The next student had lilac hair, a dark purple coat, and matching gloves. She just looked around and looked either worried or concerned.

Eventually, I mustered up the courage to speak. "Um… Can I ask you your name?"

"My name is…" She began. "Kirigiri Kyoko."

And then she went back looking around. She's pretty tight-lipped, huh? Oh, but you know…

Her name didn't show up anywhere in that Hope's Peak Academy thread. And I did see that there were students like me. Ones who didn't have any real identity or presence. Could this girl be one of them…?

I managed to ask her something else. "Um, so… What are you doing at the school?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She skeptically asked.

"No, I just meant…" I began. "Getting invited here means you're some kind of "ultimate" something, right? So what ultimate something are you?"

"Why should I tell you?" She asked.

"Huh…?" I was completely flabbergasted at this question. "Well… I guess you don't HAVE to tell me."

"No, I don't have to tell you. So I'm not going to." She said.

Nothing about her turned up online, so I was thinking maybe she got picked by chance like me, but her face is like an iron mask. So if she doesn't want to tell me anything, there's no point in asking.

"Hiii!" The student with the large pigtails greeted with a peace sign. "I'm Junko Enoshima. Charmed, I'm sure!"

Anybody would recognize this one. She's got more charm and presence than any high school girl in the country. She's the Ultimate Fashionista. I've seen her on tons of magazine covers, but…

"I feel like that doesn't quite match up to reality." I accidently blurted out.

"Huh…?" Junko murmured before realizing what I meant. "Oh, are you talking about my cover photos and junk? Ahaha, well of course! Those are totally photoshopped."

"Photoshopped…?" I questioned.

"Yeah, you know, edited to hell and back. With like, computers and junk?" She explained.

"Oh, so they aren't real…" I replied with hint of disappointment in my voice.

"Come on, don't act so surprised!" She said. "You're gonna make me all depressed. It's totally normal these days to photoshop the crap out of cover photos. If you're surprised by that, you'd be totally blown away by a certain dangerous little diva of ours… they make our eyes and junk super big, and tweak the skin so it looks all ceramic and porcelain."

"Oh…" Was all I could say. So many dreams are getting crushed today.

"Name's Mondo Owada." Greeted the student with the black coat and strange-looking haircut. "Nice to fuckin' meetcha."

Mondo Owada, huh? Which means that he's the current leader of the largest biker gang in Japan. He's earned respect, even awe, from every other gang in the country. He's the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader.

"Umm…" I stammered. Trying to get on his good side. "Nice to meet you, too."

"Hell yeah." He said. I'd better be careful around him. One wrong word, and I could wake up at the bottom of the sea.

"I am Sakura Ogami." Greeted a student with long, white hair and large muscles.

Oh jeez, I almost asked her if she was a guy… The day I say something like that out loud is the day I get turned into a human meatball… But now I remember. She competed in a martial arts tournament and won, despite being a girl. She's the Ultimate Martial Artist. She's fought in over 400 matches, and never lost a single one.

That thread also said a bit more about her… Some call her Ogre; some even think she's the closest known relative to primates. The famed missing link. One user said "Any incoming Hope's Peak students who are reading this, let me warn you right now; if you value your life, avoid her at all costs." But standing in front of her now, I don't think they were exaggerating about that…

"Hey, you." She eventually said.

"Huh? Y-Yes!?" I snapped to attention without of even realizing it.

Then she started to poke and prod at my body… "Um… What are you…?"

"Muscular quality and quantity is right around that of an extremely ordinary high school student…" She said. "Hmph. What a shame. You're not at all fit to act as my training partner."

I'm not sure that's such a shame for me…

"Name's Togami Byakuya." A tall student with glasses uninterestingly said.

"Hi, uh…" I stammered. Reaching out to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you."

He just stood there looking uninterested. So I put my hand down. That's the most half-assed introduction I've ever heard… But there really isn't anything I can do about it. Even among the ultimate students, this one is special. Togami Byakuya is the heir apparent of his family's massive financial conglomerate. He's already started managing business operations, and his own personal assets are, well, vast. His title of Ultimate Affluent Progeny is completely accurate. He's the definition of "exceptional". That's everything I learned about him from that Hope's Peak Academy thread online.

"We're done with introductions, right?" Togami said impatiently. "How much longer are going to stand there? Go away. I'm sick of looking at you."

His aura said to me, "You and I will never stand on the same level." Like a king in training…

"I'm Hagakure Yasuhiro. Kure for short!" Greeted the student with the frizzy, brown hair. "Take it easy, yeah? I know I will!"

Hagakure Yasuhiro, known as "Supernova" in the psychic community, is the Ultimate Clairvoyant. Honestly, I don't really get all that fortune-telling stuff. It's pretty much beyond me. Still, I can't help wondering if there's any truth to it.

"Ahh…" Hagakure sighed as he rubbed his chin. "Okay, I give up."

"Huh? What happened?" I asked in confusion.

"I saw it." He began. "I looked right at it… Seriously, I totally saw it?"

"…Saw what?" I asked as I cocked my head in confusion.

"A guardian angel with a crazy perm chasing after Bigfoot running off with a skyfish in its mouth." He explained. "And that guardian angel… Is YOUR guardian angel! Nah, I'm just kiddin'. But hey, we should grab some brewskis sometime and get real deep into Lemuria and its civilization."

That last part shocked me. "What? We're not allowed to drink! We're in high school!"

"Oh, I'm actually 21." He stated. "I've been held back a few times, see, and… Well, it's a long story."

A few times…? Yeah, I bet that IS a long story.

"I do not think we have been introduced." Said the student with long, black, tornado braids. "I am Celestia Ludenberg."

"Celestia… Luden… Huh?" I said in confusion, trying to comprehend her name.

"Ludenberg." She explained. "It is my name. but if you don't mind, I would prefer for you to call me Celeste."

"Um… You ARE Japanese, right?" I asked. Not trying to be rude.

"Of course." Celeste replied. "Why do you ask?"

"If you don't mind… Could you tell me your real name?"

"Heh-heh." She giggled. "I don't know what you are talking about. Celestia Ludenberg IS my real name. But as I mentioned, I would much rather you call me Celeste."

She's polite, but pretty forceful at the same time. I don't think she wants to say any more about it… I guess the rumors in that thread were right about her…

The self-styled "Celestia Ludenberg", she's the Ultimate Gambler who's never lost a bet. Other than her obvious love of gothic Lolita clothes, everything about her is wrapped in a veil of lies. They say she entered and won an underground gambling tournament, earning the title "Queen of Liars". She totally cleaned out the other players, taking their life savings and laughing as she did it.

"I look forward to getting to know you better." Celeste eventually said before laughing. That smile is beyond deceptive. I'd better watch myself around her…

And with that, all the introductions were done. Hmm… Even though they're all "ultimate", they each have their own individual sort of… Um… Something.