As Zena and Junichi left the other pair, the young girl found that she had developed an uneasy feeling in her stomach, like someone had pulled the rug out from under her feet and taken the air out of her lungs. She could feel her legs start to wobble underneath her, but before she could collapse, Junichi put his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, you don't look so good. Let's see if we can find you a place to sit," Junichi said, a little worried.

"Y-yeah. I think that would be a good idea," Zena stammered, looking for an empty chair to sit in.

Slowly guiding Zena to a chair and letting her sit, Junichi still looked worried, fidgeting a little. Not wanting to worry the young man, Zena gave him a large smile which seemed to calm him, if only just a little.

"How about I go grab you a glass of water or something while you rest here?" Junichi asked shakily.

"Thank you. That would be very nice, Junichi," Zena said with a soft sigh, rubbing her temple.

"OK. Wait right here and I'll be back as soon as I can." The volunteer smiled softly before dashing off.

"Your friend is nice—probably too much for his own good," a low and chilling voice muttered behind the ice skater, making her turn around swiftly.

Behind Zena was a young girl who looked like she had just stepped out of a coffin. She had long straight black hair that cascaded down her back and her skin was pale, which only made her dark crimson eyes seem to stand out. The girl was wearing a loose gray shirt underneath an unbuttoned black double-breasted jacket with red buttons and red lining. The jacket led down to her black shorts and the dark tights underneath them. Lastly, she wore had a pair of black zip boots with the top slightly unzipped and curled down.

"Um… Excuse me?" Zena gulped, feeling a little uneasy in the girl's presence.

"If he's not careful, that kindness might get him hurt, or even worse. Kehehe," the strange girl said with a low and unsettling laugh.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but I don't like people who threaten my friends, no matter who they are," Zena huffed, crossing her arms, getting angrier by the second.

"My name is Reina Akagi, or the Ultimate Occult Enthusiast, and you'd best not get too close to me unless you want a hex put on you." The girl scowled, getting up rather shakily.

Reina Akagi

Ultimate Occult Enthusiast

Reina slowly walked away, not even paying much mind to the bewildered ice skater, as Zena was still a bit confused as to what had just happened. Noticing that Reina was leaving, Zena stood up and was about to walk over to the strange girl to give her a piece of her mind, but before she could, a hand was placed on her shoulder, making the poor girl jump slightly.

"It's probably best you just leave her be," a chipper voice said—female, from the sound of it.

Turning around, Zena was saw a young girl with dark brown hair that was pulled to the side in a ponytail that was tied up with a white bow, the end of her hair hovering just above her shoulder. Her eyes were a bright amber—almost golden—and they seemed to be looking over Zena rather quickly and with a large amount of intensity. The peculiar girl was wearing something even stranger, but it also kinda gave her away. The girl wore a red, white and blue cheer uniform with the word 'Japan' printed on the front in large black letters.

"Um… What do you mean 'leave her be'?" Zena said, a little confused.

"Oh, I would just leave Miss Moody Britches alone. She's probably not one for company," the girl said with a large smile.

"Jeez. You couldn't tell by her personality," Zena sarcastically responded with a small giggle.

"Hehe. I guess you're right about that one. Oh, where are my manners today. My name is Honoka Hyodo, and if you couldn't guess, I'm the Ultimate Cheerleader," the girl said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of her head.

Honoka Hyodo

Ultimate Cheerleader

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Honoka. I'm Zena Nariso," the ice skater said with a smile.

"So, Zena, do you have any real idea as to why we're here?" Honoka asked, worry evident in her voice.

"Some people said it's a game show, or some really elaborate prank," Zena said with a frown.

"Well, I don't find this joke particularly funny, but I guess there isn't anything we can really do until someone tells us something," Honoka said with sigh, taking a seat. "I know for certain that no matter what happens, I'm gonna give the person responsible a piece of my mind."

Zena smiled softly, and even started to giggle slightly. "Well, I hope you can show them some mercy."

"No way! There's no justice for the wicked!" Honaka said, striking a pose like a TV superhero.

Zena chuckled to herself as she observed the cheerleader's childish but friendly nature. It was a much welcomed change from the very peculiar Reina's behaviour. As the ice skater chatted with Honoka, she started to relax, almost feeling like she was with an old friend from her neighborhood. After a bit of polite chitchat, Zena noticed a sudden shift in Honoka's mood, like she had just bitten into something quite sour.

"Is everything OK, Honoka?" Zena asked the cheerleader worriedly.

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just… Oh, frick. He's coming over." Honoka cut short, biting her lip.

Turning around, Zena noticed a young man walking towards the two girls. The boy had scarlet hair, much like a bright red rose. It was done up in a ponytail that seemed to cascade down his back, though in contrast to the color of his hair, the young man's skin was a pale, but it was also rather smooth with neither a freckle nor blemish on his cheeks. The boy was dressed in rather normal clothes, with a red collared shirt that almost matched his hair color and a pair of dark blue jeans that had a few small holes in them. As he got closer, Zena noticed a small string necklace with a shark tooth hanging from the center.

"Hello there, Miss Hyodo. It's a pleasure to see you again," the red-haired boy said charmingly as he reached the pair.

"Jurabi, there is no need to act like that. We just talked maybe twenty minutes ago," Honoka grumbled, rubbing her temple as if she had a headache.

"Um… I feel like I'm missing something here," Zena spoke up, a confused expression on her face.

"Oh, I'm completely sorry. I seemed to have misplaced my manners. My name is Jurabi Kemara, the Ultimate Clarinetist," the young man replied, turning to Zena and giving a small bow.

Jurabi Emara

Ultimate Clarinetist

"Just drop the high society already and act your age, will ya?" Honoka sighed, annoyed by the grand display.

Jurabi chuckled and took a seat next to the pair of girls. "Sorry about that. I sometimes go over the top."

"Oh, I don't mind. I even kinda liked it. By the way, my name is Zena Nariso, the Ultimate Ice Skater," the young girl said with a blush.

When Zena mentioned her talent, Jurabi's eyes seemed to light up, and the pair could see him fidget with excitement, like the young man had just found a four-leaf clover at his feet. Jurabi quickly moved his chair closer to Zena and clumsily pulled out a pen and notepad.

"An ice skater? How unique, yet simple. I do have to ask, are you a soloist, or do you have a male partner?" the clarinetist asked, beaming.

"Oh. I… Uh… I'm a soloist. I never really thought of trying doubles." Zena blushed, feeling just a little bit uncomfortable.

"Interesting. Very interesting, indeed," Jurabi mumbled, jotting what Zena hoped was notes into his notepad.

"Come on, flute boy. Leave the poor girl alone," Honoka grumbled, standing up.

"But I have so many questions to ask her," Jurabi replied, not even looking at the other girl.

"If you want, we can talk about how my all-female cheer squad took the nationals one year," Honoka sighed, clenching her eyes shut like she had just bitten into a lemon.

His head shooting up, Jurabi quickly snapped his notepad shut and tucked it back into his pocket, standing up and giving his full attention to the cheerleader. "Just lead the way," he stated cheerfully.

"Let's give Zena some privacy, shall we?" Honoka said, smiling, turning back to Zena and giving her a wink.

The ice skater quickly mouthed a 'Thank you' back.

As the pair went off, Honoka dragging her feet a little, Zena sighed and slumped back into her chair, hoping that no one else would bother her anytime soon, but as she closed her eyes to relax a little, Zena felt something cold being pressed to her cheek. With a small yelp, the startled ice-skater turned to see Junichi holding two cold sodas, his soft smile still beaming at her.

"Huh. I thought you would be resilient to the cold," the volunteer chuckled, handing the shocked girl a soda.

"I am. You just startled me, is all," Zena grumbled, blushing as she took the soda.

"Well, I'm sorry I was gone for so long. The only reason I found these was thanks to Sada," Junichi chuckled, opening his drink and taking a seat next to Zena.

"Another person here, I take it," Zena mumbled, taking a sip of her drink and letting out a relaxed sigh.

Before Junichi could reply, a giggle caught the tired girl's attention. Turning around, Zena noticed a young plucky girl who was literally skipping towards the pair. The girl had a light complexion with a splash of freckles across her face and a long brown ponytail that was draped over her shoulder, the tip colored a bright neon blue. She wore a dark purple vest with small gold buttons running down the center, a black skirt with small white dots that almost looked like stars, and a pair of black dress shoes.

"Junichi, darling!" The girl giggled, latching onto the caregiver's arm as she got to the pair.

Junichi's face turned a deep red and Zena could clearly tell that the way the other girl was acting was putting him in a awkward position. Trying his best to tug the girl off, the young man turned to the ice skater, looking a little worried. "Sada, look, I'm not your darling, OK? Besides, this is no way to act around other people."

"But everyone has to know of our love, darling," the girl almost squealed before noticing Zena sitting across from them. "Oh, another girl that's after your heart?"

Zena choked and spluttered on her drink from hearing something so strange, the girl's words making her blush slightly. "W-what in the world are you talking about?" Zena coughed, still trying to regain her composure. "More to the point, who are you?"

Letting go of Junichi's arm, the girl did a small curtsy before throwing her arms up. "I am the most prestigious, illustrious, eloquent, beautiful magician. Madam Midnight!" the young girl said as if she was addressing a crowd and not just Zena who just stared at her like she was some kind of alien life form.

"Her name is actually Sada Omaru," Junichi said with a small chuckle, finding the entire scene a little funny.

The girl huffed, putting her hands on her hips and giving Junichi a pouted frown. "Junichi, you're no fun, but yes. My real name is Sada Omaru, the Ultimate Magician."

Sada Omaru

Ultimate Magician

Shaking her head in disbelief, Zena greeted the magician and tried to brush off her earlier reaction. Giggling, the young magician sat down with the pair, pulling her chair close to Junichi, and batted her eyelashes to him. "So, darling, will you help me in my room later?"

"I'm sorry, Sada, but I'm sure there is a lot of stuff that needs to be done," the volunteer replied, giving off his naturally relaxed personality again.

"Um… About the darling thing. What do you mean by that, exactly, Sada?" Zena asked, gripping her can of soda rather tightly.

"Oh. Junichi was my knight in shining armor earlier. He saved me from a horrible injury," Sada swooned, latching onto Junichi's arm again, which he quickly freed.

"She just hurt her knee when she woke up in her room, like we did. All I really did was get her an ice-pack." Junichi sighed, rubbing his temples from the obvious stress.

Snickering a little at the outlandish situation, Zena slowly stood up. "I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone for the moment and introduce myself to the others."

As the ice-skater walked off, she could see Sada clutching Junichi like he was a life preserver while the volunteer was desperately trying to pull her off as discreetly as he could. Moving around the tables and chairs of the dining hall, Zena could only wonder what this all meant, and the more she thought about it, the more she worried that this wasn't some deluxe cruise for Ultimates, but something worse. Shaking her head at the dark thoughts, Zena continued on, trying to be positive, because nothing truly bad had happened yet, and it didn't seem like anything would for a while.


A/N: Let me bow my head in shame for how long this took. I feel like a total scumbag for making everyone wait this long for such a simple chapter, and while I would like to say it was for a good reason, it was mainly just procrastination and denial. I promise that the next chapter will not take 3+ months, and I will work on my other stories, I swear. Just don't burn my house down.

Anyways, in this chapter, we got to see a few new faces, and while I understand that some are in other stories now, it's not gonna hold me back. The next chapter should introduce the last six members of our cast, and then we can get the ball rolling for real, this time. Thank you for putting up with me for so long.

Sincerely,

Rinjai.

Don't look down if you haven't watched Danganronpa 3 Future Arc episode 3 yet.

I will miss you, great Gozu. You died too young, but you shall live on forever in my heart.