Well well, what do we have here? What new events await?
How I wish to re-live the expirience again...
- Natsuna
The passageway leading south of the Chapel hall was substantially longer than I would have first guessed; even though it was decorated in a similar fashion to the one leading to the dormitory hall, I could see some extra care was given to give its own sense of uniqueness.
Many accolades were strewn on both walls, a mixture of sheets that read awarded honors to the establishment, as well as a couple pictures depicting the building in question. I halted at one of the frames that held a ginormous depiction of a colossal cathedral, completely pearl white to the eye and almost impeccable from an artistic standpoint.
"Cathedral for Aspiring Hope, huh?" Nekari muttered out behind me, "So this is supposed to be where we'll be for a bit?"
My face contorted to a grimace as I read further about the praise given to the religious monument, the situation itself weighed heavily on my chest; what sheer irony that we'd be held prisoner in an establishment that brought solace from the oppression of the outside world.
Giving a harsh click of my tongue, I turned sharply from the framed photo and continued down the dimly lit hallway, not even taking a moment to stop at another page that hung before me.
"Say, Nekari," Kouta spoke out in the back, "Do you remember anything before us waking you up here?"
A slight pause ensued before Nekari responded,
"Well…honestly, not much," he admitted, "The last thing I can vaguely remember was flying somewhere…"
Nekari's words struck me a little, almost as if it chipped away at a foggy case my brain was stuck in. Halting my progress, I turned around and faced my classmates,
"Wait, flying?" I questioned, "What do you mean?" Nekari's expression was struck with confusion at my sudden escalation in interest, he didn't look to have taken his own words seriously.
"Well…" he struggled to form a sentence as he scratched the back of his head, "Maybe I was, but then again…it's all hazy, so I could just be imagining things."
No, what I felt as he said that was real, there was no mistaking it. I lowered my eyebrows in frustration, the situation became all the more intriguing by the minute. I shot a look over at Kouta to see if the discussion was having any impact on his own mind, but against my wishes, he looked completely clueless.
Having caught onto my body language and expression, Kouta felt inclined to speak up,
"Sorry Eiichi, I got nothing…" he spoke in a defeated tone, his voice trailing off with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Well," I began, almost trying to convince myself, "Maybe someone else knows more that we do, let's keep going." A silent agreement rang among us as we continued our way down the hall.
The candle formation came to an abrupt end as we continued, the rest of the hall was much dimmer with the absence of a light source; the ambiance grew all the more unsettling as our footsteps echoed in the barren walkway. However, before the feelings of uncertainty that lay within the dark set in, I could make out two distant lights emitting above two doors on the far right.
"Oh, finally!" Kouta took the words straight from me, I picked up the pace alongside him and Nekari as we hurried over to the source. As we drew closer, we could make out a figure in the space between the two doors, he was leaning back against the wall with a leg propped up and a fist on his downcast forehead; he looked to be heavily in thought. I couldn't make heads or tails of his appearance, so I began slowing my pacing and approached him steadily alongside Nekari and Kouta.
The figure didn't take long to notice our presence, drawing down his hand, the student looked at us dead on; I didn't want to look intimidating or suspicious, so I continued to approach him directly until I could make out his attire. The student was dressed in a dark blue dress shirt with golden buttons, but underneath was a cream colored long-sleeve rolled up to his elbows. He wore dark denim leggings and a pretty formal pair of white lace-up shoes; this contrasted a bit with his head, as he sported a black snap-back hat that was slightly turned to the side that covered his black hair that barely reached past his nose in he front; a long, thick ponytail sprouted out the back opening.
"Wait a minute," I thought to myself, "Why does this guy look familiar? I have no memory prior to waking up here…but why do his clothes ring a bell for some odd reason?"
"Hey there!" Nekari's voice rang out, breaking my concentration "Are you a student here too?"
The figure remained silent before us, it was an eerie stare-down as he inspected us with a pair of bright green eyes. I felt somewhat uneasy as he was noticeably eyeing my white shirt and black jacket, the fact he seemed to halt at the necklace I wore was more of an oddity that jabbed at me.
"Hey…" I cautiously spoke, "Is…something wrong?"
The figure relaxed his posture as he moved away from the wall and towards the three of us, I could hear Kouta taking a step back in skepticism.
"Sorry about that," the student finally spoke, "I just had to observe you for a second."
Observe? What was this guy's deal? Was this all some kind of mind-game to him? All these thoughts flooded my mind as I clenched my jaw in annoyance. Despite what I felt, I bottled up the emotion and stuck out a hand in kind gesture,
"Sorry if we looked a little odd just approaching you," I bit my tongue, wondering why I was apologizing against my feelings, "My name's Eiichi Karitomo, these are some other classmates I found while wandering around, they can introduce themselves."
The student paused for a second and eyed my hand for a second, but before I could develop another tic of irritation, he grasped my hand in mutuality.
"I'm Rentaro Jaiton," he introduced, proceeding to shake the hands of the other two, "You guys are here for Hope's Peak too right?"
The three of us exchanged glances, finding the right words,
"Well, at least we were supposed to be," Kouta spoke for us.
"As I expected," Rentaro conceded, "Something or someone is throwing a wedge in this operation…"
He began to mull over thoughts while stroking his chin with the left hand, I had only noticed then Rentaro was wearing a fancy glove that only covered his index and pinky, it also had a noticeable bulge in the wrist area
"Say, what's that for?" I asked, somewhat interested in the reasoning for such a unique artifact.
"What this?" he responded, brandishing his hand somewhat, "Oh, it's just my glove for when I play, I am the Ultimate Bowler after all."
Cathedral for Aspiring Hope
Rentaro Jaiton - Ultimate Bowler
A bowler, now it makes sense; looking at his attire once again, it certainly matched the clothing of the professional league players I would see on T.V. every now and again.
"Wow, an ultimate bowler," Nekari responded with awe, "So like, you've gotta have superior coordination and balance to keep that title."
Rentaro took a moment to grasp his left wrist, slightly twisting it back and forth before responding,
"Well yes, those are important parts of the picture," he admitted, "But the reality is, bowling is its very own science. You have to be knowledgeable about the construction of the lanes, the material and weights of the ball, the composition of the pins, where to hit them and with how much spin power to compensate for the thickness of oil he ball will be sliding on."
His explanation continued a bit more, enough for me to label it as somewhat long-winded; I could tell Rentaro was certainly an "educator" rather than a "follower".
"Basically, the sport requires you to be extremely analytical," he concluded, "I swear…it's my curse, no matter how many perfect games I score, I hate the path my mind forcibly takes to dissect everything down to the most minuscule detail."
We stood, taken aback my the excessive explanation given, but soon after I was able to recompose myself enough,
"Well," I tried to drift us back to an objective, "we're trying to look for anyone else who might be lost here, would you like to join us in the search?"
Rentaro relaxed his posture a bit and gave a slight smile,
"Sure," he accepted, "I'd be interested to investigate this too, despite what may come…"
Having confirmation of Rentaro's assistance, I took another look at the doors he was formerly standing in the middle of; one was a navy blue with a triangle placed in the center, while the adjacent one sported a hot pink with an opposing circle.
"Bathrooms, the only word that was needed shot up in my mind instantly. It was unfortunate we hadn't come upon a female classmate yet, otherwise we could have her inspect the opposing bathroom and see if anyone lay within its forbidden boarders.
"By the way Rentaro," I began asking while pointing to the boy's bathroom, "Have you looked in there already for anyone else?"
"Bah," he dismissed my question, "I wouldn't bother looking in there, I would have seen them if there were any…"
Taking a slight moment, he continued answering me with another question,
"Any of you wake up on a bathroom floor before?"
"That doesn't sound even remotely appealing," Kouta grimly responded, Nekari conceded with a slight groan of disgust. Seeing that Rentaro had inspected the male bathroom for us already, I trusted his investigative skills due to the analytical speech just given, so questioning the presence of anyone else within was a rather unnecessary step.
"Alright, well we should probably try looking for more people, maybe we'll come across someone that can inspect the girl's bathroom for us later," my words were filled with forced hope, at this point I began questioning if I somehow ended up with a purely male class; but then again, that would make any action investigating the girl's bathroom null and void, perhaps it would be all the more easier in that case. As we began to continue down the hall past the doors, I turned my head,
"Have you been anywhere else yet Rentaro?" I moved to ask, though I had my doubts.
"Actually yes," he responded against my expectations, "I did travel down the hall just a bit, and I found it divides up into a two-way horizontal hall just a little further up, there was a gate on one end of the opening, while the other led to a single door…" Rentaro paused for a second as he lifted his hat briefly to scratch his head, "Exactly what it was for…I didn't look, you guys caught me at almost the exact time I returned to the bathroom doors."
"I see," was the only response I gave, it was helpful knowing what lay ahead for once, but a gate on one end? The thought prodded at me, I've never heard of a cathedral having need for a security measure like that.
Surely enough, there was an opening in the hall lit up by another row of lights just a little further from our position, we stood in the very hallway Rentaro described; and his description held nothing back. Turning to the left I could see the gate in question completely blocking off whatever laid behind, but since I couldn't make out much of what was there, I decided to move closer.
As I placed my hands on the cool metal, I could make out a set of stairs that towered above our location, a sharp incline towards an opening of light that flooded in from its position.
"So the dimness is just on this floor," I thought to myself, somewhat comforted that the power wasn't completely shot in this building, though it did irritate me having to put up with a lack of good lighting in my current position.
Nekari grasped the vertical bars with both hands and gave a violent tug, the gate rattled and made plenty of noise as the metal clashed into itself, but the action was ultimately in vain.
"Damn," he growled, "Wonder what this is here for…"
"Perhaps we were meant to be confined to this specific floor of the Cathedral," Rentaro deduced, slightly rubbing his head, "What for…I cannot imagine."
This was strange indeed, but then again, not far from the tactics of a kidnapper; to make the victims feel restricted was a Class-A move, a complete novice would use such a method.
"Well," I spoke, half defeated, "We can figure it out when we get more help, who knows? Maybe we can all break down this together if we find some tools."
I looked to the floor once again, trying to gather myself in preparation for back-tracking down the dark hallway once again, but I was suddenly thrust back into reality upon hearing a haughty laugh of gaiety. My head shot up, I traced the expressions of my three other classmates who brandished clueless expressions, they began frantically turning about to find the source of the high-pitched laughter.
"Who's there?!" Kouta called out, his breaths becoming labored by the sudden rise in anxiety, "Come out!"
Once again, another burst of laughter emitted from the dimness, normally I would have been uneasy hearing such in a dismal place like this, but the presence of another student was my prime goal to discover, for once maybe I wouldn't have to search and the answer would simply drift towards my position.
"Foolish children!" The voice spoke out, "How pitiful to see you in such a lost state!"
Suddenly two sparks of light emitted from the distance, they appeared to be glittering in suspension, crackling with a gentle eminence. The balls of light floated closer to our position, shooting a look to both Rentaro and Nekari showed they were more nervous of the source than I, and as a result I instinctively stepped out from our congested grouping to face whoever was before us.
Surely enough, a figure holding the light sources came into view, slowly I could make out her appearance little by little;
It was a young girl, she was slightly short and petite, but about the same height as me. She wore a black long-sleeved vest with collars and cuffs of colorful red and white checkers patterns that covered a white dress shirt with a red tie, her legs were covered by a thigh-high crimson skirt and white leggings that were stuffed into a pair of dark brown knee-high boots. Her face was youthful and child-like, and although her dark brown hair was cut at shoulder length in the back, her sides and bangs has some length; held together by white and red ribbons. The girl was holding a pair of festival sparklers that were still burning, the burn traveling even further down the stick and dangerously close to her hands.
As I expected, one of the sparks must have nicked her knuckle, as she gave out a loud shout and dropped both of the party favors.
"Oh drat!" she loudly grumbled as she frantically ran over to each sprinkler and furiously stomped upon their exposed fuses, "No, no no! Ah darn in all, I don't wanna burn something else down!"
My expression went blank at the sudden change of face from the "supposed" aggressor demanding our attention, she was clearly still of a child's mindset as she became even more frazzled with her failed attempts to put out the sparklers. Without much thinking, Nekari walked over to the student and picked up the end of one lit fuse and clasped it with a fist, completely suffocating the sparks; he had a noticeable wince of pain from the action.
"Ah!" The student exclaimed, having put the other one out, she started cringing back into a slightly crouched position, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you trouble! Please don't get angry, please!"
The sudden change in her persona still had me off guard, I found myself at a loss for words, but fortunately Rentaro and Kouta jumped forward in my absence. Leaning over a little, Rentaro extended a hand out,
"Here," he made his gesture audible, the young girl paused for a second before looking up from her huddled position, she didn't take Rentaro's hand, but rather stared at him with a skeptical look of worry.
"Rest assured," he felt the need to add, "I'm not mad at you, but you look pretty out of place here. Can we just have your name for now?"
"Yeah!" Kouta added, "We're Ultimates too, so no need to be afraid!"
The girl hesitated for another moment, but soon after took Rentaro's offer and lightly grasped his hand as she hoisted herself up.
"Let me start," he began, "I'm Rentaro, this over here is Kouta and Eiichi."
He paused to gaze over at our most distant classmate,
"Your esteemed hero in black over there is Nekari," he muttered with a slightly sarcastic tone.
The girl seemed to be less wary of our presence due to Rentaro's peace offering, but she still showed a nervous expression that read a lack of self-confidence,
"Um," she muttered out, "My name's…Hanoko Tsujida…I'm…the Ultimate Ringmistress."
Cathedral for Aspiring Hope
Hanoko Tsujida - Ultimate Ringmistress
A ringmistress? The uniqueness of our group grew ever more diverse, I had heard of Ringmasters and Emcees that would direct an entertainment show's progression over the course of an event, but all of them seemed so flamboyant and confident; almost the complete opposite of what Hanoko portrayed. She seemed way too insecure to carry out a talent like that.
"Why…are you all staring at me like that?" she asked with a shaky voice.
"Well honestly," Kouta remarked, "You look like you're about to keel over any second, I've hardly seen anyone so pale, I'd think someone with your talent would be used to crowds of a hundred or more!"
Hanoko clenched her teeth in frustration,
"Shut up!" she weakly retorted, "I'm fully capable of leading shows, I've done a million! I just…I don't feel well is all!"
I walked forward a little closer to observe Hanoko, she was surely worked up, but looked clammy and was noticeably sweating. Before I could look at anything else, she defensively backed up.
"H-hey!" she exclaimed, "Back up! Don't get close to me!"
A cold sweat ran down my back, I didn't mean to startle her, the awkwardness of the situation deepened as I exchanged judgmental looks from my other male classmates,
"I'm sorry," I apologized, keeping mind of my distance, "You just have such a colorful wardrobe, I wanted to get a better look."
The words left my mouth before I could bite the tongue, I cringed at how creepy I sounded,
"You're…a real creep," Hanoko muttered in disapproval, before I could correct myself, Rentaro stepped in.
"Eiichi, please," he interjected, "Just let me…"
Defeated, I vowed silence for the rest of our conversation.
"Listen Hanoko," he began, "Can you help us look for others in the Chapel?"
Kouta sprung in again,
"We can't get into the girls bathroom of course!"
"Better yet," Nekari added, "Have you seen anyone before us?"
Hanoko seemingly buckled under the barrage of questions and grasped her head with both palms.
"Please stop…" she quietly responded, "I hate being badgered…"
Rentaro shot a glare at his two assistant interrogators, silently threatening them.
"We're heading down the hall a little more, do you know what room is at the opposite end? We haven't been there yet." Hanoko revealed her face and crossed her arms,
"I'm…not sure," she admitted, "I did see someone go in there…two people actually…"
Two people? My face brightened with curiosity. I began sauntering around the group and began slowly walking forward down the dim hall, I hoped my classmates would see my advancement as a cue to move along.
Surely enough, I could hear their footsteps behind me after a couple more encouraging words were exchanged between the Ultimate Bowler and Ringmistress, what an odd set of individuals so far; but if we were truly the size of a standard Hope's Peak Class, this was only the beginning of what lay in store.
"Still," I thought to myself, "With these guys…it's all so clear to them…so why don't I have a clue about my own talent?"
I shook the thought, my personal grievances could wait.
AFTERWORD,
Curse my brain only being active at the late hours of the night...while the mind aspires, the body demands it...JUST...STOP
How's that attendance list coming along? Man, Ryoma was right...we've still got a way's to go...
1. Eiichi Karitomo - Ultimate ?
2. Hanoko Tsujida - Ultimate Ringmistress
3. Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx - Ultimate ?
4. Xxxxxxxx Xxx - Ultimate ?
5. Xxx Xxxxxx - Ultimate ?
6. Kouta Atsubu - Ultimate Skeet Marksman
7. Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx - Ultimate ?
8. Nekari Terria - Ultimate Kemono
9. Rentaro Jaiton - Ultimate Bowler
10. Xxxx Xxxxxx - Ultimate ?
11. Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx - Ultimate ?
12. Xxxxx Xxxxxxx - Ultimate ?
13. Xxx Xxxxx - Ultimate ?
14. Xxxxx Xxxxxx - Ultimate ?
15. Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx - Ultimate ?
16. Xxxxxx Xxxxxx - Ultimate ?