EDIT 08/09/2022: Mayor fixing on grammar and typos. Some scenes were altered to varying degrees (Surprisingly, I didn't feel like too many required it). Oh, and I also changed the title of the chapter, because the previous one felt too out of touch. I uploaded the first and second chapters at the same time back then, so that one too will get the same polishing in the incoming days (The following ones too, when I get the time for it).

Attend The Academy of Hope They Said, Nothing Wrong Could Come Out of It They Said…

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, and based on its reputation, it isn't that much an exaggeration to believe that this school stands at the center of the entire world.

Hope's Peak Academy

This school focus on bringing the elite among the elite among students from every field imaginable. It works as a government-funded school, full of privileges for those who attend this academy. The prestige of this institution is of this high of a level, that it is said that if you are a student and manage to graduate, only fame and success await you.

With more than a hundred years of existence, it sends the best of the best into the workforce year after year. Basically, this institution was built with the purpose of raising Hope for the benefit of Japan's future. With that into consideration, it is normal that a lot of people would say this makes Hope's Peak a pretty fitting name.

Can't say I believe the same…

There are two conditions you need to qualify to attend this school 'Well, technically, there are three, but the third it's not on you and neither that nor the first one applied to me, so whatever I guess…'.

The first one is that you have to already be attending a 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 the school. 'Not completely true…'

And standing there at the gate of the ultimate school filled with the ultimate students, was a teenage boy with messy black hair, fair skin, and slightly above average height.

The most notable trait you could take note of about him was his golden eyes, no different from the 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 dark-brown jacket with a chest pocket on the right side. On said jacket's left side, there were three inner pockets, two small ones and a third one big enough to carry a big phone comfortably. Underneath his 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.

Even if I lived there for that long, I didn't interact much with most of the kids there. Making friends was not and probably will never be a strong suit of mine.

Although I could say that there was an exception to said statement, and for that single exception, I consider such a person my family. The happiest memories of my life came from the time spent with Her, and even if we are not related by blood, She is for me the most person in the world.

She's the only person I truly care about, 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 quite dangerous if you end up on her bad side'. The exception to this are kids, they adore her, which I admit is a bit weird…though I can't deny that, in a way, that kind of makes me love her even more. 'The personality part, the thing with the kids is just confusing to me'.

The point is, for 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 spent with Them changed us, if that was for better or worse, I don't 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 in 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 while jobs for income.

She has always been fond of that place, and with the extra money she made, things were in 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…'

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 sort of 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 sigh that would make most marvel is…

'What a load of crap…' I sighed in resignation while rubbing the back of my neck and 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 would not even dream to have, what is your problem?!, and I would have no difficulty pointing out that there are a lot of issues with this for my liking.

First of all, remember condition number one to attend Hope's Peak? The one who says 'You have to already be attending a 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.

And if that wasn't enough, then there is the fact of technical point number three, which is getting recruited by a talent scout of the academy itself.

…I didn't get accepted into Hope's Peak by one either.

That would certainly raise a few eyebrows while making questions like 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 among the lines of Hey! They really wanted your Talent so much, that they used unorthodox ways to get you. You really should feel honored! but THAT is exactly the problem, I know what My Talent is…along with the potential danger that I could represent to my classmates. That should have discouraged their desire to seek me, not gone out of their way to get me at any cost.

All of that rang enough warning bells to make me ask a single but important question…

…Why?

With that in 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 could give you some recognition for being part of the main institution, worked as a separate and normal high school of its own.

When I found 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?' When I discovered that I couldn't help grimacing. 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 raises some questions.

Hope's Peak already makes tons of money from what is publicly known 'There are also the shady deals, those always are there…', and it is in plain sight for everyone but the students themselves apparently, that they don't care about the Reserve Couse. Because of that, they don't invest any crap in them.

Though that's the thing…where does all that money go to, then? Further research of the school didn't bring me concrete answers, but at least solidified that it was nothing good.

The next aspect I investigated was 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 like the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Ultimate Baseball Star, and even someone with the title of Ultimate Moral Compass. Some caught my attention, like the Ultimate Programmer and the Ultimate Martial Artist. 'If what I found about her is at least half as true, then I would genuinely 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 the ones I found. The information in the 'invitation' pointed to 17 students if I include myself, and I don't think they would do a miscount in a document as important as this one'. No matter how much I looked, I couldn't find their name, not even what Talents they had. 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 answer.

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, didn't I say so?

It seems they desperately 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 make 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 that truly matters to me in that place'

It was one of the few instances in my life where I got angry, but for all their bullshit, I knew they wouldn't do anything as long as I complied with this, so I didn't let it show it.

So yeah, in conclusion, 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 truly mind if it was a girl…'

…

"…This school it's a freaking time bomb" I deadpanned at the sight in front of me "And considering that I will spend the next three years here, I just hope it doesn't blow up in my face…"

Giving an audible sigh, I finally 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 about myself and Hope's Peak and I didn't even bother to mention what is possibly the 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.

…

…

…Ugh…

…

…

…Nghh…

At first, I couldn't feel anything but total numbness, but, even if it was at a snail's pace, I began to regain my sense of self. As if returning to the world of the living, my consciousness came back to me until it was enough to feel the cold wood of the desk I was sitting on…

…

…

…! ! !

What!?

I quickly stood up, my brain already on maximum alert, and prepared with dreading anticipation for an upcoming attack, focusing with narrowed eyes on scanning my surroundings for any kind of traps or foes, meanwhile, I was already opening the inner pockets of my jacket, searching for―

! ! !

"…They are not with me, dammit, does that mean…" As I trailed off, I continued the scan of my environment for a few more seconds. While the lack of my 'tools' did warrant some worry, and I still had my body ready for anything they might want to throw at me, 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 me, allowed me to do a calmer observation of my surroundings.

The first thing I noticed was that I 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 for sure was that. Besides, the surveillance camera whose focus was intently on me wasn't doing any favors to the picture of my situation.

If it weren't for all of that, it would look like a normal classroom, not that I had much experience knowing what a normal one should look like, having zero formal education, and all that.

The only kind of experience with classrooms comes from That incident where―

I shook my head, now's not the time to get side-tracked.

When I was finally done with the basic assessment, I couldn't help but sigh.

I am aware of Hope's Peak's massive funds, so a television shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, heck, even the surveillance camera isn't out of question, and I would say that all of this is normal by this academy's standards…but considering the circumstances in which I found myself in 'Which I refuse to believe was the result of a blackout 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.

I was about to move and do a more thorough check on the plates when I noticed something on the desk I was previously sitting up.

It was some kind of note.

Inspecting it at a closer distance, I confirmed that it was a cheap-looking parody of a pamphlet, with some poor handwriting on it.

[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' I couldn't help but come to that conclusion as my eyes narrowed, then, I looked up at the clock and saw that it was 07:40 already, then my gaze flickered at the plates, and finally, at the doors that would lead me out of the classroom.

With another sigh 'I've been doing that a lot recently, haven't I?', I decided to comply with the orientation guide/threat, not without giving one last look at the camera that keep following all of my movements before leaving.

I truly 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, nobody will convince as otherwise with this many coincidences delivered in a silver plate…', 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 I left the classroom, I was met with a weird sight. The most notable of about it was the illumination, the lights in this hall were of purple glowing, which was very quickly becoming obnoxious. Besides that, a few meters ahead of me was a 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.

I did against my better judgment 'Because I am on a schedule to find this main hall' and turned to my right and began walking in the opposite direction.

As I strolled through the corridor, I decided that while I didn't have time to do a deep search of the place, I had enough to quickly check if every classroom was locked on my way to the main hall. Sure enough, they wouldn't budge, which in a way, was kind of a relief, it meant that I wasn't missing much when I was focusing on meeting my 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 I let it be and turned again to my right, and moved on.

In this new hallway the lights changed, instead of purple, they were green, but 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 I noticed an A/V room that was…locked. 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?' Even if it was with a blank face, I couldn't help the amusing thought, though only for a moment.

Taking no more distractions, I finally found some double doors with an exit label a few meters to my left 'That must be it…', and moved towards them. Although before going through, I took a quick glance to my right where I managed to see a set of stairs that were being blocked by a metal gate some meters ahead.

More problems, probably

Once I finally stepped into the main hall, I was met with…teenagers, students most probably. So, this really was Hope's Peak? Or could it be that―

! ! !

I immediately tensed up and readied my body when the next thing I instantly noticed was 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 I know enough to confirm it is high-end technology, one look at it is enough to notice that.

"Whoa, hey! Is that another new kid?" I heard someone's voice, but couldn't immediately identify from whom 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 number of people already reunited and with no signals of any incident happening…those weapons are probably not dangerous…for now'

"Hey, are ya okay?" A brown-skinned girl with a ponytail noticed my silence "Does your stomach hurts?"

What?

However, putting aside that girl's antics, I managed to notice out of the corner of my eye that there were two people who, although they were doing it discretely, also began to pay attention to those weapons when they noticed my sight was on them.

Curious.

Even so, I had a few things that needed some clarification first.

"Yes, I'm fine…all of you are…?" I asked as I steeled my face back into neutrality.

"That's right…" The person who answered my trailed-off question was a tiny girl with a green jacket "…We're all new students here. Today is supposed to be our first day of class"

"Hmmm, so counting him, that makes fifteen. Seems like a good cut-off point, but I wonder if this is everyone?" A plump guy mused aloud.

Alright, it seems everyone here are students too. If that's the case, I wonder…I already established 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.

Such a bold declaration made everyone in this room turn in my direction, and for me to slightly narrow my eyes.

"What is it?" I said flatly 'The emergency with which he said that…does he know something about my…?'

If he took my tone of voice as an affront, he didn't let it show it "You! While I commend that you attended this meeting on time! I must condemn the fact that you are breaking school regulations by wearing those earrings! To break 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!" Was the shout 'Because he doesn't have an inner voice apparently…' of the red-eyed student.

…

…

…Well, at least it was about that and not something else.

Even so…

"…Does anywhere in the Hope's Peak regulations mention that I can't wear them?" I asked as my slight animosity from before died out.

"H-Huh? well... now that you mention it, it 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 "Ah! You…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 steeled myself when the doors from which I came burst open, which allowed me to avoid getting hit by them. Soon afterward, from them it came 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 were 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. I'm sorry I got so late, a bunch of…" I tuned him out while I focused on giving a more thorough 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 do not 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 down with any of them would be imprudent.

I came to my senses when I heard the brown-skinned girl from earlier raise her voice "Hey! Everyone, just calm down! Listen, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves?"

A guy with a pompadour snarled at that "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 whom 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 the green jacket said shyly.

"Alright, so let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sounds good?" A dark-blue-haired girl with a seifuku-like uniform replied though it sounded a bit nonchalantly.

They are taking this too lightly…

Regardless of my opinion, everyone began to pair up and began the introductions. I guess that's as good a signal as anything to move and talk with someone.

…

…

…Right, socialize, interact with people in a 'non-professional' manner, teenagers around my age, me, whose closest experience to that is―

Shigaraki, would you like to hear what kind of torture methods I learned today?

―Dammit, I 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, I'm not interested in accidentally bringing up inconvenient topics, especially when there are more important matters on hand.

With that 'pep talk' done, I got onto it.

Turns out I got lucky and the first person that I would need to introduce myself to came to me instead of the other way around. Such a 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.

Hmm, he is one of few people I couldn't find any info, and his talent, Ultimate Lucky Student…

…I know I shouldn't talk more than necessary, but I wonder…"…Lucky Student, you say? If that's the case, does that mean you have some kind of control over your luck?" I asked with a serious tone 'If that is the case, he definitely could be either a dangerous or a useful person in our current situation depending on how things play out'

"H-Huh!? no, no, nothing like that!" It seems my question caught it off guard "In fact, I tend to have very back luck most of the time haha…" Seeing that I wasn't giving him a reaction to that, he became a bit nervous "..Erm, 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, honest!" He finished while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

…

…He could be lying about that and end up being more than what he says, but that applies to every human, so being overly paranoid could be as fatal as being completely trusting of everything he said. I will just let his actions speak more than his words and avoid any kind of hostility…until he proves to require otherwise.

Be that as it may, I merely gave a nod and proceeded to do my own introduction "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 he did "…Uh, could you tell me what is your talent?"

I've been 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 do not doubt that if people heard my talent in our current situation, perhaps 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 neither did he pushed the subject.

Seeing that as my cue to leave, I nodded at him one last time before moving from my spot in search of someone else to introduce myself.

I decided that the next person I should introduce myself should be the red-eyed guy with a 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, was a student in Kaiseidan High School, and all three years he won top honors while keeping 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, besides history, one of my favorite subjects to read is about heads of state around the world. That allowed me to make the connection…though I admit that thanks to that same investigation, besides being his grandson, Kiyotaka has no involvement with said public figure.

Considering that was the deepest I could dig about him, that meant I was confident in him being the role student he claims to be 'Which is good for me, that meant fewer 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 you 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 too.

Being unaware of my inner thinking, the Ultimate Moral Compass continued "Life is worth putting every ounce of effort into! Right!? Right!" I don't have anything against his desire to follow the rules and be a role student, but…yeesh, he needs to find an inner voice.

I just moved away from him and went to the next person.

Next on the line was a girl with dark purple hair kept into two braids while her clothing consisted of a purple 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 for some quick side-glances…an inferiority complex, most 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. Ever since she was young, every work she releases has been a guaranteed best-seller.

Two years ago, she released her masterpiece, a romance story with the title of 'So Lingers the Ocean', this work was so popular among women that she literally was able to influence in what was their perception of what an attractive male was, such a feat could only belong to the Ultimate Writing Prodigy.

Although…

…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 me to be cautious around her. I mean, I don't feel any kind of danger or murderous intent coming from her, but…even when Naegi opened the door with zero ill intent 'As far as I know…' 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 take what my brain is telling me into account and keep an eye on 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?

Eh?

"Stop staring at me like I'm some filthy creature!" Now she was angry.

…Eh?

"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, didn't you!?".

…

"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.

"I will go introduce myself to the rest of our classmates, see you later" Or not, I hope not.

Sigh, I don't 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 into 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 and the―Hifumi Yamada the Ultimate Fanfic Creator, hmmm…I don't 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 at a school event…

…I guess it would be interesting 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…" Against my own will, but I know nonetheless "…but I can't truly say I have any kind of personal 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 makes sense "Me on the other hand…I am well known 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, and 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, sure, why not? "What kind of meaning?"

"About embracing our basest urges!"

…

…It was my fault for even asking.

"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 about 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, give up." Huh?

I'm biting the bait, again… "Give up…on what?

"I saw it. I looked right at it…Seriously, I totally saw it!" Hiro said in a concerned tone.

…Geez, I didn't want to label him like that kind of person just because of his clothes and hairstyle, but he truly is one of those, isn't he?

I really shouldn't… "Saw what?" …but I already came this far, so…

"An Onikuma demon with pigtails and a silver spear in his mouth chasing a commando werewolf with a guardian angel of black wings on its side, and that guardian angel… is YOU!"

…Alright, that's it, I'm done prodding for answers when people are obviously about to say something stupid.

"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 and I feel like I could make a good guess.

It's kind of funny, honestly, talking with these people almost makes me forget that we are kidnapped at gunpoint.

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"

"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. 'Let's hope it stays that way…'

Anyway, about her.

Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation and the lead singer of the most popular idol pop group in the entire nation, not only that, but she also works on TV shows, magazines, and any kind of media you could think of. Although, 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?

Well, I don't have any means to know about that…but what I am aware of is that she is considered to have an angelical voice, amazing dancing skills, and the fact that she has over 100 million followers 'Or Sayakers, as they call themselves', does nothing but confirm that her title is well deserved.

Not even I can't deny that all of that is amazing in its own way.

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me!"

! ! !

"What?" I asked with narrowed eyes and more edge than what I would have liked to show, something she seemed to notice 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 calmer 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…" The chirpy expression on her face morphed into absolute seriousness "…I'm a psychic."

…

"…Really?"

"Hahaha, I'm just kidding! I just have really good intuition!"

I need to be careful of what I am thinking when around her, it may be not in the physical kind, but that skill of her seems dangerous…that's a bit thrilling―'Not the moment, dammit'

"…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 towards a guy with spiky red hair, and pale blue eyes, while his whole clothing screamed punk.

"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"

The redhead greeted me with a smirk and a wave "Hey man! What's up, the name's Leon Kuwata, nice to meet ya!"

The Ultimate Baseball Star, Leon Kuwata, is 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. It goes without saying that he has crushed the competition in every single one of his games.

I'm might not sound like much information, but that alone tells quite a lot about his skills in the sport.

…Although…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 after all "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 thought 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 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, can't say 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 in my entire life, y'know?"

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, but 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.

"Anyhow, as soon as I got accepted here, I quit baseball for good! I have my own dream for the future"

"…A dream?"

I wonder how that feels…

The Baseball Star smirked at me while giving a thumbs up "My only path in life is getting into music! You can feel that rock star-quality aura I have, right!? 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 once inside Hope's Peak is interesting, it is completely irrelevant at the moment, besides, I also felt that we were done with this conversation so I gave a slight nod and went to find another person.

The next individual I meet was the girl from earlier who thought that I was hurt in the stomach 'How she came to that conclusion, I don't know and I don't want to find out…'. She had tanned skin and brown hair, with the latter tied into a gravity-defying ponytail 'How is she doing that?'. Her clothing consisted of a white tank top, a red tracksuit, and some short pants.

"Hey, hey! I'm Aoi Asahina! But my friends just call me Hina.'Sup?" 'Hina' said 'Another simple name, good'

"Shizuka Shigaraki, greetings"

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 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 sheepishly 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 my cue to leave.

I haven't been that talkative, only extending my responses a bit more than what I need to when I am interested in some extra information that could 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 dealing 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 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, and a black jacket with a ribbon lacing down the sleeves, fastened by a simple white ribbon across her chest which revealed a red tie. 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"

The red-eyed girl smiled at me while doing a curt nod "Greetings, I believe we have not been introduced yet. My name is Celestia Ludenberg"

"Celestia Ludenberg…" I said mostly to myself, sort of to give the name a 'taste' and identify it.

Hmm, it definitely is of European origin, most probably German, but…

Regarding the girl in front of me, she was Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler. She is very well known in the underground world 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 renowned 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 so in a yakuza territory, 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 in which she said it was 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…If you don't mind, I would prefer for you to call me Celeste." 'Celeste' said with a smile

"Sure"

"Ehehehehehe you are not a very talkative person, are you?"

"…"

"I see…and Shigaraki, if I'm not mistaken it means 'Mourning of death', correct? Very interesting name…" The way she said that…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 aren't…" I had to concede, there's no use in denying it "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 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 '…Well, there are actually quite a few more things, but those are more well-hidden than my talent', still, similar to Sayaka, I will have to keep caution around 'Celeste' to avoid any leaking of information on my part.

Is it a coincidence most of those who I've been having those thoughts are girls?

A glance around the remaining students left for me to introduce and remembering those whom 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 couldn't be more stereotypical of what you would expect from a member of a biker gang. On the back of his black overcoat, there was the symbol of what most probably is the gang he belongs to, 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" The biker growled.

…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 pushing the wrong buttons to make him explode. He could become a problem in our current situation…even so, it's not like he could defeat me, but…I'm grateful I can keep a straight face when looking at his hair.

Anyway, amusement aside, about him…

The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, Mondo Owada, is the absolute leader of the biggest biker group in Japan, also known as The Diamond Dogs. Not only that, but all of the other gangs pay him enough respect that you could essentially 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 the older Owada died, 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 five more to go, and we will what the next course of action is going to be…