A.N: Hello again, everyone! Here's the fifth chapter of this fic! I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Five: Where the Story Begins
12th of March, 2011
At last, Makoto was inside the main building. He honestly believed he would never get there! His first impression as he looked around was that it appeared to be as grand and impressive as he'd thought. No surprise there.
Where do I go now...?
The boy looked around the main hall until he spotted a colorful sign that appeared to have relevant information. He moved to take a closer look, noticing someone was already there, reading it.
Makoto figured he would be polite and say hi. "Good morning!" he greeted, smiling at the unfamiliar girl. He could not recall seeing her picture on any of the websites he had scrolled through in the past few months. Maybe she had been extra careful not to be publicly known. That sounded fair enough.
"Good morning."
...
...
...
Great.
The Ultimate Lucky Student watched as the lavender-haired girl walked away without another word. Makoto stood in place, in an actual state of disbelief. He could understand eccentricity or shyness coming from people like Junko and Mukuro, respectively, but this was something else.
He had just been coldly – and technically, politely – ignored!
Her expression had been perfectly neutral, betraying no emotion at all. In addition, her voice was as flat as the boy had ever heard. It seemed like she had no intention to be bothered by anything – even by a simple greeting.
Not exactly Makoto's cup of tea, but he felt assuming anything would be kind of rude. After all, whoever this girl was could very well have had a bad morning. Right?
I wonder who this girl is... Well, no big deal! I have to find my way around here first! With newfound determination, Makoto finally inspected the sign.
It read: "New Ultimate students, please make your way to the gymnasium just ahead for the orientation ceremony. There, you will find a chair with your name. Please sit and wait for the ceremony to begin."
Now with the information he needed, Makoto looked ahead and noticed a pair of tall red doors. They undoubtedly led to the gymnasium mentioned on the sign. Well, he had just found where to go! Finally, he felt like he was getting somewhere!
If this girl from earlier is one of my future classmates, that will already make three... odd ducks in my class. Makoto thought, unsure whether to chuckle or sweatdrop. Well, it's not like I wasn't warned, I guess... Every website I looked through mentioned that the Ultimates of Hope's Peak Academy were usually not the plainest people...
On his way to the door, the boy noticed a trophy case filled to the brim. There were trophies for pretty much every sport Makoto had ever heard about, but also for some more mental games like chess. Not that it really surprised him, either.
Hope's Peak was a school for the elite, after all. It only made sense they were so much better than everyone else.
Well, time to finally step inside! Makoto thought somewhat excitedly. Actually, the part of him that wasn't nervous was excited. It just so happened that this excited part was very tiny compared to the nervous one.
Let's go!
12th of March, 2011
The boy opened the doors, revealing the inside of the gymnasium. It was big, to say the least. Definitely bigger than the one at his old high school. Again, no surprises there. However, what surprised him was just how many voices he could hear inside.
He had read about no more than fifteen people going to Hope's Peak as Ultimates this year. There was no need for perfect pitch to realize there were way more than fifteen voices inside the room.
W-What the...?! W-Who are all those people?!
The acceptance letter had not mentioned that there would be an audience!
Makoto's nervousness only grew with this new plot twist. On both sides of the gym were countless seats where dozens upon dozens of spectators sat. Even more unexpected, there were even some cameras! This was going to be on freaking TV!
The boy froze in place, unsure of where to look – or more accurately, not look! He had not planned for that when waking up this morning! Rapidly, numerous pairs of eyes stared at him from everywhere, making his hands shake. First reminder that he was an average dude. Makoto knew it wouldn't be the last one, either.
Deep breaths, Makoto... O-Okay, this was a surprise, but just act cool... P-Pretend they aren't he-
"Hey, point those cameras at me, dumbasses! You should all be grateful to be in the presence of the great Junko Enoshima, peasants! Show me the respect I deserve!"
Suddenly, as Makoto's train of thought was interrupted, every camera operator inside the gym turned to film the Ultimate Fashionista as she pouted exaggeratingly. If Makoto had been told he would be saved from the spotlight by the eccentric girl from earlier, it would have been difficult to believe.
Well, this was a welcome surprise.
I owe you one, Junko...
Keeping as low a profile as possible, the Ultimate Lucky Student walked over to the chairs positioned at the front of the gym on both sides of the red carpet. He could count eight on each side, accounting for sixteen total students.
Amongst them were a few familiar faces.
L-Later, Makoto! F-Find your seat first!
Luckily, the boy's seat was in the closest row. As he sat, he realized he had been seated next to the mysterious girl from earlier. He noticed her stare was directed at the podium on stage. It didn't appear she had even seen him.
At least, she made no comment about him sitting.
"Young man! You are late by exactly two minutes! That behavior is not fitting for such a school environment!"
"H-Huh?" Another boy, sitting in the row just in front of him, with black hair and wearing a white uniform, shouted at Makoto before he could even say a word. The lucky student noticed him tapping his watch, giving him a scolding look. "O-Oh, sorry!" Makoto blurted out. W-Who was that?!
Before he could seek an answer to that question, silence invaded the gym. The backdoor behind the curtain opened, revealing two men, accompanied by a young girl in a school uniform. Makoto heard the girl beside him sigh loudly, the first display of emotion he'd come to see from her.
Junko quickly regained her seat as the cameras turned to a medium-sized man dressed in a professional suit with purple hair. He walked over to the podium, where a microphone had been prepared. The other man stood on his right, while the girl stood on his left. Makoto could hear the sound of the cameras taking pictures.
"Well, it appears that everyone is here and accounted for. Young Ultimates, welcome to Hope's Peak Academy!"
To be continued...
A.N: I hope you liked this chapter! We're finally getting into the proper story! Please leave a review, and I hope you all have a good day!