"It means I'm finna beat their ass into the ground until they bleed REAL blood, dat's what! And I don't care who it is! No one messes with Yama Atsuki, the Ultimate Gangsta, and gets away with it, goddamn it!"
Drat… Nothing!
No matter how many times I replayed the scene in my head, I couldn't find a way out! But poor Emi here was hyperventilating more and more the longer I did nothing. Someone would surely notice Emi's loud panic eventually and if they connected it with what that Yama guy just said, they'd figure out it was Emi who left the fake corpse in the Kitchen. And if Yama was being serious about what he'd do... Oh god, just imagining it petrified me! No, I couldn't let that happen! But… what could I do?
If we ran, someone would notice us. If we stayed, game over for Emi!
Dang it… What would you do?
Prologue: Ultimate Roundtable
POV: Hanako Ume
"Sorry to disappoint you, Yama, but I'm afraid you won't get that chance."
"I see… You still can't pinpoint the culprit's identity despite your investigation, could you, ape?"
Freeing me of my rumination were two voices whose words carried the solace I sought. Simultaneously, Emi's panic quelled, and we both gave our undivided attention to said voices.
"Right you are, Kuroki. The clues found near the quote unquote 'crime scene' weren't enough to justify an accusation," Shingora replied.
"Is that so?" the green-suited man inquired. "Are you sure there were no other clues at the scene we could use to trace it back to them?"
"Positive! Clues were minimum, in fact! But the ones we found only exposed the fake body!"
"Therefore, our culprit remains anonymous," stated the yukata lady. "At least until we gather more-"
"It doesn't matter now," announced Kuroki, whose comment had all eyes inside the room zeroed-in on him. "The only reason there was ever a scent of consternation looming among us in the first place came as a direct result from discovering the fake body in the Kitchen, yes? Now that we've effectively put out the ordeal, answer me this: what use will uncovering the individual responsible be to us at this very moment?"
Kuroki stood there, arms firmly crossed, patiently awaiting a rebuttal against his question. Our answer was a unanimous silence; matching up with Kuroki's expectations as he sounded a hmph before continuing.
"While we could scold and sentence them to as many punishments we deem necessary, how will it improve our situation? The answer is nothing at all. In fact, we'd be taking a step backwards, greatly so. Am I wrong?"
"I disagree," the green-suited man adamantly voiced. "Or… That's what I want to say, but your argument's airtight. We've unearthed the body's falsity, so attempting to dig up the one responsible as well would purely be our curiosity driving us and not our sense of duty, thus getting us nowhere."
"I... must agree, then. A pity, but perhaps digging any deeper would be foolish considering our circumstances," the yukata lady concluded.
"Agreed. Abandoning this discourteous prank's trail here would be for the best," declared Shingora.
"Thank goodness!" uttered a snowed haired freckle-faced boy, wearing a childish smile. "For an itsy bitsy second there, I thought things were about to become uncomfortable again! I'm glad we've reached an understanding together, everyone!"
Wow... It happened again. The tension wafting in the air moments ago was promptly stomped out by another relieving resolution and replaced with swift serenity. Maybe my theory wasn't too far off after all:
Ultimates. We, the talented who could effortlessly bounce back against whatever hit us, no matter how powerful. Only focusing on what lay ahead gave us strength. But our talents were just one pair of batteries powering our resilient natures. It was also us, the Ultimates themselves; Kuroki and Shingora proved that fact today.
"Wh… Wha?! Are ya'll tellin' me we're lettin' our perp off the hook?" exclaimed Yama.
"If our discussion's direction wasn't obvious, yes. What of it?" asked the long-haired girl, shooting Yama a look, and a raised eyebrow.
"OH HELL TO THE HELL NAH! There's no way we're droppin' this when we're already lickin' the floor! Whoever's the sick bastard who pulled this needs to eat the hot pipin' hell dat's flyin' their way for messin' with us!"
"Yama," Shingora injected. "I understand how you feel, but Kuroki brings up a good point. Searching for the culprit will gain us nothing in the end. Instead, figuring out our weird predicament should be top priority right now."
"Indeed. I'd very much rather return to the comforts of my room. I'm already late for my daily evening tea session with my darling!" proclaimed the long-haired girl.
"What?! Y-Y-You already h-have a darling?!" exclaimed a boy wearing a backward red and white cap accompanied by white swirly glasses sitting on his nose. "Please t-tell me, do you also riiiiiiiiide him?"
"Excuse me?! I do hope that question wasn't anything obscene, you thirsty deadbeat vir-"
"All right, all right! One conflict at a time, please!" Shingora quickly pleaded.
"Tch, fine! Have it your way! If ya pussies won't do it, I'll do it myself!" shouted Yama.
"I don't believe that'd be wise," warned the yukata lady. "We still know nothing about-"
"I don't give a damn! Upholdin' my pride is MY top priority! Y'all can sit on your asses all day for all I care! Peace!"
Yama gave everyone his back and stomped straight into the Kitchen, where the fake corpse still resided.
"Yama, wait!" Shingora shouted.
"Let him be," the long-haired girl insisted. "Someone like him who can't adjust to the bare basics of cooperation is naught but useless to us."
"Still, his rowdiness is worrisome. I fear trouble may befall him if he continues acting like this," stated the yukata lady.
"On the contrary, I say we leave him alone," Kuroki once again voiced. "I assume your goal is keeping everyone together, right, ape? As long as that Yama scoundrel's still nearby, there's no need to worry. Someone can inform him on any new findings later, if he'll even listen."
"I suppose you're right. But can someone please keep an eye on him, at least?" requested Shingora.
"Then if you don't mind, I wish to volunteer for the task," the yukata lady raised an offering hand.
"Great! Thanks, Ultear! Good luck!"
"Thank you. Well, if you'll excuse me," the yukata lady — Ultear — bowed respectfully toward the group before heading off into the Kitchen herself.
"By the way, thanks a ton, Kuroki! You've been a tremendous help so far! Not just you, but Hanako and Emi too! All three of you did an excellent job sorting out this whole fake body incident!"
"Hanako and Emi?" asked the snowed haired boy.
"He means those two over there."
Kuroki gestured in our direction, marking us as the new center of attention. I felt Emi's hand shook in mine as she jumped from the sudden attraction and instantly darted her eyes toward the Dining Hall's glossy white-tiled floor.
"AHA HA HA HA! Yep! Without these guy's help, we'd all probably be in a humongous panic!" shouted Shingora.
"Oh, I see! Awesome job, you guys!" praised the snowed haired boy.
"Even I must admit, you sure saved us from dealing with what perhaps would have been a real pain in the arse!" praised the long-haired girl, arrogantly.
"Bravo! Bravo!" clapped the top-hatted man. "Once we leave here, I'll make sure to award all of you in honor of your admirable endeavors!"
Me, Emi, and Kuroki were suddenly receiving praises from nearly everyone in the room. Consequently, Emi loosened her grip on my hand. Although she still appeared uneasy, not a trace of the hyperventilation discharged prior came back on her face. Same for my own stress as I felt every bit of it dissolving in my body, releasing its grasp on me at last. My eyes then darted off toward a sly wink sent by Shingora. I returned one back, along with a weak smile. We were in a real pickle there; I seriously owed those two big time!
"Okay," Shingora started after a relieving sigh. "With that handled, let's get straight into the real meat of things!"
Shingora stepped down from the table, creating a vibration upon his feet contacting the floor, almost sharing the intensity of a brief earthquake. He grabbed a seat from among the eight blue plastic chairs surrounding the large table and sat on it backwards, resting his chin on his hands.
"So, what's the report? Did anyone discover anything new that could help us understand our situation better?"
Everyone glanced at each other, carrying heavy anticipation upon eye contact, but said glances changed into ones I could only describe as despondent. That likewise brought a frown on Shingora's face.
"So I'm assuming no?"
"Can you blame us?! It's far too dark in this accursed building!" exclaimed the long-haired girl.
"Uh huh! I agree with Ms. Whiny Pants over here!" uttered the blue frizzy haired girl.
"Exac- W-WHAT did you call me?!"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" the blue frizzy haired girl snickered, sticking her tongue out, revealing the two small silver tongue piercings positioned vertically from each other.
"Speaking of the dark," the snowed haired boy mentioned, "have the school's lights always been off and we've just never noticed?"
"No," answered the green-suited man. "I can say with absolute certainty that I remember the school's lights remaining on at all times. So it's quite a mystery why they're off in the first place."
"It could be because it's super late. What time is it right now?" I asked.
"Lets see," Shingora pointed at the only silver clock within the Dining Hall — right behind the large table — attached upon the very top of the Dining Hall's beige colored walls, "9:45 PM."
"Yikes! Yeah, that's pretty late! But it also means all we need to do is find the light switch, right? Problem solved!"
The moment I said that, everyone — except Kuroki and Emi — looked at me with dubious stares.
"Actually, Hanako," Shingora began, "I already found a few light switches while investigating the classrooms on the first floor, and to my surprise, someone already flicked on every single one I found. However, the corresponding rooms' lights weren't on."
"What?! A-Are you serious?!"
Shingora nodded. If what he said was true, my earlier plan would had been in vain after all…
"I can vouch Shingora's results because the second floor's classroom lights were exactly the same. I think it's safe to say that for some unknowable reason, almost none of the lights in the school can turn on," clarified the green-suited man.
"Hmm, which only calls the Dining Hall we're conversing in and the Kitchen into question, no?" asked the top-hatted man.
"Yeah, I thought the exact same thing," Shingora replied. "The fact these lights work proves the problem isn't a power outage. And so many out too? What caused all that?"
Whatever the reason, hopefully our eventual discovery wasn't far off. I'd do ANYTHING not to go back out and meet those dark, creepy hallways again, potentially facing what other hidden horrors awaited their pounce on us! Was a little light too much to ask? The moon wasn't enough.
"God, how annoying! More questions just keep piling up!" complained the long-haired girl.
"And nobody else has anything significant to report?" Shingora received no answer; releasing a sign from his mouth. "This'll definitely be a tough case to crack. Hey, what do you think, Kuroki?"
Kuroki's pupils leisurely landed on Shingora. "Why are you asking me?"
"From what I've witnessed so far, you have an impressive intuition. So, I don't know, maybe you can enlighten us with some more insight?"
Although letting out a sigh, Kuroki brought a thumb on his chin, appearing lost in thought. His tightened lips then finally moved.
"Seeing as we're very limited on clues right now, our only next steps would be traversing the darkened hallways again and hopefully discover more which could aid us."
"Ugh! I don't want to go back! I just want some rest, THANK YOU!" whined the long-haired girl.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that, Fumiko!" exclaimed the snowed haired boy. "Tell you what, why don't you and me group up this time? I'm sure we'll find something if we work together! Two minds are better than-"
"No, thank you. You're nothing but a nuisance."
"Ack…! A-Aha ha, wow, you're so cold, aren't you?" the snowed haired boy said, pulling forth another smile.
And so, I found myself puffing my chest up with air before releasing it, sighing out any foreboding emotions manifesting inside, prepping themselves for action. Come on, Hanako, there had to be ONE thing you hadn't considered! Wait, what about-
"What about Monokuma? Is he here, by any chance?"
Everyone present approached my question with instantaneous and perplexed glances, except Kuroki, of course.
"Mono what now?" inquired Shingora.
"Who's that? Oh, is it a code name for someone here?!" asked the snowed haired boy, elated.
"Wait, you guys haven't met him?! He's so funny, aha ha!" snorted the blue frizzy haired girl.
"You met him too?!" I exclaimed.
"Mhm! First he asked me if I wanted his autograph. I told him I didn't have a pen and what do you know, he pulls one right out of his ass - literally!"
W-What?! That... sounded so wrong on so many levels!
"Then not only did I refuse his pen, I also revealed that I did have my own pen all along and threw him the cold hard truth: I don't care. After hearing that, he started sweating, shaking on the floor - oh - I think he even went into the fetal position if I remem-"
"Argh, stop! Nobody cares about your trifling fun! Just tell us who this Monokuma is!"
The frizzy blue-haired girl pouted at Fumiko's rude interruption. She did eventually end up conceding and told us everything she knew about Monokuma. She got about the same knowledge as mine and Kuroki's first encounter with him. Except hers sounded a bit more outlandish and I doubt it was because of Monokuma. Poor guy.
"Hmm, based on your accounts, it looks like this Monokuma person knows a whole lot more than we do. He may even hold all the answers to our questions," Shingora concluded.
"And you guys don't have a single clue where he might have gone?" asked the top-hatted man.
"Nope," I shook my head. "When Monokuma left, he just disappeared. As if he turned himself into thin air."
"T-T-T-Thin air?! By chance, did h-he place his index finger AND middle finger on his h-head when h-h-he disappeared?!" exclaimed the swirly glasses boy, in apace breath strokes.
"Uh, I don't think so, no. He only stood in front of us and... poof. Right, Kuroki?"
Kuroki nodded. We both looked back at the swirly glasses boy and he seemed plenty distressed! He balled both his hands into a fist - one of which covered his mouth, giving more personality to substitute his likely gaping eyes hidden behind those swirly glasses.
"I-I-Incredible! Could it be?! T-This Monokuma's Power Level goes so above and beyond, h-he doesn't even need to do such an i-i-important s-s-step?!"
The guy started breathing heavily, tensing me to back up; accidentally bumping into Kuroki.
"Okaaaaaaay, moving on!" declared Shingora, raising an awkward eyebrow. "As far as we know, there's no way to contact this Monokuma person. The trail runs cold, unfortunately. I don't think we can rely on him, either."
"Sorry. I thought maybe mentioning him might help," I said in a low voice.
"No, no. It's fine. At least now we know what our shortcut looks like. Until then, we better keep our eyes peeled in case we spot Monokuma. Other than that, it looks like we must go back and search the hallways thoro-"
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!"
An abrupt shout erupted its way into our ears, uninvited. We all turned to its direction: the Kitchen. The moment we did, we saw Yama hurrying toward us; a wide grin quickly snuck its way onto his face.
"Yo, ya bastards! Looka what I dug up!"
Yama shoved his cupped hands into our personal spaces. What laid in them was an orange device shaped like a gun! It had a pointy nozzle which leaked some white substance onto Yama's hands. Whatever it was, the white substance had a worrying effect on him. His hands shook rigidly, as if trying to withstand an agonizing amount of pain from a fresh wound. Additionally, his grin kept twitching.
"Yama, wait!"
Also rushing out of the Kitchen was Ultear. Unlike Yama, though, she seemed much more agitated.
"I told you, wait! Let me see it!" Ultear peered over Yama's shoulder. Aside from confirming that Ultear's much taller than Yama, her intense expression got swapped out with a curious one.
"Yama, what's that?" asked Shingora.
"I f-found it by the c-corpse! Check it! M-Might be a c-clue!"
"Before we address this device, are you quite alright? You're sounding awfully like our friendly neighborhood annoying nerd, Yuuto," Fumiko remarked.
"I-I'm not sure if I want to t-take that as a compliment or an i-insult!" commented the now confirmed named Yuuto.
"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGH! IT'S THIS DAMN LIQUID DRIPPIN' FROM THIS THING! SOMEONE GET THIS OFF MA HAND!"
"O-Okay, I got you!" notifying that, Shingora picked up the orange device off Yama's hands. Not too long after...
"HOLY SHIT, THANK GOD! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK! WHY DA HELL DID DAT BURN SO FUCKIN' MUCH, DAMN IT!"
"Oh, stop! You're a man, aren't you? Quit spouting like a spoiled brat!" complained Fumiko, flashing a callous smirk.
"HUH?! WAT DA FUCK DID YA SPIT AT ME, BI-AHHHHHHHHHHHHH, IT'S STUCK ON MY HAND!"
"Actually, I think it dried. At an impressive speed, too!" Ultear analyzed.
"GET THIS GLOB OFF ME! IT FEELS SO DAMN WEIRD!"
"W-What's going-" before I could ask my question, I felt another vibration on my hand. Oh yeah, I forgot she still held it. I looked over and saw Emi. Her eyes widened with horror and gripped the chest of her shirt tightly with the other hand. What… Oh, crud!
"Hey, there's something etched on the top," Shingora announced "'E.N.'. E.N.? What's does that mean?"
A trigger appeared to click in Shingora's brain when he said that. His head flung around and his eyes landed on Emi. Shingora now got a full quality look at Emi's high leveled nervousness. As if contagious, Shingora's face tried matching Emi's, communicating the exact same thoughts I had:
We're in trouble.
"Shingora, what's wrong? Did you perhaps discover something?" asked Ultear.
"Huh?! Oh, uh-" Shingora struggled to conjure up an excuse; his pupil swaying around, as if trying to escape its circular cage being his eye, but always landed itself back in the center of said eye. Back to square one.
"W-Who cares!" exclaimed Yama. "This thing's obviously a clue to our perp, right?! E.N., huh? I bet ya a hundred bucks that's our guy's initials!"
"I'm impressed. You're not as dumb as you make yourself out to be," Fumiko comfortably grinned.
"Shud up! Aight, who da hell's first name starts with an E and ends with an N?!"
"Oh, for the love of- nevermind. You are as dumb as you look."
No, no, no! Emi looked like she'd panic and we were right in front of everyone too. Being discreet again was out of the question!
"I concur. You are indeed dumber as you appear, Yama."
Like a feral adept wild animal, Yama — whose face went ablazed in a blend of both determination and tenacity — zipped around the room and locked onto his target. The person who had the nerve to taunt him with zero care or fear in the world.
"Huh?! What's dat?! Because I know ya ain't tryna take a jab at me too, four-eyes!"
"Four-eyes?" Kuroki questioned, popping up a curious smirk. "Was that banal insult the only one you could come up with? Honestly, if you take a few seconds contemplating it, the meaning makes absolutely no sense, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yo, I never asked for ya damned opinion on four-eyes, four-eyes! Just shud the fuck up and let me do what I gotta do!"
"Believe me, I would desire nothing more than leaving you to your own inclinations, but you're interrupting us from accomplishing our more significant duties. Thus, I feel the need to step in and clarify something."
Yama almost jumped at another counter back, but Ultear shoved her hand in front of his face; silencing him before we all started walking into a downward spiral.
"Do tell, Kuroki. What is it you want to clarify?" she asked.
"It's regarding the initials etched on the device there. I believe there has been a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding? You mean, these aren't initials belonging to a person?" asked the snowed haired boy.
"Yes… And no. The initials belong to a group; a company known as Electronic Notions."
"Electronic Notions? That name sounds a little familiar," commented the top-hated man.
"Oh, oh!" exclaimed the frizzy blue-haired girl. "Isn't that the rad company who largely revolutionized technology with their super upgrades of modern appliances and devices, plus new additions such as embedding flying cars into our society?"
"My, my! I must say, I'm impressed by how knowledgeable you are about them, Ms..."
"I am Groot!" the blue frizzy-haired girl stuck her tongue out at Kuroki.
"I-I can say with confidence t-t-that's not your actual name! Me of all people s-should know that!" Yuuto yelled.
"Ah, Electronic Notions, huh?!" exclaimed Shingora, who now appeared recomposed. "I've heard the company's name a few times on the news during the first month they began business. In fact, they made these flashlights I lent everyone earlier. Look here, they have the same initials on them."
Shingora pulled out said flashlights. Upon closer inspection, it actually did have the initials 'E.N.' slapped onto the bottom of the handle.
"These flashlights are a lot more powerful than regular ones. The brightness is enhanced by 25%; you can spot something as small and unnoticeable as a fairyfly!"
"But wouldn't such an enhancement drain the batteries faster, making it almost useless in comparison?" asked Ultear.
"Yep. So compensating for it, these flashlights are chargeable in lieu of D-size batteries. That way, even if it runs out, you just find a nearby outlet, plug in the charger, and charge away! Even so, it still can last a good 6 hours. The chances of it failing on you are practically none."
"Convenient! H-How much do t-they cost? I-I would be really glad to have a flashlight like this on while asleep! Then I-I can just charge it in the morning!" said Yuuto.
"Why in the world would you need a flashlight on when sleeping? Don't tell me, are you afraid of the dark?" asked Fumiko.
"Of course not! But i-it helps keeps the demons away at night! The brighter the light, t-the better it is as a repellent! That's what my brother t-told me!"
Fumiko reacted with a disgusted look. "Why must stupidity be commonplace nowadays?"
"Wait, but don't these initials look different from what's on the device?"
As the snow haired boy pointed out, the device's were plain, physically carved into, initials. But Shingora's flashlight had an actual product label. The initials 'E.N.' were also sea blue and unlike the device, its letters were in a vodka font style - the end of the "N" being extended and whisked away by sparkly matching blue particles traveling straight upward until being cut off at end of the label.
"Ah, yes. First off, the device there is a hot glue gun. I assume you've all heard of it before," explained Kuroki.
"Ew, this shit is glue?! Ngh, they feel as crusty as my granny's hand!" exclaimed Yama.
"And regarding the initials, those were the company's old ways of marking their products. At birth, they didn't have a skyrocketing budget, you see. Thus resorting to improvisations during its early stage, as stated in their interviews when the company's first boom began."
"Said boom being the flying cars, of course!" intervened the blue frizzy-haired girl.
"Correct! Quite a vast array of knowledge you possess on the topic, Groot."
"Whoa! H-H-He actually accepted the name!" exclaimed Yuuto.
"Duh! Obviously I would know! I'm a whole ass computer, damn it!"
"Are you really?!" exclaimed the snowed haired boy, with a glint in his eyes.
"Nope - just kidding! Though, I suppose it wouldn't be a stretch to say my computer feels like a part of me that I'd never, ever, ever be able to part with!" snorted the frizzy-haired girl, sticking her tongue out again.
Although knowing the truth, the light inside the snowed haired boy's eyes never dimmed and remained steady. "Aw, bummer! But that was such a cool line! You sound like a superhero!"
"Anyway, I believe I made my point. The hot glue gun is an invention created by Electronic Notions. Further proof lays in the heater's quality that cools the glue and how fast it could harden onto Yama's hands," Kuroki fixed his glasses and the same smirk he had before reappeared on his face. "Wouldn't you agree, Yama?"
"Additionally, I can vouch for everything Kuroki has said. I may not be as knowledgeable on the topic, but I have heard those exact points here and there from the latest newspapers I read everyday," said Shingora.
And just like that, they fired the final shot. Yama, whose aura emitted a vehement burning wave of anger and zeal, got downgraded to petty whining on a childish level. Right then and there, Yama snapped. He gritted his teeth harder than anyone I'd seen in my life, a popping vein emerged from his head, the blue shades he wore tilted, and even though I couldn't completely see his eyes, I could guess they were dilated in a mixture of frustration and astonishment based on how much his eye sockets broadened.
"How pitiful. Just put away those vengeful feelings already. You'll only end up making yourself an even bigger fool than you already are," Kuroki stated, his smirk fading into the already tense atmosphere.
"Ya… four-eyed bastard. What right do ya have... to look down on me like dat, huh?!"
Yama tightly balled his hands into fists and trudged his way toward Kuroki. Ultear called out to Yama - even reached out her hand so she could grab him - but to no avail. It was like Yama's fury plugged his ears - preventing any sound from entering - completely clouding his judgment.
At that moment, an important realization dawned on me. The person I shouldn't be worrying too much about wasn't Emi; anyone else here could definitely do a better job at defending her than me. Who I should have been worried about was Kuroki! His condescending nature has always attracted trouble one way or another. I had to do something...! But then, something else took care of that.
Suddenly, every frantic feature plastered onto Yama's face took a whole 180. His eye sockets relaxed, his raging vein popped back into his head, and his teeth ceased their intense clashing, finally opening up the depths of his mouth. Yama's expression looked dazed, and he staggered to the side, but then stomped the floor with his left leg, as if intentionally attempting to attach himself to it.
"Y-Yama! Are you okay?!" exclaimed Shingora.
"I-I'm good!"
Despite his reply, Yama furiously shook his head and his face winced. It was like he sensed something. Something which remained invisible to the human eye. He gritted his teeth again in pure frustration and agony. It wasn't long until he reopened them, however, and released every last bit of the exuberant energy that dwelled inside him as one big shout.
"KNOW WHAT, SCREW THIS! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"
After voicing that out, his body practically went limp. Yama weakly trotted himself to one of the many black leathered sofas attached and lined up on the side of the Dining Hall, each pair facing each other with a large and long table in between. He plopped himself down while holding his head in one hand.
"Looks like the stress got him. Took it long enough," commented Fumiko.
"Okay… Maybe we all need a break. We've gone through a lot tonight," said Shingora.
"It would seem so," confirmed the green-suit man, following up with a clap or two. "All right, let's take a 10 minute recess or so to give our brains some relaxation!"
"Yes, let's relax for a bit," Shingora said, sighing and scratching his head. Then suddenly, his eyes popped opened in realization, "Wait, relax…? That's it! Why didn't I think this sooner?!"
"Shingora, what are you talking about?" asked Ultear.
"I think I've realized why we've been having trouble cooperating: we're not comfortable. We're not in a suitable environment to relax because of us! We know nothing about each other, aside from a few names! So, I suggest we use our break as an opportunity to introduce ourselves properly!"
"I get it!" I yelled. "If we can learn a thing or two about each other, we'll be more comfortable working together in the long run!"
"Yes! I've been waiting for this!" the white-haired boy cheered.
"An excellent idea, Shingora! This is exactly the type of relaxation we need! I'll be sure to give you a reward too in honor of your wonderful leadership!" praised the top-hatted man.
"Agreed. 'One can only do so much alone, but together, we're unbeatable' - as they say," said Ultear, with a smile.
"Well, I suppose trying that wouldn't hurt. You all better be grateful that I'm allowing you the chance to be within my presence."
Other than Fumiko's arrogant comment, everyone was excited to get to know more about each other. Of course, that included me! I'd been yearning something like that for a long while now; what could possibly go wrong?
"Alllllllllllllllllllllllll RIGHT!" shouted Shingora. "Our Ultimate Introductions begins now!"
