The first building Hajime came across was…a farm? He blinked twice to make sure the summer sun hadn't cooked his brain. It would explain the voices.

Your denial is both boring and inaccurate. Standing here in the hot sun does not improve your chances of avoiding heatstroke either, so I suggest you get this over and done with before you lose what precious little brain cells you have left.

"Rude," Hajime grumbled aloud, but begrudgingly moved forward. "Wait," he mumbled. "Don't we share a brain? Now I know you're being rude just for the sake of it."

It was an expression.

Hajime shook his head. "And here I was thinking you had a sense of humour."

Such a thing would be a waste of time.

No wonder you're always bored.

A mental grunt was all the reply he got. Pushing through the gate of the farm, he read the sign hanging above, swaying despite the lack of a breeze. "Usami Corral…" A sudden giggling caught his attention and, after a moment of hesitation, he made his way towards the sound. There, crouched on the ground was…a small child? The girl was on her hands and knees, focused on something on the ground and cackling manically. Her preposterously oversized blonde pigtails bobbed as she giggled and the orange…what is that?

It appears to be a kimono.

Ah thanks. Hajime shook himself. He still didn't understand the circumstance around the new voice in his head, but he definitely seemed to be connected to the strange situation at hand, and as such he wasn't prepared to act friendly towards it until he got answers. He really was becoming accustomed to it much too quickly.

"Um, hey, what are you doing?" he asked curiously, stepping up next to the cackling child. Ants were forming a scattered mess on the ground in front of her knees, black bodies scurrying frantically, the remnants of a line left in the form of still, flat forms pressed into the dirt.

"Can't you tell? I'm squishing ! Squishy, squishy, squish! Hey, want to join me?"

For a moment all Hajime could do was gape. Will…will all of his classmates be this weird. He managed to splutter out a polite decline, before pushing through. "Before I um, leave you to squish more ants, I figure I should introduce myself. I'm Hajime Hinata-" A stray thought crossed his mind. Should he introduce Izuru? Of course not. On what planet would that be a good idea? Hi, my name is Hajime Hinata, I don't remember why I'm here, because I'm pretty sure I've already attended Hope's Peak but I'm missing so many memories I don't even remember my talent right now and oh, I have another person in my head who claims to be the Ultimate Hope, whatever that means. Want to be friends?

"-what's your name?" he finished instead. The girl seemed to laugh mockingly before twisting to face him.

"I'm Hiyoko Saionji, the Ultimate Dancer! Anyway, if you're not gonna help me squish Mr. Ant, can you leave? You're kinda annoying." She said, turning back to her mass murder in progress.

Shocked, Hajime raised one eyebrow, but nodded wordlessly and stepped away.

Statistically, animal abuse is linked to a lack of empathy and sociopathic tendencies. While I doubt she has the capability to attack someone larger than herself, I would suggest maintaining caution around her.

That's nice to know, I guess. Though why you seem to think there will be a time where I'll have to worry about my classmates attacking me, I don't know.

Izuru remained silent, and Hajime ignored the twinge of concern awakened by his ever-present anxiety.

His next stop was an airport of some kind. At least, he assumed so. Peering through the mesh fence, he spotted a runway made of black bitumen, and several planes. Stepping inside the grey metal and concrete building that loomed out the front, he sighed in pleasant surprise as air conditioning swept over him. Looking around, he spotted three people hanging around in the mainly empty building. One man stood in a corner, dark hair style upwards, wearing a heavy coat and purple scarf. Bandages wound around one arm and he seemed to be…talking to himself. Right. Okay. Another man was making his inside, his hair a bright hot pink. He was rubbing his hands on the neon yellow jumpsuit that he wore, and small patches of oil came away. The third person was an incredibly beautiful blonde woman standing to his right, inspecting the baggage claim area with an intense expression. He sighed inwardly. None of them looked particularly normal.

What do you think, Izuru? He thought offhandedly. Silence greeted his question. Irritation rose, and he scolded himself for again trying to be friendly with the sour ass that lived in his head. Amusement danced as indignation not his own rose at his thoughts.

He decided that the man in the middle seemed to be the most friendly, and his feet seemed to move on their own. He was quickly noticed, and a blinding smile greeted him. Hajime stared. The man's teeth were pointed, reminding him intensely of shark teeth.

"Oh, you're tha guy that passed out of the beach, right? Good to see ya're feeling better. We were pretty worried for a bit there, but the weird white haired guy said he'd look after ya. The names Kazuichi Souda! I'm the Ultimate Mechanic, nice to meet ya!" Kazuichi flashed another grin, leaning back as he casually hooked his hands behind his head.

He's very relaxed considering the situation, Hajime noted.

Ultimates are known to be strange and are often made under pressure. I'm only barely surprised they're handling this well. You're the only one who's had a normal reaction.

You're saying I'm boring.

Yes.

Fantastic.

I'm not saying they're acting wise. This situation is unnatural, and they're not acting with an ounce of common sense. Being an Ultimate doesn't stop you from being an idiot, it seems. This one is particularly dull. He will not be much threat.

There you go again.

Hajime's mood improved marginally after that last comment, but something about something Izuru said seemed out of place. What was it?

"I'm Hajime Hinata," he offered with the most relaxed smile he could force. "Nice to meet you."

"Hajime, huh?" Kazuichi seemed to roll the name on his tongue for a moment before smiling again. "Cool. By the way, you're from Hope's Peak, right? What's ya talent?"

Hajime felt the bottom of his stomach drop. What should he do? Lie? Dodge the question? No, lying always came back to bite you. He may as well bite the bullet. He took a deep breathe and gave a tight smile. "I, um, don't actually remember my talent. I must've hit my head pretty hard."

"Dude, really? That's gotta suck. I'm sure you'll remember it eventually!" Kazuichi encouraged.

"Ah, y-yeah." Hajime wanted to tell people about Izuru so much it hurt, but he couldn't be sure of their reaction, or that they'd believe him, so he kept quiet.

A sensible choice.

Shut up.

"So you're a mechanic?" Hajime tried. "Have you been checking out the aeroplanes then?"

Kazuichi seemed to brighten again. "Yeah, I just finished. They've got an awesome range of models!"

"Could any of them be used to get off the island?" Hajime asked, curious. His gut sunk again when the mechanic shook his head.

"'Fraid not. Someone removed all the engines. I'm the Ultimate Mechanic, but I'm not a miracle worker. Can't work with something that aren't there."

Hajime tried not to let his disappointment show and smiled encouragingly instead. "No big deal. It's kinda worrying though…" he muttered.

"You're still paranoid?" asked the mechanic. His eyes seemed to dart and he looked nervous. "I mean, it doesn't really matter, I mean, we're here on a field trip, it's not like they're making us do anything weird, right?"

"Yeah," agreed Hajime noncommittedly. He was shaken. Shaken because the moment those words had left Kazuichi's mouth, the thought had echoed in his mind, sat like acid on the edge of his tongue.

"Yet."

Hajime said his goodbyes and turned to the other man in the room and braced himself.

My analysis leads me to believe that while this man may be eccentric, he is unlikely to cause harm. You may relax, Hajime.

I've only met two and I'd already be surprised if they weren't eccentric.

A wise deduction.

"Hey, my name's Hajime Hinata. What's yours?" Hajime cut straight to the chase. The man spun and glared at him. One eye was grey, and another red. His skin was even paler up close and had a grey colour. As he stood there, the man began to laugh. It wasn't like Hiyoko's murderous cackling or Kazuichi's careful laugh, but a deep, enthusiastic chuckle Hajime would place more with a corny villain off a tv show.

"Fu hu hu, what's this? A mere mortal dares approach me, the Overlord of Ice?! Such courage, or perhaps naivety. For your bravery, I shall reward you with my name. For behold, I am Gundham Tanaka, known to this earth as the Ultimate Breeder!" Gundham posed dramatically. "I call to you, my Dark Devas of destruction! Appear before us and shake fear into the creatures dwelling upon this mortal plane!"

Hajime stood there in shock. He just didn't know what was happening. He just wanted a quick introduction, and now the weird guy, Gundham, was yelling and posing and speaking like a bad fantasy villain. As Gundham finished his speech, however, his scarf began to rustle. Hajime unconsciously took a step forward, curious. A pair of beady eyes stared back. Then another, then another and finally another. Four hamsters appeared from within the folds of the man's scarf.

"Behold!" he yelled. "The Dark Devas of Destruction! Now, Hajime Hinata, declare which clan you have formed a contract with, before I destroy you in entirety!"

What.

I don't…I don't even know how to respond. Oh god, he's staring at me. He actually expects me to answer.

He's asking you if you've ever had a pet, Hajime.

He's what.

I don't have full access to your memories, so I can't speak for you, but I have never had a pet myself.

You have access to any of my – you know what, we'll talk later.

"I, um, had a dog?" Hajime tried, depending on Izuru's advice. Please be right, please be right…

"Aha! I see. A commander of hellhounds stands before me! Indeed, that is a much powerful contact. I look forward to demonstrations of your power." He scoffed before walking away dramatically.

Well that was something. Thanks, I guess.

Hajime finally made his way over to the beautiful blonde who straightened, satisfied with her staring at the conveyer belt. She spotted him out the corner of her eye and turned with a flourish. "You must be one of my new classmates!" she greeted enthusiastically. She clasped her hands together tightly in glee and her blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Hajime was stunned, and his tongue didn't seem to want to move. The stranger frowned at this.

"It is rude to stare!" she commanded. Hajime straightened immediately and almost yelped, biting o his tongue last second.

"Um, sorry," he apologised sheepishly. "I should probably introduce myself. I'm Hajime Hinata."

"Apology accepted," she smiled. "My name is Sonia Nevermind, and I hold the title of Ultimate Princess. However, my aim in attending Hope's Peak is to be an ordinary student like the rest of you, so please treat me as such!" she commanded again. Hajime resisted the urge to kneel on the ground, all but overwhelmed by the incredible presence of the princess.

With a power like that, it might be a little hard.

She is certainly formidable. I would not want to test her resolve. I would be particularly cautious around her.

Why are you making all these comments? You make it sound like something bad is going to happen, you spoke of a 'game' and you keep commenting on how dangerous everyone is. Besides, didn't you say something about being on the sidelines?

I cannot interfere with the overall course by giving you information, however, seeing I am not here, it would be unfortunate if you were so incompetent that I would not be able to observe beyond the beginning.

I-Incompetent?! That's it, I'm done taking to you.

Hajime smiled and said his goodbyes to the princess, making his way to the airport door. He didn't notice the look of puzzlement and cautious calculation that crossed the princess's face.

Hello, I didn't expect this to get as much attention as it did; I also didn't expect to upload again so quickly! If anyone wants to leave some feedback, that would be great! Also, I'm publishing this at 3am, so if there's any spelling mistakes, I'm terribly sorry! I've always wanted to read a story like this, so I'm very excited about this story, but I've suddenly realised that I've given myself a project a bit bigger than anything I've done before, so please be patient with me! Thank you for your readership and see you next time!