Chiaki and I exited the Movie Theater, and came across a T-intersection. with the cross-section on our right. I thought I heard faint footsteps from our left, so we decided to go right, towards the cross-section. I would rather not run into anyone else right now, in case that someone was mean. I didn't know if I could protect Chiaki or not, and I didn't want to find out.
To our left was a set of double doors marked "Dorms". I stopped in front of the door, then turned to Chiaki.
"Wherever we are, it looks like we'll be here for a while," I told Chiaki, who was playing on a Nantendo Gamegirl DR.
Chiaki considered for several moments, then answered. "I think we should clear this map before exploring another one. Otherwise, we could miss something important."
Deciding I agreed with Chiaki, we turned around and headed back the opposite way, passing what appeared to be a courtyard. However, it appeared to be completely enclosed.
"We can search this area if you want, but an exit seems unlikely. We should check somewhere else, I think..." Chiaki commented.
After a quick scan of the area from the doorway, we moved on, turning left around the corner.
On our right was a set of double doors, with a sign saying "Gymnasium". I heard what sounded like murmured talking behind the door.
I looked back at Chiaki. "Sounds like there's a bunch of people talking behind this door. Doesn't sound angry, though. I think we should go inside."
Chiaki nodded, playing her Gamegirl DR, and said nothing, so I opened the door to see what was going on in there.
Inside appeared to be some sort of meeting, with a group of boys and girls chatting amongst themselves. I looked around, but saw no one I recognized. Chiaki, however, didn't even look up from her Gamegirl DR.
We took a spot on the bleachers to sit at. A few minutes later, two girls came in, a blonde and a dark blue-haired one. The blonde had a dark purple skirt on, with musical notes going all the way around it, and had a white backpack on her shoulders. She also had a light pink sweater on, with a darker pink V-neck,
The blue-haired girl had on a white seifuku, navy blue thigh-highs, and a blueish-green plaid skirt. Nothing about her really stood out to me, though she seemed to be very nice.
After the two girls sat down, an announcement came over the scoreboard's speakers in a deep, gravely voice. "Due to some technical difficulties, the Class Orientation will be a bit later than anticipated. We apologize for the inconvenience, but if you wish, you may go ahead and introduce yourselves at the meanwhile. Thank you for your patience."
The first one to introduce themselves was a guy, wearing purple pants rolled up at the ankles, and a matching jacket. Underneath his jacket was a white long-sleeved unbuttoned dress shirt, with a white shirt underneath the dress shirt. The white shirt had some kind of red symbol on it. His hair was spiky and purple, as was his goatee, and he wore grey slippers. He stepped up to the center of the gymnasium, facing us.
"I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! The Ultimate Astronaut! Someday, when we prove that aliens exist, it'll be me that makes first contact!" Kaito excitedly declared. He seemed to be oozing with confidence, but not bordering on arrogance or rudeness, and he held his head high. After his introduction, he sat back down.
The girl with the musical notes on her skirt went next. "I guess I should introduce myself next. My name is Kaede Akamatsu. I'm the Ultimate Pianist. My family is not rich and I'm not really anyone special. I'm just a normal high school girl who plays the piano to make people happy."
Kaede didn't seem to think much of her talent, but seemed to like making people like her. There was a sort of...quiet strength?...to her posture, something that told me she wasn't the type to be pushed around, but I couldn't really put my finger on exactly what told me that about Kaede. She sat back down, as well, following Kaito's lead from earlier. It seemed this would be the routine for everyone.
The blue-haired girl Kaede came in with excitedly came up next to introduce herself. "I'm Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation! I look forward to getting to know all of you!" She was smiling, and her posture was very straight, almost like she had practiced it, and her hands were clasped in front of her, at her waist.
I remembered hearing about Sayaka from some of the girls at school, and she seemed to be really popular with them. Her music wasn't really my style, though. I was more of a metalhead, honestly.
"Sayaka? What are you doing here?" A boy ran up to her, eyes wide open. He had on black jeans and an opened black jacket, with a dull green hoodie underneath it. His shoes were red, but had white toes, and his hair was a spiky brown, with part of it sticking up kinda like a boomerang.
"M...Makoto? Oh my..." Sayaka seemed almost shocked to see...whoever this Makoto guy was.
Makoto sighed. "Oh, ok, so you DO remember me. I was worried that...you wouldn't."
Sayaka giggled. "Why wouldn't I, silly? We went to the same middle school, after all!"
A girl wearing a Gothic Lolita dress, with black stockings and long hair coming out in drills on either side of her head, spoke up. "If you do not mind, could you save this conversation for later? We are trying to do introductions here, after all."
Makoto winced a little, as if being scolded. "S-Sorry. Anyway, I'm Makoto Naegi. I'm nothing but a hopelessly average student. Average on the outside, and on the inside. Even among the average person, I'm considered average. Anyway, I got in here through a special lottery, and my invitation letter said I was the Ultimate Lucky Student. So...I guess that's that."
It didn't really seem like Makoto had no self-esteem. It was more that...he didn't think much of himself, or really anything. Even his voice, hearing him speak, reminded me of a narrator of a commercial on TV. Still...something drew me to him inside, on an intellectual level. I wanted to know him better.
A girl with short black hair, a white blouse with a brown bow tied in the front, a pleated black miniskirt, and black shoes and knee-high stockings. She had freckles, and greyish eyes. Her face was set in a stern glare, and I noticed some sort of marking or tattoo on the back of her right hand.
"Mukuro Ikusaba. Ultimate Soldier." Mukuro did not seem interested in any of us, but was eyeing Makoto. It seemed like Mukuro knew Makoto, too, but if she did, she wasn't saying anything about it.
After Mukuro indicated she was finished speaking (by not saying anything else beyond those four words), another girl stepped up and walked gracefully to the center. She curtsied, spreading her teal skirt out in the process, and spoke up.
"My name is Sonia Nevermind. I am a foreign exchange student from Novoselic, a small European kingdom. To do this with everyone is a new experience for me, and I may cause trouble here and there, but I hope we can all get along."
Along with her teal dress, Sonia had on a white shirt underneath, with puffy shoulders, and a large red bow with a brooch on it. Her hair was very long and blonde, with part of it braided in a crown, somewhat offset to the left of her head. She had a bow sitting on top of her head, as well. Her shoes were red Mary Janes with a heel to them, and she had black over-the-knee stockings with a grey line along the outside, as well as a grey band at the top.
A huge boy stood up suddenly, much faster than I thought someone his size could move. "Whaaaaat? A real-life princess? Granted, not as great as Princess Piggles, but still..."
He waddled up to the center, a massive blob of a man, more stomach than anything else. He had very skinny legs that didn't look like they should be able to hold him up. His pants were a dark grey, almost black but not quite, and his shoes were grey sneakers. He wore a white shirt underneath a lighter grey cardigan, with a white symbol on each shoulder. He had thick-rimmed black glasses, and dark brown hair, with one spot in the middle that stuck straight up like a spike. He had an orange backpack, and a very unique tie on; orange at the top, with blue in the middle in the shape of an arrow pointing straight up and down. The downward part took up the entire bottom of the tie, near his belly button, while the upwards arrow only took up the middle section, about chest-high.
Next to step up was a boy with orange hair and a goatee, with a piercing between his chin and his lower lip, and very light blue eyes. He had on a white dress shirt over a white tank top-looking shirt, with a red skull in a circle on the inner shirt. He had a necklace on, with what appeared to be a padlock or some metal box attached to it, and a large paper clip on the right chest of his jacket. His pants were black jeans with two belts on it, and white platform shoes with black soles. He also had six piercings in his right ear.
"Yo! The name's Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Player. What's up?" Leon came across as cocky, yet somehow lazy at the same time, and he was constantly eyeing the girls, particularly Sayaka and Kaede. He came off to me as a "trying too hard" kind of guy, if I was still...
...No. No. Sorry, but I will NOT say that name.
Anyway, the Gothic Lolita girl started walking up next, chin held level and a level of grace to her. In addition to her black tiered dress with white ruffles along the edges, she also had on dark red heels with three straps that went over her foot, under her ankle, and over her ankle. She also wore black over-the-knee stockings that tied on the outside, round golden earrings, a black jacket over a white blouse, a white bow underneath her chin (almost a choker, really), and a red tie decorated with black markings, one of which looked like a butterfly. She was also very, very pale, as if she never saw the sun in her life.
"I believe it is time to introduce myself. I am Celestia Ludenberg. But if you don't mind, I would prefer you call me Celeste. As the Ultimate Gambler, I look forward to knowing you all better. Heh-heh-heh."
Celeste's way of speaking reminded me of someone I used to go to school with. Seemingly sweet and innocent, but if you crossed her, her words could cut you to the bone, and she would always be one step ahead of anything you thought about doing. I couldn't put my finger on why, but I was on alert with Celeste, gambler or not.
A girl walked up next, wearing an orange blouse and matching orange thigh-high stockings, with a white band near the top. Her skirt was black, with a pleat on the right thigh and the left thigh, and she wore black flats. Her hair was bright blonde, with spiky-looking bangs in the front, and the rest of it just above her shoulders all the way around. It almost looked like a helmet, honestly. Her skin was much darker than the others here, except for the girl she was speaking with earlier.
But that wasn't the most interesting thing about this girl; it was her eyes. She had a brown right eye, and a green left eye.
She looked at everyone for a few moments, then spoke. "Kenchikka Kowareta. Ultimate Architect. Pleasure." After a few moments, she added "Chikka for short, if desired. No difference, answer to either."
Kaito spoke up. "Whoa there, Chikka. You ok there? I don't wanna be rude, but what's with your speech?"
Kenchikka looked at Kaito, confused. "Yes, am fine. As for speech? TBI. Traumatic Brain Injury. Onsite construction injury, hit in head, nearly killed me. Thankfully, was wearing helmet, so survived. Lost left eye, though. Prosthetic green one now, can't see from it. Pity."
"Well, if you have any problems, let me know, and I'll help you, alright?" Kaito offered.
Kenchikka nodded. "Sometimes suffer from vertigo, migraines. Usually just sit down, close my eyes, wait for it to pass. Take medication, helps some, episodes not as bad. Still, thank you."
A heavyset guy walked up next, wearing an all-white suit with a white dress shirt underneath, as well as white shoes. He had a green tie in the shape of an X, and thin-framed glasses.
"I am Theo Timmy Poster. Pronounced 'Paw-ster'. As for my Ultimate Ability...honestly, I have no idea." He spoke with a Formal British accent, reminding me of that show on BBC where people bring in rare or old items to auction and learn about them. He seemed to be picky about how his last name was pronounced, but otherwise, I couldn't really pick up anything about him.
After Kenchikka took her seat, the other darker-skinned girl, who wore a long yellow coat, almost smock-like in appearance, over what looked like a bikini top and a white miniskirt. Her hair was so blonde it was almost white...or maybe it was white?...and long, tied into twintails in front of her with two thin bands. She had a pink belt with what appeared to be a chisel, a paintbrush, and...a few other things in it. She also wore a necklace with a clamshell on it, a matching bracelet set on her left wrist and right ankle, and white loafers. She appeared to have three piercings under her belly button.
"Nyahahaha! My name is Angie Yonaga! I'm the Ultimate Artist! I draw drawings and sculpt sculptures, but it's really Atua who makes the art. I'm just a vessel for his use. Praise be to Atua!"
So Angie seemed to be heavily religious, but otherwise seemed cheerful and happy.
The next guy who came up...My initial guess was that he was the Ultimate Stoner. He had dreadlocks that stuck out from his head, three shirts on (a small yellow shirt, underneath an opened button-up white shirt, underneath a green jacket), a brown haramaki (a sort of belly band), and a brown belt tied in the front, holding up his rolled-up black pants. His shoes were simple-looking sandals.
"Hey! I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure - Hiro for short! I'm the Ultimate Clairvoyant, but don't you worry about that. Let's all just have a chill time here, alright?"
Yep, even his attitude screamed "stoner" to me. He didn't seem to be the type to worry about anything, or at least if he did, he was putting on a pretty good act.
I decided to step up next. Nervously looking at everyone, I took a deep breath, then spoke.
"My name...is...Bera Haikiko. I'm...the Ultimate Tailor. I can mend, sew, or even create any type of clothing...I mean, if anyone needs it. As long as I have the materials here, anyway. I hope I can be useful to you all, in some way..."
Kaito said something, but I was too nervous to notice what he said. I just stared at the floor until I found my seat again.
The next to introduce themselves was a petite girl, with short brown hair, hazel eyes, and rather thin. She wore a green long-sleeved jacket, with a white section over the shoulders, and a brown skirt that, due to its box pleating, fanned out wide around her mid-thighs. She had black knee-high socks and pale pink Mary Janes.
"Hello, nice to meet you all. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer..." Chihiro started blushing as she stared down at her shoes. "Sorry, I get a little embarrassed when I have to introduce myself to people. Anyway, I hope we can all get along."
This left Chiaki, who was still playing her Gamegirl DR, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.
"Hey! Gamer chick! You're the last one up!" Leon called out, as Kaito shot a disapproving look at him.
Chiaki stood up, never looking up from her game, and walked out to the center. She finally stopped, hit a button on her Gamegirl DR, and looked up at us.
"I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer. Video games are my hobby, and I'm a fan of all genres of games. Nice to meet everyone."
She then resumed her game, walking back to her seat.
Shortly after she sat down, another announcement came over the speakers.
"Ahem. Welcome to The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center! Please welcome your headmaster, Monorakun!"
Suddenly, a robotic raccoon appeared from behind the scoreboard, climbing down before landing on the ground. It scurried over to the Boys Locker Room door and opened the door, where a short rolling tray was pulled out containing what appeared to be tablets of some sort.
Pulling the tray with both hands (front paws?), the raccoon...thing...finally came to a stop at the center of the Gymnasium, dead center. It then sat on its haunches and spoke to us.
It was the same low, growling voice that came over the speakers.
"Greetings, students" I'm Monorakun, and welcome to TUTEC! Here's hoping you have the time of your life here! Grab your E-Handbooks, turn them on, and make sure you accept the Terms and Conditions, because you can't enter your dorms until you do!"
I was about to find out how deep in trouble we all were, and there was nothing we could do about it anymore.