Heroes.

Optimism.

Brightness.

Positivity.

Trust.

Friendship.

Bonds.

Those were all concepts that Gundam Tanaka, the Supreme Overlord of Ice, did not associate with.

For Tanaka the Forbidden One, there were only two concepts that he believed in:

Spreading chaos, and utilising the power of his evil minions.

And for the past three years, he had spent a lot of time in pursuit of his goal toward world domination. Thanks to the ignorant whims of Hope's Peak Academy in their greedy desire to research the concept of 'talent', they had unknowingly aided Gundam's plan for conquest over the moral realm. And once he had finally served his time at the academy and was elevated to the 'graduate' status, well, even Gundam himself had no idea what he had in store for the world.

But there was one thing he was certain about: Chaos…was inevitable.

That being said however, in between his continuous pursuit of gathering dark power and recruiting more evil minions, Gundam found himself with a considerable amount of free time. At least compared to what he was used to prior to being recruited by Hope's Peak.

As such, Gundam sought out a potential successor should his evil plans be thwarted or unachievable for whatever reason. Fortunately, despite many trials and tribulations, he may have found a worthy candidate among the gaggle of mortals he was unwillingly tied to.

Thusly, he would often spend what spare time he had sharing his wisdom with his apprentice.

That day in April was no exception.

"...and that is the dark secret behind the healing capabilities of a domesticated feline's vocal vibration!" Gundam proudly declared as he journeyed through the ever so familiar hallway.

His apprentice gasped, a look of intrigue coloured on her face. "I had no idea they could even do that! And here I thought cats only purred when they were happy. Actually, they sometimes also purr when they are distressed, correct?"

Gundam nodded. "You are a fast learner, apprentice. Such knowledge is rather uncommon to mortals, consider me impressed."

"I will say, I have been learning a lot about cats recently." she admitted. "It has been a surprisingly fun experience!"

Gundam smirked. "I see. Have you been conducting independent research of your own accord?"

The apprentice shook her head. "Believe it or not, Ibuki of all people seems to be quite a cat encyclopaedia, as one may put it."

"The Mouthy Musician?" Gundam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You should ask her about it sometime." the apprentice suggested. "I am sure she would enjoy a conversation with a fellow cat expert."

Gundam let out a chuckle. "Me? Converse with a mortal about the inner characteristics of felines?" Gundam emitted another chuckle, louder than before.

The apprentice's expression morphed into a sombre but empathetic gaze. "I am serious. You really should try to be more social, Gundam. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy our time together and still want to learn more about the dark arts, but I really think you should try to get along with some other people too."

"Have you forgotten about my condition? My very flesh is poisonous. You somehow have limited immunity to its negative effects, but I am sure no other mortal possesses such a trait. If anything, I am doing them a favour by remaining a solid distance apart." Gundam insisted.

"But you did not know that I was not affected by it when we first came here, correct?" the apprentice pointed out.

Although Gundam didn't want to admit it aloud, she was right. Aside from the angel he was spawned from, as well as his numerous evil minions, the apprentice was the only being bound to the mortal realm that wasn't harmed by Gundam's cursed flesh…and he wouldn't have discovered that if she wasn't the one to seek him out.

"Will you at least consider it?" the apprentice then asked, a look of hopeful optimism in her eyes.

Normally, whenever she had made a similar request in the past, Gundam would tend to either double down on his stance against the idea, or attempted to change the discussion to try and avoid it altogether. Instead however, he simply said "I shall…ponder it..."

Fortunately, the apprentice didn't emit some kind of gargantuan reaction to him not refusing her request for a change. Rather, she simply smiled at Gundam. A soft, kind smile.

A smile that Gundam had grown fond of.

The pair continued to walk through the academy until they eventually reached their destination: the domain commonly referred to as Classroom 77-B.

"It would seem we have survived our perilous journey through these academic catacombs once again." Gundam said as he stood in front of the classroom door as he crossed his arms somewhat triumphantly.

The apprentice nodded, before her face lit up as if she had just remembered something. She then looked at her shoulder and gently scooped something from it, holding it in her cupped hands. It was none other than one of the Dark Devas of Destruction.

"Would you like San-D back?" the apprentice offered, holding out the Deva toward Gundam.

Gundam looked down at the aforementioned Deva and held out cupped hands of his own just in front of her. "Return to me, my Dark Deva." he instructed, albeit in a gentle tone.

In only a matter of seconds, San-D hopped off of the apprentice's hands and landed onto Gundam's. The Dark Deva then crawled up Gundam's arm and dove into his scarf, rejoining her fellow Devas.

"I will never get over how cute it is that the Devas like to huddle up in your scarf." the apprentice commented, that same smile from before making a brief resurgence.

Gundam felt his face flare up slightly and pulled up the top of his scarf slightly so that it covered his mouth. "Th-That is merely their method of disguising themselves from the other mortals. You should have known that by now, apprentice…"

The apprentice let out a giggle. "I know, do not worry. But I still think it is rather adorable."

"Shall we converge into the domain now?" Gundam hastily asked, putting his hand on the handle of the door.

The apprentice simply nodded once more, and the two of them entered Classroom 77-B.

Upon the mere sight of his 'classmates' partaking in their usual rituals, Gundam's previously flustered complexion quickly converted to apathy. Those mortals were so predictable, after all. Within their mutual time spent together over more than 800 moons, all of them had formed dynamics which they rarely strayed from:

The Dastardly Dancer and the Patient Photographer would congregate, the Dancer often spewing verbal venom about (or even directly at) those she didn't favour, with the Photographer serving as her mediator when needed.

The Gung-ho Gymnast and the Muscular Manager participate in a low stakes contest of strength, whilst the Crude Cook witnesses their match with a lecherous look in his eyes.

The Mouthy Musician…indulges in whatever childish desire popped into her mind, as the Nervous Nurse reluctantly keeps herself within arms reach in case the Musician damages something or someone.

The Youthful Yakuza and the Steady Swordswoman also congregate much like the Dancer and Musician, although their preferred topics of discussion gravitated toward being more sensible and serious by comparison. The Neon Goblin was also often involved with the pair, usually irritating the Yakuza in some form, intentionally or otherwise.

And of course, there were the few that weren't bound to primarily one alliance.

The Arcane Animator spent most of their time to themselves, although they weren't averse to interacting with their fellow mortals.

The Gentle Gamer got along with everyone in some form or another, so she has the rare ability of seamlessly integrating herself into any pact with no difficulty.

And the Lucky One…was the Lucky One. There was little point in describing his behaviour other than it being very…him.

As Gundam and his apprentice stationed themselves to their assigned seating arrangements, he surveyed the area. Just as expected, the mortals were all in their expected dynamics. The only intriguing deviations Gundam had spotted was that the Gamer had been conversing with the Dancer and Photographer about something assumedly serious due to their mutually solemn expressions, and…

The Lucky One was absent.

Again.

For the past few moons in a row.

"It seems the Lucky One has failed to cross over to this domain again." Gundam pointed out, looking at the empty desk.

The apprentice turned over from her own desk and observed the empty one directly behind her. "You are right." she acknowledged. "He might not be returning for a while after all, then…"

"Perhaps he has been afflicted by an ailment inflicted by the elements." Gundam theorised. "Just because he has a bizarre connection to fortune doesn't mean he's immune to such things. He is still only moral."

"Wait…you do not know?" the apprentice asked, turning away from the vacant desk to look at Gundam with a confused expression.

"Do not…know what, my apprentice?"

"About the incident between him and the…Reserve Course." she answered.

"The Reserve Course? Are you referring to the secondary department of adolescents associated with this academy?"

She simply gave him an affirming look in response.

Gundam crossed his arms and hummed in thought. He was unsure of the Lucky One's connection to the Reserve Course. The only time Gundam could even recall where the two were intertwined was when he randomly asked Gundam about his thoughts on the department some moons ago. The Lucky One said it was for a supposed 'assignment', so Gundam answered his query and the incident quickly faded into the back of Gundam's mind.

"If no one has told you about what happened, I do not mind filling you in." the apprentice then offered.

"Very well." Gundam approved. "You may enlighten me on this incident. My interest is piqued."

"I heard about it from Chiaki." the apprentice began. "It had apparently all started last week, when-"

"SOOONIA!"

Gundam jumped in his seat out of fright, although he attempted to play it off as if he wasn't affected in any capacity. Both he and the apprentice turned to the source of the booming voice and discovered that, unsurprisingly, it had spawned from the Mouthy Musician.

"HEYYY, SONIA!" the Musician cried out again, waving both of her hands in the air vigorously. "DO YOU HAVE IBUKI'S DEMO CD?! I WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT!"

"Demo CD?" Gundam repeated in bewilderment.

The apprentice pulled out some kind of disc encased in a plastic shell from her pocket that had been labelled 'Ibuki's Dem0 A1bum!'. "I have it right here, and I have listened to the whole thing!" she then yelled back, albeit at a more civil volume. "My favourite track has to be 'Let My Feelings Reach You Too Part 2'! It was hella sick!"

The Musician jumped in the air a few times and cheered out in sheer excitement. "TELL IBUKI MORE, TELL IBUKI, TELL IBUKI PLEEEASE!"

The apprentice laughed before she stood up and looked down at Gundam. "My apologies. I will try not to be too long." With that, the apprentice made her leave and departed, the Mouthy Musician's excitement elevating to an even higher level.

Although he was somewhat downhearted, partly because the apprentice's tale was halted, Gundam did not resent her decision to leave. Whatever business she had with the other mortals was not of his concern after all, she obviously had the freewill to spend her time however she pleased.

With that in mind however, Gundam now had a predicament to contend with:

How was he supposed to get an explanation for the Lucky One's absence without the aid of the apprentice?

At first, Gundam simply elected to patiently wait in solitude, as he usually would in a similar scenario. But then he realised that he would not only have to wait until after the Instructor granted them the privilege to exit the domain, but there was also the possibility that the apprentice could be unavailable afterwards as well.

Normally, that scenario would be tolerable, since Gundam had plenty to occupy himself with in his own company. But, for reasons unfathomable to even himself…Gundam could not let that mystery rest.

He recalled back to when the Lucky One approached him with that question. If Gundam's recollection of the event was accurate, he could have sworn that the Lucky One was…disappointed with his answer. And after learning that his prolonged disappearance and the integration may have been interconnected…

Gundam feared that something sinister had happened.

Well, 'feared' might not have been the right word. Obviously he, being the Supreme Overlord of Ice that he was, didn't feel scared by a mere mortal. The correct descriptor would be more akin to…cautious.

Gundam was simply cautious that something sinister had happened.

And not out of concern or anything good-natured like that. Instead, he just wanted to make sure no harm had been afflicted on the other humans.

After all, what would be the point of ruling over the mortal realm if he wasn't the sole source of evil?

With his mind made up, Gundam vowed to solve the quandary. Even with that decided however, Gundam still needed to figure out how he was going to receive the information he desired. It wasn't like he could just converse with one of the mortals about the subject, that would spell disaster for everyone involved. He then considered instructing the Devas to eavesdrop on a few allegiances, although there was no guarantee that anyone would even be discussing that very-

"What the heck?! Does he seriously believe that?!"

"OW! You don't have to be so fucking loud! I'm right next to you, dumbass!"

For the second time that day, Gundam jumped in his seat and turned to where the source of his startlement spawned from. He discovered that it was none other than…the Neon Goblin.

As it turned out, the Neon Goblin had decided to station himself at the Youthful Yakuza's desk, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Both he and the Yakuza had their gazes transfixed on a cellular device in front of the duo, held up by the Yakuza.

Annoyed, Gundam shook his head and turned back around. Now that he had been made aware of what the two men were doing, with the Nervous Nurse's empty desk being the only means of separation from the pair, Gundam was unfortunately able to make out their banter quite clearly.

"I'm sorry man, but just look at this!" the Goblin continued, not decreasing his volume in the slightest. "He wanted to bring an oxygen tank into class. AN. OXYGEN. TANK. That's insane. Like, actually nuts."

"I told you. That bastard's an absolute psycho." the Yakuza affirmed.

Just as quickly as he had turned back, Gundam found himself turning back just as quickly. What were they talking about? Were they having a discussion about the Lucky One by some chance?

"I already knew he was kinda unhinged, but that's just a whole 'nother level of deranged, y'know?"

"Tell me about it. If that guy never comes back from his suspension, I sure as hell won't lose any sleep over it."

'Suspension'?

The idea of a mortal getting temporarily banished from Hope's Peak seemed like such a bizarre concept to Gundam, assuming they were even referring to a mortal recruited by them. In his mind, the only way someone could ever suffer such a fate is if the individual committed a heinous crime, such as the illicit usage of firearms or even an incendiary device. And if there was a chance that the two really were referencing the Lucky One…

Gundam knew what he had to do.

Even though he knew very well what he needed to do would pervert the status quo, Gundam had no other choice.

The Supreme Overload of Ice needed to approach the mortals and query them directly.

With determination flowing through his very being, Gundam slowly rose up from his seat and set his sights on the two. Deliberately walking slightly slower than usual, he made his way over until he was practically standing over them. They seemingly hadn't detected his presence, so Gundam alerted them. "Pardon my intrusion, mortals, but I must interrogate you for a moment."

They both looked up at Gundam at the same time. While the Goblin looked back down near instantly, the Yakuza merely raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? What'd you say?" the Yakuza asked.

"Just ignore him." the Goblin said in a hushed yet audible voice. "He'll probably just go away if we don't say anything."

"I overheard the two of you make accusations of someone getting banished from somewhere, assumedly this very academy. I simply wish to inquire as to who that individual is."

"Great, just great. You were eavesdropping on us, huh? How wonderful. Now could you go away please?" the Goblin fussed.

Gundam scoffed. "Has the fact that we are stationed within close proximity simply vanished from your cognition? And even if that wasn't the case, I'm sure even the mortals outside of this domain could hear your irksome cries."

"He does have a point, Kaz." the Yakuza admitted. "...I think. I only understood the part about you being loud as shit."

The Goblin's face contorted into a scowl. "Well, if you've got such a problem with it, go complain to Miss Yukizome or something once she gets here then..."

"I did not come over here to cast chaotic wrath upon you." Gundam said with a frown. "I already disclosed my desire verbally."

"Yeah, and we can't understand anything you're saying." the Goblin countered, a hint of frustration in his tone. "Talking like you're a wizard from a kid's show literally 24 hours a day is the reason nobody wants to talk to you, y'know."

Gundam took a step back and clutched his scarf in surprise.

"Woah, Kaz!" the Yakuza exclaimed. "Seriously, chill the hell out."

The Goblin ascended from his seat, getting somewhat flustered. "W-Well, I'm not wrong, am I? I seriously don't get what Miss Sonia sees in him."

"Wait…are you still not over her? Even though it's been literal years at this point?" the Yakuza questioned.

"N-No!" the Goblin anxiously denied. "I just think it's ridiculous that she chooses to spend her time with this chuunibyou out of all people."

"The only thing that's ridiculous is spending so much time obsessing over someone that isn't interested in you in the slightest. You need to get over yourself." the Yakuza bluntly countered.

"But-"

The Yakuza put his palm in front of the Goblin's face. "I am not dealing with this shit, it's far too fucking early for it." He then turned to look up at Gundam. "Look, you wanna know who got suspended and why, right?"

Gundam was taken aback by the civil war that took place in front of his eyes to the point that he didn't respond to the Yakuza's question right away. "...If you would be so generous." he eventually managed to say.

The Yakuza leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll tell you. Honestly, the more people that know what kind of a psychotic bastard that guy is, the better. You may wanna grab a seat."

Taking the Yakuza's request to heart, Gundam momentarily returned to his desk in order to retrieve his own seat so he could place it in front of the Yakuza's desk.

Once Gundam sat down, the Yakuza began. "Now, I'm sure you noticed that a certain someone in this class hasn't shown up in the past few days."

Gundam nodded. "The Lucky One?"

"If by that, you mean Nagito, then yes." the Yakuza confirmed.

Gundam felt mildly proud of himself. Both his advanced observational skills and his chaotic instincts had led him to the right path. Now all he had to worry about was just listening to the tale the Yakuza had to disclose.

"If you're just gonna re-explain what happened to him, I'm just gonna go." the Goblin muttered as he took his chair and departed from the other two men.

The Yakuza watched the Goblin leave with a displeased gaze. He then shook his head and returned his attention back to the Supreme Overlord of Ice. "Anyways, yeah, Nagito's been suspended."

"Can you give out the reason as to how that came to be?" Gundam inquired.

"To be honest, this whole shitshow didn't just happen all of a sudden. There were already a few red flags set up beforehand, it's just that most of us didn't realise it at the time." the Yakuza explained as he bent his neck down to look down at his cellular device and began to swipe the screen with his finger. After repeating this action a few times, he stopped and presented the screen to Gundam.

On the screen was some sort of profile from the world wide web, from what Gundam could tell. Most of the screen was covered in an eye-straining orange, with hints of an equally painful green thrown in. Fortunately, there was a large piece of black text that he was able to look at without issue:

"Nagito's…Hopeful Opinions?" Gundam read aloud, his voice coated in confusion.

"Have you ever heard of a 'blog' before?" the Yakuza asked, placing the device down on his desk.

Gundam nodded. "I am familiar with the concept, albeit only due to secondhand accounts."

"What you just saw there was Nagito's personal blog he set up not even two weeks ago." the Yakuza explained. "And true to its title, that bastard certainly had some opinions…"

"May you provide an example?" Gundam requested with an intrigued look.

The Yakuza crossed his arms. "I'm not gonna tell you everything, you can look into it yourself if you really want to. What I will tell you about though is some of the shit he said about the Reserve Course."

Gundam leaned slightly forward in his chair to show that he was listening.

"He basically thinks that the Reserve Course department shouldn't even exist, and anyone that thinks otherwise isn't a 'true symbol of hope', as he phrased it. He said on the blog that our class, Miss Yukizome, and even the 78th class are all 'phonies' simply because we didn't agree with him."

"I…see…" Gundam said whilst breaking eye contact with the Yakuza. "I am beginning to comprehend how fate led him to the path of banishment…"

The Yakuza let out a bitter chuckle. "That's not even the worst part."

"Whatever do you mean?" Gundam questioned, returning his eye contact back to his classmate.

"If all he did was spread problematic shit on the internet, I'm sure nothing would have happened. Instead, he decided to go out of his way to spread his agenda to everyone in person."

"Cease for a moment. Are you referencing that 'assignment' of his?"

The Yakuza scoffed. "I dunno how it went down for everyone else, but what I saw was just completely psychotic. Imagine some asshole just walks up to you after school and starts going off about how people, including your own sister, are a waste of space purely because they aren't fucking Ultimates."

Gundam's eyes widened in shock. "Did he…really utter that?"

"My sister's got more balls than that fucker ever will!" the Yakuza exclaimed, visibly starting to get angry. "So what if she's in the Reserve Course? Labels don't mean jackshit, and I certainly don't need some mop-headed asshole to try and say otherwise!"

"My…deepest condolences..."

The Yakuza crossed his arms again and took a deep breath in order to temper himself. "It's fine now, don't worry about it. And besides, my sister and I weren't the only ones there at the time." he said as he pointed at the trio of the Dastardly Dancer, the Gentle Gamer, and the Patient Photographer. "They were there too, alongside Sato and Hajime. We had all decided to meet up, until that bastard came in and ruined everything."

Although the name 'Sato' was foreign to Gundam, the name 'Hajime' did seem to ring a bell or two. Not that Gundam could visualise an appearance for this person, but he had an instinct that he may have heard the name cross the lips of some of the mortals bound to the current domain in the past.

"That being said though, it was pretty cathartic to see Hajime knock that shithead to the ground where he belongs. If he hadn't done it, I probably would have."

"Is this Hajime individual…confrontational?" Gundam wondered.

The Yakuza shook his head. "Not from what I can tell, no. The only reason he struck at Nagito was because-"

A loud cough suddenly cut the Yakuza off. Gundam felt himself tense up and looked over his shoulder to the sight of none other than the Instructor behind him.

"Good morning, you two!" she greeted with her usual cheery tone of voice. Although on the surface the Instructor seemed like an easygoing and bubbly individual (which was indeed accurate most of the time), that woman harboured a hidden and intimidating power that even the Forbidden One himself didn't want to provoke.

"Greetings…Instructor…" Gundam replied somewhat nervously.

A quick glance at the Yakuza from the corner of Gundam's eye revealed he had a similar apprehension to the Instructor's potential. "Morning, Miss Yukizome…"

"I'm pleasantly surprised to see you both having a chat, especially since I think it's the first time I've seen the two of you go out of your way to talk to each other specifically." the Instructor said without any hint of malice or sarcasm. "However, as much as I hate to interrupt, you'll have to hold off for a bit. I've got a pretty exciting class activity to share, and I want to make sure everyone's paying attention."

Looking around the domain, Gundam realised that the other mortals were either diverging from their alliances in order to place themselves at their desks, or were already seated. He was somewhat bemused as to how he had failed to detect the Instructor's presence until she made herself known.

"Right, gotcha. Sorry teach…" the Yakuza apologised.

"Oh no, you don't need to apologise, you're not in trouble." she insisted. "I just want to make sure you two aren't distracted."

Reassured that he and the Yakuza would be spared from the Instructor's infamous wrath, Gundam stood up from his seat. "Very well. I shall not hinder you for any longer than I have already." he said as he picked up his seat and returned it back to its original spot.

As Gundam sat down over at his own desk, he noticed the apprentice over to his left, with a small contented smile on her face. He was confused as to the cause behind such an expression, but then Gundam realised that he had inadvertently fulfilled the request she made just prior to their entry into the domain.

Once that thought crossed his mind, Gundam felt his face heat up, and averted the brief eye contact he had made with the apprentice.

Fortunately, the Instructor was already set in front of the rest of the mortals, standing over her personal podium of sorts. "Okay, everyone!" she began with a chipper tone. "Now that we're all organised, I have a little announcement to share with you all!"

"Whatever could it be, Miss Yukizome?" the apprentice asked.

The Instructor smirked. "I want someone to try and guess what it could be. Don't worry about if no one does get it right though, I just want to see how you guys go. You all get one shot each, so don't be shy!"

"Do we have any exams coming up?" the Arcane Animator wondered.

"Nope, nothing like that. It's fun, I promise!" the Instructor clarified.

"A-Are we getting a…n-new classmate?" the Nervous Nurse meekly asked.

The Instructor shook her head. "Unfortunately not."

The Mouthy Musician gasped loudly. "IS MISS YUKIZOME GOING TO GET MARRIED?!"

The Instructor was stunned for a moment before she erupted into laughter. "That's not it at all, Ibuki!" she denied. "It involves everyone here, not just me! That being said though, I do admire the creativity with that one."

"Shoot! Ibuki thought that was a good one…" the Musician reacted.

"We're having a massive feast or somethin'?" the Gung-ho Gymnast suggested.

"Not quite, but you're on the right track." the Instructor said with a nod.

"Hold on. Miss Yukizome…is it a class party?" the Gentle Gamer then hypothesised.

The Instructor clenched her fist and waved it around as if she were waving an invisible handbell. "Ding ding ding! That's right, we're having a class party! But not just any class party! We're also going to have it alongside the 78th class!"

There was a generally positive reception toward that news. Although the Supreme Overlord of Ice himself had no positive or negative feelings about the idea of a 'two-class party', he felt no overwhelming desire to make his opinion known. One mortal however, wasn't as enthusiastic as the rest of them.

"Ugh, seriously?" the Dastardly Dancer scoffed. "Why do we even need to throw a stupid party in the first place? Especially one with those losers from the 78th class?"

The Instructor gave her pupil a stern but calm look. "Hiyoko, I really think you should be more positive. This is a good opportunity for everyone to take the edge off and do something fun after…some of the stuff that happened last week…"

Gundam rubbed his chin. In hindsight, it would make sense that the Instructor would have been made aware of the Lucky One's misdeeds. Did she have some sort of active part in what occurred, or was she merely just being accommodating to her disciples?

"And besides, we have not one, but two birthdays coming up soon between both classes." the Instructor continued. "On the same day, in fact. So instead of throwing two separate parties, it would make more sense to just combine them both, hm?"

The Dastardly Dancer's common scowl had faltered. Her eyes glanced over at the Patient Photographer for a moment before she looked back to the Instructor. "…Fine, whatever then." she muttered with crossed arms.

A look of satisfaction washed over the Instructor. "Good! I'm glad we're all on board. Now…here comes the fun part!"

"Fun part?" the Neon Goblin repeated.

"Yep! We still have some time until the special day arrives, sooo, I've decided to assign everyone tasks related to the preparation of the party!"

"What kinda tasks?" the Muscular Manager asked.

"Come up with a list of party games, working out decorations, that sort of stuff. Here's where things get interesting though. Everyone will be working in pairs for their chosen task, buuut, I've gone out of my way to pair people up who don't normally work together!"

A few mortals made their dissatisfaction vocalised.

"Hey, come on guys. I promise I didn't pair up people that absolutely wouldn't get along. But at the same time, I think pairing everyone up with their best friends won't do any good either. I think doing something in between would lead to interesting results."

Gundam felt a sense of dread bubble up from within his vessel. The Instructor was really willing to distort the status quo in such a way? Granted, he was reassured that he was unlikely to be bound to the likes of the Neon Goblin, but nearly any other alternative would only result in utter catastrophe regardless.

"Alright, let's start with the first group!" the Instructor chirped as she clapped her hands together. "The first team, the ones that are in charge of buying the food and beverages for everyone is Gundam-"

The Supreme Overlord of Ice tensed when he heard his name get called out.

"-aaand Ibuki!"

"Oh, Ibuki's going to be choosing all the snacks for everyone? YAHOO!" the Mouthy Musician cheered.

…Gundam wondered which of his many sins were to blame for him being subjected to such a cruel fate.