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It all started on the first of October. The day started so normal, nobody could've predicted how the afternoon would be more unexpected. Citizens out and about around the world, laughing and chatting like nothing mattered to them. It was an ordinary day, after all.
...Not.
Things had taken a dire turn when the clock struck 12:00. When noon hit, 43 women around the world suddenly got pregnant. Not even one month, or by a week. No. They suddenly started giving birth on the very day they got pregnant. None of them were pregnant when the day first began. How odd...and captivating, as everyone started asking "Why?" or "How?"
However, nobody asked these questions to Dr. Tsumugi Shirogane, who tried to adopt as many of these children as possible. She went around the world to see if she could find any, or all 43. If she was lucky, she'd only miss 1. No big deal, that'd still be 42.
She did not get 42. She got seven children that day.
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Years passed since she first got them.
The child she dubbed Number One would often fight with Numbers Two and Three. This was shell-shocking to her, as she thought they'd get along, what with their powerful abilities. Yet, they learned that something may be wrong when Number One threw a book at Number Three, and the book left a hole in the wall. Two and Three were terrified, wide eyed in horror as Three began crying and Two began shouting at One.
One, of course, was shocked at his own strength. They were merely four and yet his throw broke a wall. Mother would be mad at him. She'd punish him, locking him in his room until he broke the door knob and left tiny dent marks on the wooden door. When she found out, she didn't lock him away, she tested his limits. What he could and couldn't lift, how many punches it'd take to knock a dumbbell off a string. After that, his fists would be covered in bruises, dark purple coloring on his skin, unlike his lighter purple hair.
But Number One never complained and toughed it out. Clearly showing his dominance and his clear title of Number One.
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Number Two had problems. She would only work with Five and Six, throwing a fit when she was partnered with one of the boys for a partner activity or even beating them up with her bare fists outside of training. Tsumugi tried to convince Number Two that the guys were useful, but Two would not believe it. She also deemed it unfair that Number One was a "degenerate male" as she called them.
While Number Two could breathe underwater and manipulate thrown objects (specifically, ones she threw), it was her rage and jealousy that were her undoing. Her constant desires to be Number One were often overlooked and Tsumugi saw this as denial. Number Two would often yell at Number One, demanding him for his position as the leader. She yelled at him more than One fought with Three on a daily basis. When she went to Shirogane about it, she received the affirmation of "No changes in Numbers." That left Number Two distraught and mad.
She was Number Two, and that was all there was to it.
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Number Three was a problem child. That was obvious. From the first rumor, all he'd spew to his siblings were obvious lies and constant rumors. He had so much potential, yet he was wasting it on his sick, twisted fantasies and world of unbelievable statements. He could be using it for blackmail, for betrayals, but no. Just lies. Lies that bought out a gleam in his violet eyes, made him laugh a bit (she found it annoying) and acted like he ran on energy drinks.
This behavior contrasted Number One's and made them immediate enemies. Number One always started the fights, yet Number Three never backed down. Tsumugi tried training Number Three, yet all he would say was that his siblings saw him complete his training. Did she believe him? No. But when she asked any of them, they would say they witnessed it. So therefore, she had no choice but to leave him be before the others got on her back about excessively training him. Besides, if they believed it, then he was technically using his abilities.
She should've expected one devil child. And she found it in Number Three.
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Number Four was odd. Things would float when he seemed concentrated. Sometimes, he would float, but he never noticed it. Tsumugi was fascinated by this. Could his focus make him be a primary powerful member of the Dangan Academy, when it was deemed ready to be introduced to the world? He could be a powerful foe to any enemy they fought. But then, things changed. It was like he was having conversations with imaginary friends. But when he explained it, it sounded like the friend had died...oh. He was able to communicate with the dead as well.
She told him it was a ghost, and the world paused. Whatever the ghost child said next must've been ugly, because Four started screaming. He begged his mother to make the ghosts stop, and she left him alone after that. This started affecting his power performance: it got worse and worse. He would yell at air to "shut up" and cry more than he did before, throwing things in random directions. So she started locking him in the mausoleum, eager to see his powers develop. They didn't as much as she wanted, as his eyes would always be puffy and bloodshot when she retrieved him the next morning, the bags under his eyes contrasting his gold eyes.
Number Four was an enigma with power, being potentially so powerful yet only showing his weak side.
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Number Five was the smartest out of them. She was also the coldest and most standoffish member, despite being on the lower end of Numbers. She had the most potential between her and Six to actually do something with her abilities if she put her mind to it. Five's cold, red eyes would almost constantly glare at anyone, no matter who it was. It was almost like she was more mature for her age than most.
Number Five, albeit prideful despite intellect, actually showed promise and was a quick learner and adapter. Tsumugi had to admit, Number Five was impressive, if that was the right word. Number Five's training was her downfall. She wasn't fast enough sometimes and when she was too fast she got sick. She complained less than the other five (six) though.
The standoffish genius of Number Five would not stay in the present forever, though.
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Number Six admired Number One for his strength. Tsumugi knew that much about Number Six's relations to Number One. She was mostly with Number Four, comforting him after rough nights of dealing with ghosts. The way her violet eyes would shine with excitement when she saw One sparring with Two, or the way Number One would fight off villains on missions. Number Two was another role model: she fought a lot with Number Three, another teammate she didn't like. She was agile and accurate with her movements, which Six admired. She wanted to be strong like them, and Tsumugi could see it in her eyes.
So she would try and train her power however that may be. At the end, her blonde hair would be soaked with blood, tears would run down her cheeks as the slimy tentacles would retreat back into her stomach. While music (specifically piano) kept the Horror at ease, Tsumugi would try and get the Horror to do as much as it could. Whether it be devouring animals (poor Number Six was always horrified of herself after those training sessions) or just throwing things around to trap (and potrntially kill) people, it seemed like Number Six could never control her abilities. The slimy tentacles would do whatever they wanted, breaking things and killing random animals. It would mostly kill though.
Number Six was not a harmonic melody like the piano music she played. She was a danger, specifically her powers. She needed to up her training and soon...
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Number Seven was ordinary. Simple as that. He always expressed interest in his mother's travels and missions around the world. It seemed like he wanted to be like her- enigmatic, a traveller, and a success. Although he'd never be as big of a success as his siblings, there was something in his green eyes that shone in excitement whenever she mentioned leaving the estate. So even if he was ordinary, he went where she went. It was like he was a lost puppy and she was the one who found him.
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Their first mission was when they were 13. And their first mission was a success. Number Two showed good usage of projectile manipulation, as well as fighting skills. Number Three's rumors were convincing the robbers to turn on each other, internally cringing when she saw one shoot the other in the foot. Number Five teleported an item with her, something she hadn't had before, which Tsumugi took note of. Number Four was doing his job well, throwing things without touching them (albeit halfheartedly, it seemed like he was tired of being there). And Number One threw people out of a building.
Then came the vault and Number Six entered and left in a matter of moments. When she left, she was drenched in others' blood, covering her mask and messing up her uniform. If Four had been tired, Six was mortified. Not of what happened, but probably the thought of being actually in public and covered in blood horrified her. As they left the bank, Tsumugi remembers the reporters bombarding them with questions, and she smiled to herself. She'd prepared for this moment a very long time. And while Number Seven watched in the unseen background as One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six got the glory they deserved, nobody noticed the poor greenette teenager, only watching in sadness as his mother said she got six kids instead of seven.
"I give you...The Dangan Academy!" she announced. And henceforth, they were known as simply that. The Dangan Academy.
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And then one by one, the very team she built up fell apart.
Number Five vanished out of nowhere. She never returned, but Tsumugi shrugged off Five's disappearance. After all, they still had Numbers One through Four, plus Number Six. The others hoped that Five was out there somewhere, although Five's disappearance led to some...downsides.
Number One would get more aggressive and trying to coach the others to be as strong as him, only resulting in petulant teenage arguments.
Number Two would only desire to be around Number Six, who was now the only other girl in the Academy.
Number Three's rumoring happened more constantly, building up his own reality based on lies.
Number Four started wearing a hat to avoid seeing the ghosts, no matter how bad they got, even if the hat never protected him from the ones in the mausoleum.
The Horror inside Number Six grew more bloodthirsty, violent, and out of control by the day.
Number Seven would never be included and he knew this. Yet despite his begging, his desperation to have powers and be included, his wishes were never granted. As such, he started wondering what the outside world was like.
Shirogane never paid attention to Seven's desires anyway.
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Although Tsumugi would never call Number Five by the name Kirumi, the robotic maid, picked out, and would rather stick to their Numbers instead of names, she had to acknowledge Number Six's name at her funeral. It would be her wish, presumably.
Even when she said it, it didn't feel right. It felt uncomfortable, so she stuck with Number Six. She didn't let any of the other children speak about Number Six, all she did was give a speech about how Number Six shouldn't have died and how it was the others' fault she died. That...suited about as well with the Academy as you'd expect. Despite their arguments that it was nobody's fault, Shirogane wouldn't have it. They were in denial about their misdeeds that led to Six's untimely demise.
However, the boys all seemed to be sharing one thought that even Number Two could agree with:
This was not their fault.
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Number Two left very quickly after that. Shirogane had no clue where Two left to, but all Tsumugi knew was that she didn't care. She'd been a reckless and misandrist teammate, and she didn't need that type of attitude on a team of basically just boys at this point. Numbers One, Three and Four (and technically, Seven was still there, yet he wasn't special like the others. He was so...plain).
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One day she woke up and Seven was gone. All his stuff was gone, his room bare of any signs of him. Unlike with Number Two, who they knew was leaving, Number Seven had made his escape unexpected. Number Four would constantly try contacting Five and Seven's spirits, worried about their demise. When results ended in constant failure, they knew that those two were still alive.
This was around the time Four started smoking, and because of this, Four left not long after Seven left, going out on a wandering limb. Whenever she read newspapers, she'd see his...non-numbered name and something about solving cases. Number Seven was just gone though.
Tsumugi didn't care, they were worthless to her.
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Numbers One and Three would not stop fighting. Those two were too reckless for her to do anything with anymore. Even after the Academy had unofficially disassembled, it confused her on why Three stayed. Was it just to bug One? Or was there an ulterior motive at hand? She had no idea, and that unpredictable aura was what scared her about Number Three. The only child she ever grew to fear.
And then she heard the dreaded words one day. When she'd heard "I heard a rumor," her mind went blank. When she was snapped out of it, Number Three was gone. Oh. Ohhh. He wanted to see if he could rumor her before his departure. What an unwelcome surprise.
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And then there was One. Literally. Number One would do every mission, save as many people as possible, get the job done well. He always perked up and talked about his dreams of going to space. So she sent him to space. She never sent him on a life-threatening mission, worried that'd drive him away, but she would send him to space- sometimes to investigate if she thought something was wrong, other times because she was bored and tired of his presence and his constant desires to be the hero. Why desire to be what you already are?
And although she was glad Number One stuck around, she needed to bring the others back together. The world would end soon, anyway. And she had to do, what she knew she had to do...
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Number Seven was out exploring the world like he desired. Even after publishing his book, he didn't really care how well it sold or what money he made. It was just journal entries, and yet someone thought they could work for a book. Number Seven would never know why, but he pushed those thoughts aside as he continued his journey via foot. His messy green hair stuck to his forehead via sweat. His legs ached as he walked, yet he didn't mind. In fact, he loved it. Yet as he came across a TV station, playing the news, he could only frown as he saw the headline.
"ECCENTRIC BILLIONAIRE AND FOUNDER OF THE DANGAN ACADEMY, TSUMUGI SHIROGANE, HAS BEEN FOUND DEAD."
"Well," Number Seven groaned. "Shit."