Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong, huh – PART 1
In the middle of the bustling urban area of Bunkyo, Tokyo. There´s a massive high school that towers over all the other surrounding buildings, it is not that much of an exaggeration to believe that this school stands at the center of the entire world.
Hope's Peak Academy
This school focus in bringing the elite among the elite of students from every field imaginable. It works as a government-funded school, full of privileges for those who attend such a place. The prestige of this institution is of this much high of a level, that it is said that if you are a student and manage to graduate, only fame and success awaits you.
With more than a hundred years of existence and prestige, it sends the best of the best into the work force year after year. Such place was built with the purpose of raising the Hope into Japan's future. Which a lot of people would say this makes Hope's Peak a pretty fitting name.
Not me though.
There are two things you need to attend this school 'Well, technically, it is three requirements, but the third one it's not on you and neither that or the first one applied to me, so whatever I guess…'. One, you have to already be attending high school. Two, you have to be the very best at what you do.
No ordinary student could enroll here. The only way in is if you're recruited by a talent scout of school itself, 'Not completely true'.
And standing there at the gate of the Ultimate School, filled with the ultimate students, was a teenager boy with messy black hair, fair skin and slightly above average height. The most notable trait you would see on him were his golden eyes, no different from finest of gold and you would be forgiven for believing that they were capable of glowing when in the middle of the night.
His clothing consisted of earrings in the lobe of each ear, a casual collar open jacket with a chest pocket on the right side, on the left side of said jacket, there were three inner pockets, two small ones and a third one big enough to carry a big phone comfortably, underneath such jacket, he wears a black shirt with a stylized white gothic cross in the middle of it. He also wears grey jeans, black shoes with white soles and black leather gloves.
That person was me, I guess should do some kind of introduction of myself. My name is Shizuka Shigaraki, seventeen years old. I would like to say that I am a completely average high schooler student...but that would not be the case. First of all, from as far as I remember, up to seven years old, I was raised in an orphanage.
I didn't really interact much with most of the kids there, making friends was not and probably will never be a strong suit of mine.
But there was one exception, and for that single exception, I consider such person my family. The most happy memories of my life came from the time spent with Her, even if we are not related by blood, she is for me the most important thing in the world, to the point that she's the only person I truly care about and even if her personality would make most people cower in fear and try to get away as fast as possible from her 'And they would be right doing that, she is actually dangerous if you end on her bad side'. The exception to this are kids, they adore her, which is a bit weird. In a way, that kind of makes me love her even more 'The personality part, the thing with the kids is just kind of confusing to me'.
The point is, the first seven years of my life I lived with my non-biological sister in an orphanage, and even if our living conditions weren't the best, it was a happy life.
Then our world turned upside down when the two of us got rec―adopted by Them, 'Well, it turned out they ran the orphanage from behind the scenes so it would be more accurate to say that we were relocated'. It would be the understatement of the century to say that our years spend with Them changed us, if that was for better or worse, I don't really know…
It was a living hell, and it was only our mutual company that keep us…I don't think sane would be the most appropriate word, so I will go with what is a fact, alive and with all of our limbs on proper condition…
Anyway, sometime after, while we still maintained contact 'Although it's very rare these days', we both went different paths. She was allowed to return to our orphanage and use what we learned with Them to keep the orphanage running doing jobs, she was always fond of that place, and with the extra income she made, things were on better conditions than when we lived there to the point that it looked like a completely different place 'At least that's what she told me, I haven't set a foot there since the day we left'.
Me on the other hand, they saw so much more talent and couldn't allow to 'let me go' and have the same level of freedom She had and waste such potential, 'Not that I put much resistance for that, if anything, I sort welcomed it in a weird way'.
They made me travel all over the world and apply what they taught me, whether it was in the most unhabitable parts of the Middle East or the biggest urban areas of Europe, I would always complete the jobs assigned to me, no matter how dangerous and with low chances of survival they were.
All of that brings me to this moment, here I am, in front of the anything but ordinary Hope's Peak Academy, and all I could think with such a sight that would make most marvel is…
'What a load of crap…' I gave a sigh of resignation while rubbing the back of my neck while i was looking at what would be my future for the next years.
Now you would be wondering 'What the hell? You got the opportunity that most teenagers could not even dream to have, what is your problem?!', and I would have no difficult to point that there actually are a lot of problems with this for my liking.
First of all, remember condition number one to attend Hope's Peak? You have to already be attending high school, well… surprise, surprise not only I don't go to a high school, I don't even have ANY kind of formal education, everything I have learned was self-taught or learned with Them, then there is the fact of the technical point number three, which is getting recruited by a talent scout of the academy itself…...I did not get accepted into Hope's Peak by one either.
Now the question would arise 'Huh? Then how did you got accepted into the school?', well, the answer is quite simple though not less problematic, the people who invited me were…... The Steering Committee of Hope's Peak itself.
Again, you would say something like 'Hey! They really wanted your talent so much, that used unorthodox ways to get you, you really should feel honored!', but THAT is exactly the problem, I know what my talent is, I am aware of the potential danger that I could represent to my classmates and that should have discouraged their desires to seek me, not went out of their way to get me at any cost, all of that rang a lot of warning bells for me and made me ask a single but important question…why?.
With that on mind, I decided to do some search of my own.
The first thing I stumbled upon was the Reserve Course Department, this section of the academy is an institution that while it was founded by Hope's Peak Academy and it could give you some recognition for being part of the school, it worked as a separate and normal high school.
When I found out that the 'purpose' of the Reserve Course was to find 'exceptional' students among their ranks to recruit them into the main course, the exorbitantly high fees you have to pay for both entering and staying at the school and the fact that there have been no results even when the Reserve Course already has a few years running, I only had to put two and two together to understand.
'They are using them as cash cows, huh' I grimaced at that, not because I felt bad for the students, no, not really, I don't know them at all so why should I care? but it brings some questions.
Hope's Peak already makes tons of money from what is publicly known 'There is also the shady deals, those always are there' and it is in plain sight for everyone except for the students themselves apparently, that they don't really care about the Reserve Course, because of that, they don't invest any crap on them, so…to where does all that money go? Further research of the school didn't really bring me concrete answers, but at least solidified that it was nothing good.
The next aspect I investigated was of who would become my classmates. At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary 'By ultimate student's standards, of course', for example, there were some poeple like the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Ultimate Baseball Star or even someone with the title of Ultimate Moral Compass, some even caught my attention like the Ultimate Programmer and the Ultimate Martial Artist 'If what I found about her is actually true, then I would actually like to meet her, a small blessing, I guess…'.
Then things get suspicious when I noticed that I couldn't find any info on some of my classmates 'I know there are more than what the ones I found, the information in the 'invitation' pointed to 17 students if I included myself, and I don't think they would do a miscount in a document as important as this one', no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find anything, not their name and not even what talents they have, that made me wonder…... are they like me? If so, then this academy is REALLY playing with fire and it is adding another pile of problems to a bigger pile of problems.
'Alright, alright, you made your point clear, not interested in going to Hope's Peak, so why don't you just, don't know, reject their invitation, flip them off, and go do whatever it is you want to do?' Well, that is another easy question to respond…...I can't.
When I said I was invited, it was more among the lines of forcefully recruited. The thing is, the big guys at Hope's Peak didn't approach me, they went with Them instead, 'Shady deals, called it', and it seems they REALLY wanted me in their school, because whatever deal was made, They were totally on board with the idea of me going to the academy even with the exposure that idea could bring, as the first thing they did after I came back from one of my 'tours', was to made clear that I should accept the 'invitation' or there could be consequences to a certain orphanage 'I know they were talking implicitly about Her, at the end of the day, that is the only thing I care about in that place'. It was one of the few instances in my life where I actually got angry, but for all their bullshit, I know they wouldn't do anything as long as I complied with this, so I didn't let it show it.
So yeah, I was going to attend a school full of cover-ups, shady deals, secret projects, and potentially dangerous classmates 'That last one I wouldn't really mind if it was a cute girl, still…'.
…
'This school it's a freaking time bomb' I deadpanned, as I sighed, again 'And considering that I will spend the next three years here…I just hope it doesn't blow up in my face, but still…' I thought as I finally I began to walk towards the entrance of Hope's Peak 'I can't just keep standing at the open gates, staring at nothing like an idiot'
Oh right, all that rambling of myself and about Hope's Peak and there wasn't a mention of the possibly most important piece of information about me: What is my talent?
Another easy question, huh, I'm on a streak, well my talent is the Ultimate―
!
"What is―!?" The moment I took my first step into the academy, my entire world twisted, spinning and spinning in a total swirl of confusion "H...ow…...co…. uld…. l…et…guard…do―"
Before I could finish that thought, everything was consumed by darkness.
…
…
"…Nghh" At first, Shigaraki couldn't feel anything but total numbness, but, slowly and surely, he began to regain consciousness, and, as soon as he returned to his senses and woke up…
"..!" He quickly stood up, his brain automatically put the fact that he was sitting and resting in a desk as a low priority information at the moment, and prepared in anticipation for an upcoming attack, focusing with narrowed eyes in scanning his surroundings for any kind of trap or foe, meanwhile, he was already opening the inner pockets of his jacket, searching for his―
"They are not with me, dammit, does that mean…" As he trailed off, he continued his search for a few more seconds. While the lack of his tools did worry him and he had his body ready for anything they might want to throw at him, the fact that there was no one else in the room and there was no sight of any kind of device designed to hurt or kill him, allowed him to do a calmer observation of his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was that he was in a classroom, with enough space to occupy up to twenty students with no problem, there were multiple chalkboards, one in front of him with a clock above it and two others at the back of the room. On the upper right corner, he could see a TV, then turning his sight to the left he saw the most suspicious thing inside this room.
Instead of where the windows of a classroom should go, there were metal plates with clear signs of being bolted and sealed, making an escape from there impossible. If anything in this room was not a good sign it definitely was that, it didn't help at all the existence of a surveillance camara that was being focused on him.
If it weren't for all of that, it would look like a normal classroom, not that he really had much experience knowing what a normal one should look like, having zero formal education and all that, 'The only kind of actual experience with classrooms comes from THAT incident wh―' He shook his head, now's not the time to get side-tracked.
Shigaraki couldn't help but sigh 'I am aware of Hope's Peak massive funds, so a television shouldn't be nothing out of the ordinary, heck, even the surveillance camara isn't out of question and I would say that all of this is normal by this academy standards…but considering the circumstances in which I found myself in, which I refuse to believe it was the result of a black out on my part, and those plates in the windows, it makes me suspect…am I even on Hope's Peak in the first place? I kind of hope not, because otherwise, it would point to a whole lot of grim possibilities…', he was about move to do a more thoroughly check on the plates when he noticed something in the desk he was sitting up, it was some kind of note.
It was a cheap-looking parody of a pamphlet, with some poor handwriting that reads as:
Hey there new kid! The next semester is about to start.
Starting today, this school will be your entire world.
Please be ready at eight o'clock sharp in the main hall!
'That's a threat if I ever heard one…and sure as heck I've had a lot of those' He thought with narrowed eyes, then he looked up at the clock and saw that it was 07:40 already, then put his sight at the plates and finally, at the doors that would lead him out of the classroom…with another sigh 'I've been doing that a lot recently, huh', He decided to comply with the orientation guide/threat, not without giving one last look at the camera that keep following all his movements before leaving 'I really wanted to check those plates carefully, but seeing as they are giving me a lot of freedom for a regular kidnapping, because it is gotta be a kidnapping, there are too much coincidences to not be one, I will do as told. There are a lot more concerning things that I need to check after all, like finding the main hall, so I should play along…for now'.
As soon as Shigaraki left the classroom, he was meet with a weird sight, the most notable of things, was the illumination. The lights in this hall gave a purple glowing which was being very quickly becoming obnoxious, a few meters in front on him was signboard with the label 'Despair Hotel' and it seemed that on its left it led to another hallway, probably to this 'Hotel', 'Still…a place called Despair Hotel in Hope's Peak? ominous.'
He did against his better judgement 'Because I am on a schedule to find this main hall' and turned to his right and began walking towards his destination.
Shigaraki decided that while he didn't have time to do a deep search of the place, he had enough time to quickly check if every classroom was locked, sure enough, they wouldn't budge, in a way, it was kind of a relief, it meant that he wasn't missing much when he was focusing in meeting his destination.
At the end of the hallway there was a big red door, which like the rest of the classrooms, it wouldn't open, so he let it be, turned again to his right and move on.
In this new hallway the lights changed, instead of purple, they were green, that didn't mean that they were any less unpleasant, though 'They also are kinda depressing in a way, must be on purpose, ominous…again'. While moving around this hall he noticed an A/V room which was…locked, and further on, there was another door, this one even had yellow tape all around it with the message 'KEEP OUT ', 'Is this a way to tell me to stop fooling around and hurry up to the main hall?' Shigaraki thought with a bit of amusement, though he still kept a blank face while doing so.
With no more distractions, he finally found some double doors with an exit label a few meters to his left, 'That must be it' and walked into the exit doors that would lead him into the main hall, but, before going through, he took a quick glance to his right and managed to see a set of stairs that were being blocked by a metal gate some meters away from him. With narrowed eyes he gave his thoughts on the matter 'More problems, probably'.
Once I finally entered into the main hall, I was meet with…teenagers, students most probably…so he really was in Hope's Peak or―
!
I immediately tensed up and readied my body when the next thing I instantly noticed were the multiple gatling guns mounted on the corners at the end of the main hall 'Those are definitely real…real state of the art, electronic and military grade machine guns…probably M132 UAG-14 if I'm not mistaken, with some surveillance cameras too…what the…and that's not all, that vault, something that big and advanced should not be here…it may not be in my expertise but it definitely is high-end-technology, one look at it is enough to notice that'
"Whoa, hey! Is that another new kid?" I heard someone say, but couldn't immediately identify from who it came, my attention was mainly on the mounted weapons 'They have freaking mounted machine guns behind their backs and they are acting as if it was nothing, are they dumb? Maybe they think those are fake? But seeing the amount of people already reunited and with no signals of any incident happening, those weapons are probably not dangerous…for now'.
A brown skinned girl with a ponytail noticed my silence "Hey, are you okay? Does your stomach hurts?" What?
However, I managed to notice out of the corner of my eye, there were two people that, although they weren't focusing on them, they were actually paying attention to those weapons when they noticed where my sight was, curious.
Even so, I had a few things that needed some clarification first.
"Yes, I'm fine…all of you are…?" I asked with my default blank face.
"That's right…we're all new students here. Today is supposed to be our first day of class" A tiny girl with a green jacket said.
"Mmm, so counting him, that makes fifteen. Seems like a good cut-off point, but I wonder if this is everyone?" A plump guy commented.
Alright, it seems everyone here are students too, if that's the case I wonder…I already stablished as a fact that this is some kind of kidnapping, but it doesn't hurt to get some kind of information from people who already got here before me.
"Greetings. First of all, I would like to confirm something, shortly after arriving at Hope's Peak, I lost consciousness and the next thing I knew was that I woke up in a classroom…by any chance…?" I trailed off.
"Whoa! You too?" a guy with a large amount of hair in loc style said.
"Interesting…things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser" commented a girl in gothic lolita clothes.
"So strange…I declare beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a strange situation indeed!" replied the plump guy from before 'Really, what gave it? Multiple people losing consciousness when setting foot on the school, the gatling weapons or the military-level vault? Those are too many coincidences to keep acting like―'
"Hold on a moment! There is something of immediate concern we must address!" A guy with red eyes and big brows exclaimed while pointing a finger at me.
"What is it?" I said flatly and narrowed eyes 'Does he know something about my…'
"You! while I commend that you attended to this meeting on time! I must condemn the fact that you are breaking school regulations by wearing those earrings! To broke the rules on your first day is unacceptable! I must report you, and you must accept your due punishment while removing such accessories at earliest as possible!" shouted 'because he doesn't have an inner voice apparently' the red eyed student.
…
…
"…Does anywhere in the Hope's Peak regulations mentions that I can't wear them?" I asked with a completely neutral tone.
"H-Huh? Well... now that you mention it, it really doesn't…" He seemed to lose his momentum in this charade, good, I will end this before we get more distracted.
"Then I am not breaking any rules, correct?" I supplied.
It was like the secrets of life itself revealed before him, if the widening of eyes in realization was any indication "!...You are right! To commit an omission in such an important detail! Please forgive my rudeness!" He shouted again, while bowing.
I just simply nodded, not wanting to deal with more of this.
"Geez, man, finally someone points that to him! He was being such a pain some moments ago with some of the stuff I wear…" some red-haired guy with a goatee tied into a ponytail commented.
It seemed like a strawberry blonde girl with pigtails was going to add something more, when…
I quickly jumped to the side and tensed up when the doors from which I came from, burst open, which allowed me to avoid getting hit by them, revealing a notably short teenager, wearing a dull green hoodie and an open black jacket, with spiky brown hair and his most noticeable trait, a relatively big ahoge, once I was sure there was no more surprises, I allowed myself to relax again.
He seemed to have noticed my reaction, because he gave me an apologetic smile and a quiet "sorry", before addressing everyone else "Um…how's it going? My name's Makoto Naegi. Sorry I'm late, a bunch…" I tuned him out while I focused on giving a more thoroughly observation to my classmates.
Standing before were the Ultimate Students, humans that have been carefully chosen by this school because they are the absolute best at what they do in the entire world.
Looking at them, I have no doubt that they are different from the average person. Save for a few exceptions, though, the aura they give is one of complete uniqueness, not a threatening one, still…'Putting my guard completely down with any of them would be imprudent'.
I came to my senses when I heard the brown skinned girl from earlier rise her voice "Hey! Everyone, just calm down! Listen, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves?"
A guy with a pompadour snarled "The hell!? There are more important things than fucking introductions right now!" Technically true, but…
"That may be true, but I think it would be good to at least find out who we all are before digging into the bigger problems here" Said the gothic lolita girl from a few moments ago with a smile "I mean, how are we even supposed to talk to each other if we do not know each other's names" True.
"That's a good point…" The girl with green jacket said shyly.
"Alright, so let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sound good?" A dark-blue haired girl with a seifuku-like uniform replied. 'They are really taking this too lightly'.
With that everyone began to pair up and introduce properly. I guess that's as good a signal as anything to move too and talk with someone.
…
…
…Right, socialize, interact with people in a 'non-professional' manner, teenagers around my age, him, whose closest experience to that is―
Shigaraki, would you like to hear what kind of torture methods I learned today?
Dammit, he will only focus on not scaring them, 'I will keep my voice as neutral as possible, avoid leaking any edge to it and I will speak only the necessary, not interested in accidentally bringing inconvenient topics, especially when there are more important matters on hand'.
Let's do this.
Turns out I got lucky and the first person that I would need to introduce myself came to me instead of the other way around, such person, was the last guy who came into the main hall and almost hit me with the door 'That sounds kinda petty…meh'.
"Hi, my name is Makoto Naegi, I am the Ultimate Lucky Student, nice to meet you" The ahoge boy said with a gentle smile.
Mmm, he is one of few people I couldn't find any info, and Ultimate Lucky Student…...I know I shouldn't talk more than necessary but, I wonder…" Lucky Student, huh…Naegi, does that mean you have some kind of control over your own luck?" I asked with a serious tone 'It that is the case, he definitely could be either a dangerous person or a useful one in our current situation depending on how things play out'.
"H-Huh!? No, no, nothing like that! In fact, I tend to have very back luck most of the time haha, you see, Hope's Peak holds every year a lottery in which a random and normal person gets an opportunity to attend this school, it just so happened that I am the winner of this year lottery…I am just a complete average teenager in every sense of the word, really" he said while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
He could be lying and end up being more than what he says, but that applies to every human, so being overly paranoid would as fatal as being completely trusting of everything he says, I will just let his actions speak more than his words and avoid any kind of hostility. I merely gave a nod and proceeded to introduce myself.
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"
He seemed to take a pensive look while scratching his chin before talking again "…Shizuka Shigaraki…so you are one of the students I couldn't find even their names in any of the threads I checked…" 'Good, it would actually be worrying if you did' "Um…could you tell me what is your talent?"
I've been actually checking the pros and cons of revealing my talent and I decided to…...not reveal it, at least not for now 'I know I can't keep it as a secret forever', I have no doubt that if people heard my talent in our current situation, probably not everyone, but most of these people will panic and with the mounted weapons around…there's no guarantee that our captors will not get trigger-happy at noisy kids 'Even if I am confident in surviving the onslaught of those mounted weapons, I have no way of knowing if there are hidden traps inside this hall or around the school in general, I can't afford the risk if they have already proven capable of catching me off guard once'
"No, not really…at least not right now. I will talk about it later" Naegi didn't seem satisfied with my answer, but he didn't push the subject, Good.
Seeing that as my cue to leave, I gave a simple wave and moved from my spot to find another person to introduce myself.
I decided that the next person I should introduce myself should be the red eyed guy with military-style uniform, if doing so also got me as far as possible from his shouting, then that was just a bonus, really.
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"
"I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru! I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on a crusade for a proper educational environment!" The red eyed teenager said with his voice as high as usual.
Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass, he was a student in Kaiseidan High School, and all three years, he won top honors every year and keep a close working relationship with his community's Public Morals Committee. He is basically the perfect image of what a role student should aim for.
This absolute respect for the rules earned him this title, but…Ishimaru…same as Toranosuke Ishimaru, a former Prime Minister of Japan a few decades ago, I am aware of his corruption scandals 'Which are relatively darker than what the public knows, I would know, considering They were involved, and although this incident occurred way before I was born, in Their facilities there are very detailed records of the most notable 'jobs' from our members so we could 'educate' ourselves. It was just fortunate that one of my favorite subjects to read are about heads of the state around the world, that allowed me to make the connection' but apart from being his grandson, Kiyotaka has nothing to do with him, that much I could verify, that made him clean of any involvement with that incident, and considering that was the deepest I could dig about him, that meant he is without a doubt the role student he claims to be 'Which is good for me too, that meant less problems for me to deal with'.
"Anyway, you can call me Taka. You said your name was Shizuka Shigaraki, correct?" 'Taka' said 'Sure, why not, it's easy to say'.
I nodded "Yes"
"That's a good name, a strong name! You should thank your parents for giving such an excellent name! And to keep that name from losing its value, you must devote yourself every single day!" Taka commented.
…
'...I suppose this goes in the 'inconvenient topics' part' "Sure" I said with a neutral tone. 'I mean, I don't have any information to base an opinion about my parents. Maybe they didn't want me or maybe they thought the orphanage was a better option than what they could offer, I don't know, but eh…I find amusing the name they gave me and the irony of it, so plus points I guess…about the devotion part, if we go with Their 'standards', then I guess I do that in a way'
"Life is worth putting every ounce of effort into! Right!? Right!" I really don't have anything against his desire to follow the rules and being a role student…but he really needs to find an inner voice, geez.
I just moved away from him and went to the next person.
Next on the line was a girl with dark purple hair keeped into two braids and her clothing consisted of a school uniform with a long skirt. When I got closer to her, I was able to notice her body language…it seemed off 'She seems both nervous and anxious, she keeps her head down most of the time except from some quick side-glances…...inferiority complex, probably'.
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"
"I-It's not that you'll rem-remember my n-name anyway, b-but I'm Tok-ko…Toko Fukawa"
Yep, inferiority complex.
Toko Fukawa, there was nothing out of the ordinary by ultimate standards about her that I could find. Since she was young, every work she releases is a guaranteed best seller and two years ago she released her masterpiece, a romance story with the title of 'So Lingers the Ocean', this work was so popular on women that she literally influenced in what was their perception of an attractive male, such a feat could only belong to the Ultimate Writing Prodigy.
But…
…I don't see anything wrong with her 'Apart from the complex, of course…...and that she smells kind of weird', but for some reason my instincts were telling to be cautious around her 'I mean, I don't even feel in any kind of danger or murderous intent coming from her, even when Naegi opened the door with zero ill intent I kind of felt something, not from him but just the general sense of danger. With her, it's just the back of my mind telling me that something was wrong, but didn't know what…it's hard to explain, but just in case I will be extra cautious with her'
"W-What is it? I-I-It's not polite to stare, you know" Fukawa said in a flustered tone…and was she blushing?
What?
"Stop staring at me like I'm some filthy creature!" Now she was angry.
What?
"What? I was just―" I tried to do some explanation, but…
"I-I k-know what you 'just' thought!" Now she was on a spiral of depression "You just thought that you have never s-seen such an ugly woman. You just th-thought it was sooo funny….!".
…
"Don't bother trying to l-lie to me! I know it's true…I know you can't stand looking at―" I don't have time for this crap.
"I will go introduce to the rest of my classmates, see you later" or not, I hope not.
Sigh, I don't really have anything against people with this kind of complex, but when it's THAT aggressive, I know we will only go in circles with me trying to clear the misunderstanding and her going in a deeper and deeper spiral of self-depreciation and anger, it was the best for the both of us to cut it right there.
For the next person, I introduced myself in an absolutely unique and― "Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"
Kidding.
"I…am Hifumi Yamada. But if you want to call me by my nickname, 'The Alpha and the Omega!' I don't mind." 'The Alpha and the Omega!' said.
'The Alpha an―Hifumi Yamada the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, Mmmm…I don't really have much to say about him, I know he is very well known on the internet and that he sold a lot of copies from a product of his in a school event…...I guess it would be valuable to acquire some info from the source itself.
"By the way, how much do you know about the world of 2D art?" I guess I should have expected that question from him.
"...I know what you are referring to, but I don't have any kind of experience with it" Am I really following along just for some info? 'Well, it's not like this is close to the hardest 'tasks' I've had in my life'
"Fufufu…I see you are not as ignorant as the rest of our peers Master Shigaraki" 'Master?' "But in our community, you would be labeled as a 'greenie'" 'I guess that's true' "Me on the other hand…I am well know and supremely well regarded as a living legend. I once sold 10,000 copies of one of my fan comics at a school festival! Some of them didn't get it, of course, saying I'd 'tainted' the event. How stupid can you be!?" I don't know what to think about that 'I don't even know where this 'conversation'/rambling is going'.
"The words of such idiots mean nothing to me. I am like Van Gogh-utterly unappreciated in my time" 'That's…...kinda true I guess, he IS an Ultimate, that has to count for something...' "I am a soldier! Serving night and day to destroy all mindless preconceptions about fanfiction!"
*Twitch*
'H-Huh? Why did my right eye did that when he said that? And it did also kind of irked me a bit, which is strange, because nothing in particular about that comment feels like something that would offend me, if anything, I find amusing that he believes to be a soldier of any kind…weird '
"I'm sure if you were to observe my work, Master Shigaraki, you would comprehend its greatness immediately. For my work is filled with the deepest of meanings…" Yamada finished with an absolutely serious expression.
I will bite the bait, why not "What kind of meaning?"
"About embracing our basest urges!"
…
It was kind of my fault for enabling him in persuit of some info.
"I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure, you can call me Hiro for short! Take it easy, yeah? I know I will! hahaha" A tanned guy with a loc hairstyle said.
...
...I looked up at the mounted weapons, then at the vault door behind him, then back at him with a deadpan expression.
Are they getting dumber?
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings."
Yasuhiro Hagakure, also known by his alias "Supernova" in the psychic community. The trend-setting Ultimate Clairvoyant.
If I am honest, I'm kind of skeptical to such 'supernatural talent', but I have to put into consideration that he was accepted by Hope's Peak itself, for all their shady stuff, they wouldn't be dumb enough to recruit a pretender.
Right?
"Ahh…Okay, I give up." Huh?
I'm biting the bait, again… "What's wrong?"
"I saw it. I looked right at it…Seriously, I totally saw it!" Hiro said in a concerned tone.
…Aw man, I really didn't want to label him like that kind of person just because of his clothes and hairstyle, but he really is, isn't?
I really shouldn't… "Saw what?" …but I already came this far so…
"A Onikuma demon with pigtails and a silver spear in his mouth chasing a commando werewolf with a guardian angel on its side. And that guardian angel… is YOU!"
…I really should stop that.
"Nah, I'm just kiddin'. But hey, we should grab some brewskis sometime and get really deep into Lemuria and its civilization." Hiro said with a casual tone.
"I'm seventeen years old." I deadpanned.
"Oh, I'm actually 21. I've been held back a few times, see, and…well, it's a long story."
I have spent less than ten minutes with the guy a I feel like I could make a good guess.
It's kind of funny, really, talking with these people almost makes me forget that we are kidnapped at gun point.
Almost.
After finishing introductions with Hiro, I walked up to talk to the dark-blue haired girl I saw earlier and prepared to greet her.
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings" I said as I've been doing the last five times.
"Hi! I'm Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!" She seems like someone of normal personality by ultimate standards for a change, huh.
Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation, she is the lead singer of the most popular idol pop group all across the country, not only that but she also works on TV shows and magazines everywhere…but I wonder…it's not exactly a secret the hellish pressure and high expectations that you could suffer if choosing this career, it's a pretty dark industry if you put some time think about it, it is the same for her? 'Anyways, with her angelical voice, amazing dancing skills and the fact that she has over 100 million of followers or 'Sayakers' as they call themselves, she really does live up to the title she has been given…'
"I'm flattered you think so high of me!"
!
"What?" I asked with narrowed eyes and more edge than what would have liked to show, she seemed to notice that if the worried look on her face was anything to go by, dammit. "Sorry…...I just really didn't expect that, what was that?" I managed to say in a much more calmed tone.
That seemed to do the trick apparently, because she quickly brightened up "Oh! I guess it's normal that not everyone takes it the same way, you see…" she said between giggles, then she turned completely serious "I'm a psychic."
…
"Really?"
"Hahaha, I'm just kidding, I just have really good intuition!"
I REALLY need to be careful of what I am thinking when around her. In her own way she's kind of dangerous, that's a bit thrilling―'Not the moment, dammit'.
"Is that so…see you later, Maizono" I gave a slight nod before turning in search of another student.
"See ya!"
After getting away from Maizono, I walked over to a guy with spiky red hair, pale blue eyes, and with a whole set of clothing that screamed punk.
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"
"Hey man! What's up, the name's Leon Kuwata, nice to meet ya!" The guy with red hair and a goatee said with a wave.
The Ultimate Baseball Star, Leon Kuwata, another good example of someone who lives up for his title, since a young age he has played in national level championships as a cleanup hitter and in every single one of them, he has crushed the competition…that's all about it with him, but compared to the pictures I saw…
"He looks different…" I said mostly to myself but it seemed he heard it too.
"What, were you expecting some kid with a shaved head?" Leon questioned.
I suppose there's no harm to be frank about it, that info is online for everyone to see "Not really, it's just that you look different from the pictures" That got a reaction from him.
"What!? Aw man, you found that picture of me with that appearance? Seriously!? I hate that picture! I really, really though it didn't exist anymore!" If only you knew…
"This is not cool. This is SO, so not cool…...Seriously, I'm like, mega embarrassed right now." Huh "I didn't have a choice, okay? Shaving your head like that is part of national championship regulations! They really force that stuff on you! But I ain't gonna cut my hair and neither getting my dye back to normal!"
I guess he is in his rebellious phase, not like I have experience with that.
"Hey, can I be totally honest with you?" I just shrugged, 'He hasn't given me any signals to believe he is worse than Yamada and Hiro' "I don't like baseball. Like, at all. I've never gone to a single practice"
I believe the part where he said he has never gone to a single practice, he is an Ultimate, but that he doesn't like baseball…...seems like something he wants everyone to believe, for what reason, I don't know and doesn't seem important enough for me to care, but I will keep it in my mind, somewhere, just in case.
"But as soon as I got accepted here, I quit baseball for good! I have my own dream for the future"
"Dream?" Wonder how it feels to have one.
"My only path in life is getting into music! You can feel that rock star-quality aura I have! I feel you have some of it too, y'know?" I have? "I'm gonna be a singer, so all I need is a songwriter and someone on guitar, and we're set! This new version of me that's chasing after my dreams is, like…...super cool to the max!"
While the subject of whether it's possible or not to just reject your talent and focus on something else in Hope's Peak is interesting, it is completely irrelevant at the moment, I also felt that we were done with this conversation so I gave a slight nod and went to find another person.
The next person I meet with was the girl from earlier who tough that I was hurt on the stomach 'How she came to that conclusion, I don't know and I don't want to find out' She had brown skin and hair, with the latter tied into a gravity-defying ponytail 'And how does she do that?'. Her clothing consists of a white tank top, a red tracksuit and some hotpants.
"Hey, hey! I'm Aoi Asahina! But my friends just call me Hina, 'sup?" 'Hina' said 'Another simple name, good'
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings" I said.
The Ultimate Swimming Pro, if what I found about her is true…...then she is without a doubt a stamina monster, especially in aquatic environments. Since the age of 5, she's been breaking records in any kind of physical competition you could think of, more so in the ones where swimming is involved, such is her talent that since a young age, she's even been chosen as an upcoming candidate for the Olympics, and it's probably only 'upcoming' because of the laws against minors participating in such events.
"Aha! I knew it was something like that!" I have a feeling she remembered something completely different "Don't worry! I will make sure to keep it in my head! Shizuka…Shigaraki…Shizuka…" While she was muttering to herself, she was also doing some writing gestures with her hands 'Must be a way to make sure she remembers it' "Alrighty!...Hey, how do you spell your last name?"
"The same way it sounds" I said plainly
"…"
"…"
"…Well, I have no idea how that is. Hahahaha! I will write it down later to make use I get it right, anyway, glad to meet ya!" Hina said while rubbing the back of her head 'Seems like she only put a focus on her physical training, huh'.
With nothing else to say, I took that as a signal to leave.
I really haven't been that talkative, only extending my responses a bit more than usual when I am interested or curious about some extra information that I could get that will help me build a profile on each of them, and even so…I feel drained.
Don't get me wrong, I could still go on for a lot more, my training and experience would allow me to adapt and persevere, it's just…I am not used to deal with so much colorful but still different personalities, so I just want to get this over with so we can get on track with the important matters.
With that mini rant over, I approached to the next student. She was a teenager with ghostly pale skin, red eyes and black hair made in two twin-drill pigtails. Her clothing, which was a gothic lolita-style outfit, consisted of a white blouse with a collar, a white ribbon around her neck, a black jacket with a ribbon lacing down the sleeves, fastened by a simple white ribbon across her chest which revealed a red tie and the waist of her skirt, another notable trait, was the silver-plated ring that layered around her index finger in an overlapping way.
It also didn't go unnoticed by me the appraising way she was looking at me.
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"
"Greetings, I believe we have not been introduced yet. My name is Celestia Ludenberg" said the red eyed girl with a smile and her hands under her chin.
"Celestia Ludenberg…" I said mostly to myself, sort of to give the name a 'taste' and identify it, 'Mmm, it definitely is of European origin, most probably German, but…' Anyways, about her…
Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler, she is very well known in the underground for participating in the most dangerous tournaments where large sums of money are involved, from what I could find, the games where the yakuza are involved are her most frequented ones.
Her most notable feat was in one game sponsored by the Kuzuryu clan where it is rumored that she defeated all of her opponents and left while laughing 'Doing that in a place full of yakuza presence, truly an Ultimate Gambler', this is where she also gained the title Queen of Liars, alluding about her being completely wrapped in a veil of lies.
'Some details of her already give that fact, first of all, her 'name', it is obviously fake if the poor accent is anything to go by, then there's her garments, when this close to her I can easily recognize that those pigtails are fake and if combined with everything she wears, it is notable how much she wants to sell her actual image'
"My, my to say my name with no problem and with the right accent. If you don't mind, I would prefer for you to call me Celeste." 'Celeste' said with a smile
"Sure"
"Ehehehe you are not a very talkative person, I see…...and Shigaraki, if I'm not mistaken it means 'Mourning of death' correct? Very interesting name…" 'The way she said interesting name…interesting…Celestia Ludenberg…is there a connection?' "…As interesting as the fact that you haven't revealed your talent to anyone, am I wrong?" She noticed that, huh, she's a sharp one.
"You are correct, I don't plan to keep it a secret but I will talk about it until later"
"Interesting, very, very Interesting, then I will not take more of your time, I really look forward to getting to know you better, later~" With that said we both parted ways.
'Apart from them finding out about my talent right now, I don't think there's anything I'm worried for them to find out, still, similar to Sayaka I will have to be prepared and be careful around 'Celeste' to avoid any leaking of information from my part' Is it coincidence most of who I've been having those kinds of thoughts are girls? A quick glance around the remaining students left for me to introduce and remembering those who I already talked to, told me that no, it's probably not.
The next person I approached was a tall and bulky man with a pompadour, his outfit consisted of a typical biker gang member clothes along with a black overcoat, said overcoat had the symbol of the of the gang he belongs to in the back, with different kanji writing on the sides…...I think I have a pretty good guess at who he is.
"Mondo Owada, nice to fuckin' meet ya" said the biker almost like growling.
'...The way he said that, the tone of his voice, the scowl on his face, his posture in general…he seems like someone who gets angry easily, requiring little provocation or just pushing the wrong buttons to make him explode, he could become a problem in our current situation…still, not like he could defeat me…but I'm grateful I can keep a straight face looking at his hair' Anyway, amusement aside, about him…
The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, Mondo Owada, he is the absolute leader of the biggest biker in Japan known as The Diamond Dogs, not only that, but all of the other gangs pay him enough respect that you could basically think of him as the leader of ALL the gangs around Japan, that's a lot of manpower, I wonder if he is aware of that.
The only other thing I could find is that before him, his brother Daiya Owada was the previous leader and that Owada became the successor after his brother passed away, but the details about how that came to be are surprisingly well buried, so I could only theorize.
"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"
"Hell yeah" he said with a slight tone of finality to it. That was probably the quickest introduction I had so far, which was completely fine for me.
Only 5 more to go.