What Even is Despair?

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Prologue

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Almost everything is blank.

I can barely remember anything.

There I was, standing outside of Hope's Peak Academy. We, that year's class, had difficulties, however. And although I can't actually recall the details, it had ended the world that very year.

To my knowledge, that was about two years ago. All my memories about that year are completely blank; however, something tells me I don't actually want to remember what has been lost.

In fact, I can barely remember what happened after that. The last thing I can recall before waking up here is hazy, and the details are sketchy, but it's all I have. Maybe it's a clue on how to leave.

I was walking down a dark corridor in a building that I faintly recognized. Said corridor was painted in a dim, despairing grey. The walls were covered in pictures of students, and from what I could read, all were students of Hope's Peak Academy from the 1st Class to the 79th: our class. Gazing at these, I walked – no, limped – down the hall at an increasingly sluggish pace. The hall, as long as the trip seemed to be, wasn't that long a hall, and I was at my destination in not necessarily the shortest amount of time, but not that long either. The location? A room with a cracked door numbered 837.

Inside, the voices of two people melted together in a pot of aggravation, as it was clearly obvious the duo was in the middle of an intense fight.

"Dear, can't you see?" said the first voice in almost an informative tone. "I've already won~" The sweet slur in her voice proved to me that she was most definitely trying to trick the other girl. The first girl was actually the one facing the door, and switched personalities at a rapid pace. Her skin was a pale cream and practically flawless. There wasn't a blemish or an unsightly thing anywhere to be seen on her, and everything seemed so incredibly unnatural about her; as if someone had photoshopped her in real life. Her movements and how she reacted was unnatural as well. Despite her intense personality changes, the girl seemed rather unnatural in her reactions as well. Getting back to the descriptions, she had crystal eyes, but there was clearly a red pupil instead of a black one. Her hair was a vibrant strawberry blonde that, like everything else, looked extremely fake. Although neat in the front, the parts in pigtails were insane. Although that depended on the swing of her mood, but nonetheless. These pigtails were held up with bear pins, one black and one white. This matched the grand scheme of her outfit: black, white, and red. Her shirt was rather long. It was a deep black with white tips that was cut so that her polka-dotted bra would show. Peeking out from under said shirt was a red plaid miniskirt, and her black boots were laced in red. A half black and half white tie was around the edge of her shirt with a red symbol of a sort in the middle, and to top it off, a red bow attached like a pin to her shirt. A sadistic smirk made its way to her face, as a fake nail-clad hand allowed her cheek to rest in it.

The other girl whose back was facing the door didn't stutter, move, or even flinch in fear or frustration. From what I could see, this girl stood upright, glaring at the other.

"'Won' is a COMPLETE overstatement, Junko," she began. "Haven't you heard? Your little 'despair junkies' have already been freed. In fact, I heard a few of them woke up. And that sounds like winning? Give up."

From what I could see of the second girl, she was MUCH shorter than the first. She was also a million times paler and more natural looking, as a light array of freckles were clearly visible on this girl's face. How do I put it…this girl was much less 'perfect'. She wore a violet off-the-shoulder dress that pleaded reached to about her knees. Around the waist was a darker violet strip that, although part of the dress itself, seemed like a belt. A black valleyed strip of cloth hugged above the sleeves, acting as a crease. She had dark violet tights and gloves to match her dress and white, semi-heeled boots. Her eyes were a piercing yellow, and to top it all off, dark chocolate hair that reached about her bustular area.

The smile on Junko's face reformed from genuine to completely false. A hand went over her face as a death glare shot its way toward the other girl.

"Yes," she hissed. "I know. But I'm not giving up. Izuru Kamakura is not the only trick I have up my sleeve. I have plans."

The brunette shifted her weight onto her left foot. An amused smile crept its way onto her face.

"Oh?" Her tone was almost mocking. "Oh dear Queen of Despair, what may these plans be?"

Junko flicked her hands behind her back as a moe appearance took over.

"Well, Kerry-Chan, I suppose you should ask the others! I'm sure they could explain the despair…ya'know...if they could remember! It's a war, Kerry-Chan, and I'm prepared to make it SU-GO-I!"

Kerry's smirk faded almost instantly, as her arms unfolded themselves.

"You wouldn't. You couldn't."

Junko's moe giggles switched into despairing cackles in a quick transition.

"So, Kerry-Chan, why don't you BOW THE FUCK DOWN, EH? YOU'VE ALREADY LOST, AND FOR THAT, YOU SHOULD DESPAIR!"

Kerry gritted her teeth.

"Oh Junko…you have yet to even taste true despair. What it actually is, and not the fake shit you believe it to be. I know what it is. I lived through it. And for that, I'll gladly shove it IN YOUR FUCKING FACE. IF IT'S A WAR YOU WANT,"

Kerry paced over, her face only inches apart from the other.

"It's a war you'll get."

My name is Hikaru Soriyu, and that is all I can remember of the past two years.

I suppose other formailities are in order as well. As mentioned before, Hikaru Soriyu, and I'd prefer Soriyu, since Hikaru is too close to Hikari, and that's a girl's name. Had the world not ended, I'd have been a third year this year in Hope's Peak Academy. And my talent for said school? I'm the best tactician since Odysseus. And since I learnt how to play, I am undefeated at chess.

To give you a good idea of what I look like…I have brown-blueish hair that's pretty messy with an ahoge in the back. Currently, as I sit here and monologue this, I am wearing an open blue-grey jacket with a white tank underneath. My pants are a tannish colour, and my shoes are red slip-ons. My eyes are a bright emerald green, and although I'm not super pale, I'm not that tan either.

I just recently woke up in a classroom that I can't recognize. I was lying on a desk in the middle of said classroom with the lights at a dim. Currently, however, I am lying on the floor, contemplating my next move. All the windows are bolted shut, so I can't escape from there. The only exit seemed to be the door, but I have no idea if that's locked or not, and if it's not, would there be someone on the other side? Nothing in this classroom seemed safe, but I decided it was my only choice. However, just as I sat myself us, a voice echoed through the speakers. It was a woman's voice, for sure, and he knew said voice from somewhere.

"All students, please meet in the Main Hall for a speech from your headmaster."

Students? Headmaster?

For one, it was obvious to me now that I wasn't the only one here. But why would I be a student? I couldn't remember registering for a school, especially one with bolted windows at that.

Nonetheless, since there were really no other options, I decided to listen to the voice and head out to the Main Hall. Not that I really knew where I was going in the first place, but I made an effort at least. Stepping out into the hallway made the transition from dim light to even dimmer. The lights in the hallway were almost like street lamps. I could faintly make out the colour of the hallway as I walked along. It was a wine-red colour, as opposed to the white floors below me. To be honest, the flooring was the only thing giving off light, even if it was just reflected. Most of the walls were empty, although the occasional door was here and there. And even though I tried them all, none of them opened.

It felt like forever, walking in this corridor. There were a few corners here and there that I had to turn, but nothing to reward with. The only thing I could hear were the rhythmic pats of my feet hitting the ground. The sound was booming, and I know that my footsteps are soft.

From what I could tell, it had been at least a good ten minutes before I turned a final corner. This corner lead to a hallway that lead to the other side of the school. From what I could tell, this was the exit. It had to be, because it lead out to the other parts of the building. That means that it had to be the Main Hall, so that's where everyone and all my answers had to be. A small, contented smile appeared on my face, and I picked up my pace as I walked to the door.

But then I suddenly heard another set of footsteps.

I stopped and looked to the left. The other pair had stopped as well, and now we two humans stood looking at each other, no words being said.

She was shorter than me, but still an average height. Her hair made up for that however; it was a poofy blonde ponytail that was unnaturally large. She had on a school uniform: a white shirt with an orange bow and a matching orange skirt. Her socks were black and reached her knees. The footsteps she'd made were rather loud because she had small heels on her orange mary-janes. Black rimmed circular glasses rested on her very pale face, and they helped project the vision of her yellow eyes. A slight array of freckles rested on her face, but they were barely visible.

Both of us had similar thoughts on our mind, or that's what I inferred. Our gazes never faltered, and that similar idea had to be only this;

Who was this person?

She was the one to break the awkward silence. Her initial freezing broke, and she smiled sweetly at me.

"I suppose you're headed into the Main Hall, too?"

Although I expected a softer voice, I hadn't expected this. Her voice was smaller and softer than anything I had ever heard before, and on top of that, it had a deliciously sweet tone to it. I was unsure of what to say, being surprised for once by a mere girl, but I eventually came up with a good answer.

"Yeah, I am. And I can guess that's what you're here for as well?"

The girl simply nodded, and she walked over to my side.

"Y-you don't mind if I join you on the walk in, right?"

"Not at all, miss."

She turned pink at the last part, and stood next to me as I opened the door. And I had expected something spectacular to be on the other side.

All that stood before me were 17 seats, three of which were empty.

Whether it be on top of the desk or in the seat, all 14 of the other students were there. Some chatted quietly, others didn't say a word, and the occasional few were totally out going. But a mutual silence happened as the duo entered the room.

"Um," I said awkwardly. "Hi there…? I'm Hikaru Soriyu, Soriyu is fine."

HIKARU SORIYU – SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL TACTITIAN

A couple murmurs of hello left the audience, before one person spoke up.

"Well, since this gentleman spoke up, I think it's about time we all had proper introductions," a raven-haired boy said. A thick British accent could be heard woven into his voice.

"Sebastian Regulas Aston," he said, taking a bow. "Regulas is fine."

SEBASTIAN REGULAS ASTON – SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SOCCER PLAYER

Sebastian was very well built, to say the least. It looked almost as if he played his spot non-stop, but it was quite obvious that he had stopped, and I think I'm getting off topic here. Anyway, Regulas had jet-black hair with silver highlights here and there. Said hair wasn't completely visible however, as he had a green bandana wrapped around his head. He had pale skin (not as pale as the girl he walked in with, I made note of) and dark brown eyes to pop. Although it was obvious he had a light brown hoodie on, he wore a dark violet jacket with rolled up sleeves over it. He wore long brown pants and dark violet boots. A shirt of the same colour could be seen barely peeping out from his hoodie. A warm smile was on his face; almost that of a polite butler.

"Ah, I got caught up in the moment outside, and I guess I never introduced myself to you," the girl mumbled, a light blush dusting over her cheeks. Her look was crestfallen, and I couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"But I guess since everyone's here now, I'll introduce myself. My name is Sabitsuki Saotome. Uh, Sabi is fine if you want…"

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL LUCK (GOOD LUCK, LUCKY STUDENT) – SABITSUKI SAOTOME

Sabi twiddled her fingers as her foot shifted uncomfortably on its toes. She looked down, obviously embarrassed by all this focus on her.

"Hey, cutie, don't be shy," a red-head in the back said. "It's fine, you're a sweetheart~"

Sabi, although flattered, got even more shy and red. The boy chuckled and I couldn't help but sigh. He must've caught that, because he stepped up after that.

"Hyosuke Kimura, at your service," he cooed, bowing and winking at Sabi. Sabi then probably redder than his hair.

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL CHARISMATIC – HYOSUKE KIMURA

Kimura had, if I hadn't mentioned before, red hair. His red hair wasn't very long, and came down in small layers. It almost reminded me of my own hair, except a little less "out there" and no ahoge. He had messy bangs as well, but they didn't falter his very bright orange eyes. He was tan, and freckles littered his face, much like Sabi. He wore a black button down shirt with a picture of a navy red-eyed dragon in the right corner. Speaking of red, that was the colour of his tie, and his pants were a bright white. His shoes were black dress shoes, and he gave the appearance of a flirt.

"Kimura is fine, but you, lovely lady, can call me Hyosuke~" He grasped Sabi's hand as she stuttered in her words on a response.

"I-I…u-hh…"

Before any of us could notice, a girl came up and gave him a nice whack on the head. Very impressive, if you ask me.

"God, you are such a pervert. Why the hell can't you stop flirting?" Her violet eyes locked his, and a glare-off began. It lasted for a minute or two of just straight glaring, before Kimura let out a harrumph and sat down. Pleased, the business woman-like girl came up and introduced herself.

"Alicia Davis, my pleasure."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ? – ALICIA DAVIS

Alicia wore her raven hair in messy, yet strangely well done up-do, and let it come down in waves. As mentioned before, she had violet eyes, which really stood out on her pale skin. She wore a brown jacket with an orange tank underneath, and a brown pencil skirt to match the jacket. She had orange tights as well, and dark brown pumps. They weren't huge, but they weren't tiny either. In her hair was also a thin white of headband made of what seemed to be just sequins.

"As for my title…" she said, contemplating how to explain it.

"I'll tell you when I feel like it."

"How dismissive of you, Alicia," a boy with longer, messier hair than mine said.

Alicia raised a brow. "And you're one to talk, Teiko?"

"Hm, I suppose you have a point. Teiko Matsui. Now if you need me, I'll be somewhere else."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL MASSAGE THERAPIST – TEIKO MATSUI

Teiko was a very to-the-point person, it seemed. His hair was a deep black that came down to his mid neck in a messy mop, although did represent his laid-back and calm persona. His eyes were, like his hair, a very deep colour, only red instead of black. He wore a black hoodie with a dragon on the back that was only short sleeved and black jeans to match. He had converse shoes and some kind of red headphones as well. He walked away after that, going to talk to the other girl with headphones.

He pointed over to our general direction, and the bubbly girl looked over and nodded with a smile. Not too long after, she skipped her way over to Sabi and I, a bright and somewhat contagious smile on her face. Sabi lit up in her presence, and I half smiled as well.

"Hi there guys! My name is Emi Akiyama! I like computers, music, making music, and all forms of electronics! Oh, and I also love when people are happy! Because if one person's happy, then everyone else can become happy as well! And everything good happens if you stay positive, you know."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL DJ – EMI AKIYAMA

"Also, Akiyama is fine, but my stage name is good too! It's DJ Aki~!"

Akiyama, I noted, had light, curly brown hair. Although short, she managed to keep it in quite the high ponytail. Her eyes were as bright as her smile, a nice, happy blue colour. Akiyama had a white, open hoodie that covered a happy blue t-shirt with a pair of black headphones around her neck. The wire for those lead into her left pocket. A black headphone design was also on her shirt as well. She had plain washout blue jeans and black and blue high-top sneakers to finish it off.

"It's nice to meet you, Akiyama!" Sabi said. I had a good feeling that they would most likely end up friends.

"You too Sabi! Anyway, I have tons of other people to meet, so I'll catch up with you guys later!" And with that, Akiyama skipped away to talk to Alicia.

"Quite the energetic one, isn't she?" Regulus inquired, followed by nodding from Sabi and I.

"What do you mean the door won't open?!"

"Hush, we don't need to start a ruckus. The door's just locked is all. I can find another bathroom, it's not a huge deal."

"I'm not worried about your fuckin' problems! We're locked in jackass, what if they're gonna kill us?!"

The three of us turned to see two boys having an argument. Or, really more of one boy flailing and the other trying to calm him down. The three of us made our way over, with Regulas being the first to speak up about it.

"Kill? Come now, that's highly unlikely."

Both males turned to face us, and the one who was screaming folded his arms and faced away.

"Tch."

The other male beside him just sighed, giving a small face-palm in response to the distaste of the situation. A false smile made its way onto his face, and he looked at the three of us.

"I apologize for disturbing you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Soma Amos."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL DOCTOR – SOMA AMOS

Soma stood towering before Sabi and I, although not really Regulas. He had dark hair (like so many people here, I kept note of) that was rather short. Only one of his eyes were showing, as the other was covered by aforementioned hair. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt that was covered by a long white lab coat, and wore plain jeans and black sneakers. Like black hair, sneakers seemed to be another favorable article of clothing. A dark blue scarf was tied around his neck, covering his neck and the bottom half of his face. His expression was somber, but at the same time aggravated; from what I could tell, he really didn't want to be here.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Soma."

The other boy spoke up at this point. "Did you know his last name is his first name backwards?"

He seemed enthusiastic about that, but seeing the lack of real appreciation for it on our faces (take Sabi, who didn't realize such), he backed off. Soma face-palmed again, letting out a more verbal sigh than the last.

"Yes, Daisuke, we all know."

"Right. Anyway, I'm Daisuke Kagegami."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SHARPSHOOT HUNTER – DAISUKE KAGEGAMI

Kagegami had his hands shoved in the pockets of his black jeans. A checkerboard belt was wrapped around said jeans, and like most things around here, was black and white. I'd taken the notice of all this monochrome as soon as I'd stepped out of the classroom, though I didn't realize it'd be this much. Anyway, Kagegami was tan, but could still be classified as fair-skinned. Freckles littered his face, probably from being out hunting. He had lose, short reddish-brown hair that almost completely covered his right eye. Said eyes were hazel. His shirt torso was green, although the sleeves were a dark blue. He wore a long, black sleeveless hoodie as well, with white zippers. His feet sported black shoes with neon blue laces. His hands were wrapped in black fingerless gloves, and an earring hung from his left ear. At this point, he seemed almost shy, so I marked him down as a tsundere.

"So," Regulas said, breaking the silence. "What seems to be the problem here?"

Kagegami pointed to the door. "Fucker won't open."

Regulas smiled kindly. "I can help you with that."

Turning to face his former traveling companions, Sabi and I, he smiled again.

"You guys can keep introducing yourselves. I'll help these guys, 'kay?"

I nodded, and Sabi politely agreed.

"I'll catch up with you guys later!"

With that, Sabi and I turned to talk to some of the other students. Well, we were planning to do that, but Akiyama came running up to us soon after.

"You guys! You guys haaaave to come and introduce yourselves, slowpokes! Come onnnnn!"

She tugged my arm in the direction of where some girls stood and talked. I hadn't considered a strong grip on her, but I was so desperately wrong. It made sense though, considering one of her talents was turning records. However, as she pulled me away, she accidentally bumped into three guys in a discussion.

"Oops! Sorry, Carl! Ehehe…"

The boy named Carl smiled politely and shook his head. "Akinyan, it's not a problem. Now, who are these nice people?"

Akiyama smiled her bright smile and quickly stepped aside so we could be seen in a better view.

"This is Hikaru Soriyu and this is Sabitsuki Saotome, but she prefers Sabi!"

Carl smiled. "It's nice to meet you two. I'm Carl Wells."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL STUFFED ANIMAL MAKER – CARL WELLS

Carl was incredibly short; I wasn't even sure that I was talking to a high schooler. However, I didn't think any less of him for it. Carl had red hair that was messy but put together. The hair stopped at about his chin, and came off as incredibly fluffy. He had dark, yet bright, green eyes. By his nose are some freckles, and purple rimmed glasses sat neatly on his face. Small stars were visible on the edges of said glasses. On his head laid a black knit cap, with surprising pink cat ears attached to said cap. He wore a rather complicated shirt, a black and pink diagonal two-toned one. His right sleeve was held up by an equally two-toned band, except this time black and white. The band started at his cuff and was affixed loosely at the collar of his shirt so he didn't choke. His jeans were black and followed the same uplifting pattern as his shirt, except with the left leg and attached to a brown belt. His shoes were pink and black with neon green laces.

Standing next to him was another boy. He had his hands in his pockets and seemed to not be paying much attention. Carl nudged him lightly with his elbow.

"C'mon, Atsunyan, introduce yourself!"

The boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at Carl before switching to Akiyama, Sabi and I.

"Ah, I'm so soooorry! I must've spaced out. I'm Atsushi Hagiwara, it's great to meet you!"

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ARCHER – ATSUSHI HAGIWARA

Atsushi was far taller than Carl. He had tan skin and dark, spikey brown hair that wasn't long at all and parted to one side. He had noticeably thick eyebrows and sharp green eyes to match. He had an unbuttoned white dress shirt over a light green polo shirt on his top half, and grey jeans with mountain boots on the bottom. Atsushi was much louder than I had initially thought he'd be, and reminded me a lot of Akiyama.

The third one glanced over, his face mainly hidden by his fedora. A smirk quickly rushed to his face, and an overall sly look befell upon him.

"Yoshihiro Kouzuki. Yo is fine."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL PAWNBROKER – YOSHIHIRO KOUZUKI

Yo was a mysterious guy. He had short black hair that was neatly slicked. His eyes were a malicious yellow, and they rested on a pale face. He wore a black suit that was decorated with grey lines to outline it. The jacket was sharply cuffed, following the decorative pattern. He wore a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the top two with a loose blue tie wrapped around. He had a grey vest on top of that, sporting three black buttons to hold it together. His trousers were also black, and he had clean black dress shoes. As mentioned before, he had a black fedora with a white strip wrapping around the middle. Precious stones were locked on to said strip. After finishing his introduction, Yo shot a wink at Sabi, who turned red. Just as I was about to start making conversation, Akiyama blurted out.

"Listen guys, I'd love to stay here and chat, but I'm on an important mission that involves these two. So we can talk later, okay? Soooooorryyyyyy!"

Akiyama once again tugged me in the direction that she wanted us to go. Sabi, who was luckily free from Akiyama's grasp (maybe because of her talent?) waved and uttered a polite goodbye for the both of us before following along.

Before long, the three of us ended up in a group of girls, me being the only boy. As Akiyama introduced us, I saw Kimura smirking and giving me a thumbs up while laughing. I furrowed my brows and frowned, but couldn't stifle the laugh that came when Alicia hit him upside the head.

"Sooooooo! These wonderful people are Hikaru Soriyu and Sabitsuki Saotome. Sabi prefers, well, Sabi!"

The two girls politely waved and such, expressing kind greetings. I smiled and returned them, and Sabi just shyly smiled. The first girl spoke up, although the nervousness in her voice was rather prominent.

"U-um, it's nice to meet you guys! I'm I-Izumi A-akamine, and I h-hope we can become friends!"

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL MATHEMATICIAN – IZUMI AKAMINE

Izumi stood about the same height as Sabi, an average one. Her hair was a light caramel, and headphones rested on top of her head. The headphones were silver and red. A smile was on her face, and her cerulean eyes were bright and innocent looking on her pale skin. She wore a silver hoodie with a pocket that bore the omega symbol over a white shirt with the sigma. Unlike the others, Izumi wore brown shorts instead of jeans, and had grey thigh socks with red slip-ons like mine. She shifted on her feet often, and it was obvious she was nervous. Sabi was the one to speak up, which hadn't actually happened that much before.

"Of course, Izumi!"

Izumi looked more hopeful and happier with Sabi's words. The two of them shared a mutual smile, until turning to speak to the other girl.

"U-uh, I'm Nikiyo N-nakasone. It's u-um, nice to u-uh, meet you!"

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL TRANSLATOR – NIKIYO NAKASONE

Nikiyo was the same height as the other two. She was probably the tannest one there, and she had long dark brown hair to match. She had no bangs, and she had circular glasses to frame her brown eyes. Nikiyo was wearing a typical sailor fuku. It was mainly a seafoam green, but her socks and bow were both a soft pink. She wore dark brown slip-ons for shoes as well. Nikiyo seemed even more nervous than Izumi, and the latter gave her a reassuring pat on the back. I felt a little sad seeing how nervous they were.

"Uh, Nikiyo, you don't really have to be that nervous."

"A-ah! I-I'm sorry!" Nikiyo held her hands protectively over her head and ducked down. I decided that I was not going to say anything further, so I wouldn't discomfort her.

Sabi turned to me with a smile. "I'm sure it's just stress, Soriyu. I'll stay here and comfort them. You should talk to some of the others, alright?"

I nodded. She had a good point, I was a little too nervous to talk to them. I didn't want to offend them or make them uncomfortable, and Sabi and Akiyama were the kind of people that were able to easily help people calm down. I, however, was not.

At that point, I wasn't really sure if there was anyone left to talk to, but then I looked into the direction of the last two students, a male and a female. I decided I'd go and acquaint myself with them, and with that, headed over.

"Um, hi," I said as I reached their location. Both of them stopped their conversation to face me, the male ecstatic and the female showing a small sign of appreciation by politely smiling.

"Ah, you're Soriyu, right? It's nice to finally meet you! I'm Mason Horden!"

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL CONFECTIONER – MASON HORDEN

Mason was about my height actually, maybe an inch or so shorter. He stood proudly, but had a kind-hearted smile. He had bright, poofy blonde hair that reached about his shoulders. A black hat with a buckle was placed on top of his hair, and it matched his outfit nicely. His eyes were a bright, happy blue with a bright, happy expression. He wore a smile nicely, and really allowed himself to give off a caring vibe. Mason wore a white chef's jacket with black buttons holding it together. He wore black shorts and had grey knee socks with black flats. And after he introduced himself, he was quick to introduce his friend as well.

"Oh gee, sweetie, you haven't said a word since Soriyu got here! Come on, introduce yourself!"

Mason pushed for the girl to say something, and she let out an awkward laugh. Turning to face me, she pushed up her glasses a tad and swung her arms behind her back.

"Uh, um. I-I'm Semi Esa- no, w-wait! I-I mean Amy Kisa- a-ahh! I-I, um… I'm s-sorry about this…" Emi coughed a little before she continued, earning her a slightly worried glance from yours truly.

"U-Um. Then. I'm Emi Sasaki. I-It's nice to meet you."

SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL RESEARCHER – EMI SASAKI

Emi's face had a calmer tone to it; it wasn't necessarily that she was scared to speak, it's just she didn't feel the need to, and was a little caught off guard by the sudden requirement. This was even further expressed by her hazel eyes, solemn, not somber. Her hair was a dark auburn that reached to about her shoulders, although I wasn't sure, it was tied back in a low ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a black woolen sweater with a knee-length skirt to match. Black leggings covered her legs, and all the remaining parts on her legs were covered by her black knee-length boots. There was also a brown leather belt around her skirt. She wore a white lab coat to finish it off. Peculiarly, she had a water jug of sorts and a parasol attached to a wraparound strap. They were held up against her back. I decided it was best not to ask about that, and just continue with normal conversation.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Emi."

Emi averted her gaze from Mason and I, while Mason just chuckled. I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me and faintly smile. And just as conversation was about to ensue, a voice came out of nowhere. A voice so disturbingly enthusiastic in such a strange situation.

"1, 2, 3, testing testing! Okay, can everyone hear me? Wonderful! Now, all students take your seats so I can take attendance!"

I figured at first that it had to be one of those annoyingly perky teachers. The ones that thought if they tried to act 'young' and 'hip' that they could earn everyone's respect. So with a sigh, I searched the desks for my seat. I hadn't noticed it before, but all the seats were labeled. I sat in the front and center, next to Akiyama and the only empty desk in the classroom. As everyone else took their seats, I decided to take a quick glance at the name.

Kerry Young

'That's weird,' I thought to myself. 'I know I didn't meet anyone named Kerry.'

And when everybody took their seats, the voice returned.

"Alright, super! Thanks for cooperating~! And with all this, it's obvious that this will all go smoothly!"

And with those words, a monochrome bear popped out from what seemed to be the top of the teacher's desk, doing a ballerina twirl dance thingy.

"My, my, what a crowd! I'm glad to see that everyone's SOOOO excited!"

And with this, the dancing continued, before Carl shot out from the back.

"You…you're a stuffed bear. How can you talk?! How can you…do…that?!"

The monochrome coloured bear stopped for a moment, as if contemplating how to answer the question.

"Hm…well I can tell you one thing. My mechanics are a complete and total secret. Zip, zip!"

Alicia sighed. "Come now, it's obvious someone's controlling you."

The bear jumped and glided over to Alicia's desk in the middle of the classroom.

"Well darling, it's much more complicated than that!" And as he jumped back to the teacher's desk, he laughed a strange laugh that almost felt like nails on a chalkboard. How could this even be real…?

Yo piped up in the back, or at least tried to. "But ho-"

"NO MORE QUESTIONS!" those words echoed throughout the classroom, and all the murmuring from the students silenced almost automatically, take Nikiyo's "I'M SORRY" from the back, though.

"Now that that's settled, it's time for me to take attendance!"

One by one, he started calling out our names, starting with Izumi Akamine and going down in alphabetical order, like most teachers do. And everyone, unsure of how to react normally to this situation, just responded with the typical 'here' or 'present'.

All except for one.

The bear called out the last name on the list, Kerry Young, and nobody answered. The entire room went silent, and the bear paused.

"She's…not here?"

Nobody said a word. The tone in his voice suddenly shifted into the calm before the rage type, and everyone was scared of what'd happen.

"That little BITCH! How dare she! I bet she's scheming right now! Planning, and scheming. Scheming, and planning AGAINST ME!"

Nobody knew what he was talking about. Everyone wanted to, but nobody could ask. Until one brave soul decided that it was all or nothing, and was able to come out from the fear.

"U-um," Sabi started. "W-what exactly d-do you m-mean?"

The bear stayed silent. He then turned to face Sabi, and then answered solemnly.

"Oh, well y'know. Just the one main threat towards your whole existence."

"W-wha…?"

"Did I forget to mention that? Yeah, Miss Kerry Young is…well…an interesting girl. And right now, her plan is most likely to figure out how to kill you all."

Silence, not the same silence as before, but a cold, frigid, deadly silence entered the room. Everyone was frozen in place. Someone planning to kill us? What the hell?!

That's when Mason piped up. "Well, uh, where exactly is here?"

Everyone turned to face Mason, and then soon after the bear. The bear just giggled again, lifting a paw to his mouth.

"Upupupu…well…"

And in one fluid motion, he knocked the walls of the room down. Everyone in the room gasped, and a few screamed.

:.:.:

"Welcome to the Urban Life of Mutual Killing."

:.:.:

A/N: 13 Pages and 6258 words. This is most definitely the longest single chapter I have ever written ugh.

I forgot how much work describing appearances is.

Anyway, this is the general "meet the cast" section. The rules to mutual killing and some descriptions of the city will be added next time.

The name of the city, if you're wondering, is New Despair City.

Cliche and rather dumb, I know, but I have no other ideas for it.

Thanks for reading, and fav and review if you enjoyed!

STUDENTS REMAINING [17/17]

Hikaru Soriyu

Emi Sasaki

Mason Horden

Sabitsuki Saotome

Nikiyo Nakasone

Daisuke Kagegami

Izumi Akamine

Soma Amos

Teiko Matsui

Alicia Davis

Sebastian Regulas Aston

Yoshihiro Kouzuki

Emi Akiyama

Hyosuke Kimura

Carl Wells

Atsushi Hagiwara

Kerry Young