Since there's nothing much else for her to do at this point, Chiaki decides to go and join back with the others. But, as soon as she turns around, she notices that they're all gone, that she's the only person left in this area. She frowns, thinking to herself, 'Was I really away from them for that long?'
It's…well, not exactly upsetting per se, but it did make her feel a little bummed out, just a bit. She knows that she doesn't have the biggest or loudest presence, but to think that everyone left her just like that. Then again, she supposes she should've expected it; that's how it's always been for her anyway.
Chiaki figures that there's nothing else left for her to do, other than to look around for where the others went to. In her rush, she isn't really looking at where she's going, and so, before she knows it, she ends up bumping into something hard.
Again.
For less than a second, she can't help but think that it's kinda funny that this thing happened to her twice now.
She lifts her head up, making a surprised noise as she makes contact with grayish green eyes. "Komaeda?"
Komaeda positively beams up, flashing her a bemused grin. "Ah, there you are, Nanami! Ever since our group got back, I noticed that you weren't with us, so I've been looking everywhere for you."
A look of disbelief briefly flashes over her face before she forcefully puts her poker face back on. "You…were?" She blinks.
He nods. "Yeah, everyone's been worried that you got lost somehow. If you don't mind me asking, where have you been?"
"I just talked with Mitarai a while back." She explains with a slight shrug.
"Oh," He raises a brow in interest. "You've met him?" Pure excitement is returning in his face and tone, and now he's the one who's sorta leaning in closer to her personal space. "What was he like?"
Instinctively, she steps back a bit while putting her hands up, partially as a way to keep some of her personal space intact. After seeing the pattern for a few times now, she can already sense the giddiness build up in him again. "He's quiet, but he was also pretty nice, I think."
"Is that so? No offense, but that sounds kinda odd, considering what almost everyone knows about him." He puts a finger over his chin in thought. "Or rather, what little they all know about him, that is."
"Wait," She stares at him. "What do you mean about that?"
Upon seeing her look, he readily explains to her, "I guess you can say, Mitarai is rather infamous for being such a shut-in, even among other manga artists. It's to the point that people have reported he only shows up every few years during conventions, and even then, there's so many conflicting reports about that. Which is saying a lot, even for a manga artist." He adds with a soft chuckle at the end.
Chiaki thinks about the explanation he gave to her, comparing it with the encounter from a while back. 'I did sorta got the impression that he just wanted to be left alone, even if he was nice enough. I totally get it, though.' She moves away from that topic for now as she asks, "Oh yeah, where is everyone else?" as she glances over their surroundings. "I was also trying to look for them too, but I couldn't find them anywhere around here."
"Ah, about that…" Komaeda's smile grows wider. "Let's just say, they all got…preoccupied with something else at the moment."
She tilts her head to the side. "Oh, what do you mean by that?"
He gently shakes his head. "I think you'll see what I mean once I show it to you."
Before she even realizes it, Komaeda's hand moves forward, before going to gently hold on to her wrist. Without saying another word, he walks on, leading her along to where the others might be.
Chiaki would admit something. If it were anyone else who tried to do that, she would've pulled her arm from them already; and if Hanamura had tried that, well, she'd have no choice but to use a special attack that's always been reliable to her. And yet, when Komaeda did that, somehow, that kind of feeling didn't sink in. Even when she knows that he's holding her wrist, somehow, it doesn't feel like she's in danger at all.
She still finds it a little embarrassing though. She's sure that her cheeks must look so red right now.
Within a few minutes of walking, Komaeda immediately stops in his tracks, with Chiaki following after. At that exact moment, she can't help but think to herself, 'Wow…it smells really nice in here.'
The two of them enter what seems to be a dining room, and from there, she can see Hinata, Koizumi, Saionji, Souda, and Tsumiki gathered around one of the available tables. 'Aside from Kuzuryu, Pekoyama, and Mitarai, everyone so far is in here.' She squints, noticing a shape from one of the corners of that table. 'Oh, and Hanamura's there too. It looks like he's trying to say something, but honestly, I don't want to hear it.'
Aside from everyone else she already took note of, there's also two other people in there, the same ones whom Hanamura is…probably trying to strike a friendly conversation with. Then again, it's probably nothing friendly at all, so much as it is pervy. Even from here, she can hear him loudly talk about 'sausages' and other pervy jokes that are about as subtle as a brick to the face.
Out of curiosity, she decides to check out those two people, heading towards so that she can get a better look at them.
For the first person, he seems to be a guy, a ridiculously muscular one at that. In fact, he looks like he would fit right in with a good number of fighting games she knows of. Despite how he looks, he's dressed in a dark blue chef's uniform, with a piece of white cloth tied around his forehead, and he's got some kind of wooden slippers on too. Overall, it gives him the appearance of chef who's gone really hardcore. So hardcore, she gets the feeling that the food he'd make might even send clothes flying.
The second person is a girl this time around. Compared to the muscular guy, she's a whole lot shorter, but at the same time, it also looks like she'd tower over Chiaki by a good amount. Also, compared to him, her clothes are a bit plainer too, consisting of just a blouse, a skirt, and some kind of leather apron on top of it too.
She slightly turns around to check on her current companion, and sure enough, Komaeda is still pretty giddy. But at the same time, she notices that it's not as intense as it was when they met everyone else from before. She can guess that it means he and the others already introduced themselves to those two. Maybe.
Without any warning, Komaeda heads towards them, all while gently pushing Chiaki towards them, with her involuntarily letting out a soft squeak as he did that.
"I've mentioned her a while ago, but this is Chiaki Nanami." Komaeda begins as he pats her back with a smile. "Go on and introduce yourself to them, Nanami."
Even with that encouragement, Chiaki doesn't feel too confident about it, especially now that she can feel those two's eyes on her. Getting her nerves back, she lifts her head up to try to make eye contact with them, but then she feels her neck kinda strain itself for a moment there. The muscular boy is so tall, way taller than she expected him to be. In fact, she thinks wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be the tallest student in their class.
Right as she's about to get a word in, the muscular boy beats her to it and introduces himself with a lot of pumped up enthusiasm…and a really loud voice too. "I am the Ultimate Cook, NEKOMARU NIDAI! It's great to finally meet you!"
"Um…I…um…I'm…" She tries to introduce herself, but the only thing that comes out from her mouth are more squeaks. Her body is slightly trembling just from how loud and big Nidai is, and honestly,she can't help but feel a little intimidated from all of it.
"What was that?" Nidai cuts in, and somehow, he manages to turn up the volume his voice even more too. "I can't hear you! Your voice is too SOOOOOFFFFFTTT!"
Even though that loud voice got doubled down, somehow, she resists the instinct to shrink and make herself smaller, even a tiny bit.
Her whole body stiffens while her heart begins to beat and drum against her chest, but somehow, she manages to force herself to shout out her own introductions, though it's nowhere near close to his personal level of indoor voice. "I-I'm Chiaki Nanami! I…I have no idea what my talent is! Sorry about that!"
Nidai beams, letting out a booming, hearty chuckle as he gently smacks her back a few times. "Well then, don't forget it, even if you go to hell!"
'…What?' She tries not to flinch, both from what he said and from the smacks he gave her just now; even if it was surprisingly gentle, it was still pretty powerful. It feels like it almost knocked her down too, actually. Though, as weirded out she is by what Nidai just said, she does feels slightly thankful that he didn't question the talent thing any further. And so, she decides to nod her head off as she softly replies, "Yeah, I promise I won't."
Moments after that, the other girl's turn to introduce herself comes in. She raises a hand up while a wide grin goes over her face. "Yo, I'm Akane Owari, the school calls me the Ultimate Blacksmith for some reason. Nice to meet ya too!"
Chiaki shyly waves back at her. "It's nice to meet you too." She pauses, realizing something, and then awkwardly adds, "Ah, and Nidai too." On the inside, she's a hundred percent thankful that Owari isn't anywhere near as intense as Nidai was. It might be hard to believe, but she's still recovering from it, even until now.
With those two (sort of brief) introductions over with, Chiaki wonders if she should go on and take a seat with the others. But, before she can take even a single step from her spot, sudden her vision and smell is filled with what's probably the most tender, high quality kind of chicken.
"You should try some of these!" Owari enthusiastically tells her, all while somehow managing to quickly take and pass her even more of the skewers she's already holding.
Chiaki forces a smile on her face; it took everything within her to not wince out of instinct. She hasn't even taken a bite out of them yet, but even with just one look at those skewers, she can already feel the very heavily intense power coming from them. "Ah, thanks, but I'm not hungry."
Owari takes it surprisingly well, as she shows off a toothy grin to her while taking the skewers back to her side. "Alright, more for me, then!"
"So, Nidai and Owari, right?" She begins, and once she's got their attention, she then asks them, "Have either of you two seen my hoodie?" Without wasting any more time or words, she goes on to describe how her hoodie looks to them, again quickly summarizing it as best as she can.
Nidai shakes his head. "I don't think I did."
Owari frowns, shrugging a bit as she gives her answer as well. "Nah, sorry. Haven't seen anythin' like that around here either."
"Oh, okay. Thank you two for telling me anyway." She replies in a shaky voice, all while forcing a smile on her face.
Nidai tries to say something, but the distant yet loud sounds of a door getting kicked in overpowers him; the resulting noise startles Chiaki for a moment. Whatever it was, it's a clear sign that someone or something has come in, at least close to this area.
A blur comes running up to them, somehow with enough force to knock Nidai and Owari to the side. They didn't seem to be hurt, only surprised by it.
The resulting debris clears up, revealing that it's a new girl, and appearance-wise…she definitely looks very quirky. She's got a blue blazer with short sleeves, white undershirt, a tie that's decorated with a lot of X's, black arm and leg bands, and purple pleated skirt with a white streak in the middle. Her hair is wild and messy all over. Also speaking of her hair, it's been dyed all over with colorful neon pink, blue, and white highlights.
There's some kind of spiky bracelet on her left wrist, but the most striking thing about this new girl is that somehow, some strands of her hair is styled into a pair of cone-like horns right on top of her head.
"Good nom nom nomming!" The new girl greets as she starts introducing herself with a smile and all sorts of wild movements. "I-bu-ki Mi-o-da! Put them together, and what have you got? Ibuki Mioda!"
Chiaki isn't sure how to take that in, so for now, she turns around, and just as she thought, Komaeda looks like he's on the verge of hyperventilating from pure happiness and excitement again.
"You must be the Ultimate Pianist, right?" He asks, his tone completely giving away what he's feeling. He puts his hand out, but then retracts it at the last moment as he babbles, "Ahh, is it okay if I shake your hand?"
"Sure can do!" Mioda takes the boy's hand in hers and begins to vigorously shake it.
Komaeda's trembling, probably from how Mioda's shaking his hand, and yet, he probably has the widest, goofiest grin on his face.
As she keeps watching their interactions, a thought comes to her. Come to think of it, despite what her talent suggests, Mioda's the complete opposite of what someone might expect from a pianist. Her energy levels are definitely comparable to Nidai, and based on a gut feeling, overall it also feels a bit more intense too.
Mioda turns her attention to her. "And who is this little cutie?" She asks with a suave-sounding tone and a smirk.
"Um…" Her cheeks turn red at that moment. "I'm…Chiaki Nanami. I don't know what my talent is, so I'm sorry about that."
"Oooh, nice to meetcha then!" Mioda expectantly puts her hand out, a goofy grin plastered over her face.
Chiaki quietly gulps as she hesitantly takes hold of the other girl's hand. She braces herself, fully expecting her to start shaking it wildly like how she did with Komaeda. Her eyes widen once she feels Mioda take her hand and shake it slowly. She's completely surprised by how gentle she is, and soon after, the other girl lets go of her hand.
"So, Mioda—"
The other girl waves her hands around, interrupting her from saying anything more. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. None of that 'Mioda' stuff! We're going to be classmates now, right? 'Ibuki' is totally fine!"
'I don't know. I don't feel so sure about this.' Chiaki admits to no one, but she decides to relent for now. "Ibuki..." She tries not to let her lips tremble. Even if she said it's okay, it still feels a little weird for her. "You won't mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure! Hit me with whatever you've got!"
"Have you seen my hoodie?" After seeing her puzzled yet intrigued look, she then describes the hoodie to her too.
Ibuki hums, crossing her arms and closing her eyes, like she's putting herself into deep concentration. Several seconds pass by, and she opens her eyes and faces her with a sympathetic look. "Sorry, haven't seen that kind of hoodie anywhere either."
"That's okay," Chiaki replies with another forced smile. "Thanks for telling me anyway."
"Wait," A more gentle, and yet just as determined look comes over her face. "Ibuki can help you look for your hoodie! No ifs, buts, and take-backsies with that!"
Before Chiaki can say something to turn her down, Komaeda chimes in. "I'm sure Nanami would be more than happy with that." And he even says it with a smile too.
Realizing that there's nothing else she can do by then, Chiaki decides to keep quiet and accept it for now. Even if she didn't like how much this has escalated.
After Ibuki got herself acquainted with everyone else too, it's back to exploring the rest of this island. At this point, Chiaki knows that her hoodie hasn't turned up yet and no one has ever seen it, Yet, she refuses to give up on finding it. She knows it has to be around here somewhere, she can feel it somehow.
So now, they're here at their current stop. It looks like some kind of farm, and there's a sign above it that reads 'Usami Corral'.
Chiaki can't help but be a little curious about that detail, staring at that sign for a few more seconds. 'I wonder who Usami is, assuming if Usami's even a person at all. Maybe Usami might even be a mascot or something like that. Anything could happen at this point.'
As expected of a farm, there are all sorts of chickens and cows running around this area, among other many other animals. But weirdly enough, there's still no one else around to take care of these animals. The empty store and hotel reception is one thing, but an empty farm?
It's all starting to sound even fishier to her. She doesn't think she can ignore it anymore.
"Nanami, are you doing okay there?" Komaeda calls out to her as he taps her shoulder. "You look like you're spacing out right now."
"Ah," Chiaki blinks. She turns to face him as she replies, "It's nothing, really. Just thinking about some stuff. Like how compared to people, animals don't mind being touched that much, I think."
"Oh, what do you mean by that?"
She thinks about what she just blurted out, tries to think on how she should explain her thoughts to him. She ends up shrugging and staring onto the ground instead. "I'm not really sure either. It's just something I thought about, I guess."
When Komaeda didn't reply, she turns around to check on him. She sees that there's a big, goofy smile on his face again, and when she checked on where he's looking at, she sees there's two other people in this area too, a boy and a girl, to be exact.
The girl has long blonde hair, and her face didn't look Japanese at all; it makes Chiaki wonder if that girl is a foreign transfer student, and if she is, she wonders how Hope's Peak Academy managed to scout her.
Her clothes seem to be rather classy, with a white underblouse, a...bodice on top of it (if Chiaki's remembering what it's called correctly), a simple yet elegant skirt, and long boots with heels. Additionally, there's a large dark teal ribbon on the side of her hair, and sheathed sword by her side.
'Is that real?' Chiaki wonders as soon as she notices that. 'If it isn't, it looks really convincing for a prop.'
The boy by her side, on the other hand, is definitely Japanese like almost everyone else on this island. Compared to the girl, his clothes are...well, definitely something else entirely, even compared to the girl's outfit. For one, he has a tracksuit that looks like it was modified into a cloak of some sort, like something very similar to Dracula's iconic style of clothing. In addition to that, a long purple scarf is flowing freely from his neck.
There's some kind of streak that's going over one of his eyes, making Chiaki wonder if it's a scar, tattoo, or make up; it's hard to tell what it really is from this distance. And then there's his hair; it looks like it's dyed with highlights just like how Ibuki's hair is, but compared to her more colorful style, this boy has a more…gothic feel to it? She isn't sure what to call it, to be honest.
When she notices that there are bandages all over his left arm, that made her concerned if he had any recent injuries at first, but since neither he nor the girl is reacting about it, it's probably nothing too serious.
So far, those two looks they're just idly chatting about. It's hard to hear exactly what they're talking about, but judging by the girl's face, she seems to really enjoy talking with the other guy.
Komaeda takes her by the hand once again as he begins walking towards those two. That nearly made Chiaki's whole body jolt before she follows along with him; she's not sure if she's going to get used to that just yet.
"Hey there!" Komaeda greets at the other two as soon as he and Chiaki are standing close to them. "You two are part of our class, right?"
Both turn to them, their attention now fully focused onto them. The boy is the first one to speak up, his eyes narrowing. "And what makes you think a mortal like you have the right to talk down to the Supreme Overlord of Ice just like that?"
Chiaki feels the urge to shrink back and hide herself, even for a moment. It's probably just her, but that boy has a pretty intense presence too, though not exactly at the same level as Nidai is.
Komaeda didn't seem fazed by it at all, though. If anything, he's just sheepishly laughing it off. "Ah, sorry about that, I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought that I should introduce myself. I'm Komaeda Nagito, the Ultimate Volunteer."
The boy's face becomes unreadable for a moment or so, then he smirks. "Kehehe. Very well then, if you wish to formally introduce yourself to me, then I suppose I shall do the same. Among mortals, I am known as Gundham Tanaka, the Ultimate Team Manager!"
"My name is Sonia Nevermind," The girl begins with a small, relaxed smile. "I'm a foreign exchange student from a small European kingdom called Novoselic, and I am also the Ultimate Swordswoman. I hope we get along well!"
Upon hearing that, Chiaki's eyes widen. She thought that the sword she's carrying around is a prop, but now that she revealed her talent, it might actually be a real one after all.
Some seconds pass by; she starts to feel them staring at her, and at that moment, she remembers that she's supposed to introduce herself too. "Oh, I'm Chiaki Nanami, and I…don't know what my talent is. Sorry about that."
"Hmph," Tanaka stares her down. "So you've decided to keep your abilities hidden for now, it seems."
'That's not it at all…' Chiaki feels tempted to reply to that, but she decides to pretend she didn't hear that. "So, um...Tanaka and...uh…" She pauses, unsure what to call her.
"Please, just call me Sonia." She interrupts, shaking her head with a smile. "Treat me as you would with any of your peers."
"I hope this isn't too rude or sudden, but have either of you two seen my hoodie?" Chiaki then describes the hoodie once again, giving them the important details while keeping it as brief as possible.
Both of them look around thoughtfully, before they finally reply to her.
"I have never laid my eyes on such kind of garment." Tanaka admits.
Sonia bows her head. "I'm afraid I have not seen anything like that before. I sincerely apologize for that. However," She raises her head and faces her. "I'll let you know if I do come across something like it."
Chiaki puts her hands up. "Thanks, but no, I really can't impose on you—"
Sonia interrupts her, taking Chiaki's hands and clasping them in her own. "Nonsense! I'm more than happy to assist a classmate in need."
Chiaki slightly turns her head to the side, looking at Komaeda for help. Komaeda only smiles back at her, even giving a little nod. At that exact moment, she knows there's no way she's going to turn Sonia down like this, so she can only nod along for now.
It's probably just her, but it felt like they already explored everything on this island, and so it's back to Hotel Mirai for the time being. She glances at her classmates, watching some of them forming into friendly groups; she decides not to join any of them for now.
As she keeps watching over them, she mentally counts them, including herself and those who aren't currently present, which is Kuzuryu, Pekoyama, and Mitarai.
If it isn't wrong, then there's about sixteen of them in total. She double-checks the number, just in case, and while doing so, she then remembers that there are sixteen cottages, if she's remembering it correctly. She thinks it over, and she supposes that means that's probably everyone in the class, then.
While everyone is still talking over, suddenly, several high-pitched buzzing noises come up.
Everyone got slightly startled by how sudden it was, but Souda jumps from his spot with a loud yelp, which also ends up startling Tsumiki, and she screams as well, crouching to the floor and curling herself into a ball. Still highly agitated for some reason, he then proceeds to pull the beanie over his head, his whole body shaking and shivering as his teeth clatter against each other.
The buzzing continues for a while until a gentle voice reverberates through the speakers. "Hello, dear students and welcome to Jabberwock Island! For the rest of your student orientation, please come to the Central Island."
And just like that, the speakers suddenly go quiet.
Things stay quiet for a good few seconds until Saionji comments "Who the hell was that?" in a highly miffed tone.
Chiaki doesn't recognize who that voice was, but whoever it is, they called this place 'Jabberwock Island'. 'Should we go ahead and do as they told us?' As she thinks about what that voice told everyone just now, she slightly frowns as she considers one thing. 'I wonder what might happen if we don't do as they say, though.'
Honestly, everything about their situation just got even weirder. First, they all got dropped off in a school trip to some island they don't even know the name of for their first day of class. Then, there's practically no one else on this island besides their class; not even other tourists or island staff are around.
And now, there's some voice that's telling them to come to the Central Island for some kind of orientation.
It's getting a lot harder to not notice these signs. Even from here, she can see and hear everyone discussing among themselves about what just happened. Since Komaeda and Hinata are the nearest ones to her, it's their conversation that she's listening to the most.
"So, should we go to the Central Island?" Komaeda wonders with a slight hum.
Hinata rubs his chin. "I think we should go there for now. Maybe it'll help us understand what's going on better. They did talk about a student orientation or something like that."
"Hmm, when you put it that way, yes, you're right, Hinata." Komaeda agrees, maybe a bit too easily. He then turns to face her and asks, "What about you, Nanami? Do you think we should go there?"
Chiaki nearly jumps back, not expecting them to include her in that conversation. "Um.." She isn't completely sure about it just yet, but when she sees just how calm Hinata is about it, she replies, "I…guess it won't hurt if we check it out for now."
Komaeda's grin widens. "Alright, then it's decided, then."
After that, the three of them asked the others about it too. In the end, they came around and went with them too, though of course, there were some who needed some extra convincing. First step they all took is to cross some kind of bridge that's near Usami Corral, which might be connected to the Central Island that voice was talking about.
So now, they're in this park of some sort. And it looks so big too.
Chiaki looks around some more, and from around the corner, she sees that Mitarai, Kuzuryu and Pekoyama are there as well. She turns back to face her group, and almost immediately, Saionji gets herself closer to Koizumi, like she's trying to shield her friend from the yakuza's view. Though, since she's at least half the redhead's height, it isn't exactly as effective as she's intending it to be.
On Chiaki's side, she decides to keep an eye on them for now. Thankfully, nothing comes up for now, since it looks like Kuzuryu isn't paying any mind to anyone right now. And honestly, it'd be for the best if it stays that way. At least during this time, that is.
Putting that aside for now, there's also that really big statue right at the middle of the park. The statue looks like it's a group of someone on a horse, accompanied by an eagle, a snake, and a tiger. Other than that, since she's not a big artistic kind of person, she doesn't have anything really special to say about it.
'Wait,' She squints. 'It looks like there's someone in front of the statue.'
As everyone got closer to that area, there's another person in there, standing right in front of the statue. That person looks like a young, short boy. Speaking of his height, he's only slightly taller than Saionji and Hanamura; everyone else would over him, even including Chiaki.
At a closer look, the boy has curly light yellowish hair, something that's in between dirty blonde and light brown, in a way. His outfit consists of, greenish blazer with a cute ribbon, brown shorts, and even black stockings with semi-formal shoes on top of it.
The boy performs a short but polite bow to them as he introduces himself, "Hello once again. I am Alter Ego, and I'll be serving as the TA for this school trip."
Chiaki blinks, inwardly processing what he just said, and now, she's wondering if she heard any of that right. 'Wait, a TA? Is it even possible to have a TA without a teacher around?'
Everyone else is just as surprised after hearing that. Some of them are even starting to whisper if any of this is a joke, and to be fair, she can't exactly blame any of them for thinking so. Aside from Saionji herself, Alter Ego does look a lot younger than everyone else in here. Maybe a bit too young to be a teaching assistant like he says he is, actually.
Speaking of her, Saionji herself is currently snickering at him, not even bothering to hide her mischievous grin. "This is so rich. What's an elementary student doing around here? And really, 'Alter Ego'? What kind of name is that? Don't tell me he's just like Mr. Eight Grade Edgypants right there."
Kuzuryu snorts back at her. "Oh, that's rich coming from someone who's a walking, talking jailbait."
"What did you just call me, you bitch!?" The nurse immediately turns towards her, eyes bulging out from sheer rage as one large, angry red vein also popped on the side of her head. Her hands clench into fist, and she looks seconds away from jumping and throwing hands at the other girl.
"Um…" Alter Ego tentatively raises a hand, though his voice remains soft as he calls out to them. "Can you two please not fight here?"
Weirdly enough, Kuzuryu didn't seem to be fazed by any of this at all. "Or what? What are you going to do about it? Look at you. You look really pathetic, you know?" She jabs a thumb towards Saionji's direction. "I bet even this banana-haired brat can punt your sorry ass into the ground without even trying."
"Hmph, I don't like agreeing with her," Saionji admits as she shrugs. "But you really do look so pathetic, and it's not even funny. What kind of teaching assistant are you if you look like you can't even handle situations like this one, or worse? I bet you just going to end up being a burden in this whole school trip instead."
Alter Ego lets out a high-pitched whine, his eyes going wide while his cheeks flush in red all over. "I...I…" He stutters, but each word he tries to say only comes out as a squeak.
Chiaki looks at him with sympathy. 'Wow. I get their point, but they didn't have to be so harsh about it.'
Just as she's about to step in and stop those two blondes from picking on him some more, Alter Ego seems to have regained his composure somehow. He clears his throat, managing to act like he didn't get taunted by Saionji and Kuzuryu just now.
"Anyways," Alter Ego begins, as he clasps his hands together with a gentle smile. "As I've mentioned before, you are all currently on Jabberwock Island, as part of the school trip arranged by Hope's Peak Academy."
Sonia raises a hand. "I have a question, if you don't mind me asking."
Alter Ego doesn't even flinch as he gently answers back to her, "Ah, sure. What is it?"
"Why did Hope's Peak send us on a school trip during our first day? I find it rather curious, that's all." Sonia clarifies.
"Ah, about that," Alter Ego raises a finger. "The school wanted to try something that will help Ultimate students in a class have a stronger bond with each other, so they figured a school trip would be the best way to do it. And so, it was quickly arranged for your class. I hope that helps." He smiles at the end of that.
"So in short, they made us their guinea pigs." Saionji snarkily comments, crossing her arms with a huff.
Alter Ego puts his hands up in a feeble defense of some sort. "It's nothing like that at all, really." He says with a sheepish smile and tone.
Another person raises a hand, and this time, it's Tsumiki. "U-Um…w-where's everyone e-else?"
"Oh, about that. The whole island has been reserved for your class, which is why there won't be any other visitors coming in during your stay here." Alter Ego calmly explains, and then he smiles at Tsumiki. "I hope that answers your question."
Chiaki thinks about that, and she can't help but frown. 'Is that even possible? I mean, that's kinda hard to imagine.'
Kuzuryu suddenly, and rudely, throws her words into the conversation. "Okay, sure, but that doesn't explain the missing staff. You know, the ones who are supposed to run everything in here?" She even gestures around to emphasize that point.
Alter Ego's smile wavers a bit. "It might be hard to believe, but some places, like the shops, can operate by themselves. Additionally, I'll be the one who'll take care of some areas where things are managed by hand."
"Huh, you're going to what now?" Owari blurts out, now looking confused about how that'd work.
Kuzuryu shakes her head with a groan. "Yeah, no. You're obviously bullshitting us right now."
Alter Ego makes a sheepish face. "I swear, I'm not. It's the truth, really."
"You seriously don't expect us to believe you can handle managing a big-ass island all by yourself, don't you?" She crosses her arms. "Even if some parts of this island of bull are done and dealt with automatically like you said, that doesn't sound so convincing at all."
'Her wording aside, she does have a point.' As much as Chiaki wants to give Alter Ego the benefit of the doubt, it does sound kinda silly. It's just really hard for her to imagine a small boy like him to manage every operation within this island.
"That's true, it's almost impossible for one person to do that." He admits, and then claps his hands together. "That's why we're all going to work together to maintain this island."
Kuzuryu blinks, her face quickly going from looking aggressive and demanding to plain blank confusion. "...Seriously?"
Alter Ego nods. "Yes. It's to help build up your bonds together. Speaking of that," He begins as he completely ignores the yakuza's sputtering and discretely drops that topic altogether, "Through spending time together and strengthening your bonds in the process, you'll also be collecting Hope Fragments."
"Hope Fragments?" A glimmer shines in Komaeda's eyes as he repeats that.
Alter Ego nods. "Yes, Hope Fragments. They'll be used to track down your respective progress with each classmate the more you spend time together, and in turn, understand each other more. While not truly necessary per se, I highly recommended trying collecting everyone's Hope Fragments."
Predictably, some of her classmates aren't happy to hear that at all, and in two cases (Saionji and Kuzuryu, to be exact), that's definitely a big understatement.
Chiaki bites the inner part of her cheek. She isn't sure exactly how she feels about that idea. It's probably just her, but there's something about that idea that just feels so wrong and uncanny to her, in a way. Though, despite how she feels about it, it looks like there's nothing much she can do about it; from the way Alter Ego worded it, everyone's gotta participate with it.
As she thinks about it more, a realization comes to her.
'Wait, since I can only get Hope Fragments if I spend time with my classmates, and if I really do have to collect all of them…' Chiaki blankly stares at where Hanamura is currently standing at. 'Please don't tell me I have to collect Hope Fragments from him too…' She internally shudders at the idea. She'd sooner try her chances with Kuzuryu before Hanamura.
At the moment, it looks like Hanamura is talking to Nidai and Owari about something, and based on the way he's leering at them, it's definitely something pervy again. Though, neither of those two seem to be aware of his true intentions, despite how painfully obvious he is being about it.
"Okay, I believe I've already explained all that needs to be said," Alter Ego gestures his arm towards the table. "You may all now take your e-Handbooks with you."
A few grumbling aside, everyone surprisingly complies with that and goes to fall in two lines, separated by boys and girls, and then arranged in alphabetical order of their family names.
Once her turn comes in, Chiaki takes hers, looking over the device with a great deal of curiosity. She fiddles around with it, and watches it boots up. "Woah…" She can't help but feel awed by it. She never saw this kind of technology before, at least, not in real life.
Not to mention, it even has its own virtual pet in it too! Even though it's still an egg for now, she can't help but grin, since she now knows one of the things she's going to do while in this school trip. Her virtual pet aside, the other first thing she'll take note of would be the rules listed inside.
1. Extreme violence is prohibited on this island.
2. Please live peaceful and relaxing lives with your fellow students.
3. Be considerate of each other and work together to obtain Hope Fragments.
4. Littering is not allowed.
5. Let us coexist with this island's bountiful nature in "mutual prosperity".
6. The TA cannot directly interfere with the students. An exception to this rule is made if any student violates a rule.
She re-reads those rules again, word by word, and once she's done, she comes to one conclusion. 'Well, they all sound pretty reasonable.' Those rules aside, she also noticed that she already got at least one Hope Fragment from all of her classmates. 'I wonder where those came from. Was it from our introductions back then? If so, it's kinda weird it's happening this early.'
"Well then, now that introductions are over," Alter Ego claps his hands together with a smile once again. "I hope we'll all have a splendid time here together in Jabberwock Island!"
Upon hearing that, Chiaki thinks about it. Putting a few possible exceptions aside, her classmates seem like good people, and although she's not completely sure about Alter Ego's exact role in their school trip, she can't find anything too bad about him. Aside from the collecting Hope Fragments thing, but that's probably just her inner shut-in habits speaking up.
It's too early for her to say for sure, but she gets the feeling that, maybe she can enjoy her school life this time around. Even if it's in a really unconventional kind of way, since a full-blown island school trip is the last thing she expected for her first day.
But then again, she supposes that's exactly what's so charming about it.
A/N: I'll admit, that was a lot of stuff to dump into this part haha. Next one should be where things really start off. I apologize for disconfirming Usami in here. Don't worry, she still definitely exists in this AU, she just won't be part of this fic.
Also, I realize it's kinda ironic that I posted this right on Chiaki's (and Chihiro's) birthday haha.
