CHAPTER 1: Welcome to Hope's Peak!


MORNING

Location: Outside Hope's Peak Academy

"Okay, I think I'm ready!" Kagura stood up with a puffed chest and a determined expression plastered onto her eyes, and turned around to face the main gate of the building. Hope's Peak Academy was every bit menacing as she was expecting - which was quite a realistic expectation, given the fact she had looked at it no more than ten minutes ago. The walls surrounding the Main Course building were sturdy and thick, just as one would imagine the walls surrounding a great city filled with hope, although it was just a school, in this particular case.

Masaru yawned and stretched his arms upward with a loud moan. "We going in yet?" he groaned sleepily.

"It's been ten minutes since we sat down, Masaru, would you stop that?" Kagura sighed in joked annoyance. "Also, thanks for letting me snap a couple of shots while you were asleep!" she giggled, waking her fellow friend right from his sleep with puffed cheeks.

"What!?"

"Calm down, calm down. You know I'm not that mean." she poked her tongue out. "Now rise and shine, little boy, it's about time we went in."

And with that, Masaru stretched out his legs and backside, gave his cheeks a nice, although slightly agressive rub, and grabbed his backpack off the floor. With a step and a quick bite of the lip, Kagura was on her way to her own future.


MORNING

Location: Hope's Peak Academy Entrance Hall

The entrance hall was one of the very definitions of 'Ultimate', with various diplomas, certificates and paintings hanging on the white walls of the room, and awards, sculptures and trophies exposed in glass stands near the perimeter. In each corner was a different potted plant, two of them dancing slowly to the beat of the air conditioning above them. Unfortunately, the entrance hall was little more than that - a hall. It was a big square room with ample space and high ceiling, but most of the space was empty would it not for the trinkets on, or near, the walls.

"Hey there!"

Kagura greeted the one person in the room, but to no avail, since she still seemed to be lost in thought. She was facing one of the many art pieces on display in the a glass stand to the right, farthest from the entrance. It was a sculpture made of some white material, from the looks of things, and looked like the bust of a former student, although she couldn't discern who it was from so far away.

The girl herself looked to be confused as well. She was a tad on the short side, and was of average - definitely not Ultimate - build, were it not for her slightly muscular arms. Her tanned skin matched the dark brown in her hair, tied in a neat ponytail and discarded to the right, and it made the white button-up shirt she was wearing stand out all the more, thanks to colour contrast. Her bottom half was decked in the school uniform's mini skirt, as well as black socks that came all the way up to her thighs and black, flat Mary Jane's.

"Hellooooooooooo...?" Kagura kept trying to have the other girl's attention, but she was entranced by the figure in front of her, not giving the Candid Photographer so much as a glance. "What a rude little girl, I was trying to be polite."

"She's looking at that sculpture, Kagura, let's just move along. Maybe she wants to be in her peace and quiet."

Kagura's eyebrows furrowed and she pushed the hem of her lilac jacket back down to her waist, as it had ruffled while she walked in, quickly making a beeline to the quiet girl. Upon further inspection, the girl - who had still not shown any sign of acknowledging Kagura's existence - had a chubby, round shape to her face, and her eyes were even darker than her hair. Suddenly, though, those eyes widened in realization and she let out a victorious shout.

"YES!" she screamed, with a proud smile on her face, before letting out a scared yelp. "Oh, god, what are you doing here!?"

Masaru flinched at the quick and sudden reaction and instinctively apologized. "W-We didn't mean to startle you, sorry! My friend here was just, you know, wondering what you were doing."

"Like hell I am! Why are you staring at that hunk of clay for?" she asked, with as little tact as possible.

The girl was adjusting her apron strap when Kagura came at her with the sudden question, and she flinched, her face turning immediately sour. "Clay!? This is not clay, thank you very much! I'll have you know this is marble, and very nicely carved marble at that! Just because the work of art - no, the masterpiece - in front of us has a distinct white colouring, that doesn't mean it's clay like most people know as the only white sculpting material in existence! In fact, there are lots of maleable substances one can use to make beautiful works of art like this one, and clay and marble are but a fraction of it! Like there's wood, many types of rock, glass, Play-Doh, and many many more! Narrowing all the sculpting materials and their advantages and drawbacks down to just clay is frankly quite ignorant of you, miss!"

Taken aback by the girl's rant, Masaru's eyes widened and he took a step back. "That was... definitely something." he thought to himself, as to not sound rude.

"Giiiiirl, what was that?" Kagura was the one to voice both their thoughts.

The brunette cleared her throat and tightened the strap of the apron around her waist, as it'd come looser when she flailed about in her rant. "I'm sorry." she apologized, regaining her composure. "I tend to be a bit straightforward sometimes, and I also rant when it comes to this type of craft. Put those two together and you get the idea I'm pretty pissed, which I wasn't."

"Ah..." Kagura rose an eyebrow. "Sorry for interrupting, I guess. I'm Kagura, a first-year."

"And I'm Masaru, also a first-year. Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, are you now?" her dark brown eyes lightened up with a gentle sparkle of light. "What a coincidence, so am I! My name is Chika. As for my Ultimate talent, you can probably take a guess."


CHIKA SASAKI
Ultimate Sculptor


"Nice to meet you two" Chika greeted, extending her hand forward and shaking Masaru's, and then Kagura's. The Sculptor's hand was noticeably scarred and rough, probably from all the handiwork that goes into sculpting. "What might your talents be? Hm... Kagura, taking your camera with you like that... you must be some sort of photographer, right? Or maybe a journalist?"

Kagura winked cheekily and disproved her guess. "Kind of right there. I'm the Ultimate Candid Photographer, so you've got yourself half a point."

The two girls laughed a little, and Chika turned to the quieter Masaru. "So... you don't have any features that give away a talent... I don't recall listening to the name Masaru as some kind of prodigy either... I'll take a wild guess and say... Ultimate Actor?"

The red-haired boy only gave a small chuckle and shook his head. "Not even close, although I like acting a lot! I'm the Ultimate Match Maker. I bring couples together, get it?"

"Oh!" the Sculptor exclaimed. "That's cool, I guess. I can kind of see it." Chika's words confused Masaru ever so slightly, making him tilt his head for just a second before going back to his regular posture. "Now that I'm done checking out the art pieces here I was going to the campus center to check my class and all! Do you two wanna come with me?"

"I'd love to." Masaru smiled and looked to Kagura who had nodded as well, giving both of them the will to follow Chika out of the main lobby.

Right after they left the door opposite the main entrance, they were greeted by the warm outside air of the campus. Bright white cement walkways connected the various buildings that the three newcomers could see in the distance, and in the middle of it all a great fountain with a few benches around it and two bulletin boards facing the main entrance, both of which had some sheets of paper pinned onto the cork surface.

"That's the first-year's dorm building!" Kagura exclaimed pointing to the red building. "The blue one next to it is the second-year's, and then the yellow one is the third-year's. The grey building over there is the Main Course building where all the classrooms and such are, the pink building is the extracurricular activity building and that giant white, circular one is the auditorium. It also functions as kind of a school gym, and is where the practical exams are all held!"

Chika chuckled. "You sound like you're really into Hope's Peak Academy, huh, Kagura?"

"I'm obsessed with it!" Kagura exclaimed as she made her way to the fountain with the bulletin boards. "I know all about the layout, the history, and I've got some information on previous classes here, too! I could talk about this for hours so don't try me."

"Please don't." Masaru sighed jokingly. "I've had more than a few hours of my life snuffed away to listen to her talk about it."

The trio was quickly approaching the bulletin board, just to notice there was another person - a boy - already scrolling down his finger over the paper, probably trying to find his name and, ultimately, his class, much like Masaru, Kagura and Chika were. He was conveniently turned around, leaving his face hidden.

"Excuse me" Kagura tucked herself beside him so she could see the list of names on the board.

It was at that time that the black-haired girl could really take a look at the boy in front of her. He had tanned skin and was slightly toned in build, and his dreamy, sky-blue eyes contrasted the jet-black darkness of his hair - or what little could be seen of it under his black snapback with cyan detailings that seemed to be handmade. His clothing style was casual - an unbuttoned white shirt with rolled up sleeves over a cyan tanktop, as well as black khakis and cyan sneakers to tie the look together. Slumped over his chest were a pair of earbud headphones.

"Be my guest." the boy stepped aside ever so slightly. "I take it you're all first years, huh?" he said with a laidback smile. "I'm Shinjiro Minoto, nice to meet you three."

Kagura had recognized the name from her late night escapades at age 15 to the local night club, as well as from the list she had just perused. "Minoto? We're on the same class, dude." she announced nonchalantly. "Masaru, Chika, you're in class 1 as well."

"No way, really?" Chika was visibly surprised. "Talk about coincidence."

"Awesome, dude, that means we're all lumped together." Shinjiro reinforced. "Masaru and Chika... From the names I remember, you two are the Match Maker and the Sculptor, right?"

Masaru nodded. "Yeah. I'm Masaru."

"And I'm Chika! Nice to meet you!"

Quickly nodding at the Sculptor's introduction, Shinjiro took a step and wrapped his arm friendlily around Masaru's shoulder, making him flinch. "So, Match Maker, huh? You make matches, then? Kind of an odd talent to have! Hope we don't have any Ultimate Arsonists around or we're in for a world of pain, am I right, bro?" he joked around, easing the red-haired boy out of his initial reaction.

"Y-Yeah..." he laughed shyly.

Chika was the one to respond, as Masaru was noticeably taken by his own awkwardness. "Actually, he matches people together. Like in couples and such."

"Ahh, I see!" he said ruffling the shorter boy's hair. "Hehe, you could net me a hot chick, then! I got a feeling we're gonna be good friends, huh, Masaru?"

The Match Maker shrugged and laughed it off, tensing a bit since he wasn't used to being so close to another guy - his friends were mostly girls, after all. "I'm curious, though. What's your talent, Shinjiro?"

"Call me Shinji, or something, bro!" he reintroduced himself with a new nickname and was about to reveal his talent when Kagura interrupted him.

"He's the Ultimate DJ. I've heard of him and his work a few times." Kagura explained. "Been to a few music festivals where he participated, too! I even went backstage a couple of them, but I'd be shocked if you remember me." she laughed, and got back together with the other three people.


SHINJIRO MINOTO
Ultimate DJ


"No way!" The now exposed DJ exclaimed. "Are you Kagura!?"

Kagura was visibly confused. How would an internationally known DJ remember a girl who had been in contact with him twice, three times at most? "Y-Yeah, that'd be me..." she mumbled. "You actually do know me?"

"Of course I do! Do you think every fan tries to snap a candid shot of me every seven seconds when they come backstage?" he laughed, loosening the grip around Masaru and shoving his hands in his pockets. "You stuck out to me, girl, obviously."

"Ayyy" Kagura cheered. "Who knew I'd be so unforgettable!" she clenched her fists and lay them on her hips, giving her a proud posture. "I really didn't think you'd remember me though, that's a shocker."

The four classmates continued talking for a couple more minutes - Kagura and Shinjiro taking the chance to make new friends, while Chika and Masaru were more listeners than anything else, be it for Chika's observing and listening habits or Masaru's overall shyness. "Guys, is there anywhere we should be going? Like a ceremony or meeting or something?" Masaru asked, trying to fit in the conversation.

Shinjiro then had a sudden realization, and facepalmed as he remembered something. "That's right! There was a note somewhere on the corkboard." he stood up from the bench he sat on and rushed over to the bulletin board trying to find the note. "Here... we should meet in the main class building so we can meet our classmates... and our homeroom teacher as well. Then we're all scheduled to go to a ceremony in the Hope's Peak Auditorium. Where the hell is that?"

"White building." Kagura pointed over to the giant dome-like building in the distance. "That's the auditorium over there. Shouldn't we go check our dorms first though? I heard the graduates from last year - a.k.a. the 69th Class - volunteered to make all dorms look pretty and ready for the new year. Careful though, there was an Ultimate Prankster in that year."

"A prankster?" Masaru sighed. "With my luck, he'll have planted traps all over my room."

"Don't worry though! There was also an Ultimate Maid on the 69th Class roster, so you might be lucky." Kagura reassured her friend, recalling her vast amount of knowledge of Hope's Peak Academy history.

Chika's interest was officially piqued when Kagura proved herself as an encyclopedia of Hope's Peak Academy facts "You sure know a lot about Hope's Peak, huh? Were there any scandals we should know of?" she butted in, letting her curiosity get the best of her.

"Well I don't want to seem like a gossip-ish girl, but I am and hell yeah there is! Hope's Peak has a seriously messed up history in some parts. Rumors of an organization called the Ultimate Despairs trying to take over the school of hope, the disappearance of an entire class thirty years ago, a secret operation trying to create a person with every talent imaginable..." she went on and on about unresolved mysteries of the school. "If I was an Ultimate Detective or something I'd be all up on this school's archives to try and find out all about this! It's all rumors though..."

Shinjiro was shocked by how much Kagura knew about the school, but he thought it best to ask the details some other time. He went back to include Masaru into the group by wrapping his arm around his neck. "So, bro, let's go! We have dorms to see, classmates to meet, and boring ceremonies to attend to. Kagura, Chika, let's go!"


LATE MORNING

Location: First-Year Dorms

"How are mixed dorms a good idea?" Chika asked herself in a half-complaint. "I bet there'll be all sorts of hormone heavy boys roaming the halls, goddamnit. I mean, I don't want to sound bitchy or anything, but just imagine all the noise."

Masaru and Shinjiro looked at each other, and then back at the Sculptor. "Well, I don't normally make lots of noise. I play videogames a lot, but I normally have the volume turned down so I don't disturb my sister back home."

"And I mix music and all that using my trusty earbuds." Shinjiro explained picking up the slumped headphones from his tanktop's collar. "So you don't need to worry about us two."

"Where're you guys stationed?" Kagura asked. "And who's your roommate?"

"R-Roommates!? I thought we were all in separate rooms, though..." Masaru sighed. "Now I'll be forced to hang out with even more guys... great." he added very lowly, low enough so no one could understand.

Chika recalled the room assignments on the billboard in the entrance of the dorm building. "I think I read that every room has two people in it. They're both the same gender and from the same class as well. I'm with the Ultimate Astronomer, whoever she is. I didn't catch her name."

"I'm with some chick named Yura. She's the Ultimate 'Living Statue'." Kagura added, airquoting the unusual talent her roommate boasted. "Who're you in with, Shinji?"

"The Ultimate Archeologist. His name's Leo, so I'm guessing he's foreign." he revealed. "You don't know your roommate, bro? Let's go check it out downstairs, then, come on." And with that, Shinjiro ignored Masaru's refusal of his offer and kept walking with the red-haired boy towards the stairs to the first floor.

Chika and Kagura were left alone in the hallway until a pale girl holding a rolled blanket appeared from the stairs Shinji and Masaru had just gone down. Her chest-length hair was light brown in colour, and was messy and curly, almost a little wild, greatly contrasting the neat fringe that covered her forehead. Her light gold eyes - similar to Masaru's - were feral and angry-looking, almost she was a wild animal ready to pounce on the two girls. Her clothing and overall fashion was unique, as her fingernails were all coloured differently and her shoes were strangely missing. Behind the baby-blue blanket she had in front of her, was a pink jumper with a few black and white stars knitted on it, and a black-knee skirt that matched the darkness of her socks.

Kagura hesitantly took a step towards her and greeted the girl. "Heyo! How are you?" she said with a warm, welcoming smile.

"Hello there! I'm Chika, and you are?" her classmate introduced herself as well, trying to ease the newcomer into a conversation.

"Ka... gura?" the girl spoke lowly. Her voice sounded deep, and was awkwardly strained and forced, almost like the blanket girl was being choked, or maybe was simply exhausted beyond belief. Kagura stepped forward, thinking the weight of her blanket was tiring her out and lent her a hand, trying to take the fabric from her. "N-No!" the raspy voice responded angrily as the girl took a step back.

"Wh-What's up...?" Kagura lifted her hands on instinct and her eyes widened in worry. What had she done wrong? She was just trying to help. "Is something wrong with that blanket?" she asked as she stepped forward once again, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was inside it, only to glance over a ball of human skin. "What's that? Is that your little sister? I can help you carry her... what's your name?"

The girl had gone completely silent, although she clearly wanted to respond. "Is something wrong?" Chika chimed in and went over to comfort her, only to be ignored as the quiet girl stepped aside and walked by the two others without so much as a word, entering a previously unlocked room. "Kagura, isn't that your room?"

"Y-Yeah! Um, excuse me, are you Yura!?" she shouted down the hall, catching the girl's attention once more. She carefully nodded and slowly went into the room.


YURA MURAO
Ultimate Living Statue


"Ah, figures I'd have some weirdo as my roommate... she seems... nice enough, though, I guess? Wish me luck."

"Good luck" Chika waved Kagura off with a smile and turned around, stomping the red carpet away from her position and up the stairs to her own room. Maybe her roommate was already there waiting for her.

Kagura entered the room and closed the door behind her. A second glance around the room she had visited not much longer than five minutes prior made the fact she was really in this school sink in all the more. There were two dark wooden desks on opposite sides of the room, and the floor was decked in wooden boards, different from the fluffy red carpet in the hallway. A big single window boasted itself on the wall that led to the outside, giving off a great view of the campus. There were two bookcases, one on each wall, both of which empty and cleaned to sparkling perfection, much like the rest of the room. Kagura's baggage was already next to her single bed, between the bookcase and the desk.

"Nice room, huh? It's like mirrored or something. Pretty cool." Kagura tried to make conversation with the speechless girl, but as expected, had no reply. "Yura?" The girl looked over to the Candid Photographer from the bed, only to be blinded by a sudden flash of light. Yura shook her head and blinked away the flashing blotches of light from her eyes as Kagura came back into view. Her eyes were angrier than before, but Kagura was oblivious to it, and kept praising her photo. "You look so silly! See?" she showed her camera, only to find a brilliant candid shot of Yura.

Yura simply sighed and went back to the bed where the rolled blanket was, then took a little notebook and pencil from her pocket. Slowly and a bit sloppily, the pencil wrote something on the sheet of paper under it. "My name is Yura Murao. I'm sorry to say that I cannot speak due to a disease that makes my vocal chords very fragile. The little girl in the blanket is not my sister, but my daughter."

"Y-You have a daughter!?" Kagura stuttered as she asked, an air of shock very apparent in her tone. Yura simply nodded, and then looked at the snoozing toddler, making a warm smile grow on her face.

Soon enough, the quiet girl kept writing. "I'm sorry if this bothers you but there's nothing I can do about it."

"No, no, don't worry! I can help you. I have a little brother myself, so I can even help you take care of- what's her name?"

"Sachi"

"Sachi! What a beautiful name!"

"I'd rather you not help me. Not until I fully trust you. I'm very picky about who my daughter is with. Don't take this the wrong way, please."

Kagura simply nodded in understanding. "Got you! But if you're ever in a bind and need me to take care of her along with you, I'd be glad to help. What about her father, though?"

Yura stopped for a while before begginning to write, biting her bottom lip. "Don't ask."

"Hm, mysterious much? That's alright, you must have your reasons!" Kagura smiled and hugged Yura, who flinched back at first but eventually hugged the Candid Photographer. "I'm glad we're roommates! Let's hope we get along well, okay?" Yura smiled and nodded in response. "I'm going to meet my friends now, wanna come?"

The Living Statue looked around at her unpacked bags and back at Kagura, and then shook her head. "I'd rather get my stuff straight first, thanks, and I want to be alone with Sachi for a bit. See you later!"

"Okay then! I'll see you in a while for the class meeting, are you coming?" Yura nodded her affirmation and the girls waved goodbye to each other.

Crossing a mostly vacant hallway and going downstairs, Chika, Shinjiro and Masaru were nowhere to be found, which made Kagura sigh in slight annoyance at their tardiness and sit down to appreciate her surroundings. The main lounge for the first-year dorms was nothing to sneeze at. The carpet was a red colour like the outside walls, but the inside were painted a much lighter shade of beige. There were a couple tables thrown around, as well as puffs and chairs around them, and a door on the westernmost wall that led to a rec room, if the sign above it was any indication. There was what looked like a reception desk with a plaque reading 'BE RIGHT BACK' on it, and behind it was a bookcase and a sort of letter cabinet, except it was blocked off by thick glass and used to store dorm room keys.

Ten minutes of waiting on her own later, Shinjiro and Masaru came downstairs as expected, with two other boys beside them.

The boy beside Masaru had some physical similarities to the Match Maker next to him. Ginger hair with darker red highlights, and an inviting amber eye - the other one was a more calming shade of green - and thin lips, but the similarities stopped there. The boy's face was somewhat dotted with scars and his jawline was perfectly chiseled, the like of which only male models could aspire to have. His tanned skin was stretched by his muscles in all the right places, giving him an athletic vibe. He bore a tight orange muscle tanktop and blue camo shorts, black sneakers and a red bandana around his neck, contrasting the sharp white fang he had attached to a string on his neck as well. He also had what appeared to be a knife sheath wrapped on his leg, which made Kagura immediately flinch and look at the other boy.

The guy beside Shinjiro was by far the tallest of the four, and perhaps the thinnest, beating Masaru by a hair, especially since Shinjiro and the fang necklace boy were muscular. His hair and short, and blond messy streaks were coming down from the Indiana Jones-ish hat we wore on his head, and his eyes were a cold, yet very nice shade of grey. His clothing included a beige sweater, with the hem of a white button-up ever so slightly appearing, black pants and worn-out walking boots, giving him the look befitting of an Ultimate Explorer.

"Hey guys, took you long enough!" Kagura complained, letting out a yawn right afterwards. "What was the hold up?"

Shinjiro was the one to reply. "Sorry, sorry, we went to our rooms and met these two. Introduce yourselves!" he added giving both of the unknown boys a look.

"Well, well, I had no idea your friend here was so good-looking, huh, Masaru?" the fang necklace boy flirted, elbowing Masaru slightly. "Hey pretty face, I'm Ryuk. Ryuk Hoshigaki, and I guess we're on the same class now, huh? Nice to meetcha."


RYUK HOSHIGAKI
Ultimate Shark Hunter


Kagura blushed and greeted him, giving him another look. Not only was he really attractive, he also had a pretty sexy voice if she did say so herself. "Hey there" she chuckled. "I'm Kagura, nice to meet you! And you are?"

"Leo Matthewson, sweetie! Nice to meet you!" he smiled and went over to give the Candid Photographer a peck on the cheek as greeting. "I'm Shinjiro's roommate."


LEO MATTHEWSON
Ultimate Archeologist


"That name doesn't sound very japanese, now does it?" Kagura laughed. "You from abroad?"

"Indeed I am!" he replied, leaving Kagura to guess and connect his accent to, clearly, an English-speaking country. "I'm from Canada. I was scouted out for my work in the archeology field but the Canada branch already had an Ultimate Archeologist in their classes this year, and since I can speak japanese just fine, they sent me here. Kind of sucks, but I'm all for getting to know other places!"

The Candid Photographer mouthed an 'oh' and Masaru spoke up. "So, Kagura, where's Chika? I thought she was only gonna check out her room."

"Heh, so did I." she rolled her eyes. "She probably got caught up talking to her roommate or unpacking or something. Just like you two, I bet." she winked at Shinjiro and Masaru, earning an apology for their lateness. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm joking. We should really get going to the class meeting though. It starts in thirty and I still wanna check out the school building."

Ryuk tapped the knife sheath on his thigh with his finger a bit, throwing Kagura a nice smile. "Let's go then! I've been to the building before to check it out, so if you need any directions I can help."

"Oh believe me, she won't need any directions." Masaru pointed out her not-so secret obsession.

"Damn right I won't" she praised herself with a smirk. "But you're free to come, guys, the more the merrier."


LATE MORNING

Location: Hope's Peak Academy Main Building

With a few nods of agreement, Kagura led the boys out of the dorm building and across campus until the main gate of the school building was only a few inches away. Kagura's breath stopped short and her eyes widened at the sight of being so close to the edifice that would, in a few days, become the stage for her academic enrollment, just as she had dreamed of all those years.

Masaru smiled at his friend's enthusiasm, still supporting Shinjiro's arm on his shoulders and slowly becoming used to it, although he really didn't expect to be so close to a guy this soon in his school life. The DJ's eyes widened at the sheer scale of the building and mouthed a silent 'wow' before speaking up. "This place is insane, dude! Can't believe we're actually here!"

"I know right?" Kagura swooned. "Let's give this place a look before going to class!"

"Is that really okay?" Masaru asked, scratching the back of his head. "We don't want to be late..."

Shinjiro ruffled his new buddy's red hair a bit and laughed. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, Masaru! We won't be late!"

"Shinji's right, dude. Besides, this can't be that big of a building." Ryuk stated. "There's just a bunch of classrooms here, I reckon."

Kagura turned around and pointed at the Shark Hunter accusingly with a serious expression on his face. "How dare you say such a thing!? The Main Course building has loads of stuff! Aside from the classrooms, there's also a biology, chemistry and physics lab, a gallery, a library and an art room!"

"Sh-Shouldn't all those..." Ryuk was a bit taken aback by the Candid Photographer's outburst. "...be in the extracurricular activities building?"

"If I remember correctly," Leo replied. "the extracurricular building specializes in sports and electronics. Stuff like archery, soccer, basketball, tennis and all that, and also gaming, anime, woodshop and robotics. The remaining clubs all have other places to be in."

Ryuk simply nodded and looked at Masaru and Shinjiro, then back at Kagura and Leo and thought aloud. "If there's really that much to see here, we wouldn't be able to finish on time... so we can take a look afterwards? Like after class and the meeting at the auditorium."

Kagura glared at the Shark Hunter and sighed. "I'm going to walk around for a while. You're free to come if you want, but if you don't want to, you can go wherever really. Is that okay?"

"I guess." Masaru smiled, although Kagura didn't look as happy. "I'm going to class and meeting everyone."

"I'll be going with my little bro too!" Shinji voiced. "Leo, Ryuk?"

Leo apologized, but the explorer in his veins was too strong to battle against, and as such, he and Kagura ventured into the halls by themselves leaving the three boys behind.

"Buncha jokers, eh?" Leo jokingly reinforced the 'eh' as to show how much a stereotypical canadian he wasn't. "Glad to know I have myself an adventure partner."

Kagura laughed at the stressed mannerism and shook her head. "I'm not sure about that. I'm not that much of an adventurer, really. Outgoing, yeah sure, but as far as going out into the wild and doing stuff... I guess it's not my thing."

"So you prefer building exploring over taking a look at the great outdoors?" Leo asked rethorically, being answered by a simple 'Mhm' by Kagura. "Hm, I can't really relate... Archeology is a field that involves lots of fieldwork. Way more than you could imagine."

"Sounds tough. You don't ever get bored?"

"Nah, not at all. It's fun. Digging around, exploring the unknown. It's really cool to me."

"Th-"

"OH MY GOD." a high-pitched squeal echoed in the otherwise empty hallway, making both Kagura and Leo flinch in its direction. After looking around, Kagura focused on the end of the hallway where a medium-height girl stood. She had a shoulder-length bobcut and big green eyes, and bore a black and white top while rocking black skinny jeans, complimented with black and white sneakers. Around her arms were dozens of bracelets that were easily identifiable as merch from various american, japanese and british pop singers and bands. "Y-Y-You're! YOU ARE." With another shriek, the girl made a beeline to the two Ultimates and stopped only a couple inches away from them - which in Kagura's book was a bit too close.

"C-Can I help you?" Leo tried to be polite, but was a bit anxious over the girl's erratic breathing.

"Hell yes you can!" she took a small notebook and a pen from her right-side back pocket, and handed them over to the Archeologist. "Please, please, please, can I have your autograph, Leo!? And yours too, Kagura! Holy CRAP I'm so honored! Coming to this school was a goddamn BLESSING."

"S-Sure?" Kagura complied hesitantly. Who was this chick? Was she a student too? "If so, please don't be in my class..." she thought quietly. "I'm not ready to deal with your loud personality every morning..."

"Who should I sign for?" Leo asked.

The girl's voice was louder and higher than anyone would expect, given her petite stature. "Me, duh! The name's Hana, and I'm this year's Ultimate Fangirl! It's so so so so nice to meet you, oh mY GOD"


HANA SOCHIKAWA
Ultimate Fangirl


"Figures she'd be an Ultimate Fangirl..." Kagura thought, forcing a smile as she signed 'With love, to Hana. From Kagura Kiyomaru' onto her notebook. Given the chance to skim through the previous pages, Kagura recognized many names from the music, writing, modelling, acting and dancing industries, along with a few others she couldn't remember. "There you go." she closed the notebook and handed the items back to the smiling girl.

"Thank you so much, Kagura! I'm afraid we're not on the same class though! You're in 72-1 and I'm in 72-2! Oops, so close, haha, later! I have to go to the bathrooooooooooom!" she yelled as she sprinted down the hall, her voice becoming more and more distant.

Leo had a couple droplets of sweat racing down his forehead at a turtle's pace, and his confused eyes mirrored Kagura's. "That was... something."

"Tell me about it..." the Photographer was speechless. "Should we... you know. Go downstairs? I'm not ready to run into any more... people with colorful personalities like the banshee wannabe."

The Archeologist laughed Kagura's suggestion off. "You do realize we could have worse people in our class, right?" And with a groan of realization, Leo and Kagura kept on exploring the school for a few more minutes, only to rush downstairs just before the appointed meeting time in the classroom. And Hana was by far the least colourful person they'd find.

"Kiyomaru-kun and Matthewson-kun, is that right?" An older lady asked the couple just as they entered the classroom labeled 1-A, and her attire was anything but ordinary. Her blond hair, tied in braids was flowing from below a red silk top hat with a black stripe of fabric touching the hem of the headgear. She wore a red vest over a plain-white button-up shirt and red pants, along with black loafers. Her red vest had a breast pocket were a small white handkerchief could be seen. "Welcome to class, you guys, but... you're late."

With unimaginable speed, she took two small daggers out of her pants pockets and threw it at Kagura and Leo, one of them scraping the girl's jacket just barely so it could only graze the skin of her shoulder, and the other hitting Leo's hat right in the middle, pinning it on the wall behind us.

"Wh-What was that!?" Kagura complained, raising her hand and placing it on her shoulder, trying to hold in the blood she thought was there, only to realize the cut was as superficial as could be. "What gives, why would you do that!?"

"I'm not into tardiness, Kiyomaru-kun. From now on, you should arrive on time should you want to avoid this little scuffle." she said, with a childish, innocent smile on her face. "As far as introductions are concerned, my name is Saki, and I'm your homeroom teacher for the year!"


SAKI RAIBANA
Former Ultimate Circus Performer


Kagura nodded and looked at the class in front of her. Two empty seats right at the front remained, one at each corner. Leo and the Candid Photographer exchanged a look and sighed as Kagura went to the one farthest to the door, and Leo took the seat right by it, retrieving the hat from the wall while he was at it as well.

"Now that everyone's here... roll call."


A/N: That's all for now! The remainder of the characters will be introduced in the next one or two chapters, so be sure to stay tuned! Tell me what you liked the most and the least about the chapter in the reviews - constructive criticism is always nice!

As you might have noticed, Kagura is taking the role of protagonist for the story! As much as I loved everyone's submissions, I feel like they're a bit too "main character's best friend"-ish to make the cut - and it seems most of you guys felt that way too! Either way, I'll make sure to make Kagura as much of an interesting protagonist as I can!

QOTC: Out of all the people introduced this chapter, who do you think will be your favourite? And who are you most excited to meet in the next chapters, based solely on their talent?

Until the next chapter, Yamazaki out!