Chapter Text
I could barely hold my excitement as I stepped into the gates of Hopes Peak Academy. This was it! I finally made it,all of my hard work had actually paid off. Just imagining how much farther my Manga could go just by being enrolled here! I was already close to an anime adaptation, maybe aid finally get it!
There was something odd though, as I walked to the front doors I didn't see anyone else. Was I early? I double checked the acceptance letter in my pocket, and then the time on my phone. I was at the right time and place, what was going on? A nervous feeling tugged in my gut and I felt myself become dizzy.
I walked forward and carefully opened the front doors. The hall was spacious and shiny, as if it was all brand new and freshly cleaned. Directly in front of me was a large trophy case, a boy stood looking at some of them.
He had dark hair and green eyes, turning when he heard me enter. "Oh, hey. You're one of the freshmen, right?"
I nodded, "Yeah, are you?"
"Mhm." He took one of his hands from his jacket pockets and offered it for a handshake. "I'm Axle Minamoto, the Ultimate Marksman."
I took his hand. "Jinta Shinamori, ultimate Mangaka. You shoot things?"
He shook my hand before letting go. "Only inanimate objects. Don't worry, I'm not a bunny killer." That last part may have been because of the hair clip I was currently wearing but I didn't say anything about it. "You draw things?"
"Yeah, I have a few series. Where's everyone else?"
He shrugged and put his hands back into his pockets. "I think there's only sixteen of us this year. They're getting more and more exclusive by the year. "
"What about the reserve course students?"
"They have a separate orientation than us. We start before they do."
"Oh, I was hoping there would be more of us…"
"They'll fill up the other homerooms eventually. Are you doing okay? You aren't looking too good-"
Being honest, the dizzy feeling hadn't gone away. I opened my mouth to make a response but felt the world tip sideways. Axle jumped and ran to me. "Jinta?!"
His voice sounded slightly distorted and as I blacked out, I heard something fall next to me.
When I awoke I was crammed into a small space. So small I was forced to stand even in my sleep. My hands brushed apon cool metal and there were open slots just above my eyes. I stood on my toes and peered out.
Outside was a hallway filled with lockers. A black haired boy walked right towards me and opened the door in front of me. I was blinded by the exposure for a moment and blocked the light with my arm.
"Are you okay?" A girl asked with concern. Her voice was soft and she was quite short. She wore a dress that had a design that reminded me of a pirates treasure map. She had her purple curls in two massive space buns and compass earrings.
The boy who opened my locker stepped back to give me space and I got out. "I think so- what happened?"
The boy shrugged, "We have no clue, we just woke up in lockers like you a few minutes ago."
I knit my eyebrows, "Are we still in Hope's Peak?"
The girl perked up, "Your a student too?"
I nodded. "Yeah, are you guys ultimates?"
"Mhm! I'm Roro, the Ultimate mapper!"
I glanced at her dress again, that explained some things.
The boy smirked. "So am I, James Huntington, I'm the ultimate Tutor."
"I'm Jinta Shinamori, ultimate Mangaka. "
Down the hall from us, I head something bang the inside of the locker, cutting James off from whatever he was about to say. "Looks like there's another one of our classmates."
He strode over and carefully opened the door, despite his caution, a light blue haired boy tumbled out and onto the floor. Roro scampered over and helped him to his feet, his outfit reminded me of a retro arcade game. It was a black shirt and jean shorts with a black hood, the shirt had some game studio's logo on it and the hoodie had disintegrating 8bit characters on it.
He looked around confused, "Who are you people?"
"James, Roro, and I'm Jinta." I pointed at everyone as I listed them, "Are you an ultimate too?"
He nodded. "I'm the ultimate pixelator, Naoki Ahane."
A red haired girl walked down the hall, she paused when she saw us. "Hi? Did you guys wake up in lockers too?"
James nodded, "Your an ultimate I assume?"
"Yep! Ultimate Nail artist! Mayoko Kurosawa!"
"Maybe this is part of orientation. Perhaps a bonding exercise?" James suggested.
"Then we should wake everyone up I guess-" I opened one of the unpadlocked lockers closest to me.
Inside, Axle stood frozen. His arms were at his sides and his fists were balled. He was pale and wearing a different outfit than what I remembered seeing him in earlier. He looked like he was in the military, a white and black came uniform with an abundance of pockets in a vest.
"Axle? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I couldn't move-"
I gently grabbed his arm and pulled him out. "Are you okay? What happened?"
He shook his head, "I don't know. You passed out and so did I- next thing I know I'm in there."
"The same thing happened to us," James crossed his arms, "We think they may be part of orientation so we'll get to know each other."
Axle shut the locker door, "Why couldn't they have just left us at desks?"
"Are your claustrophobic?" Naoki asked.
Axle tentatively nodded.
"Don't feel bad about that, everyone has fears!" Mayoko reassured him.
"I'm afraid of swimming." Naoki added.
Axle smiled slightly, "Lets just find where everyone else is, alright?"
I gasped, "I don't even wanna know how long we've been out! What if I missed my writing time?"
"Wouldn't you have to reschedule it for school?" Naoki asked.
"Well yeah, but today wasn't supposed to be a full day!"
"C'mon guys, let's focus."
"Sorry-" I apologized.