Komachi and I made it to the top of the stairs that led out of Poseidon's Playground to be met with another hallway. However, unlike the one in the lower deck, this hallway was bright with a lot to look at. The cold grey concrete walls of the lower deck didn't even compare to the golden-colored wallpapers of this hall; it almost looked like it was sparkling! The walls were lined with painted portraits and little silver plaques underneath them. Framed pictures that looked like they could be from over sixty years ago ran the length of the walls. A sign at the end of the room hung from the ceiling, similar to the one outside Poseidon's Playground. It read 'Clio's Hall'. I had no clue who Clio was, but I assumed that they had something to do with Greek gods. There were three exits to the hall, two smaller ones on the left, and a big one on the right.
Besides myself and Komachi, there was one other person in the hall; a girl. She was tall; taller than both me AND Komachi. Her body was slim and fit, and her skin was slightly darker than your average skin tone. Her hair was platinum blonde and went down to her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of dark green dress pants, a pair of shiny black dress shoes, a fancy forest green vest that was a little lighter in shade compared to her pants, a white buttoned-up long sleeve shirt, and a black bow tie.
I think she felt eyes staring at her because she turned to face us with a look of confusion. Once she noticed me, someone that she didn't know, her demeanor brightened, and she walked towards us.
"Hi again, Komachi," she said brightly before she pointed to me with a more serious expression, "You," she said sternly.
"M-me?" I said back to her, slightly nervous.
"I recognize you," she says, her amber eyes softening, "You were wearing the cutest dress I'd ever seen before we all fell asleep. I was hoping I'd find you among our little group here, and I'd lost hope, but I guess that I somehow missed you!" the girl exclaimed, getting more and more excited as she went on. I hadn't been expecting a compliment, but it was better than getting yelled at, which is what I thought was going to happen.
"Th-thank you," I stuttered, doing my best not to blush. Compliments weren't commonplace in my life, so I had to take them where I could get them.
The girl shook her head and laughed to herself, "I'm sorry, I totally haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Kagami Sakkaku, and I'm a senior at Hope's Peak currently; enrolled as the Ultimate Tailor.
Kagami Sakkaku
Ultimate Tailor
I couldn't help but smile, "It's nice to meet another student. It feels like everybody I've met so far have been adults."
"They have all been adults." Komachi very helpfully piped up beside me. Kagami gigged and waved me off.
"Don't worry about that. There are a few other students up here with us. There's Izumi, and there's Rin, and there's Oriana and a few others." The tailor listed, counting on her fingers.
"That actually brings up something that I've been meaning to ask," I stop her, "do we know how many of us are here? There were a bunch of us before we all got knocked out."
Kagami thought for a moment before smiling again, "Well, with the inclusion of you, that'd be twenty-one."
Twenty-one? That felt kind of arbitrary, especially since there'd been way more than twenty-one of us when we were knocked out.
"Any of them have red hair," I asked her, "I came here with a friend and I was hoping I'd've found him by now."
Kagami shook her head, "I don't think so, but I missed you so maybe I missed him too," she said honestly.
That was discouraging to hear, and I couldn't help but let my negative thinking seep in. I'd be a liar if I said I was a little worried about Roman. He was never the type to be cooperative, so it wouldn't surprise me if our captors decided that he wasn't worth the trouble. As much as that thought scared me it wasn't unreasonable.
Komachi could tell I was getting anxious and gave me a brief pat on the shoulder, "I'm sure we'll find your friends after we find Mr. Volkov and get all of this sorted out."
"I hope you're right," I mumbled, trying my best to not let my distress show on my face.
"I would just try to enjoy your time in the Helios while you have it," Kagami said, "who knows when we'll get a chance to be in a contraption as incredible as this!"
"Have you been on the other zeppelin yet?" I questioned, "The Gaia I think it was called?"
Kagami shook her head, "I haven't since the only door to it is locked for whatever reason."
My shoulders dropped, "Well, that stinks. Why even make a double zeppelin if you won't let us in one of them."
Neither Kagami nor Komachi had an answer for that, so I decided to drop it. The three of us talked a little longer before I found myself getting distracted by some of the paintings on the walls. They were of older people, some that I recognized and some that I didn't. The closest painting to us was one of Eiichi Kabayama, a former prime minister of Japan. I got a little closer and read the little plaque underneath the portrait.
Eiichi Kabayama: former Prime Minister and former Hope's Peak valedictorian.
"I didn't know Eiichi Kabayama was Hope's Peak graduate," I said aloud.
"Yep," Kagami confirmed with her arms crossed, "I'm pretty sure he was the Ultimate Judge during his time at Hope's Peak. I mean, he was a Judge before he got into politics."
I shrugged, "I wasn't around for his time as Prime Minister so my knowledge of him is pretty limited."
"You would be surprised at the number of people in our government who've graduated from Hope's Peak," Komachi said.
I probably wouldn't, actually. I knew that only good things came from graduating from Hope's Peak. That was the main reason I was so excited to get accepted. It meant a better life.
A minute or so later Kagami excused herself and made her way back to her room. Komachi and I started making our way down the hall silently as was approached the first doorway on the left. As we walked I kept my eyes on the different painted portraits on the walls, doing my best to recognize as many people as I could. I wasn't well-versed in my countries political world, so I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't recognize that many.
We reached the first doorway on the left, and I read the little nameplate next to it.
"The Children of Hercules?" I asked, turning to Komachi.
"It's a room dedicated to those of Hope's Peak who've excelled athletically," she responded, "sports stars and gymnasts. Things such as that."
That made sense, although I found the name of the room a little cheesy. I couldn't say I was excited to see how else Mr. Volkov shoehorned Greek characters into every room on the zeppelin.
What was less surprising was how incredible the interior of the room looked. After Poseidon's Playground, I thought I was prepared for anything, but The Royal Wing continued to impress me.
Unlike Poseidon's Playground, I could see the entirety of the room from the doorway, but that didn't take away from the decore. In the middle of the room were four giant marble statues evenly spaced out from each other. They were standing on large pedestals that made them look even taller than they already were. They were of a gigantic sumo wrestler, a lithe yet muscular woman holding a rapier, a tall and serious-looking man holding up a shotgun, and finally, a tiny-looking woman pitching a bowling ball. They were probably all Hope's Peak alumni. I mean, why else would they get giant statues of themselves? The rest of the room was filled with more portrait paintings, trophy cases of varying sizes, and different plaques located all around the room.
There were four people in the room. There was a girl in the middle of the room, admiring one of the statues, a boy and a girl talking to each other on the left side of the room, and a girl by herself reading a plaque on the right side of the room.
I couldn't help my curiosity and started mindlessly moving toward the statues. The soft lighting of the room made them an incredibly enticing centerpiece. I think Komachi followed after me, but I was too distracted by the marble statues.
As I made it in between the four statues, I was able to get a better look at the girl who was also taken in by the statues. She, similarly to Kagami, was taller than both me and Komachi. She was turned away from me so I couldn't see her face, but her hair was snow-white and in a ponytail that went right around her midback. She was wearing a white doctor's coat and beige trousers. I couldn't help my curiosity and quietly walked up behind the girl to see what she was looking at. There was a small plaque on the base of the sumo wrestler sculpture that I looked over.
Kyoji Kajio: The Ultimate Yakuza (1948-2005). 1302 Wins - 7 Losses
"That's...incredible," I mumbled to myself, completely in awe of the win/loss record.
"It is, isn't it?" The girl who I did not know whispered back to me, slightly startling me, "It's amazing that one man could have that many wins under his belt and keep an almost entirely spotless record."
I didn't know much about Kyoji Kajio, but sumo was the national sport of Japan so Kajio was basically a household name. It was kind of like how Americans would recognize the name Babe Ruth even if they've never watched a game of baseball.
The girl turned to look at me and I got a better look at her face. Her eyes were icy blue, and her pale skin only heightened their color. She was wearing a green shirt under her jacket that almost looked like doctor's scrubs. Her face was blank, but she tilted her head curiously at me, "I don't recognize you. I don't think that we've met." she stated plainly.
I shook my head, "We haven't. I'm Rumiko Inagawa, and I'm the Ultimate Violinist." I said firmly with my hand extended. The girl eyed my hand cautiously before slowly accepting it. Her grip was firm, yet weirdly cold at the same time.
"My name is Fuyuka Sasaki, and I'm the Ultimate Cryogenicist."
Fuyuka Sasaki
Ultimate Cryogenicist
"Cryogenicist? That sounds interesting." I said, "You called yourself an Ultimate, does that mean you're currently a student?"
"No," she said flatly, "I graduated last year. I suppose it's hard to break the habit of referring to myself as an Ultimate."
"That's fair," I said, "also, if you don't mind me asking, what does being a cryogenicist actually entail? It deals with the cold, right?" I asked curiously.
Fuyuka looked at me weirdly, "It is...a tad more complicated than 'dealing with cold', but I guess that that could be considered the gist of it, sure."
"Haha...right," I awkwardly laughed having firmly planted my foot in my mouth. My networking was not...going very well so far. That was one of the main reasons I came to this party and I may've just blown it with a recent graduate!
Fuyuka looked away from me, focusing her attention on the statue to the left of the Kyoji Kajio statue. It was the statue of the woman with the rapier. I looked at the plaque.
Koharu Matsuhashi: The Ultimate Fencer (1940-2011). 122 Wins - 4 Losses
"I've never heard of this woman," I said my thoughts aloud, "I don't know too much about fencing."
"I guess you just need to know that she was the best," Fuyuka said calmly, her eyes looking up at the marble Koharu. I moved over and looked at the plaque of the shotgun man.
Hirokazu Ariyoshi: The Ultimate Skeet Shooter (1952-2014)
Huh? I wonder why this guy's stats weren't listed on the plaque. I moved to the last statue; the woman with the bowling ball.
Hiroka Chujo: The Ultimate Bowler (1966-2017). 300 perfect games bowled.
That number was insane! I'd never bowled a perfect in my entire life! Then again, I wasn't very good at bowling in the first place.
I turned my head up to ask Fuyuka a question, but I was shocked to see she was no longer standing in the square of statues. I whipped my head around to see her silently making her way out of the room. How was she so quiet? I hadn't heard any kind of noise while looking at the plaques. I turned around in a circle to see that Komachi also was no longer with me. I suddenly felt very alone and very vulnerable in the middle of this unfamiliar room.
Luckily, I found Komachi quickly as I saw her on the left side of the room, talking with the boy and girl I saw when I first walked in. Well, it'd be more accurate to say that Komachi was talking to the girl. The boy was standing to the side of the girl, not saying anything. I didn't want to interrupt the middle of their conversation, so I turned to the other side of the room. The other girl was still there, looking into one of the trophy cases.
I just found my next networking opportunity.
I stepped away from the statues and approached the girl, who almost immediately turned around to face me. She was slim and taller than me, and if I'm being frank I was getting tired of everyone except Komachi being taller than me. Her skin tone was on the lighter side. Her hair was jet back and flowed straight down to her midback, and she had a streak of pure white hair running down her bangs. She had a small scar on her right cheek, and her eyes, similarly to Fuyuka, were icy blue. The difference between the two, however, was the looks in their eyes. Fuyuka's eyes were calculating as if she was studying everything around her. This girl's eyes were different; her eyes were tired-looking and slightly dulled. She looked bored; like she could use some rest.
She was wearing a half-zipped forest green hoodie that was over top of a white tank top. She had on a pair of fitted black and blue striped snowboard pants and grey fingerless gloves. Her look was complete by a pair of snowboarding goggles sitting snuggly on her head.
I made my way up to her and stood firmly in front of her. She looked me up and down as if she were trying to remember if we'd already met. We hadn't, so I threw her a bone.
"Hi! I guess I slept in so I'm going around meeting everyone. I'm Rumiko Inagawa, and I'm the Ultimate Violinist!" I said, doing my best to sound friendly.
The girl nodded slowly, probably unprepared for my abrupt greeting. She recovered quickly, shaking my hand, "I guess that makes sense. I'm surprised you managed to sleep through the zeppelin getting in the air. That's what woke me up."
"Were you the first to wake up?" I ask curiously.
The girl nodded, "One of the first, at least."
I pushed my glasses up my nose and looked the girl over, "Are you a current Hope's Peak student? I'll be going into my first year, myself."
The girl laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, I'm currently in my second year. I could've started earlier but decided against it due to...stuff. Things were weird and I didn't wanna...I'm rambling a bit. My bad. I'm Rin Mikami; Ultimate Snowboarder.
Rin Mikami
Ultimate Snowboarder
"Oh, that's cool!" I said, "I probably should've guessed from the goggles."
Rin unconsciously grabbed at the goggles on her head, "Yeah, I'm kind of use to always having them on."
"I wanted to come and meet you first since Komachi went to talk to those two," I explained, pointing over to where Komachi was with that boy and girl. Rin looked past me to see who I was talking about.
"Oh yeah, them," Rin said, "those two are as thick as thieves. I should let you know that the dude; Hayate? He can't talk."
That caught me off guard, "He can't?"
Rin shook her head, "He cannot. I never learned why; I never asked. I just thought you'd want to know, that way you weren't confused when he doesn't say anything back to you. He's gotta thing he uses to communicate, so it shouldn't be much of an issue." she explained.
I couldn't resist prying a little, "Are you guys in classes together?"
Rin shrugged, "One or two, but the girl he's friends with is going to be a new student. She starts next year."
That was exciting to hear! Almost everyone I'd met so far had already graduated, and those who hadn't been more than a year ahead of me. It was refreshing that I wasn't the only Hope's Peak newbie on the zeppelin.
"I should...probably go and continue my meet and greet," I said, politely excusing myself, "Thank you though for the warning about Hayate, Rin."
"It's alright," the snowboarder said offhandedly, "I'm gonna head back to the dining hall and see if I can find something to eat. It was cool meeting you, Rumiko."
With that, Rin walked off out of the room. I watched her for a moment, and I noticed something. She was limping. She wasn't limping a lot, in fact, a less observant eye probably wouldn't even notice it. However, I managed to spot the slightest hobble in her walk. If I had to guess, it was probably a result of a snowboarding accident.
I walked through the middle of the room to the left side to where Komachi and the other two Ultimates were standing. The left side was just more of the same as the right, just more trophy cases.
The boy was who I noticed first. He was rather slim and an average height. His complexion was light peach, and his eyes were fern green in color. His hair was honey brown and looked really fluffy to the touch. It was styled in a neat, but simple manner- reaching just past his chin. He was wearing a chocolate brown shirt with a lighter brown jacket over top of it. It had a folded collar and the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. His trousers were a similar shade of brown to his jacket and chocolate brown boots. His look was completed with a gold-colored neck-scarf tied off with the ends passing his collarbone, and a brown tartan patterned baker boy hat sitting comfortably on his head.
I noticed the girl next. She was a little shorter than her friend and even slimmer. Her skin was distinctly pale with round, soft features on her face. Her hair was full and reached her midback, and was dark red in color. She had two parts of her twisted back and was secured with a butterfly hair clip.
She was wearing a dark blue vest tunic that was decorated in a lace floral pattern and ruffled at the bottom falling to past her hips. She was wearing white leggings with lace trims at the bottom, reaching down to just above her ankles, which were also embroidered with stitched flowers. On her feet were a pair of sky blue flat pumps with a buckled strap and small patent flowers on the outside. She also had a pale blue chequered cape on her back.
The most abnormal part of her get-up, however, was a black headband that had a pair of cat ears attached to them. As I looked a little closer I saw that the cat ears were shockingly realistic looking. Can you even buy cat ears that look that good?
Komachi saw that I was approaching and waved me over. It was nice to get a sort of invite instead of me just barging in on the conversation. The boy and girl both noticed me, the former with a wide and friendly smile, and the ladder with a much more subdued look.
Komachi turned to the duo, "This is the girl that I mentioned. Rumiko, come here. These will be two of your classmates when you start next year."
That was exciting to hear. Maybe the three of us and Rin would all be able to become friends! We could form a friend group chat! Oh, and Roman could be there as well, maybe. If I was feeling generous.
The girl, though hesitantly, moved from behind her friend with a small smile. The boy gave me a polite wave.
"It's r-really nice to meet you, R-Rumiko," the shy girl said meekly, "Komachi s-said that you were g-going to be the Ultimate Violinist?"
I nodded, "I will be, yes. It's a pleasure to meet you both," I said, putting on my best greeting voice.
I shook the girl's hand, and the poor girl acted as if doing so was as difficult as climbing a mountain. The boy was a bit more eager to accept my handshake, but getting up close to him did I only now see the satchel he had slung over his shoulder and the notepad he was holding under his arm. Maybe that was the item he used to communicate that Rin had mentioned.
"I...I don't mean to be so nervous," the girl apologized, "I'm just n-not great at meeting new p-people." she said honestly.
"Oh no, it's totally fine!" I said hurriedly, "I can get a bit nervous meeting new people myself, but it's great to meet someone who'll be in the same year as me!"
That made the girl relax a little, "I a-agree. Meeting Rin was n-nice, but knowing I can meet someone beforehand that w-will be in the same year is good too."
I turned to the boy, "I talked to Rin and she told me you were already at Hope's Peak. You're Hayate, right?"
The boy came to attention at the sound of his name. He looked a little uncomfortable before gesturing to his neck and shaking his head, an apologetic smile on his face.
I understood what he was getting at, "Rin told me that you can't speak, it's okay."
Hayate's smile brightened before he reached under his arm to grab his notepad. He pulled a fountain pen from his pocket and started writing on the pad at an honestly impressive speed. Once he finished he pocketed his pen and whipped the notepad around for me to see. His penmanship was clean and very professional-looking.
"I'm thankful that Rin warned you of my...issue."
[Happy]
"No need to worry, however! This notepad, however simple, has yet to fail me when it comes to communicating!"
"With that out of the way; hello! I'm Hayate Maeda, and I'm the Ultimate Actor! It's nice to meet you, Rumiko."
Hayate Maeda
Ultimate Actor
Now that I knew Hayate's talent I felt bad that I hadn't recognized him. I never watched any TV or movies and hadn't for a while. I was always occupied with school work and violin practice, and when I did find time to relax I often chose a good book over television. It wasn't like Hayoon and AXIS, which you could hear wherever music was played.
Hayate's friend gained a little more confidence, standing up straight and proper, "I don't m-mean to be so shy, I'm j-just not great with new people. My name is Ayane Konishi, but please call me Aya! I'm the Ultimate Costume Designer, and I work v-very close with my friend Hayate!"
Ayane Konishi
Ultimate Costume Designer
I nodded with a smile. It was cool to see a pair of Ultimates whose talents went hand in hand with each other.
"It's great that you two get to work together. How long have you guys been friends?" I asked.
Hayate flipped to another page in his notebook and went back to writing. He finished and turned the page to me.
"We've been close since we were little, although I am a little bit older than her. We've been lucky enough to find talents that allow us to work so closely."
Aya nodded in agreement with Hayate's sentiment, "It c-can be hard sometimes since o-our jobs can b-be so hectic, but I w-wouldn't want it to be any other way."
Oh god. These two were obnoxiously sweet. I could feel my arteries clogging as they talked about how much they enjoyed each other's company and how lucky they were to be able to work with each other in their professional lives. I'd kill to have a relationship like these two had. I wasn't lucky enough to have someone in my life that I was really close to. My relationship with my parents was quite strained, and I hesitated to call my relationship with Roman a friendship.
We talked for a little longer and I learned a little more about the duo. It turned out that I'd apparently been living under a rock, as Hayate was actually the star actor on the TV show Inspector Ichiro, which I'd heard of but never actually seen. It astounded me that a mute person could play the main character of a tv series, but Hayate was the Ultimate Actor for a reason, I suppose. I'd definitely be checking out an episode once I got back home.
Not long after, I and Komachi left the Children of Hercules Room (I still thought that that name was cheesy). There was one more doorway on the left and one on the right. Komachi said that the one on the right led back into the dining hall, so that meant I was heading to the one on the left.
I saw that the room too had a plaque next to the door.
"The Haru Atzusama Memorial Cocktail Bar," I read out loud, "that's a bit of a mouthful."
"It may not be catchy," Komachi said, sounding slightly somber, "but it has a good reason for existing."
I was aware. Haru Atzusama had been quite famous in the last year or so, and not for anything good. You're probably wondering what the former Ultimate Bartender was doing in the public eye, and the answer to that was nothing good. Atzusama had had a rather...public meltdown that eventually culminated in his death a year back. Apparently, he'd had quite a number of substance abuse issues that his family had attempted to keep quiet. Being a former Ultimate could get you media attention in a lot of different ways, but for Atzusama it seemed to only ever be negative press.
I moved past the plaque and looked into the room. I'd never been to a cocktail bar before, but this one was probably the cream of the crop. The room was smaller than the Children of Hercules Room, but that didn't diminish from its splendor.
The bar itself was on the right side of the room and took up almost the entirety of the space on the wall. The shelf behind the bar held a plethora of liquor bottles of varying sizes, and the lights inside of the shelf made the whole thing glow in an almost alluring fashion.
The left side of the room had some comfy-looking leather lounge chairs with some small tables in between them. They were deep violet in color and clashed weirdly against the maroon carpet and black painted walls. There was a karaoke machine with a small stage in the back left corner of the room, and the right corner had a corner booth and table; the booth itself was the same color as the other chairs. The lighting of the entire room was soft and cozy, and there was soft jazz music playing from a speaker that I couldn't see.
There was only one person in the room that I could see. A man was seated at a stool at the bar, a glass in his hand. He was on the shorter side and of a stockier build. His hair, similar to the chairs in the room, was violet, only there were streaks of grey throughout it and it was in a choppy chin-length cut. His fringe was thick and floppy, and it partially obscured one of his eyes. His eyes were dark blue and his skin was light brown. His face showed age, mainly around his eyes and his cheeks.
He was wearing a sky blue t-shirt and a navy blue jacket over top of it, and a pair of slim-fitting blue jeans. He had on a pair of brown leather shoes with… lavender-colored laces? Those stuck out like a sore thumb when compared to the rest of his attire! His look was completed by a black, shiny scarf wrapped loosely around his neck a few times, with the ends tucked in.
I think the man noticed my staring because he suddenly turned his head in my direction. He gave me a quizzical look before looking past me at Komachi.
"I see you made a new friend, Komachi," the man's warm voice said jokingly, waving us both over, "come take a seat with me."
Komachi didn't miss a step as she moved past me to sit at the bar. I followed after her. We both took a seat on either side of the older man. It was only after I sat down at the bar that I heard the sound of glasses clinking against each other from underneath the opposite side of the bar. I couldn't see what was making the noise, however.
Getting closer to the man I was able to get a better look at what he was drinking. It was a rich brown color with a few ice cubes floating in it. The man noticed my wandering eye and smiled.
"A Black Russian," the man said, answering my unasked question, "there's no actual coffee on this zeppelin, so coffee liqueur is my next best option."
"Oh, Hell yes!" A voice called out from behind the bar. The clanking of glasses finally stopped as a woman rose up from seemingly nowhere.
This lady was...pretty, to say the least. She had warm, tanned skin with a bunch of freckles dusting her cheeks. She had a toned, hourglass figure with gold-colored eyes. Her hair was a deep chocolate brown and was thick and wavy. It was styled with an undercut on the right and the rest was pulled over onto her left shoulder. There were two gold studs in both her ears, but her right ear also had a line of gold spikes going around the shell of her ear. She had dark plum lipstick and winger eyeliner.
Clothing-wise, she was wearing a purple, low-cut, form-fitting, halter crop top that had a black mesh across her chest. Over top of that was a black, leather jacket that was hemmed at her waist. She had on black leather pants, and I couldn't see her shoes from my spot at the bar.
"I knew they would have one!" the woman continued, slamming a copper mug down on the bar. Only after her outburst did she actually notice both me and Komachi.
"Oh," she mumbled, looking over to Komachi, "Sup, K?" she asked nonchalantly.
Komachi sighed before speaking, "Guys, this is Rumiko. She's going to be a new student at Hope's Peak." she said, giving me a brief introduction.
The older man made a noise of understanding, "Ah, I see. That makes sense. I should've guessed. I can see that...youthful determination on your face. Like the world needs to be concurred by you." he monologued, bringing his drink to his lips.
I nodded along, not wanting to question my elders. "I'm going to be the Ultimate Violinist," is what I decided on.
The woman behind the bar turned away from us to face the shelf of alcohol, "That's pretty cool. You talked to any of the members of 'We Told You So' yet? You guys might have something in common. You know, like music or something." she said offhandedly, snatching a liter of vodka off of the top shelf.
I was confused, however, "'We Told You So?" I parroted back at her, "Who're they?"
The girl whipped her head around, "You seriously haven't talked to them yet? None of them?"
The older man put a hand up in my defense, "Relax, Raina. She's probably still meeting everyone. There's a good number of us here."
The man put his drink down and turned to me with his hand extended, "It's nice to meet you, Rumiko. I'm Asahiro Ariyoshi, and I was the Ultimate Interrogator. That was a long time ago, however."
Asahiro Ariyoshi
Ultimate Interrogator
His Ultimate Talent caught me by surprise. I wasn't prepared for such a friendly guy to have such an intense talent.
Before Asahiro could say anything else, the girl, Raina, pushed a spread-out deck of cards into my face.
"Do me a quick favor, Rumiko, and pick a card for me," she said, a sly smirk on her face. Asahiro groaned, but the smile on his face betrayed him. I hesitated, but still took a card and looked at it. Queen of Hearts.
"Now don't show it to me," the woman warned me, "and do not forget it. Hand it back over."
I did as I was told and put the card back in the deck. The woman, with a content smile on her face, shuffled the cards. She sent them back and forth between her hands with a satisfying flick. I couldn't help but lean forward, almost hypnotized by how the cards were moving.
"Now, you most likely haven't noticed," the girl continued, stopping her shuffling, "but I've removed your card from the deck."
I hadn't noticed. I looked around on the bar top but didn't see any loose playing card.
The woman picked up the copper mug she'd had and tipped it over. Nothing came out, so she smacked the bottom. Out tumbled a folded card.
"Is that your card, Rumiko?" the woman asked smugly. I was shocked and nabbed the card, unfolding it.
Two of Clubs.
"No, it's not."
Her eyes widened, "Wait, what?" she blanched. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know what to say; it wasn't my card.
Her face changed; going from shocked to relaxed, "Check the back."
I did just that and found a little message in black marker.
Look behind your left ear.
No way.
My hand instinctively flew up to my air, and to my shock, I felt something plastic tucked into some of my hair. I pull it down and come face to face with the Queen of Hearts.
Without even really thinking I flipped the card over and found more writing.
With love~
'Ravishing' Raina Gold
I looked up and was met with an almost glistening smile and an extended hand.
"Raina Gold: Ultimate Street Magician," she said simply.
Raina Gold
Ultimate Street Magician
I was completely awe-struck. I could only stare at the woman who I now knew was named Raina Gold.
Asahiro couldn't help but chuckle, "Good job, Raina. You've enamored another one with your parlor tricks," he joked.
Raina snatched the Queen of Hearts from my hand while laughing at Asahiro's words, "You say that like I didn't impress you upon our first interaction, Asahiro." she gestured over to Komachi next, "Same with you, K."
Komachi shrugged, looking over to me, "It's true. The only difference is she somehow managed to sneak the card into my pocket as opposed to behind my ear."
Raina clapped her hands together, "Okay, now that that's done," she turned back around towards the bar shelf, "where the Hell is the ginger beer!"
"I don't think there is any," Asahiro shook his head, "however, I know there's ginger ale in the little fridge next to the icebox."
Raina threw her head back and groaned, "I can't just use ginger ale! It's not a real Moscow Mule without spicy ginger beer!" she whined, still skimming through the shelf.
"What's a Moscow Mule?" I asked. I knew very little about alcohol, and even less about mixed drinks.
"It's a cocktail," Raina answered, "vodka, spicy ginger beer, and lime juice, often garnished with a lime wedge and served in a copper mug. You can use ginger ale if necessary, but it isn't...AH HA!" she suddenly called out, wrapping her hand around a weirdly shaped bottle on the bottom shelf.
"Found some," she cheered, "and it's Kraussmenn's too! This is the deluxe stuff! I'd expect no less from Kazimir Volkov," she said triumphantly.
"You'd only want the best for a memorial," Asahiro said somberly, holding his drink in the air, "Rest easy, old friend."
I couldn't fight my curiosity, "You were friends with Haru Atzusama?" I asked.
Asahiro just gave a half-hearted shrug, "We weren't all that close, but he was in my graduating year." he explained.
"It's truly tragic what happened to him," Komachi piped up, trying to add into the conversation.
Asahiro nodded, taking a long sip from his drink, "He was a good man, but he was a good man who was wrestling with something ugly. I don't feel like going into it much past that."
As curious as I was, I knew that it wasn't right to pry, so I dropped the topic.
The four of us talked a little longer while Raina fixed herself a drink. Eventually, Komachi excused herself for the both of us and said she wanted to take me to the dining hall. There were still a few people that I needed to meet.
Hey! Sorry for the kind of abrupt ending, but I honestly wasn't sure how to put a nice little bow tie on this one other than just kind of...ending it. I had wanted to finish this one a few days ago, but I kept getting distracted, but it's finished now. Thank you to everyone whose characters were included in this part for sending them to me. I'm sorry that their intro might've been short, but I'm just trying to push through these so I can get into the story properly. The last round of character intros will be the next chapter.
Until next time.
