Kazuo's steps come to a halt. Taking a quick look at the massive building that towered over him, he takes a deep breath. There's a heavy feeling that washes over his chest. It feels like nostalgia, but there's also a tinge of something bittersweet entwined in it.

He supposes that feeling it is only natural; he is getting old and thus, he can't help but be a bit more sentimental when it comes to these. Not only that, it's been a while since he's set foot on Hope's Peak Academy's school grounds. The building he's seeing before him isn't the same one as the one he was used to, the one he stayed in back when he was the headmaster. It's a lot bigger than the old building; he might even say that everything about it feels a bit more fancy.

But even so, the new building feels like a shallow copy of the original one to him. It might just be his personal bias and nostalgia talking, but it simply doesn't give him the same feeling. It probably won't make sense to anyone who'd hear about it, but that's just what he feels about it.

Ah, he's getting off-topic, isn't he?

He's not here just to visit the school he's fond of just because he's feeling a bit sentimental and nostalgic. It's partially one of the reasons, but, he has an even bigger reason on checking Hope's Peak Academy right now. It's something he's been wanting to take a closer look at since March, but because of his busy schedule, he isn't able to find a good time.

Until now, that is.

The old man scans his surroundings; none of the students are lounging around on the campus at this time. Not even a staff member or even one of the security guards is coming out and about to patrol these specific areas.

'But then, it is rather late now, after all,' He muses to himself as he stares at the night sky. But then, considering the time, it's not exactly nighttime anymore, isn't it?

Speaking of security guards, he finds it a bit odd that he hasn't seen Sakakura around these areas. If he's remembering correctly, Sakakura has been promoted to the head of security despite having only worked here for less than a year. Others would find that weird, but for him, it only proves how impressive he turned out to be.

One would think that someone as dedicated as Sakakura would be overzealous in patrolling the school. It seems like Sakakura's still human, after all.

Additionally, he's heard that Yukizome found a job here too, as the teacher of Class 77-B, and from what Munakata told him from time to time, she's really happy with them. He guesses he feels a bit happy for her too.

He walks off from there, using his flashlight to help illuminate the surroundings a bit, making his way to a specific destination in mind. It takes him some time, but soon he finds it. He turns his head around to search for it, and that's where he sees it.

The statue of Izuru Kamukura, the original founder of Hope's Peak Academy as well as its first headmaster.

'It still hasn't changed after all these years.' He lets out a breathy sigh, letting himself briefly reminisce on those memories some more, before making his way towards it. He shines his flashlight all around the statue, searching for something in mind.

It didn't take long for him to find it.

He puts his hand over that specific slab, and firmly pushes over it. He then steps back, hearing the slight rumbling of the ground, letting him know that the secret entrance is opening.

Around less than several seconds pass by, and the rumbling stops.

He takes that chance to step forward, looking over at the long pathway before him. His brows furrow; he's expecting for it to be dark, but from what he can see, there's a few lights on the walls, lighting it up only just a bit.

Unexpected or not, he doesn't mind it at all. Actually, it makes things a bit easier for him.

Kazuo glances from behind his back one more time; although there was no one else around besides him, he thinks it wouldn't hurt to check just in case. As soon as he confirms that there's other person who's followed him into this place, he turns to face the entrance, turns his flashlight off before pocketing it, and then he descends into the underground lair below.

As his footsteps clack through the tiles, he thinks back. His memories of this place are a bit rusty, and if he's being honest here, he's not a hundred percent sure on exactly where his destination is, or where he's truly going at all. For all he knows, they might have slightly altered the layout, or even changed it as a whole, while he was gone.

For now, he goes on to walk straight ahead to keep himself from getting lost too early. He keeps walking for a while, until he spots, at least several meters away, two men standing right in a front of a door. Judging by their uniforms, they must be security guards.

Kazuo slowly approaches them. When he sees them tense up and prepare themselves, he raises both hands, letting them know that he's not a threat to them.

The once tense atmosphere between them simmers down somewhat, but they still remain a cautious air on them. He can't blame them at all.

"Hey," One of the security guards approach him. "You're Kazuo Tengan, right?"

"I am." Kazuo confirms as he nods. He sees their faces falter for a second, and so, he then hands them his ID to make sure.

One of them takes it from him. That security guard's eyes scanning over the picture and details, while the other eyes him closely, likely to compare his appearance with his picture on the ID. As soon as they're both satisfied with confirming his identity, they nod at him. One of the security guards opens the door, and gestures his arm, giving Kazuo permission to pass through.

Kazuo nods at them, giving them a quiet, "Thank you." as he goes inside. He then hears the door shut behind him.

Now that he's in this room, he takes the chance to take in his surroundings. There isn't much around in here, and he doesn't understand why the Steering Committee felt the need to keep this room dimly lit in green lights. If anyone asked him, he'd say that doing so felt rather impractical and unnecessary.

"We feel so honored that you decided to visit us right at this hour, Mr. Tengan."

He turns his head to where that voice came from, and sure enough, he sees Mr. Minami, the portly and youngest member of the Steering Committee. Said portly man is coming towards his way with a smile, and he's waving a hand slightly.

Mr. Minami's steps come to a halt. He keeps his half-hearted smile on as he adds, "I've thought that you've been far too busy with that new project. Hope's Peak Overseas is what it's called, if I recall correctly?"

It's hard for Kazuo to miss the hidden sarcasm in that tone. He shakes his head. "Munakata has done most of the work. My contributions are rather minimal in comparison."

"Hah, if you say so."

Although he feels a bit annoyed at that remark, he pretends not to notice it. He glances around the portly man, raising a brow as he noticed something odd about him. "If you don't mind me asking, where is Mr. Sasaki, Mr. Akiyama, and Mr. Mizushima? The four of you usually stick with each other as a group, right?"

"They're speaking with the headmaster at this moment." Mr. Minami answers. "I've heard that it might have something to do with this year's school festival, but I don't have any more details than that." He shrugs his shoulders.

After hearing that, Kazuo isn't sure if he can picture it. 'I wonder what made the rest of them so worked up for something as simple as a school festival.' Maybe that's something he can ask Mr. Kirigiri about once he gets the time.

Mr. Minami coughs into his hand, more or less signaling him to get his attention back. "Well then, if that's all what you want to chat about, come and follow me, Mr. Tengan. I'm sure the rest of our men have already arrived there," He flashes him a cheeky kind of smile. "You don't want to miss what our Ultimate Hope is capable of."

As Mr. Minami goes on ahead, Kazuo follows closely behind. He glances at their surroundings now and then, to get himself more familiar with this underground area. "Is Matsuda coming along? He was one of the bigger contributors to the project." He asks.

A disgruntled noise comes out of the other man. "Oh, that bastard. Don't expect him to. We were unable to drag him out of that cave he calls a room," He then adds in a heavily apathetic tone, "Not that we mind anyway. He may have assisted us well with the project, but he's still a massive thorn to our side."

Kazuo is sure that badmouthing someone like Yasuke Matsuda is a heavily unprofessional move on Mr. Minami's part, but since he has no right to stick his nose in their business, he doesn't bring that to light. Instead, he comments with a simple, "It sounds like he hasn't changed that much."

Mr. Minami scoffs. "If you've been there with us the whole time, you'd see where we're coming from."

"I suppose I'll take your word for it, then." Kazuo shrugs, not sure if he's supposed to add anything more to that kind of conversation.

With that flat response, that conversation ended up getting dropped as easily as it was brought up.

The two of them have been walking for a good while now. They've been walking a straight path, with a few turns here and there.

And then, Mr. Minami's steps come to a complete stop. Kazuo stops as well, and when he looks over, he immediately sees the reason for that.

As Mr. Minami goes forward, Kazuo keeps his eyes on him, awaiting on what he might do next. He watches him go in front of the door. He puts his hand in his pocket, takes a card out, and then puts it in. Once it's unlocked, he puts that card back in his pocket, turns the knob around and gets it open. They then waste no time getting inside.

"We're here." Mr. Minami announces in a cheery tone. He gestures an arm, as if to emphasize that some more.

Again, the door is sound shut right behind them.

Kazuo scans their surroundings. As far as he can say, this room has better lighting compared to the previous one. The lights are still a bit dim overall, but at least now, he doesn't have to squint his eyes as much. Other than that, he can also see that this room is a lot bigger in space. He might even say it's big enough to hold at least dozens of people without packing them together to make them fit.

That said, there is something else that caught his attention the most, however. From here, he can see that there's a large glass window that's set right in the middle of the room.

A sizable crowd consisting of men in white coats have already gathered in that area. The sounds of everyone chattering excitedly among each along, along with the distinct noises of lead scratching against paper, makes it seem like whatever is going on in there very important.

He walks towards that glass window to see what they're fussing about. Along the way, he quietly excuses himself, trying to keep himself from bumping with the other men as much as he can. Inevitably, he did bump with a few of them, but none of it was too serious.

It took him a while, but he somehow manages to get himself to the front at last. He peers through that glass window, and that's where he understood why everyone's making a big deal out of this.

He has only heard about her from snippets they sent him via emails, but now, he has finally seen the famed Ultimate for himself. It's Izuru Kamukura, the one that everyone in this room has deemed to be the Ultimate Hope.

Kazuo takes that chance to get quietly appraise her. Appearance-wise, Kamukura is definitely a young girl, the same age as the students of this school. Her attire is heavily formal, consisting of a suit, a tie, a pencil skirt, black stockings, and a pair of black shoes.

Another trait he took note of is the unusually long hair she has, which strikes him as kind of odd. But then again, it's not as if he has any right to judge anyone about it, especially not the Ultimate Hope herself.

In any case, he isn't sure exactly why, but he can't shake off the ominous aura he's feeling from her.

For now, it looks like they're testing her with a simple game of darts. As expected, every hit turns out to be a bullseye. It then eventually reaches to a ridiculous point where there is barely any space left on the tiny red dot on the dartboard.

The results are painfully clear, and as if on cue, another person comes in the room. She takes the dart off the wall without reacting much. It's like she, and perhaps others who are assigned to this kind of task as well, have already grown accustomed to doing this.

As he watches that assistant leave out of his periphery, he thinks to himself, 'There are several concerns I can't shake off from all of this. It might just be me, however.'

Someone blurts out with pure glee in his tone, "Our Ultimate Hope is rather lovely. Don't you agree with that, Mr. Tengan?"

Kazuo softly grunts, turning to face the person who addressed him just now. As he thought, that person is Mr. Minami. Slightly frowning, he doesn't answer that and instead, follows it up with another question of his own. "If I remember correctly, she was a student from the reserve course, wasn't she?"

The portly man faces him with a dumbfounded look on his face. His brows furrow and his lips press against each other, looking as if he's trying hard to come up with something to answer that question. He then shrugs. "Yes, she was one of the reserve course students before she undertook the project, but I don't see how it's so important, it's something that concerns you."

"She has no memories of her old identity anymore after the project has been completed, correct?"

"A-Ah," He stammers for a moment, seemingly taken aback by, before immediately recomposing himself after, and he clears his throat. "Yes, that would be correct. But please do not misunderstand our intentions for doing so."

Kazuo is tempted to follow that up with, 'And why should I believe whatever you'll say to justify it?' But, he didn't want to make the atmosphere even more tense than it already is. He sighs. "Then explain it."

Mr. Minami bows his head. "Thank you. As I said, we had to do it because we deemed to be necessary, based on what happened with the previous test subjects. If Matsuda hadn't erased her previous identity and suppressed her emotions, the result would've been…ugly, to say the least."

'Ugly?' Kazuo's eyes narrow. "Would you kindly elaborate more on that, Mr. Minami?"

A scowl briefly flashes by Mr. Minami's face, before quickly going back to a more amicable expression. "Subjects whose memories and emotions we didn't allow Matsuda to erase and suppress grew to be unstable. Far too unstable for us to handle any longer," He pulls on his shirt's collar while clicking his tongue. "There are some whom we've allowed to keep their emotions but not their memories, and vice versa. The results remained similar enough. The process wasn't pleasant both to them and to us."

"I…see." He replies, facing away from him to re-assess what he just heard.

Based on what he told him just now, Kazuo can only vividly imagine what it was like for those students who went through the project; he inwardly grimaces at the image. He doesn't know exactly how many students signed up for the program, but since this girl is the only one he can see in that room, and with Mr. Minami's account adding it up, he can already guess what had been done to the rest. A simmering feeling of anger tinged with sadness comes over him, but he keeps up his stoic facade for now.

For a second, he lowers his head, offering a silent prayer for those unfortunate children who didn't make it. He lifts his head up, and then turns to Mr. Minami with a stern look on his face. "Have you considered when their parents starts asking for their children?"

An eerily wide smile stretches over the portly man's face. "Funny you should ask that, Mr. Tengan. As far as these students' parents know, their children have been sent off to study overseas. It's rather convenient that Munakata has that little project of his happening around the same time," Mr. Minami cackles some more. "It makes it a lot easier for their parents to nod their heads off without asking any more questions."

Putting that slight insult against Munakata aside, Kazuo nods his head, replying in a cool tone. "Hm, I see." He then follows it up with, "You're truly certain their parents won't raise any more questions about that?"

Mr. Minami chuckles, shaking his head. "Of course not. When they do, our men will always find a way to take care of that problem in that regard, so it's nothing for us to worry about." He turns to him with a smile. "You know, it deeply wounds me when you keep doubting our abilities just like that."

Kazuo can see where this conversation is going, so he decides to end it with, "I apologize for that."

Mr. Minami's face scrunches up. He definitely did not expect that kind of answer, and so, he turns away from him with an annoyed, "Hmph."

Now, the conversation, in the way it was heading to, has been halted, at least for now. Kazuo took that chance to glance over what's happening in the other room. At least two more assistants have come in, carrying a table and a chair, respectively.

While those two are setting those up, Kamukura remains standing in the same spot she was while trying those darts. Kazuo sees her slightly tilt her head to the side; she's probably observing what those assistants are trying to do.

Speaking of, despite her artificial origins, it's came off to him as slightly surprising there's nothing wrong with her. Well, not in physical appearance, so far at least, but then…

Kamukura slightly turns her head around, and her eyes come into contact with his own.

It happened all so quickly, even someone like him ends up getting caught off-guard with that. A sensation he can only describe as something dangerous overwhelms his senses. It feels as if every muscle in his body has frozen solid at that moment. Every instinct within him is screaming at him to turn, to run away and get as far from the immediate threat as quickly as he can.

He bites the inner part of his cheek and forces those irrational instincts to settle down, trying to maintain his composure as best as he can. A bead of sweat slowly drips from the side of his head; he could make himself look away from Kamukura, but for some reason, he can't tear his gaze off of her. It's like her gaze has locked onto his own, refusing to budge or let him go.

Moments pass by, and Kamukura keeps staring right through him. It might be just him, or it might just be a trick coming from the room's relative dimness, but it feels like he saw her crimson eyes glow for a moment right there. Even if it was only his imagination, he still felt that shiver run up his spine when he noticed it.

He quietly gulps, but he stays right where he is. He doesn't show any emotion on his face, trying not give his fear away to the Ultimate Hope. A part of him wonders if doing that was futile, since it's highly likely she could sense his fear somehow anyway. She could possibly hear his heart beating so rapidly right at this moment too, he realizes.

After what felt like a decent amount of time has passed, Kamukura breaks eye contact with him and turns her attention back to the stack of papers that's been set on her table. The assistant who placed those papers quickly bows her head before turning to leave.

'It looks like she's quick to lose interest.' Despite what just transpired between them, he couldn't help but glance at her once more. He watches her take a seat, and then finish those written exams just as quickly and easily as she did with the darts game. It's so fast, it feels like she was done in less than the time it takes for someone to blink.

He may have his own thoughts about certain…issues with this project, but not even he can deny that Kamukura is more than exceptional as the Ultimate Hope.

At the same time, though, there is something in her that sets off his sense of danger. It's like her presence as a whole was enough to unnerve him. He thought it was only just him at first since everyone else seemed calm when interacting with Kamukura, but when he saw the way one of the assistants hurriedly left only a minute ago, that only solidified his uneasiness with her.

He shakily exhales, putting a hand over his chest. It's over, but his heart is still beating so rapidly and so frantically, he felt like if he took his hand off, it would burst out of chest by that moment.

Even though she isn't staring directly at him now, he can't shake off the uncanny feeling he keeps getting from her. There's something about her that…doesn't feel right at all. Forgive him if he ends up sounding a bit rude for this, but, to him, it's like Kamukura isn't truly human. It's like she's completely something else that's wearing the face of a human; nothing is out of place and in fact, it has everything accounted for, and yet, there is something beneath that exterior that throws it all off.

"Are you ready, Madarai?"

Kazuo is involuntarily thrown off from his thoughts after hearing that. He blinks, turning to the source of that announcement. 'Madarai? They're talking about Isshiki Madarai, isn't it?'

Just as he figured, another person has entered the other room. A young boy who also has unusually long hair; his attire is that of a completely black uniform. The most striking feature of that boy though, is the long tongue that's sticking out of his wide grin.

'There's no mistaking it. That truly is Isshiki Madarai, the Ultimate Mercenary.' Kazuo glances at the two, watching as the mercenary approach his opponent.

When comparing the two side-by-side, Madarai is clearly the taller and much better built of the two. Compared to him, Kamukura is still built like an ordinary teenaged girl. If an outsider sees them, they'd assume that Madarai would obviously win this, and Kazuo supposes he can understand that line of logic.

"And," The assistant brings his arm down. "Begin!"

Madarai is the one who makes his first move. He rushes towards Kamukura, procuring two dangerously sharp knives, one in each hand. With how fast he's moving, even someone who's been rigorously trained would have a hard time dodging him.

Time feels slower for the audience as they watch it unfold.

Kazuo hasn't truly blinked, not even once since that mock fight has been initiated, and before he and everyone else present knew, in the next second or less, three noises are heard at that moment. A loud thud, a metallic clang and a pained groan, respectively.

Everyone in this room can see it clearly. Kamukura has pinned Madarai under her heel. The mercenary grunts, weakly tries to get her foot off his chest, grabbing at it and trying to push it off. No matter what he did, it wouldn't budge.

"Madarai's in an awfully bad position. I wonder how the hell he's going to get out of this…" Someone from the crowd of observers comments.

Out of options, Madarai then proceeds to try and punch at her leg with all his might, most likely trying to make her hurt as much as possible and get her to move it off him out of instinct. It's not a bad gambit on paper, but…

She doesn't even bat an eye at each blow. Matter of fact, one might even say she looks downright bored when she presses it even harder.

Madarai chokes out. "I yield! I yield!" He yells, sounding like he's truly in pain while forcing himself to say that.

Kamukura stares at him, causing everyone to briefly worry she won't do that. A couple of tense seconds pass by, everyone holding their breaths on what she may do next.

Then, at long last, she lifts her foot off him, and Madarai takes that moment to heave, rapidly breathing in and out. He clutches his chest, briefly wincing at the contact, then that pained expression on his face quickly fades away, giving way to a heavily pleased one.

A loud, clicking noise resonates in that room, right exactly at the moment of Madarai's obvious defeat.

"Five seconds and two milliseconds." Someone, probably one of those men in white coats, notes out loud. "That's a new record Kamukura has set up right there." He adds in a slightly amused tone, even chuckling somewhat at the end of that.

'Is that correct?' Although Kazuo didn't let it show on his face, he is definitely astonished and maybe even impressed by that. Considering that Madarai is the Ultimate Mercenary, that's not an easy feat at all. He can't imagine anyone being able to beat him at all, let alone in such a short timeframe.

Then again, he supposes he shouldn't be so surprised; they did inquire him about their subject's progress since a few months ago. Still, there's something about watching how Kamukura perform those feats in person that feels a lot more impressionable to him.

'For all their failures and questionable methods, I'll admit that the Steering Committee has proven to be truly successful with this endeavor.' Based on his current observations, it's very easy to say that the new Izuru Kamukura is already living up to her title of 'Ultimate Hope'. In fact, he's sure some might even say she completely surpassed the original Izuru Kamukura, the genius of a human who founded Hope's Peak Academy in the first place.

'The Ultimate Hope, huh.' As he thinks about it more, Kazuo reflects on what he witnessed so far today. Kamukura is already this talented, already surpassing every last Ultimate student that came before her, there's no denying that fact at all.

And yet, based on some details he heard not too long ago, why would the Steering Committee want to create another one? They already achieved their goal, didn't they?

Before, he assumed the reason that maybe Kamukura had some slight defects with her, or maybe there's something about her that didn't satisfy them. But now that he's seen her in person, aside from finding her somewhat unnerving, he can't find anything that's wrong with her. She's performed well, maybe too well as shown with the mock fight with Madarai; that moment might've been a humbling, and yet, it'd also be a terrifying experience for him indeed.

So, why?

And then, it hit him.

It's so appalling, it would've caused him to gasp out loud. However, because he's in a room filled with far too many people, he forcefully keeps that to himself. The last thing he wants is to cause a scene in here, of all places; he can't let them know about it.

Even so, Kazuo feels his fists clench at that idea. The more he thinks about that possible reason, the more he intensely dislikes it. He doesn't even need to guess the implications behind their decision. If one Ultimate Hope is already this formidable, he can't even begin to imagine what it'd be like to have more of them around.

'Can we even handle beings like them on such a large scale? The one we have now is already leagues above the levels of most Ultimate students. I can hardly consider Kamukura as a normal human anymore.'

His hands shake ever so slightly as he vividly pictures the future that awaits not just them, but the world as a whole. 'Depending on how everything goes beyond this point, it's possible that a whole collective of Ultimate Hopes will lead us to one of the, if not the greatest age in our history…'

Kazuo looks back at the glass window. Kamukura didn't stare back at him this time, but he can't shake off the feeling that she knew she's being watched. She's the only Ultimate Hope the school has for now, but he had a feeling that will change sooner or later.

'And yet, there's also a chance they will lead us all to ruin instead.'

A/N: Hey, uh, sorry it took me a while to get this chapter up. I've been busy with a lot of IRL stuff and have been planning a lot of things, so yeah. Also, apologies if this one felt kinda heavy. Hopefully, the next ones should be a bit lighter in tone.