Chapter Summary: Chiaki arrives on the island, and everyone introduces themselves.

Notes (copied from AO3): Welcome to my brand new AU fic! It is loosely, LOOSELY based on the fanfic "all hope lost" by SHSL_ex_soldier. That being said, there are enough differences that I think that reading won't really spoil anything. Anyway! I hope you enjoy!

You exist because of me. Aren't you grateful? You better be. I could wipe you out in an instant if I wanted to.

You probably will not remember me. I hope you do. But hope is a rare commodity in this godless world.

Hope. I am the ultimate hope. Or so they say.

Hope and its opposite, despair. They both interest me. That's why I am running a test, and you will be my window into it. Which one will prevail in the end, I wonder?

I leave the results in your hands.

And remember:

You are mine.

And I am yours.

-

The sounds of the waves crashing on the beach. The warm sand on her skin. The sunlight penetrating her eyelids.

Where...am I?

"Hey...can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes, and was greeted by a blonde man wearing a hat looming above her.

"Are you okay?"

"Mmmm…"

She rubbed her eyes. The man's expression softened. He extended his hand to her.

"You seem pretty out of it. Here, let me help you get up."

She took the man's hand and he pulled her to her feet. After a few seconds, she properly found her footing.

"Let's go," He said, motioning over to a nearby boardwalk. "I've already taken care of your luggage. Everyone's waiting."

-

The two of them walked down the path towards a large hotel. Several people—she counted seventeen of them—were standing around the entrance, most of them with luggage. She saw a pink duffle bag with a pixelated starship on it and instantly recognized it as hers.

"There you are! What took you so long?" Said a tall man in a blue suit with white hair. He was holding a clipboard.

"Sorry, sorry...we got a straggler here. That's the last of them."

"Good!" Said the white haired man. "Now that everyone is here, we can finally take attendance. My name is Kyosuke Munakata, and I am one of your two chaperones on this school trip."

"And I'm Koichi Kizakura," the blonde man said, tipping his hat. "The other chaperone. Pleasure to meet you all."

"Now then. I could take attendance normally, but I'd prefer you all take initiative and introduce yourselves. Does anyone want to go first?"

The entire group turned and stared at the last student. She felt like a deer in the headlights.

"Um...I'm Chiaki Nanami...the ultimate gamer…" she finally said.

"Alright, check. Anyone else?"

A girl wearing a pink jacket with fluffy cuffs and neckline and a pair of yellow shorts plus pink boots spoke up next.

"Ruru! Ka! An! Do! Ruruka Ando, the ultimate confectioner! Thaaaaat's me!"

She looks nice, Chiaki thought. A black haired, red-eyed boy wearing a pristine white school uniform cleared his throat. "My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru. I am the ultimate moral compass! Let's work together on our educational crusade!"

But we're on vacation…

A muscular man with a huge pompadour wearing a black jacket rolled his eyes.

"Name's Mondo Owada." He said and crossed his arms. After a moment he added, "Ultimate biker gang leader. Nice to fuckin' meetcha."

He seems scary...

Chiaki made a mental note to stay away from him.

"Hmmm...it seems the majority of you lack the muscle mass to challenge me…what a shame." a tall, muscular woman said unannounced. "I am Sakura Ogami, the ultimate martial artist."

To think someone like that exists outside of fighting games...

Next, a short, fat boy with glasses dramatically cleared his throat.

"I...am Hifumi Yamada, the ultimate fanfic creator. But if you want to call me by my nickname, "The Alpha and the Omega!" I don't mind."

"Nobody here wants to call you that," a girl wearing a gothic Lolita dress with large black pigtails shot back. She continued, "On the other hand, I am called Celestia Ludenberg, though I'd prefer to be called Celeste. I am the ultimate gambler."

Wow, she looks like she walked straight out of an otome game!

"N-not that you'll remember my n-name anyway, b-but…" a girl with dark purple braided hair and glasses wearing a sailor uniform began, "I'm T-Toko...Toko Fukawa...th-the ultimate writing prodigy…"

"Oh!" Chiaki blurted out loud. "I've read your first novel...I'm not normally into books, but it was very good!"

"Sh-shut up! Y-you're lying, aren't you?!"

"I was just thinking—"

"I know what you "just" thought…! You thought you've never seen such an ugly creature in y-your life!"

"That's not…"

"Toko, she really didn't mean it. I can promise you that," Kizakura reassured.

"Hmph. How pathetic," said a tall blonde boy with glasses.

Toko suddenly grinned and blushed. "Ehehheheeee…"

He looked away with disgust. "Name's Byakuya Togami. Ultimate affluent progeny."

"...don't you have anything else to say?" Munakata asked.

"No. I don't waste time interacting with commoners."

Chiaki could faintly make out someone mumbling "jerk" under their breath. It turned out to be someone a few feet away with gigantic locks of hair wearing a jacket over his shoulders. Everyone stared at him. He seemed to recognize that fact but was blissfully unaware of the reason for it. Instead he grinned. "I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure, Hiro for short! I'm the ultimate clairvoyant! Take it easy, will ya? I know I will!"

Next to him was a pale boy with light hair and gold eyes, wearing a white button-up and a green tie with a dragon symbol. "Um...my name is...Ryota Mitarai...I'm the ultimate animator…"

"The Ryota Mitarai?! No way!" Hifumi squealed. "The legendary animator who directed episode 115 of pretty princess piggles at the age of ten?! Oh, it is an honor to meet you!"

Ryota looked away and shyly smiled. "Thanks…"

She remembered him. He directed the cutscenes of Highway Battles XVII. In her opinion, the game itself was trash, but she appreciated the cutscenes.

"Hihiiii!" A ditzy-looking girl with red hair and eyes shouted, bringing Chiaki out of her thoughts. "I'm Ryoko Otonashi, and I'm, um…" She fished through a notebook in her hand. "Oh yeah! I'm the ultimate analyst! It's soooo nice to meet you!"

"Friggin' weirdo…" A guy with bright red hair wearing a white jacket and shirt with piercings grumbled.

"I heard that," Munakata chastised. "No insulting other students. And if you're so willing to talk trash, why don't you say your name?"

"'Bout damn time! Yo! The name's Leon Kuwata. What's up?"

"And your talent?" Munakata pressed.

Leon groaned. "Cmon, really? No one cares about that stuff."

"Now Ruruka's curious! What is it? What is it?"

"Fiiiiine," He moaned. "I'm the ultimate baseball star. There, happy?"

I wonder why he doesn't like his talent…

"Alright, now that just leaves four...five? No, just four of us. There must've been a typo or something with an extra space," Munakata said as he checked off some names on his clipboard. "Who's next?"

Ryoko was nearby frantically scribbling in her notebook. She looked up with a glint in her eyes. "Oooh! Me! Me! I wanna go next!"

"Hm? You already went, Ryoko."

She tilted her head, a blank look on her face. "Did I? Oops! I guess I was so busy writing everything down I forgot! Sorry!"

"It's okay, I get airheaded sometimes too!" A busty girl with a red jacket and a ponytail said. She turned to the rest of the group. "Hi! I'm Aoi Asahina. But my friends call me Hina! I'm the ultimate swimming pro!"

That left three people; a girl wearing gloves with light purple hair, a cheery blue haired girl wearing a sailor uniform, and a quiet looking girl with short black hair and freckles wearing beige gloves, a short-sleeved button-up with a ribbon and a brown skirt. The blue-haired girl spoke up first.

"Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono, the ultimate pop sensation! I look forward to getting to know you!" She beamed and giggled a little. For some reason, Chiaki thought it was a little fake. She'd never really "gotten" all the hype about idols anyway.

Kizakura looked over to the purple haired girl and they briefly exchanged glances. She looked back to the group. After several seconds of awkward silence, she finally said, "My name is...Kyoko Kirigiri. The ultimate detective."

An ultimate detective? She must be really cool…

This left the dark haired girl. Everyone turned to her expectantly. She cringed, and Chiaki felt a pang of sympathy.

The dark haired girl inhaled. "My name is Mukuro Ikusaba, and I am...the ultimate soldier."

There was a brief pause as the information set in. Then panic broke out.

"Wait, what the hell?!" Hiro cried. "You're telling me they're inviting killers into hope's peak?!"

"Th-th-that's so h-horrible…" Toko shivered, clutching at her sides.

"Don't look at me, I wasn't the one who scouted her," Kizakura chimed in.

"Eeeek! R-Ruruka is suuuuper scaaaared!"

"Wait," Mukuro weakly defended. "It's not…"

"We should tie her up! She's a danger!" Leon shouted.

"Don't be a pervert!" Ryota snapped back. "That's sexual harassment!"

"Sexual harassment is the least of our—"

"Just what on earth are you all saying?!"

The rowdy group went quiet. Everyone was shocked to see the booming voice was from none other than Ryoko.

"You guys are being so mean! Just because her talent seems scary doesn't mean she's a bad person!" she lectured. "You aren't even giving her a chance to explain herself! Shame on you!"

"What Ryoko is saying is correct," Munakata added. "Though I disagree with some of the decisions that other scouts have made...she would not have been invited on this trip if she were truly dangerous. We shouldn't shame anybody here. If I see any bullying or isolating going on, I will enact swift punishment. Understood?"

"Yes sir Mr. Munakata sir!" Taka shouted. He turned to Mukuro and dramatically bowed. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Mukuro's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. Sayaka giggled, and the tension seemed to dissipate.

"Well, looks like we're all done here, then," Kizakura announced. "Now that everyone is accounted for, let's head inside."

End notes (pasted from AO3): Sorry for this chapter basically being all introductions. A part of me feels like it's redundant, but it also helps to try and get into Chiaki's head to see what she thinks of the other characters, and introduce ones that weren't present in the games. Also, this is important: I'm kind of a slow writer, and I'm also simultaneously watching both of the games while writing this fic. I DO have enough information on the plot that I am able plan out the whole plot of this fic already. I'm hoping to finish the prologue and chapter 1 before I post again. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! Let me know what you think in the comments!