"Woah… I did NOT expect to see so many familiar faces!" Rika beamed as she slammed the gym doors open. Behind her, Saori flinched.
"Rika! Could you be any less subtle?!" she cried, then a second later, Rika's words sank in. "Wait. So many familiar faces?" And as Rika raced inside, moving out of Saori's way, she was stunned to see the Yoba trio already inside. Rika, of course, wasted no time saying hello to everyone.
"I swear, you could stick that girl in a death trap, and she'd find a way to turn it into a game!" Saori sighed. "She may be the Ultimate Volleyballer, but she could easily be the Ultimate Party Animal, too!" She slapped her forehead.
Beside her, Marika chuckled, but she offered a different perspective. "I think she's just trying to keep spirits high," the Ultimate Model said, touching her face and tilting her head sympathetically. Even though Rika's lack of self-preservation was concerning, Marika knew Rika well enough to know that Rika feared appearing weak and sad just as much as she might've feared a death trap. Oh, Rika, you always try so hard for us!
Behind them, Dalia said nothing. Like Ibuki before her, she tried to take the lead into the gym. As her unit's bodyguard, as well as the Ultimate Dancer with a background in martial arts, she considered it her duty and honor to protect the others. Then Rika got other ideas.
Wonder if she was trying to protect us, too? In her own way… Dalia thought. She was also taken aback by how many other Ultimates were already there. Even though she and the rest of her unit were from Seiho High rather than Yoba, they all recognized one another.
Protective instincts kicking into overdrive, Dalia brushed past Marika and Saori and into the gym after Rika.
"Dalia! Not you too!" Saori moaned. She felt the most useless because all she had for a Talent was stupid old calligraphy! It did not provide the teambuilding experience or social prowess of volleyball, modeling, or even dancing. If anything, I'm the Ultimate Useless! Or the Ultimate Deprecator. Heh… It's honestly amazing I didn't end up in the Reserve Course! I definitely should be there…
"Come on, Saori! Let's not make Rika and Dalia do all the work!" Marika sing-songed cheerfully, taking Saori's hand and dragging her into the gym over her protests. Unlike Rika, Dalia and the others weren't just there to chat it up with the gal pals. They were there to gather intel!
In that timeframe, two more units joined the gym. The first was RONDO, and they were also the first not to slam the doors open. Hiiro stood in front, pushing them open gently. She was the only one to take the lead into the gym and not have it usurped by the unit's resident gremlin. On the contrary, although she hid it well, Nagisa looked anxious, and she was more than happy to let Hiiro go in first. Though she followed closely behind like a guard dog standing faithfully at its owner's heels.
As soon as Rika saw Tsubaki, she jumped up and down and waved excitedly at the other girl. "Heyyy! How's my fav childhood bestie?!"
Said "bestie" groaned embarrassedly and tried to hide behind Hiiro and Aoi, but they only smiled and waved right back at Rika.
The next and final unit to arrive followed the more traditional pattern of slamming the gym doors open.
"Kurumi! Miiko!" Almost as loud as the doors was the angry shriek chasing the two, giggling girls inside.
"Well NOW it's a party!" Rika flashed a smile and a thumbs up at Lyrilily as they raced in. At the same time—
"ALRRRRIGHT THEN! Let's get this party STARTED!" Rika was drowned out by someone far louder than her. It was the same high-pitched, gender-ambiguous voice as before. Saki looked up and narrowed her silver eyes. Sure enough, the hazy cloud was back.
"What are you?!" she finally cried, startling the others. They all looked up as well, demanding to know what she saw.
"Oh, come on, stupid Saki, you totally just killed my vibe and ruined my grrrrand entrance!" The voice complained. The students cried out in shock and horror as a giant metal cat landed with a heavy thud on the wood stage in front of them. "You know what they say? A cat always lands on its feet!" it cackled, casting a beady black eye at Yuka.
"W-w-wait… Is that…? Nyochio?!" While everyone else was terrified, Rinku's eyes went starry in amazement. "Muni! Did you build—?"
"Wh-what?! No! No!" Muni recoiled and waved her hands. "When and where would I have had the time, money, and resources?! B-b-besides, my Nyochio is brown and white. This is imposter is red, black, and white!" The more she defended herself, the more suspicious Muni looked.
But then, to the surprise of all, the giant robot cat came to her aid. "Ouch, way to hurt a feline's feelins!" At first, it raised a paw to its chest and flicked its ears back, offended. But then it relaxed back into a calm, smug state. "I suppose you are correct, though. I am not Nyochio, rather, I am Monochio! Headmaster—or better yet, HeadCATster—of this esteemed establishment! And if Ms. Muni is going to disown me so callously," it continued with a pout, "I shall return the favor and assure you that we are in no way related! My creator is far beyond these walls!"
"How do we know we can trust you, though?" someone snapped. The robot's pout shifted into an eerie, ear-to-ear, Cheshire cat smile. Its tail shot up and lassoed around something directly above the stage, a giant projector screen. The lights in the gym died as the projector flickered to life. As the so-called "Headcatster" would explain, the 24 of them had been transferred to the academy by an outside force far more powerful than any of them, Muni or otherwise. And they were here to be tested, literal trials by fire, although Monochio expected a measure of creativity from the students, and thusly would attempt to limit the provision of weapons as much as possible.
"Some things can't be helped, like kitchen knives, ya know? Gonna need those, even for non-murdery purposes!" Monochio cackled. "But boy oh boy do I sure love a good murder mystery! Curiosity killed the cat after all! Nyahahaha!"
"I don't know who you are," Dalia began, voice rising slowly in intensity and anger. "But there's no way you can hold all of us! I'm a trained martial artist and I swear on my life that I'll help us find a way to escape! Even if I have to kill you to do it!"
She barely finished speaking before the students heard a loud, high-pitched whine, and Dalia flinched, stumbling back. They heard a sharp crack barely a fraction of a second later. Monochio sat calmly on the stage, holding up a paw, pointer claw missing. All that remained was a smoking hole, which it exhaled over to extinguish. A second later, a new claw popped up in its place. Dalia, meanwhile, felt something warm trickle down her cheek. She touched the back of her hand to it and gasped when she pulled away to see a bright, pink stain on her hand.
"Have you forgotten my Number One Rule already?" Monochio purred. "The only thing I hate more than naughty children trying to enter locked rooms without my permission? The Headcatster is not to be harmed under ANY circumstance, and even the mere attempt to do so can be met with severe punishment! …Buuuut… I don't wanna ruin the fun too early, ya know?! So I'll letcha off with a warning this time!" it hissed.
Dalia only met its beady black glare with a scowl of her own, but she said no more, allowing her unit-mates to drag her back into her seat. Saori, in particular, fussed over her injury, even though Dalia tried to brush off the concern. "Doesn't hurt!" she grumbled. The other units were at a loss for words, shaking in their seats, some of them gripping the armrests like lifelines.
"Well. I think I can consider this… lesson learned!" Monochio chirped. "Thank you, TA Dalia! And so, with that, class dismissed! I suggest you use this time to get to know one another very well. After all, your ability to judge each other's character just may save your life someday… And with that, I do so declare the Ultimate Killing School Transfer: Monochio's Mix… in session!" The giant metal cat jumped back into the rafters and quickly disappeared once more in the shadows.