on the back of her head, bangs roughly covering over her forest green eyes that had dark rings around each eye that gave her a tired expression. In contrast to Surumi's multi-colored mishmash of clothes she was clad in a black tank top with black leather harness across her shoulders, along with black combat gloves and cargo pants, and a big stompy pair of black leather boots that made her footfalls quite loud.
"Uh… hey. I'm Junichi Ando. This is Touki Minami," he said, pointing to Touki, then to Surumi. "And this is Surumi Takeuchi."
"Hey," Touki said, eyes going slowly along the newcomer's body.
"Greetings, human," Surumi said with a gentle wave.
"Hey. I'm Rinne Takayanagi," she said, eyes scanning the lounge as Touki as he checked his cheat sheet.
"Let's see, Rinne Takaya- oh crap!" Touki exclaimed, dropping his sheet in surprise and nearly backing into the table as he jumped off the couch.
"You alright, Touki? What's her talent?" Junichi asked, grabbing the paper of the couch. He quickly scanned for her name, eyes widening as he saw it written on the sheet.
Rinne Takayanagi: Ultimate Black Ops
"Ultimate… Black Ops?" Junichi asked aloud, Rinne nodding and walking over to the couch.
"Yep. I'm usually the bad guy in most places I go to." Rinne explained, leaping onto the couch. "I'd explain further, but most information about my life is classified and none of you have clearance. I'll just tell you that I'm a mercenary and leave it at that."
"Wait, bad guy? What do you mean bad guy?" Junichi asked. Rinne gave a quick chuckle.
"I'm pretty much trained from birth to be an assassin and I'm hired by the Japanese branch of the Illuminati," she explained.
"...You're messing with me." He said, blinking a few times.
"Nope. Okay, kinda. It's more complicated than that. But I've done some bad things, up to and including killing people. How are you?" Rinne asked coolly.
"Uhhhhhh… isn't that illegal?" Junichi asked, clearly distressed.
"Oh, it's super illegal. So, you playin' Fatal Arena?" Rinne asked, kicking her feet up on the table.
"H-how are you not in jail?!" Touki asked, backing away from Rinne.
"I said 'Illuminati,' dude."
"Yeah, but that doesn't exist!" Touki countered.
"Okay, so this isn't an exercise…" Rinne said.
"...Exercise?" Junichi asked.
"Yeah, my employers drop me into training missions that require me to complete an objective under certain conditions. I get bored doing them so I fuck around until someone corrects me." Rinne explained.
"And you thought we were… assailants." Touki said, staring dead at her. "Like… people trying to kill you as some kind of test?"
"Yeah," Rinne started. "But you two are just boring normal people, I guess. And Surumi over here seems like she's just in her own little world. I'm still totally up for some Fatal Arena, even if I liked the second game more." She said, trying to grab at a controller.
"And you expect us to act normal toward you after explaining you like... torture and waterboard people for the Illuminati?" Touki asked.
"Hey!" Rinne said, affronted. "I only did that once, now gimme a controller," she demanded, Touki nervously handing her his controller.
"So, you don't think you're on a mission?" Junichi asked.
"Not anymore. I mean, I got drugged, knocked out, stuffed in a van, carried here, and was jammed in a hotel room for four months. Now I was randomly let out, and I'm playing video games with two dudes and a girl who thinks she's an alien. Is that normal?" Rinne countered.
"...Well, no. That all does sound weird. I woke up stuffed in a travel case, I don't know if I was locked in for as long as either of you guys." Junichi explained.
"A travel case? Like that one movie?" Touki asked.
"What movie?" Junichi asked in response.
"Ehhh nevermind. It's just weird you woke up in a travel case." Touki said.
"Man, my neck still hurts thinking about it…" Junichi said, rubbing his neck.
"So, we're waiting for the others to be released, right?" Surumi asked, Junichi nodding.
"Yeah, how many do you think are left?" Junichi asked.
"Well, the student roster for Hope's Peak usually lists sixteen Ultimates. We've only met a few people so far… The thing I noticed, was we were all supposed to be in the same class, even though we were all kidnapped at different times, and never met." Touki said, double checking his list. "If I'm right, there's twelve of us left."
"Wait, Rinne," Junichi said. Rinne turned over to him. "Why would a high school take an Illuminati assassin to class?"
"I'm not book smart, duh," Rinne said, sneaking in a few quick shots to Junichi's character while they talked.
"But… Assassin!" Junichi objected.
"Hey, the government okayed it. I was supposed to get a fake Ultimate to cover it up to the public. Something like Ultimate Spider-Eater or Ultimate Outdoorsman." Rinne explained. "Also, I'm Black Ops. Not an assassin, there's a difference."
"What's the difference?" Touki asked.
"I can make you eat your own fingers. Also, I just beat Junichi." Rinne said.
"Huh? Hey, you cheated!" Junichi shouted, Rinne chuckling.
"Don't take your eyes off the screen." she countered. "That's how you get bopped."
"That was cheap! Rematch, now!" Junichi demanded.
"Heh, if you wanna lose again…" Rinne teased, sticking out her tongue.