When my eyes flutter open, I'm greeted with an unfamiliar sight.

I'm on the brown wooden floor of a classroom of sorts. Yellow wallpaper decorates the walls. A blackboard is situated in what I assume to be the front of the classroom and in front of that is a teacher's podium. A bunch of desks and chairs are scattered around the room. It would have been a normal classroom other than the fact that it's obviously rundown and neglected: the wallpapers are ripped and peeling, the ceiling is cracked and looks like it could collapse at any time, and the floor is riddled with dirt and cracks.

My mind is racing.

Where am I, how did I get here, and why can't I remember anything!?

I try to calm myself; I take deep breaths and check myself for any injuries. Other than a slight pain in my head and stomach, I don't appear to have any other injuries.

My short evergreen hair that's usually styled is messy and unkempt. My white button up shirt with green accents on the collar and sleeves is wrinkled and my checkered green pants are dirty with dust from the ground. I'm wearing my usual black socks and black shoes. And, like my pants, they're dusted with dirt too. And finally, my camera-

…

IT'S GONE!

I panic and look around the room until I spot it under a desk at the corner in the back.

I stand up slowly and cautiously. I'm still not sure if I am completely safe. I slowly walk over to the corner of the room, looking up warily to check if the ceiling has any chance of caving in while I'm grabbing my camera.

When I reach the corner, I decide it would be safer to go under the desk in case the ceiling does collapse. I grab my camera and power it up to see if it can help me find any clues about my current situation…whatever situation this is.

It's a standard DSLR camera and fortunately it seems to be working fine - aside from the broken lens. When I check to see any recent photos, it says 'No Memory Card'.

Damn.

However, it is a bit suspicious that my camera doesn't have a memory card. As a paparazzi, the Ultimate Paparazzi, I should say; I should have a memory card in there and at least three extras in my pocket just in case.

But, I don't.

Without my camera I can't get any information about how I got here but maybe I can still figure out where here is.

While still under the desk, I take a look around the room. Maybe I can spot something that can clear this up. But unfortunately, due to the dilapidated state of the room, it's hard to see any details that might give me a clue on where I am.

That is until my eyes land on the teacher's podium. It has a logo on it but due to my position in the back corner it's hard to see.

Wait.

Aha.

I power on my camera again to use the zoom to get a closer look at the logo. The lens may be cracked but it's still usable.

…

…

…

That's…definitely interesting.

The logo is a bit hard to decipher but there's no mistaking what it is; that's the old logo of Hope's Peak Academy.

That means…

…

…

I'm in the old abandoned building of Hope's Peak Academy where the Killing School Life occurred.

I shiver at the thought.

It's a historic event after all. When mankind lost to that...monster. She and her loyal followers brought the world to ruins. It was a horrible time to be alive.

I still can't believe I lived through that.

However, thanks to the efforts of the Future Foundation, they were able to restore the world and bring normalcy back into people's lives. And of course, the man, the myth, the legend, the one who saved the world: Makoto Naegi. He had the biggest part in ending Junko's and her Remnants of Despair's reign of tyranny.

And he was the one who reopened Hope's Peak Academy - at a new location of course. This old building was kept up as a reminder of the hardships we all went through and how even one person can bring the world to its knees.

This revelation, however, is only bringing me more questions.

How am I inside the old Hope's Peak Academy building? It was sealed shut and there are guards that roam around the outside of the building so you can't get close to it without running into one and being told to turn back. It's all so weird, I'm breaking the law just by being in this place.

Ugh.

This is useless. With every answer I get, more questions pop up.

Suddenly, I remember where exactly I am and realize I can't stay here with the threat of the ceiling collapsing. I peek out from under the desk to check...maybe I'm just a worry-wart or does it feel like the ceiling really is going to collapse on me?

Just as I finally steel myself to make a run for it, I hear the door open and I pull my head back under the desk.

Who knows who that is? My kidnapper? Junko Enoshima back from the dead?

…What? You never know.

There are two people who come into the room: a young man and a young woman - they look to be around the same age as me.

The girl is definitely on the taller side. Not like, six feet tall or anything but still pretty tall. She has the build you'd expect from a teen - not too skinny, not too muscular or toned. The girl has pale skin and long brown hair tied into a high ponytail. Her piercing green eyes almost glow in the dimly lit room even with a pair of red eyeglasses obscuring them. Her attire seems rather out of place considering the state I woke up in: a white lab coat over a ruffled pink button up shirt tucked into a black checkered skirt with black stockings, and black Mary Jane shoes.

Compared to the girl beside him and even myself, he's…severely unkempt. The boy is on the shorter and scrawny side - whatever his everyday life may be, it's obviously lacking physical activity…not that I can judge, I don't typically do stuff like sports either. His short blond hair is messy and like the girl beside him, he has dark green eyes and pale skin (AHA! Siblings! I knew it - Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba back from the dead!). Now here's where I can judge. The boy's clothing department is...lacking, to say the least. He's wearing a plain white t-shirt with what looks to be a coffee stain in the lower left center, green jogging pants, green and white striped socks, and white sneakers. The boy also has a wristwatch on his right arm.

I can appreciate all the green he's wearing but c'mon…

…

…

Now that I've looked at him closer, the boy looks…familiar…not in my paparazzi 'I know everything about you' sense, but almost as if I've met him before.

…

Hm.

Anyways.

I don't know if I can trust them. Maybe they're in the same boat as me or maybe it's what I said before: they're Junko and Mukuro reincarnated. I need to be sure that I won't be in any trouble even if they see me.

However, due to all my worrying, I don't realize that the girl has already discovered my location until she's saying exactly that: "Hey! I see you over there under that desk, I know you're there. Show yourself!" she speaks in a quick yet firm voice, her words dripping with venom. She seems a bit hostile - which in this situation is understandable - but that means that she's tense as well, meaning she can't be behind this.

Right?

I slowly come out from under the desk with my hands raised above my head, "I'm friendly, I swear. I'm in the same boat as you." I say.

The girl squints her eyes, unconvinced.

Her companion places his hands on the girl's shoulders and speaks with a friendly tone, "Hey, hey, Sachi, let's calm down, we aren't sure that he's evil." he says and then turns to me, asking, "So, kind sir, what were you doing down under that desk?"

I explain; I woke up in this room and became a bit worried that the ceiling may collapse, as it was full of cracks and holes, so I hid under the desk to calm down and get a grasp on the situation.

With almost comical timing, a piece of the ceiling suddenly collapses onto the ground. It isn't near us or anything but we decide that it would be better if we leave the room for now.

Coming out into the hallways, it's exactly as how the history books describe it.

Black and white checkered marble flooring, black sidings on the wall with white concrete walls (however the color is distorted a bit due to the bright pink lights). Just like the room I was in a while ago, it's all very run down. The walls are full of dirt and cracks, the marble floor has lost its shine, and dirt piles are everywhere - some even have grass.

There's no doubt about it, this is the original Hope's Peak Academy. It makes no sense but with all this evidence…there's no way I'm wrong.

But how the hell did we get here?

Still a little tense from our encounter, I turned to the duo to speak but the unkempt boy beats me to it. "Wait, hold on, you're Endo - ah, Tatsumi Endo! It's me, Ryoji! Remember?"

Ryoji…?

…

Oh!

The girl turns to the boy, Ryoji, annoyed. "You know him?"

"Yup!"

"Well why didn't you say something sooner?" she chides, glaring at Ryoji.

Ryoji laughs, unperturbed by the girl's annoyance. "I'll explain after - you two should introduce yourselves, y'know, to build some trust and all that." he says, clearly energized from what happened from the room and recognizing me. I guess he's one of those adrenaline junkies who loves danger. "Since Sachi here is sus of you, why don't you go first?" Ryoji suggests.

I guess that makes sense.

"My name is Tatsumi Endo and I'm the Ultimate Paparazzi. It might not be the best situation for us but I'm glad to meet you."

Tatsumi Endo

Ultimate Paparazzi

I wouldn't say I'm as well known in comparison to Ryoji here or any of the other Ultimates in my class, but I am kind of famous in some circles.

What I think really secured my spot as the Ultimate Paparazzi is my yearly prediction of accepted students into Hope's Peak. Every year I spend months looking at the possible candidates that are eligible for acceptance. I compile them and pick the most likely candidates. I have a website where I publish the final list and I have an amazing 97% accuracy rate.

Other than that, I wouldn't say I'm in the 'Ultimate Celebrity World', I'm more in the unknown category. People tend to focus on the Ultimate Actors like Seizo Morine and Ultimate Models like Mari Tamatsuki.

Ryoji glances between me and the girl - Sachi, I believe he said - expectantly. She doesn't say anything as she continues scrutinizing me.

I take her silence as a chance to think back to exactly how I met Ryoji. Maybe it'll give me some clue as to what exactly landed us in this situation…

"Tatsumi Endo, Class 79th, checking in for the Class 80th welcoming committee!"

The Former Ultimate Clairvoyant, Yasuhiro Hagakure, gave me a friendly smile. "I know - I know all about you-"

"And I know all about you!" I shot back. "I'm-"

"-an Ultimate Paparazzi, yes, yes." Mr. Hagakure nodded. "Listen, I have to run to the bathroom real quick, if anyone from Class 80th comes in while I'm gone, the files are right here and these packages here are their uniforms - they're all labeled so make sure you give them the right one. Got it?"

"Got it!" I saluted him.

Mr. Hagakure beamed and thanked me before running down one of the hallways.

I turned to make sure no one was on their way in but when I did, I bumped into somebody and we both tumbled to the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that!" I apologized quickly, my eyes landing on a dazed boy with unkempt blond hair.

The boy quickly shook it off and offered me a smile in reassurance. "I'm alright, don't worry about me! Haha, I'm sorry too." he said and stood up. "Haven't had any coffee today, I'm a little off my game." the blonde said and offered me a hand. "Oooh, you're in uniform. Are you in Class 79th, then? Class 78th were those guys from a while ago, right? What're you doing here? Where's the front desk guy? Don't I gotta check in or something?" the boy rambled.

I gave him a small laugh. I'm a bit caught off guard by his energy. Didn't he say he didn't have coffee yet? "Yeah, I'm Tatsumi Endo. Mr. Hagakure-"

"OOOOOOHHHH I KNOW YOU!" The unkempt boy said excitedly. "You made an article about my channel!"

Hmm? I must know this guy then, the unkempt appearance makes it a bit hard to recognize him. I've done a lot of articles on MeTubers though. There have been a lot of them: an Ultimate Beauty Vlogger, an Ultimate Gamer, and more.

"Anyways, if you don't quite remember, the name's Ryoji Yamauchi, more commonly known as Splango on the interwebs! I'm the Ultimate Speedrunner but I just love gaming in general!"

Ryoji Yamauchi

Ultimate Speedrunner

Ah, Splango, I remember him now. He achieved a world record for the game Super Monkey Kong Galaxy, other than that he's a pretty famous gamer, and a MeTube personality. People speculated that he would get into Hope's Peak Academy under the title of Ultimate MeTube Gamer but I guess they chose to focus on his specialty of being a speedrunner. That's all I remember about him though, he's well known but not really that influential in the Ultimate Students Celebrity World. To be honest, I'm surprised he even remembers me. I only did that article on his channel because he was at the peak of his fame back then.

"Oh, yes! Splango, I remember you now." I nodded. "You hold the world record for Super Monkey Kong Galaxy."

Ryoji nodded back, full of energy. "Yup, thanks for that article you did on my channel, it really helped me out. Boosted my views and subscribers!" he said and hugged me excitedly.

I don't know how to feel. While it was good to feel recognized, I find myself a little weirded out. He has a stain on his shirt for goodness sake, is hugging him even sanitary?

Ah, well. I guess if we're going to be peers, I can resolve this…'issue' down the road.

Sachi finally speaks, pulling me out of my thoughts: "I'm Sachiko Yoshifumi. I'm the Ultimate Pharmaceutical Scientist. If Ryoji knows you then you shouldn't be as malicious as I first thought." she says and puts her hand out for a handshake.

Very formal of her, I suppose. I take it and shake it of course, it would be rude to refuse a handshake, especially from an Ultimate.

Sachiko Yoshifumi

Ultimate Pharmaceutical Scientist

Hmmmmm...

I have heard of her name before! Sachiko Yoshifumi, the girl who creates medicine that can be bought for a cheap price. Her existence alone threatens pharmaceutical companies that sell expensive medicines. She doesn't appear in public a lot and whenever appearing on television, she has her face blurred out due to all the threats on her life. I believe she also uses an alias but I'm not sure how reliable that source was.

I don't think I've ever written an article about her. Her name alone is so controversial. A lot of people see her as an angel for the poor because she creates medicine that can be accessed by everyone despite their social status. Others see her as someone who will destroy the pharmaceutical industry.

That would explain her hostility, I think people have tried to get her killed and waking up in this place is going to put anyone on guard.

When it comes to the Ultimate Celebrity World, Sachiko is actually unknown. She has a bunch of loyal fans, but other than those she isn't as paid attention to as much as other celebrities. It's a little saddening that someone as influential as her isn't as famous as people who just walk on runways and somehow get praised as if they were a god or goddess.

I didn't meet her back at Hope's Peak either, she must be in the group of Class 80th students that I didn't get a chance to meet before…whatever happened happened.

"I'm sorry for my attitude earlier. As the Ultimate Paparazzi, I think you understand why I acted like that, I presume?" she says as she lets go of my hand.

I nod, reassuring her. "Oh yes, I completely understand why you were on guard." I say.

With a more clear understanding of each other I think we can come to trust each other more.

"Well, even with introductions out of the way, that still doesn't explain our situation." Sachiko says, speaking more calmly this time.

"What do you guys know about our situation so far?" I ask them and they share their information.

They woke up together in a classroom just like I did. And, like me, they've deduced that we are indeed inside the old Hope's Peak Academy building. And of course I share what I know as well but unfortunately what they know, I already know, and vice versa.

"Well we aren't going to get any answers by staying here. I suggest we check other rooms, maybe there are others and maybe we can find an exit somewhere. And with the three of us here, there should be more safety in numbers." Sachi says, her previous hostility still gone. I guess being around people she trusts makes her calm. Makes sense, especially with the hostility I was met with before.

"And if the police find us, we'll blame Tatsumi!" I immediately turn my head towards Ryoji, almost feeling betrayed. "You're the Ultimate Paparazzi, they'll understand, hahahahahaha!" he laughs.

I guess he's trying to raise our spirits a little. I let out a little chuckle, "Well let's see if I can use my fame to get out of trouble." we joke around a little more, even getting Sachi to crack a smile.

And with that, our spirits are just a little bit lighter and we continue to explore this old abandoned building.

A/N and so the slight rewrite begins

i added a few things, rewrote a few sentences, changed some things, changed one major thing, but the chapter is mostly the same :catch:

do you get the major thing that was changed

bonus points if you do

most of you are in/read gac so you should understand :catch: