Chapter Text
Peaceful.
That’s the first word that came to mind when I woke up. Well, I say woke up, but it was anything but that. The world around me was still pitch black, like I was closing my eyes, and I couldn’t hear anything except the faint whir of the wind. If I hadn’t known I was awake, I would’ve thought I was still asleep.
I let the quiet atmosphere relax me until it started to change. A piano melody had started to play, and I focused in on the notes, trying to figure out what song it possibly was.
As embarrassing as it is to admit, it took me a little while to recognize the tune as Clair de Lune. The somber yet retrospective melody was one of my favorites to listen to. Whether I was feeling happy, sad, angry...whatever the mood, Clair de Lune would help me pinpoint my emotions and express them healthily. Sometimes it made me joyous, other times I couldn’t help but cry...but that’s okay.
Listening to the song, the memories of other tunes started to flood my mind. Nocturne in E flat major, Canon in D, Für Elise... All these songs started to play at once, creating a chaotic yet beautiful symphony drifting through my head.
That’s right...I had spent most of my life listening to these songs, learning how to play them, performing them on a daily basis, and even creating my own pieces.
Because I’m the Ultimate Pianist. My name...is Kaede Akamatsu.
And that was when the world came into view.
???
...Huh?
I was...standing...somehow, gripping the straps of my bag. But as soon as I realized that, the world started to tilt sideways.
Kaede: “Huh...”
...Oh! I was falling! I quickly let go of my bag, flailing my arms out to the side to regain my balance...or at least, attempt to—
Sturdy arms caught me before I could hit the ground.
???: “You okay?”
Kaede: “Yeah...thanks!”
The arms let me go, and I planted my feet firmly on the ground. I definitely wouldn’t fall again. That would just be awkward. But now that I could stand, I took a good look at the person who had saved me from crashing down. He was pretty tall, and...pretty in general. The first thing I noticed was his tousled light green hair along with the several piercings on his ears.
Green-Haired Man: “It’s no problem.”
The kind stranger put one of his hands behind his neck.
Green-Haired Man: “Suddenly finding ourselves here...I can’t imagine the transition would be smooth.”
Kaede: “Wait...you mean, that happened to you, too?”
???: “Happened to all of us, actually!”
Hearing a voice behind me, I spun around to face a group of even more strangers.
Kaede: “Woah— How many—”
Gray Braids: “Nine of us, including you.”
Freckles: “There could be more...”
Maid Woman: “If following the same pattern, another should be arriving very soon.”
Feeling a bit more nervous than before, I stepped closer to the group. At least, for a group, they sure were standing far apart from each other, with the exception of a few pairs. I guess if they also got here the same way I did, it wasn’t a surprise they were weary of the situation...
...but I was going to have an optimistic view! I just had to think of a good piano song to recite in my head to encourage me.
Sadly, I was cut off before I could decide on one by a panicked scream.
???: “Wh-What the—?!”
CRASH
All of us turned around to see where it had come from.
...Most of us turned around. Some people were lost in their own world, I guess.
A man who definitely was not here before had appeared where I first was. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the support I did, and it seemed he had crashed onto the ground before anyone could help him.
Both the maid woman and I made a move to step forward, but the green-haired man was quicker, reaching down to get the other on his feet.
Green-Haired Man: “That was quite the fall...”
Tie Guy: “Where am I?! How did—”
Green-Haired Man: “We’re all in the dark, just like you.”
Tie Guy: “Oh...”
He stopped with the questions, probably knowing he’d get nowhere with them, but his face remained as pale as a ghost. I think it would be an understatement to say he was just confused.
Green-Haired Man: “Maybe you should go over there.”
He pointed at the rest of us standing to the side.
Green-Haired Man: “It would be pretty bad if someone appeared right on top of you...”
The tie guy nodded and made his way over to us. He, like most others, stood close, yet at a distance by himself.
I think we all felt rather disconnected, either from fear, confusion, a mix of both, or...annoyance, from the look on some people’s faces. If only I had a piano here, or even just a keyboard...I could play them a song to hopefully ease some tension.
Kimono Girl: “It’s already been a couple of minutes, and no one else has showed up! You think porcupine hair broke something?”
The tie guy said nothing, but I saw him glance up at his hair with a frown. To be honest, kimono girl was right; it was really spiky.
Seashell Girl: “Perhaps it is a sign that it is only us ten!”
Suit and Glasses: “Finally. I was getting tired of waiting. Is someone going to tell us why we’re here now?”
It...didn’t sound like a genuine question...more like impatient sarcasm. And if his tone and folded arms weren’t obvious enough signs of his annoyance, the lack of a response from anyone caused him to sigh loudly.
Suit and Glasses: “Not one of you can tell me why we’re here. Pathetic.”
Pink Pigtails: “Oooh, look at that! Mister Trust Fund thinks he can boss us around!”
Suit and Glasses: “Trust fund...?!”
Pink Pigtails: “Yep! Got the rich kid look and everything.”
Suit and Glasses: “I’ll have you know—”
Before their argument could get any further, the maid woman stepped in between the two, blocking their view of each other.
Maid Woman: “This is not the time to argue. We are in an unknown location with strangers, having gotten here in an unknown way, for an unclear purpose...”
Seashell Girl: “Nyah hah hah! So many unknowns!”
Green-Haired Man: “And yet...there’s a way we can make one of them known, isn’t there? ...If you’ll all cooperate, of course.”
A way we can make one of them known...It took me a second to realize what he was implying.
Kaede: “Right! Let’s all introduce ourselves!”
Kimono Girl: “Pfft, what are you, in third grade? Introductions are for losers!”
Wait— was she not in third grade?
Green-Haired Man: “Then I guess we’ll be losers for the time being. Ready to start introductions?”
INTRODUCTIONS - START
Gray Braids: “If we are going to introduce ourselves...we should do it in an orderly fashion.”
Kaede: “Alright...does anyone have any ideas on how we should introduce ourselves? Maybe to be more orderly, a format of sorts?”
Our group of ten went silent for a moment.
Maid Woman: “Names...of course.”
Kimono Girl: “Nah, we don’t need names! I can call you all pig barf or cow spit!”
Suit and Glasses: “Can it.”
Kimono Girl: “Tch— you can it! I thought you were too much of a sourpuss to even want to do introductions, dork!”
Suit and Glasses: “I never said that. In fact, I’ll introduce myself now, and you all can copy my perfect example.”
Suit and Glasses: “My name is Byakuya Togami.”
Maid Woman: “As in— the Togami corporation?”
Pink Pigtails: “Oh, he really is a trust fund kid!”
Byakuya: “Quiet, you. Let me finish.”
Byakuya: “As you all should know, I am heir to the Togami corporation— in fact, I’m the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.”
We all went silent once more.
Tie Guy: “...Ultimate?”
Byakuya: “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Seashell Girl: “Oh! Angie is an Ultimate too! And Atua thinks we should all introduce ourselves with our name and our Ultimate talent!”
Angie? And Atua? Whoever those were, I agreed with the seashell girl.
Kaede: “That’s a great idea, er...”
Seashell Girl: “Angie will go next! Her name is Angie Yonaga, and she is the Ultimate Artist!”
Oh, she was speaking in third-person! She was Angie. But...
Kaede: “Who’s Atua? You mentioned them before.”
Angie: “Atua is the divine god that runs the world! Angie is his vessel on Earth!”
Kimono Girl: “So we have a religious nut job here. Weirdo.”
Green-Haired Man: “Anyone else want to introduce themself?”
It seemed like a couple of people were willing to go now, including myself.
Kaede: “I’m Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist.”
Pink Pigtails: “Ultimate Pianist? Ooo, you must serenade all the guys with your songs then, huh? Or the ladies, whichever way you swing.”
Pink Pigtails: “In any case, I’m Junko Enoshima, pleasure to meet you. I’m the Ultimate Fashionista!”
Junko: “And this here is my sis! Introduce yourself, twinnie!”
Freckles: “...My name is Mukuro Ikusaba. I’m the Ultimate Soldier.”
Kaede: “You two are twins?”
Kimono Girl: “But Big Sis Junko and Mukuro look nothing alike! Mukuro is way uglier than you! Wait...are you faking it? As fake as the photoshops on your magazines?”
Gray Braids: “Two completely different Ultimate talents, too...”
Tie Guy: “I doubt they’re faking it. Sometimes twins really are just that different.”
Kimono Girl: “Different last names, too! It’s gotta be a dumb ruse!”
Tie Guy: “They can have different last names, too...It doesn’t mean they’re automatically not related.”
Angie: “Atua is telling Angie these two girls are indeed twins! Perhaps this tie man has some ties to Atua’s messaging system!”
Byakuya: “...Was that your attempt at a pun?”
Tie Guy: “My name’s not tie man— it’s Hajime Hinata.”
Kimono Girl: “What does your stupid Atua use to talk to you, anyway?”
Angie: “Sometimes messages in the environment, or certain signals from people...but mostly through a divine calling to the mind!”
Angie: “And he seems to be calling you out, child. For you yap your mouth constantly, but you have yet to give your name.”
Angie stared at the small girl with an expression I could only describe as intense. For a moment, she was silent, seemingly terrified by the looks of things...but she quickly recovered with a pout, crossing her arms.
Kimono Girl: “Fine! But I’m not doing this because your stupid whatever god is saying to.”
Kimono Girl: “I’m Hiyoko Saionji, the Ultimate Traditional Dancer. And don’t call me a child— I’m a high schooler, and I can kick anyone’s ass here at any time.”
Byakuya: “For a traditional dancer, you’re incredibly immature and rude. I would expect one to be a lot more polite than the way you’re acting.”
Hiyoko: “Shut up! Who do you think you are, bossing me around? I don’t care that you lead some corporation, I’m not following your stupid rules, tryhard!”
Maid Woman: “Enough is enough. I shall continue with introductions.”
Maid Woman: “My name is Kirumi Tojo, and I am the Ultimate Maid. I am pleased to be at everyone’s service.”
Ah...I knew she was a maid! Her whole outfit just screamed it. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw her in an anime or something.
Gray Braids: “At our service? You do not serve a specific person?”
Kirumi: “Of course I do, however, I also strive to help everyone I can. I am a maid, after all.”
Hm...I should ask this girl for her name, considering she just spoke up.
Kaede: “I don’t think we got your name, Miss...”
Gray Braids: “Peko Pekoyama, the Ultimate Swordswoman.”
Angie: “Swordswoman? Angie does not see a sword with you right now!”
Peko: “...It was taken from me, I presume. I woke up without it.”
Junko: “Really, huh?”
Angie: “Hm...Angie can believe that! After all, her trusty mallet is gone!”
Mukuro: “My gun is gone, as well. I carry it with me everywhere...”
Hajime: “Does that mean...someone stole them from you guys?”
He took the words right out of my mouth. The same idea was definitely on my mind...there’s no way these three Ultimates would let their belongings be taken from them, especially being athletic types.
Wait a second...no, something was off about that.
The object out of place was:
> Peko’s sword
> Angie’s mallet
> Mukuro’s gun
> Angie’s mallet
Kaede: “Angie, your...mallet?”
Angie: “Yes, Angie’s mallet! She uses it for creating sculptures guided by Atua’s hand, and always carries it in her pocket! But...it’s gone! It’s gone, indeed! Atua has told her someone confiscated it!”
I suppose that made sense. Even if she’s not a fighter, an artist would definitely use a mallet for sculpting.
Kirumi: “Has everyone introduced themself?”
Green-Haired Man: “Not quite. I haven’t gone yet.”
After silently observing us for most of the time— despite being the one to imply we should do introductions in the first place— the green-haired man finally spoke.
Green-Haired Man: “Name’s Rantaro Amami. I’m the Ultimate Adventurer, but even with all the places I’ve been to...I’ve never been somewhere like here before.”
Mukuro: “Never? I’ve traveled around a lot, and I’ve seen hotel lobbies that look like this.”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t actually taken a good look at my surroundings. So, I spun around, doing just that.
Mukuo was right. This looked exactly like a hotel lobby, except the place where the reception desk would’ve gone was replaced with even more couches. Plants— real or fake, I couldn’t tell from far away— were everywhere, and that combined with the fountain in the center gave it an incredible relaxing, natural feel. It was like a song in which the composer took extra care to add tiny details that would immerse you even more in the world their song created.
Rantaro: “I’m not much of a hotel guy. I’d rather be out camping, sleeping in tents...that kind of stuff, you know?”
Hiyoko: “Sleeping in tents...having to pee in the bushes, getting no showers, being all smelly? Gross! I thought your talent was fine, but now it looks like cabbage man is just plain stupid.”
...Jeez. She was cute, but...she didn’t need to say things like that!
Kaede: “It’s not always about choosing the most luxurious option when you go on trips, or do anything, really...It’s about what you get the most satisfaction and enjoyment out of. Doing things the easy way all the time makes some of us feel lazy or bad.”
Hiyoko: “Hm...I guess you’re right. But it’s still lame in my eyes.”
Rantaro: “That’s alright. Camping isn’t for everyone.”
Hiyoko: “Yay! Big Bro Rantaro understands!”
Kirumi: “Now then...I believe everyone has introduced themselves. Unless we are missing someone?”
Byakuya: “This has been a pointless waste of time.”
I knew everyone had talked at some point, but for some reason, I felt like something was missing.
Hm...we’re missing someone’s:
> Name
> Ultimate talent
> Ultimate talent
I got it!
Kaede: “Hajime, I don’t think we heard your Ultimate talent.”
All eyes turned toward him. He looked a lot better during introductions than when he had first appeared, but with the sudden attention, I could see him starting to get nervous. His eyes darted to all the different faces looking at him, then back to me.
Hajime: “My Ultimate talent? It’s...”
Hajime: “...Um....”
Byakuya: “Spit it out; we don’t have all day.”
Hajime: “...”
Hajime didn’t respond, instead opting to tug at his tie.
Kirumi: “He does not look so well. Perhaps we should drop the subject.”
Mukuro: “We all have Ultimate talents, so he should be able to easily tell us his.”
Peko: “Perhaps it is something dangerous, and he does not wish to disclose it.”
Angie: “Oooor...or or oooorrr...maybe the tie man does not have one! And he is panicking ‘cuz it would be very awkward to say that now!”
No...Angie may be right that he’s panicking— or at least, looked like it— but it had to be for a different reason. After all, it would be weird if all of us had talents and he didn’t.
Hiyoko: “It could be something super embarrassing...Yeah! I bet it’s totally lame! Like Ultimate Klutz!”
Junko: “He’s not keeping it from us out of his own will, is he?”
Rantaro: “...What do you mean by that?”
Suspicion flavored Rantaro’s tone as he asked the fashionista that question.
Junko: “Not like a threat or anything! But...he could just not remember what his talent is.”
I looked over to Hajime for a reaction, and sure enough, he glanced back at us.
That had to be it!
Kaede: “That’s right, isn’t it? You forgot your talent. You were about to answer us with confidence, and then you started to trail off, like you were trying to recall it...”
He responded slowly.
Hajime: “...Yeah. I just— I didn’t think about it until you asked me for it, and then I realized, it— it wasn’t there in my memories! I’m drawing a blank every time...”
Peko: “You didn’t try to think about your Ultimate talent when everyone else said their own?”
Hajime: “No...I thought it would come naturally when you guys asked. I didn’t know that I...well, didn’t know.”
Kirumi: “Rantaro, did he hit his head when he fell? Perhaps that could have done something.”
Rantaro: “I’m...not sure. But we’ll figure out the root of the problem eventually.”
If he didn’t know his talent, I couldn’t label it well in my mind. I kept track of things with audio and visuals; instead of just thoughts, it was words floating around, gracefully drifting by to the beat of a classical song. So, to match his name, I decided to deem him the Ultimate ??? ...I couldn’t exactly say three question marks out loud, but it worked for remembering that he couldn’t remember.
And with that...our introductions were over.
INTRODUCTIONS - END
Byakuya: “Great. Now that you all have taken your sweet time with introductions, you’ve seem to have forgotten about our entire situation.”
Peko: “No one has forgotten.”
Byakuya: “I don’t see any of you talking about it.”
Hiyoko: “Then spit it out if you think you’re so smart, starved pig!”
Mukuro: “We’ve been kidnapped.”
Byakuya: “Precisely what I was going to say.”
Mukuro: “Kidnapped, and one other thing. If we can’t recall how we got here...”
Junko: “...Our memories must’ve been tampered with, too! How exciting!”
How could she say exciting talking about something like that?!
Byakuya: “They’d need incredibly advanced medical equipment in order to take memories of our arrival from us. In other words...whoever or whatever brought us here, we’re dealing with money. Someone or something powerful.”
All of us went silent as we thought about the implications of that.
If someone with an incredible amount of money and power had taken us here, then...there was a possibility it was done silently, and no one knew we were missing, especially if they can take away memories like they did to the way we got here. Whatever reason we were brought here...it couldn’t have been good.
Peko: “Then the question is...who could have done this?”
Rantaro: “There’s no reason to worry about that right now.”
Huh? That sounded very odd.
Kaede: “Huh? What do you mean?”
Rantaro: “It’s more important that we look around, right? Figure out where we are. All we can do now about who took us is speculate.”
Junko: “Hmm, that’s smart, but I won’t lie— it sounds awfully suspicious.”
Rantaro: “Heh, well, you don’t have to worry about that. I promise, I’m not a suspicious guy.”
I couldn’t help but think that was something a suspicious guy would precisely say. But...Rantaro was rather nice.
Before I or anyone could comment on that, a loud chime sounded from all directions. A loud chime...no, something simultaneous? Like a bunch of smartphones going off all at once. I thought I felt something in my bag, so I took it off my shoulders and opened it up. I noticed everyone else reaching for something on them, too— in their pockets, socks, or even in their...bra? Okay, that’s a little...
Woah! I had never seen this before in my life. In my hands was something that looked like a smartphone...but it definitely wasn’t mine— there was no pink cover. It was too big to be my cellphone, too, but too small to be a tablet. And what was it doing in my bag?
Kirumi: “The same device? For all of us?”
Hiyoko: “It looks super old...”
They all turned on; a black and white logo flashed before my eyes, but I could hardly catch what it was before it became a solid teal and relayed us a message.
???: “Helloooo students! I’m bear-y glad you could make it on time, but it seems that I’m running late! So, I’ll give you free time before your lovely Headmaster arrives!”
???: “Feel free to explore around to your heart’s content! I promise, nothing bites. You’re not here for anything nefarious, no siree! If you need a map for reference, your e-Handbook— this beautiful thing— can show you one when this announcement is over! It’s on the main menu, but I don’t need to explain how to get there; you’re all young, I’m sure you can figure it out.”
???: “I’ll be there soon, so don’t waste your time!”
Click.
As the shrill voice said, the screen morphed from its solid color to a rather plain-looking menu. ID, Regulations, Card...all of those options were blocked out, except for Map. So, I tapped on it, and it did exactly as I expected: it brought up a map! Currently, we were in the “Lobby”, and I was surprised to see a bunch of dorms, some rooms called “Ultimate Labs”, and...
Junko: “There’s a pool here? Well, I know where I’m going...”
She started to walk off, heels tapping the ground with each step. Mukuro glanced around at all of us before she started to follow.
Hajime: “H-Hey! You’re not even a little bit worried about our situation...?!”
Junko: “I never said that. But you’re right; I’m not. If they were gonna slaughter us without fun, they would’ve done it already!”
Without fun...?
Eventually, more people started to walk off. She did sort of have a point; what’s the use in worrying? Just like Rantaro said earlier, worrying can only lead to baseless speculation. Right now, we needed to look around for anything that could give us actual evidence as to what’s going on.
Speaking of Rantaro, we ended up as the last ones standing around in the lobby.
Rantaro: “Looks like everyone else left us.”
Kaede: “Ah, then we should get going, too!”
Rantaro: “You wouldn’t mind if I joined you, would you?”
Kaede: “Not unless you keep saying suspicious things!”
He laughed at the joke, then walked closer to me so he could see my screen. I still had the map pulled up— hopefully these tablets didn’t have a short battery!
Rantaro: “Right— where to?”