Prologue: Helplessness Blues (Part 3)
The light on the doorknob to her room began to make a ringing sound that caught her attention. "What…?" the young woman asked, standing up from her bed, reaching for a metal yardstick by her bedside. She clutched it in her hand and slowly approached the door.
This was the first time in months she heard that sound. The doorknob would ring when the door was going to open. Typically, only the bottom slot would open when it was time for her 'supper' so it meant someone was intending on opening the door. And she was going to try for an ambush.
"Stay calm, Saya… They can't suspect you're going to break out…" she said, turning to the mirror to make sure she could hide it behind her arm and back, setting the yardstick up against her shoulder. "I have to stand in a way that doesn't look like I'm holding something…" she muttered, looking at herself in the mirror.
She didn't look good. After about six months in this room, her hair was a mess, white locks framing her face in two low pigtails, hair strands coming undone and sticking upward. She rechecked the dresser, finding a brush to fix her hair. "Damn unruly strands… I look like a moron…" she muttered as she brushed, the strands continuing to poke out. She grumbled, knowing she would need scissors to deal with these.
The rest of her wasn't looking in great condition either. She had a crack in her glasses that she couldn't find a spare pair to fix, and her school uniform was starting to look faded and worn out from her wearing it every day. Her all-white attire had become discolored, her blue armband paling and her thigh high socks had begun to spring holes, defeating their purpose of not showing skin. Even worse, she was starting to get bags under her hazel colored eyes that made her look worn out and tired and made her otherwise long, but slender face look gaunt.
"Ugh, this is unacceptable!" Saya shouted, suddenly hearing the creak of the hotel room door. Saya quickly grabbed her yardstick, twisting the knob so the door was slack, then kicking a high heeled foot into the door, causing it to fly back and someone to squeak as they hit the floor. Saya marched out of the room, spinning her yardstick on her fingers as she finally felt a smile on her face. "Surprise! I'm out!"
"A-aaaahh!" exclaimed a young woman from the floor, covering her face with her hand. "I'm sorry! I was seeing who else had their doors unlocked! Don't hit me with your thingy!"
"...It's a yardstick." Saya said, setting it on the young woman's chin and using it to lift her head up to force her to look Saya right in the eyes. "More importantly, are you my captor?"
"Captor? N-no, I was locked in that hotel room for 8 months! I thought you might be the captor with you t-threatening me like this." She said, hugging herself to stop the shivering.
"Absolutely not." Saya explained, carefully adjusting her glasses to get a better a look at the woman in front of him.
Her hair was as disheveled as Saya's had been, covering one of her purple colored eyes and nearly going to her hips in the sheer length of black, wiry hair. For some reason, it reminded Saya of a horror movie she's seen. She was dressed in a long white waitress gown with baggy sleeves, covered with a black apron with long white socks and brown loafers. Compared to Saya's long legged, but average figure, this girl had a shorter, but slightly too thin looking body that made her look sick.
"S-so, who are you and wh-why do you have that yardstick?" the woman asked.
"I am Saya Kiruma. I always have the yardstick." Saya explained.
"But… why do you have the yardstick?" she asked again.
"I ask the questions here, missy. What's your name?" Saya asked, tightening her hold on the yardstick.
"Ah! Izumi Igarashi! Please don't hit me!" she said, Saya pulling the yardstick away. "I was going to get a tour of Hope's Peak Academy and people kidnapped me and locked me in this room!" Izumi said, scrambling back to her feet. "A maid told me to round people up to meet at the lounge. I saw a couple of guys walking to an elevator and I wanted to see who I can take with me to the same elevator…" Izumi said, looking at the floor, too afraid to look her in the eye.
"Several men heading toward an elevator to a lounge…" Saya said, putting a hand in the front pocket of her coat. "Perhaps they were my captors. Igarashi, lead me to this elevator!" she demanded, pointing her yardstick at Izumi to lightly swat her shoulder.
"G-going! I'm going!" Izumi exclaimed, running toward the hall. Saya walked after her as they headed for the elevator. "I-I think the maid said something about the 18th floor. That must be where the lounge is…" Izumi said as she pressed the call button. The doors opened, the two stepping in. Izumi quickly pressed the 18 button. The elevator doors shut and the two began their descent to floor 18.
"So... you mentioned Hope's Peak." Saya said after a minute of silence. "Were you enrolled as a student?"
"Yeah… The school scouts for Ultimates early so they can put the class together early without scheduling issues. Last year, they picked the classes for this year… So I was enrolled to be the Ultimate Waitress, and to start this year."
Izumi Igarashi: Ultimate Waitress
"I see… I was also scouted for next year. Two years ago, my brother went to a Hope's Peak sponsored college, and I was going to join Class 32 as the Ultimate Student Body President." Saya explained.
Saya Kiruma: Ultimate Student Body President
"32?... That was my class, too! We were gonna be classmates…" Izumi said.
"Indeed." Saya said with a definitive tone. "It seems our captivity has a theme running through it. We're classmates. We'll have to confirm if there are other people from class 32 in our upcoming interactions. Keep that on the front of your mind, Igarashi."
"Y-you know you can just call me Izumi, r-right?" Izumi said.
"Personal names are for people who deserve to be in my inner circle. You've yet to prove yourself. Acquaintances will suffice." Saya said, Izumi sighing and nodding.
"Okay, Igarashi is fine." Izumi said. "Just… Not a lotta people call me a friend, y'know? Talking to people is hard." Izumi said with a forced laugh, getting no response from Saya as the elevator slowly shifted as it slowed to a halt. The door opened, the women being greeted by a servant standing just inches away from the door.
"Heeeeelllo ladies! Female; Otha female. I'm so excited to have you guys in this. Here. Hotel!" Hojo exclaimed with a wide grin across his face, scaring Izumi into hiding behind Saya.
"I saw the reflection of my face in his teeth!" Izumi squeaked out.
"Please remain outside of arms distance when addressing a woman," Saya demanded, pushing her yardstick to his chest and making him step back. "This distance would suffice."
"Okay! Just follow me down to the hall to the lounge! We've got an entertainment center that will make you go Hoooojo~" he said, drawing out the O as much as possible. "Any questions ya got I can answer! You are esteemed guests!"
"C-can we leave?" Izumi asked, clearly uncomfortable.
"Nope!" Hojo said "You're here forever!"
"Please tell me that's sarcasm." Saya said, glaring at Hojo. "Because you have a sick sense of humor…"
"Ain't no joke, Ms. Kiruma, babe! You're all here for the rest of your lives at the Hanging Garden Hotel!" Hojo shouted, which seemed to be his default volume. Saya pulled back her yardstick, readying a swing at the servant when he suddenly caught it and ripped it from her hand.
"Ah ah ah! Bit of advice, don't attack the MonoStaff!" He said with a smile. "It's a good way to die young."
"Give that back!" Saya ordered, Hojo handing back the yardstick with a shrug.
"Alright! Let's get you two to the lounge!" Hojo declared, turning on his heel and marching off. "Just, watch yourself with that thing. Don't act like you can make me do anything you want."
"Do we have to follow him?" Izumi asked, Saya taking a deep breath.
"Unfortunately, it would seem so." Saya said, striding off after Hojo. "Despite how infuriating he is, we have no power here, it seems."
Izumi followed after Saya as they walked down the hall. Inside Saya could see four people sat on the couch, two boys and two girls. One of the boys shouting nonsense at the screen as a woman in black played a kid with red hair and a beanie. Screaming all sorts of video game terms she's never heard of. 'Wombo Combos' and 'Getting rekt'
"...You, loud servant." Saya said curtly.
"The name's Hooojooooo-" Hojo began, Saya pressing the yardstick against his lips.
"Stop that. Quietly lead Igarashi and I to another room." She demanded.
"Now, I don't think if you heard me clearly, but I said you can't make me do anything you-" he began before Saya slapped him hard across the cheek with the yardstick.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you not say that I was an esteemed guest here at this hotel? Either you escort me to a room away from these… ruffians, or I will be filing a report to your superiors." Saya ordered, tightening her grip on her yardstick.
"But we haven't paid the hotel ye-" Izumi began to interject.
"We're guests, Igarashi. Don't let the details confuse you." Saya said, turning back to Hojo. "Now, is there another room on this floor, Hojo?"
"...Of course there is! Just this way, Ms. Kiruma!" Hojo said, creepy grin returning to his face as he guided the two toward a door on the right, behind the entertainment center, "Ya see, this hotel has a dinner theater! So it's part stage, and part dining room! We call it a 'dining hall' to keep things easy for the simpletons staying here." Hojo explained as they walked down the hall.
"Good. Hopefully, like-minded individuals will join us at this dining hall." Saya said as Hojo opened the door to the dining hall. Inside, they saw a lavish golden dining room with a single massive chandelier, dinner tables lined with crystal to make them see-through, with golden candelabras sitting on each one. In the distance, Saya could see a raised, lounge like platform with a classic microphone you'd see in the twenties, the back of the platform had a massive golden curtain obscuring the rest of it.
"A bit too ostentatious for my taste, but it certainly is better than a room full of lights and noises." Saya said, pinching the bridge of her nose where her glasses usually lied. "I can hear myself think."
"Good to hear it's to your liking! And don't forget to take your student handbooks!" Hojo exclaimed, giving Saya and Izumi their handbooks.
"Ah! Th-thank… now please go away…" Izumi said nervously, putting away her handbook. Hojo nodded and walked off, waiting by the door. "Do you think anyone will actually join us?"
"Hopefully, but if they didn't then I would be fine with that. I need to think on how we can escape from here…" Saya said, sitting on the edge of the stage. "For now, we wait. When the next guest enters, time how long between guests. I want to know how long each release from those rooms will be."
"Uhm, keep in mind not everyone's going to skip the lounge where those guys playing the video games together were. I'd think people who would enter here would kind of come to the same conclusion you did… So they'd all be annoyed…" Izumi pointed out, Saya sneering slightly.
"...You're not wrong." Saya admitted. "Then I guess we'll just have to wait without a set time."
As the minutes ticked by, someone soon entered the dining hall; a young man with a tall, lean figure, face obscured in a long brown hood. As he stepped closer to the stage, the features of his hood became clearer. It was a shaggy brown hide of a bear fashioned into a hooded cloak covering his body. All they could see was a pair of brown leather hunting boots.
"Hello, fellow student. I am Saya Kiruma and this is Izumi Igarashi." Saya said, extending a hand.
"...Katsuya Suba. I'm the Ultimate Hunter." the man said with a rough, raspy voice.
"That's it?" Saya asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." Katsuya said, before turning away and walking over to a corner of the room.
Katsuya Suba: Ultimate Hunter
"...I guess that's it. I was kind of expecting to interact with him more than that." Saya said, dropping her hand to her side.
"I'm kind of glad we didn't. He was kind of… scary. Did he kill that bear he was wearing?" Izumi asked, giving a nervous glance to Katsuya, seeing two glowing golden dots appear from under his hood. Izumi quickly turned away from him.
"Most likely. Well, he's quiet, so as long we don't bother him, he won't bother us." Saya said. Izumi nodded in agreement, the two sitting and waiting for the next possible student to arrive past the lounge.
The next student to enter stood out in contrast to Katsuya. She was a small girl with straight brown hair to her shoulders with two curled strands hanging over her forehead on each side like two antennas. Her orange eyes were covered by reading glasses and was dressed in a black school dress with an orange tie. In her arms was a purple stuffed rabbit with black button eyes. She walked slowly to Saya and Izumi, observing her surroundings with each step.
"She looks a bit young, doesn't she?" Izumi asked. "Isn't the age for admission to Hope's Peak at sixteen?" Izumi said, tapping her index fingers together.
"It is a bit curious. She looks like she's ten." Saya said, putting her hand to her chin.
"Maybe like 8 or 9. She's still carrying around a toy." Izumi replied, but only got a glare from Saya. "...What? Was it something I said?" she asked.
"Actually, I'm twelve." the girl said as she walked up to them. "I'm Chiwa Ohara."
"Ah, I thought you looked familiar." Saya said with a smile. "You made the news as the youngest initiate to Hope's Peak Academy, their first Ultimate Child Prodigy."
Chiwa Ohara: Ultimate Child Prodigy
"Twelve isn't that young... I thought child geniuses were more child-y?" Izumi said.
"How old did you get into Hope's Peak again?" Saya asked.
"16… 17 now." Izumi admitted.
"Exactly. Most don't get admitted unless they're in high school and younger students with promise are usually put into the Elementary School, or even the Middle School Division." Saya explained. "Chiwa managed to pass through both hurdles straight to Hope's Peak. Putting her on a higher level than the typical Elementary Ultimates. I heard her IQ is 225."
"Yeah, but the IQ test is a bunch of nonsense. I don't really think it measures anything related to lateral knowledge or which subjects I'm the strongest in." Chiwa said. "Plus, I'm not really a genius. I just have help from Socrates."
"Socrates?" Izumi asked, the child genius using her thumb and index finger to lift up the bunny's arm, making a waving motion..
"Hello~" Chiwa said in a low-pitched voice, trying to make her voice sound more "adult" as she bobbed the rabbit's head from side to side. "I'm Socrates, Chiwa Ohara's personal advisor! You could say I'm the brains of this operation!" she said, moving an arm to make Socrates jab himself in the head. "But Chiwa's a smart cookie too!"
Socrates The Rabbit: Ultimate… Scholar? What?
"Aww, how cute!" Izumi said, reaching over to pat Socrates on the head. Chiwa quickly motioned 'Socrates' to bat Izumi's hand away. The plush hitting her hand made the waitress retract her hand.
"I am -not- cute! I am a scholar and a gentleman! I am a respected intellectual mind and should be treated as such!" Chiwa ranted in her 'Socrates' voice, thrusting a paw at Izumi.
"Saya, the rabbit's being m-mean to m-me! T-tell him to stop, I might cry." Izumi whimpered out.
"Oh my God…" Saya said with a sigh, pinching her brow. "Igarashi, you're being more childish than the child. Please get a hold of yourself."
"I.. I was just playing along…" Izumi said, slightly stung by Saya's words as Saya stepped off the stage, bending down to shake hands with Socrates.
"Good afternoon, So...Socrates." Saya said, having trouble making the words of greeting a stuffed rabbit come out of her mouth. "I'm… Saya Kiruma. This is my assistant, Izumi Igarashi."
"I'm your assistant?" Izumi asked.
"Yes, you're my assistant, is there something wrong with that?" Saya asked in response, giving off a threatening aura.
"Ack! N-no! Not a problem at all, Ms. Kiruma!" Izumi said with a bow.
"That's what I thought." Saya said before turning back to Chiwa. "So, it seems like the common thread is we were all going to start at Hope's Peak this year. Whoever brought us here had a reason."
"Maybe they're relocating the school and needed us to be put somewhere while a new school gets set up." Chiwa suggested.
"Then where are the other students? I've only seen less than 10." Izumi pointed out.
"Maybe they're on different floors or in different buildings." Chiwa said, resting Socrates' chin on his hand.
"All well and good, but if it were relocation, then we would have been informed months ahead of time of potential delays. Not kidnapped and locked into a hotel." Saya countered.
"Yeah, that makes sense. I don't think Hope's Peak would send messages by hitting someone with a frying pan." Chiwa said.
"They hit you a frying pan?!" Izumi asked, concerned and checking Chiwa's head.
"I'm okay now… I woke up and my injury was gone. Then I was stuck in that hotel room for four months. I miss my mom." Chiwa said. "These people in masks broke into our house and one of them yelled 'hit her with a frying pan!' and then I felt the hit and blacked out."
"That's awful. I hope your parents are okay…" Izumi said, Chiwa looking down at the floor. Izumi gave her a pat on the shoulder. "You wanna sit with us while we wait for others to show up?"
"Sure. I didn't like the guys in that other room anyway. They were shouting and I don't like loud noises…" Chiwa said as she climbed the stairs onto the stage.
"Well, I think we'll get along just fine then, Chiwa." Saya said as Chiwa sat on the edge of the stage. Saya sat down to Chiwa, Izumi on her other side. The three women sat in wait, occasionally passing glances to Katsuya in the corner, turning away whenever they saw him look back.
The door swung open with a violent slam as a young man stepped into the room. He was rather pale with a jet black ponytail, looking around the room with dark green eyes. . He was dressed in in a white dress shirt and black pants, a black suit jacket hanging off his shoulder. His hands were covered in black leather gloves which he was tightening with a free hand. Izumi nervously looked to Saya, leaning in to whisper to her with a hand covering her mouth.
"I don't like the look of this guy. M-maybe you should talk to him." Izumi said in a hush, Saya nodding and jumping off the stage to walk over to the gentleman standing there with a scowl on his face.
"Greetings, fellow student. My name is Saya Kiru-" Saya began.
"Piss off." he said curtly, his voice rough and scratchy.
"...Come again?" Saya asked, feeling the muscles in her face tighten slightly.
"What, you got something in your ears? I told you to piss off. I need a cigarette and I don't need small talk." he said, looking around the dining hall. "Where the fuck are the smokes around here?"
"Hopefully far from here." Saya said with an annoyed huff. "Nicotine is an addictive substance and if you're a student of Hope's Peak, you're under the legal smoking age of 20. I will not allow you to damage your body or anyone else's as long as I-"
"Holy shit, do you ever turn off?" he said, spitting on the floor. "Tell that ratty haired chick to ask one of the servants for smokes. Might as well make her useful."
"I will do no such thing!" Saya said, affronted by the student's abysmal attitude. "You have some nerve, coming in here and demanding anything of your fellow students! Who do you think you are?!" she asked, getting right in his face.
"My name's Daichi Kakihara, now step off before I step you off." Daichi said, putting his palm onto her face and roughly shoving Saya out of his face. Saya stumbled back, Izumi quickly moving to catch her before she fell over.
"Ack! A-are you okay, Saya?" Izumi asked, nearly falling back herself as she carefully lifted Saya back up.
"I'll be fine. The only thing that was wounded was pride." Saya said as she came to a standing position. Chiwa jumped off the stage, walking over to Daichi.
"You're kinda mean, you know that right?" Chiwa asked, holding up her plush rabbit. "I don't like you and neither does Socrates."
Daichi rolled his eyes. "Well, here's what I think." He said, reaching down and ripping the rabbit out of her hands.
"Ahh! Let go of Socrates! Let him go, please!" Chiwa said, jumping up to try and get her plush back, Daichi holding his arm up to keep it away.
"Oh, I'll let him go. I'll let him go flying, ya brat!" Daichi said, dropping Socrates and kicking the rabbit into the air.
"N-no! Someone catch him!" Chiwa shouted, as Daichi laughed mockingly at her misfortune.
"It'll be fine, just go get it when it l-" Saya said
"Caught it." came a voice from the doorway. The students turned to see a woman standing in front of them. She looked oddly older to the rest of the gathered students, meeting Saya at eye level with Socrates in her left hand. She was dressed in a black frilled lace dress and skirt combo, matching platform boots adding to her height. Her long dark purple hair was tied into a French braid with a black bow and like Izumi, she had a single, milk-white left eye, her right eye covered by a black eyepatch with a skull embroidered on it. Izumi hid herself behind Saya, feeling a dangerous aura coming off the woman.
"Wh-who is she?!" Izumi whispered to Saya.
"I don't' know, just stay calm, I'll do the talking." Saya whispered back before turning to face the woman.
"Your hands are trembling." Daichi said with a smirk.
"Shut up, Kakihara." Saya snapped, tightening her grip on her metal yardstick, trying to hide her fear as she locked eyes with the woman. Who walked with a purpose across the dining hall, her long locks of purple hair framing her tall, but intimidating frame. Just who was this woman?
"Here you go." She said, leaning down and gently handing the rabbit back to Chiwa.
"Th...thanks?" Chiwa said, grateful yet confused and uneasy.
"Who… are you?" Saya asked the woman, who turned her eye to the Ultimate Student Council President.
"I'm Airi. Airi Kudo."