Chapter Text
They say these are the best years of one’s life.
The words were scrawled in neat, practiced cursive at the top of the page, just centered enough to be a header but not large enough to really be considered a title. Each loop was written in light-pink ink contrasting rather crudely with the yellow-ish tinge of the paper and the new leather cover that wouldn’t stay open on its own. Without the desk lamp aimed at its margins, the writing would be almost impossible to see. The author considered this: the unplanned effect wasn’t entirely unwelcome considering this was to be her first true diary. A diary a nosy maid or—heaven forbid—nosy parent wouldn’t read.
Well, hopefully nobody would read it, the incident from earlier today was already a close call.
Sonia patted her quickly flushing cheeks to keep from squealing, her eyes were shut tight with unbridled excitement as her legs flailed back and forth underneath her desk. She paused, her new living quarters, her very own dorm, was soundproof! She could squeal and cheer and spin around in her desk chair like a child as much as she wanted!
The princess took advantage of this fact quickly, her hands still stayed plastered to her cheeks but she kicked off against the leg of her wooden desk, spinning round and round in the dim room. If any of the new classmates she had met today were here to bear witness to her childlike glee she would’ve surely shrunk in on herself in embarrassment, slithering under her bed to hide away from the world with the monsters that resided there.
But she couldn’t help it! The day she had was like one out of the many j-dramas or animes she fancied herself with and it was truly befitting of that—admittedly cheesy—first line in her diary.
They say these are the best years of one’s life.
Speaking of which, her momentum had finally slowed enough for her to safely halt herself without being jolted from her seat. It was very nearly 10 pm and she had a lot she wanted to write down. Sonia sat her hand against the stubborn cover of the book to keep it open and began to gather her thoughts. Picking up her pen and sticking the end between her teeth she supposed she should start from the beginning.
―✧˖° ♛ °˖✧―
Hopes Peak Academy was much bigger in real life than the brochure she had received had depicted it.
Make no mistake, it paled in comparison to the extravagant hanging buttresses, marbled floors, and stained glass windows of her own European castle but for a school it was certainly grand. If not for the chaperone she was assigned, she was sure she would’ve gotten lost on the way from the airport to the main building’s gates. Now that said chaperone had slipped from her view, presumably already starting the long journey back to Novoselic, she felt rather small surrounded by the sea of students.
Despite being a princess, the feeling was not foreign. The Ultimate Princess Sonia Nevermind had never felt small and was not allowed to, especially if she was to be the guiding light for her people, so the burden of shyness and insecurity fell to regular ol’ Sonia. She gripped tightly at the strap of her satchel, suddenly thankful for the curtain her long blonde hair provided. Sonia could feel her smile twitch as her brain battled between whether the butterflies she was feeling were from excitement or anxiety.
It was almost funny that going to school elicited more fear than the many near brushes with death she had to deal with as royalty.
“Excuse me.”
The princess jumped at the light tap on her shoulder, her eyes widening in surprise. She let out an unladylike squeak and dug her manicured nails harder into the bag strap. Sonia snapped her head to the side, coming face to face with sleepy, pink eyes. The girl was sporting the same light brown main course uniform as her, although the ends of her sleeves and jacket were lined with a fuzzy material. Her short haircut curled up at the ends, bobbing up and down as she tried (and failed) to keep her head from drooping with tiredness. A single strand of drool copied the lazy motions of her head and the red and white pin in her hair threatened to slide off from her bangs if she kept drifting between sleep like that.
The girl wiped her eyes and jolted her head back up as if suddenly given a burst of energy, “sorry if I scared you, but you look lost.” Sonia blinked, unsure of how to respond. Was she offering to help her?
The fingers that were previously wrapped tightly around her satchel slowly unfurled their grasp on the strap and fell to her sides with her arms. She took a deep breath and completely turned to face the very sleepy stranger. Sonia kept her arms plastered to her sides and bowed in greeting. Was the angle 15° or 45°, her thoughts so lamely provided, it was much too late to think of logistics if she was already doing said action.
She had studied this for heaven's sake but all of her practicing seemed to slip away when she was actually in the moment.
“My name is Sonia Nevermind!” She replied quickly now that her brain had finally caught up with her actions. A mix between a yawn and a breathy chuckle fell easily from her peers lips and Sonia frowned, had she misspoke? Or maybe the bowing angle was actually much more important than she previously thought.
The princess’s pale hands smoothed out the brown pleated skirt she was wearing as she slowly rose up from her bent position. Her frown quickly shifted to a practiced smile but the rosy, embarrassed blush on the apple of her cheeks gave away her nerves easily.
“I’m Chiaki Nanami and you don’t have to be so formal,” Chiaki had pulled some type of gaming console out of nowhere and was tapping away at the buttons with a feverish energy she hadn’t previously possessed. Could it be a restless spirit? Sonia shook her head dismissing the thought. Rather than assuming the worst, her brain had an embarrassing habit of assuming the occult.
Chiaki began walking ahead, her hunched figure maneuvering with ease without so much as a glance ahead of her. “If you want help getting around you should probably catch up,” Chiaki stated softly, turning her head to speak back at the princess.
“Oh!” Sonia yelped in surprise, jogging to catch up with Chiaki.
―✧˖° ♛ °˖✧―
“So you’re really a princess?” Chiaki wondered aloud as Sonia fiddled with her e-handbook, “you must love plumbers.” The gamer giggled almost inaudibly under her breath, the back of her hair swishing against the locker she was leaning against. She was supposed to be “supervising” while Sonia familiarized herself with her locker and the locker room itself, but she was tapping away at her game again. However, Chiaki had informed her of her ultimate gamer talent on the walk there, which Sonia supposed explained her attachment to the screen.
Sonia was sure she must’ve mistranslated that or perhaps it was some type of joke among Japanese teens? Plumbers had important jobs. She didn’t know what was funny about that.
Sonia tapped her e-handbook to her locker, swinging it open quickly to inspect the inside, “Sorry Nanami, but I am not sure I understand.” Chiaki just rubbed at her eye, forgoing an explanation. Sonia wasn’t complaining though, she was too busy examining her locker. A real life highschool locker! Would she decorate it with stickers, trinkets, maybe a mirror? Would people slip love letters or invitations between the top slits? Maybe she would get something written across the front in black marker or red paint, although that type of vandalism was usually reserved for bullying. So perhaps she didn’t want that aspect. But still, locker!
Sonia was sure she was smiling like an idiot but Chiaki wasn’t judging (if she was paying attention at all). Besides, she didn’t seem like the type to be unnecessarily mean. Maybe they could even become friends in the future, Sonia wondered happily.
“Nanami! Can you settle this for us,” Sonia was pulled from her thoughts when the door to the locker room was shoved open rather violently, even Chiaki looked up from her game. “Kuzuryu here says a zombie apocalypse is more likely than a robot uprising but I beg to differ!” The princess turned around curiously watching the interaction between classmates.
Chiaki seemed to really consider the question. Her eyebrows were furrowed, knit together in the middle, and she had her eyes closed. A finger tapping at her chin rapidly. The duo across from her had an impatient energy oozing from the two of them. The shorter boy had a deeply uninterested expression, which didn’t match his babyface or the fact that he was still engaging in the conversation. His spiky buzzcut certainly matched his outward personality. In contrast, the boy next to him had a sharky—his teeth were literally very shark-like, Sonia shuddered—grin, his arms crossed in front of his oil-stained jumpsuit. Most noticeable though, was the bright pink hair peeking from beneath his beanie.
“In most videogames, zombie outbreaks start because of some type of virus mutating until a patient-0 is created. However,” she looked up to the ceiling, “sometimes it’s caused by plants, fungi, or animals which I think can be less realistic depending on how it’s handled. On the other hand, robot uprisings are usually caused by the AI suddenly becoming sentient and going rogue which is impossible, right? So zombies are more realistic, I think.”
If Sonia had less training controlling her face her jaw would’ve dropped, this was the most Chiaki had talked since they had met (which wasn’t very long ago to be fair). The two boys—Kuzuryu and one other she hadn’t caught the name of—weren’t shocked in the slightest.
“Told ya, now will you shut the hell up and give it a rest,” Fuyuhiko barked, “you’ve asked everyone in the damn class that question.” The pink haired boy groaned, pulling his beanie over his forehead.
Chiaki turned her head, “nope, you haven’t asked Sonia.”
Both boys turned to look in Sonia’s direction, Fuyuhiko tilting to see around Kazuichi due to his height. The way the beanie-wearers’ eyes lit up when he met her gaze was something out of a movie, his irises were already impossibly pink but the starry look he was now sporting seemed to make them shine. His face was flushed a brighter pink than his hair and in less than a second she went from having a staring contest with him to fervently shaking a sweaty hand. Sonia smiled politely and silently begged her mind to ignore the faint gasoline smell. Gagging in front of someone she had just met might be the worst first impression ever.
Especially when he seemed quite nice.
As if the situation could get any more awkward, she couldn’t end the handshake—that had definitely been going on too long by now—because Kazuichi had his other hand on top, sandwiching them together.
“I’m Kazuichi…Soda! Kazuichi Soda, like the drink or drinks I- uh..I guess soda is a category of drink,” he rambled before shaking his head to presumably clear his thoughts, “I’m the ultimate mechanic.” He smiled with those sharp teeth before wincing when the shorter kid behind him elbowed his side.
The blonde nodded at her briefly, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Stay out of my way if you know what’s good for ya.” Fuyuhiko walked away towards his own locker.
Sonia blinked, still processing her current situation. She should probably introduce herself too, even if Fuyuhiko seemed less than happy about socializing and Kazuichi was…not letting her get a word in. She blinked again as her thoughts trailed off. Perhaps they are the comic relief of this particular drama her mind so humorously supplied.
“I am—“ Sonia was cut off by another bout of rapid conversation from Kazuichi.
“Don’t worry about him, he may be the ultimate yakuza or whatever but the little dude’s all bark and no bite,” the last part was hushed. If his threats were all empty, what was the point of whispering your insults, she wondered.
Sonia’s smile began to strain and she figured it was best to finally continue the conversation, “I am Sonia Nevermind, ultimate princess. Nice to meet the both of you!” Kazuichi’s eyes seemed to sparkle even more, his mouth hanging open in awe. The hand cage he’d accidentally created around Sonia’s palm fell away as his hands clasped together and Sonia sighed in relief. She looked towards Chiaki for an escape from the conversation but to just her luck, the girl had gone back to tapping away on her console. This time, a sigh of frustration escaped the girl's lips instead: she could have made her way to class already but instead she was caught in between her locker and freedom by this energetic mechanic.
Kazuichi scratched at the back of his neck nervously, “man if I’d have known that I would’ve called you your majesty, sorry So—err..your majesty.”
“Soda, it’s fine really. You can just call me Sonia,” she turned on her heel sensing an out, “perhaps we should talk and walk. We are going to the same place after all.”
Kazuichi facepalmed, “of course! Yeah let’s walk together, Miss Sonia! I know you said your majesty was a no go but I was thinking “Miss Sonia” would be better…” Sonia nodded along to the mechanic's frantic chatter.
―✧˖° ♛ °˖✧―
By the time the school day had officially started, Sonia had met a menagerie of unique classmates. Some more…questionable…than others, she cringed at the memories of a very inappropriate first meet with Teru Teru and Nagito’s soul piercing gaze which did not fit his politeness. Everyone she had spoken to thus far had their own sense of fashion, beliefs, and connection to their ultimate. Honestly, despite the amount of compliments she had received today she felt utterly dull when compared to her peers. But she wouldn’t let that get her down! She simply had to make up for lost time when it came to making a name for herself and she knew the perfect way to do it! ff
Sliding into the desk nearest to Chiaki—she hoped her new acquaintance wouldn’t mind Sonia clinging to her—she pulled out a small leather notebook. She had picked up the journal at one of the many stores in the airport. Looking back, she had probably fallen for a tourist trap considering there wasn’t anything particularly special about the book and it was 9000¥, but she would put it to good use anyway.
Sonia flipped to the first page, clicking the top of her pen in rapid succession to help her think. Chiaki didn’t seem to mind the noise and her seat mate to the left of her hadn’t arrived yet. If they were even coming anyway—she had been informed that attendance wasn’t even mandatory!
The princess chuckled to herself and began to feverishly jot down a list of goals. She would have to think of a better name for this list in the future, but for now just To Do would suffice. The amount of typical teenage things she wanted to experience—and had already experienced today—was a great amount. Should she put ‘sleepover’ below or above ‘attend a school festival? Sonia’s legs swung back and forth with uncontained excitement beneath her desk as she added and crossed out bullet points.
There was a good amount of trial and error—and hiding the paper with her elbow from Chiaki’s curious eyes—before Sonia was satisfied with the list. She smiled proudly at the final product:
To Do ♡
————
Make many friends
Try school provided lunch
Decorate locker
Develop a crush
Attend a sleepover or ‘hang-out’
Gossip!
Sneak out
Attend and participate in a Bunkasai
With satisfaction, she leaned back in her seat, laying her hands over top of each other in her lap. That’s when she noticed it: a presence over her shoulder, hovering above her desk. Black and white dyed locks surrounded her on both sides as a curious finger poked at her book. Ibuki? Sonia concluded after wracking her head through the many names she had learned today. She hastily ripped out the page and crumbled it up, hoping that wherever she had stuffed it was at least adjacent to her pocket.
“Oooo Miss Nirvana has a diary,” Ibuki cheered in her usual sing-songy voice. Nirvana?, Sonia blinked curiously. “Let Ibuki see!” The musician tried to grab at the book, her fingers wiggling in anticipation but Sonia quickly snatched it away, clutching it close to her chest. An apologetic look graced her face in response to Ibuki’s sad whimpering.
“It’s Miss Sonia, and you leave her alone Ibuki!” Kazuichi yelled from behind both girls, pointing an accusatory finger at the singer, “it’s just natural an innocent princess like Miss Sonia has a diary, so what about it!”
Ibuki stuck her tongue out, her pointer fingers were against her temples on both sides of her head. Kazuichi’s frustrated look was only reinforced by her display of nonchalance. “But what if she’s writing about a dirty little secret. Like what if she likes cute girls like Mikan or crazy guys like you!” Mikan squeaked in surprise from somewhere in the back of the room.
“L-Like me?” Kazuichi had a dazed look on his face, his cheeks burning red before he was snapped back from whatever train of thought he was on by Ibuki’s screechy laugh, “wait! I’m not crazy, c’mon man!” The conversation was quickly changing in topic now that Soda and Mioda had started a bickering match—Kazuichi seemed more frustrated than the latter, however. Sonia took the opportunity to slip from both of her peers' attention to check that the paper she’d quickly thrown away was still intact.It would be best if I find somewhere to keep that safe, she concluded. Her heart dropped as she patted the pockets of her uniform, not hearing the expected crinkle of paper.
Sonia bit her lip, leaving a nervous dent in the light pink flesh. Her hands roamed hopelessly inside her pockets to no avail. Blonde hair swept across her desk as she looked left and right, even checking her lap for extra measure; however, she was sure she would’ve felt the paper fall against her knuckles. It hadn’t fallen into her satchel at the foot of her desk either, much to the girl’s dismay. Her thoughts ran away from her, perhaps Ibuki had pocketed it…or maybe Soda… Maybe a Good Samaritan thought it was litter and threw it out without sparing it a glance, she gnawed at the interior of her cheek in distress. “Goodness, where…” she trailed off when she spotted a light brown speck holding something in its mouth dashed in her peripheral, plopping itself down in front of her. Maybe she was crazy but she could’ve sworn its pitch black eyes were looking at her specifically.
Goose bumps sprouted up and down her arms from the fur grazing against her knuckles as the creature—that she now recognized as a hamster—released what it was biting down on. Her diary page fluttering on the center of her desk
“Oh!” Sonia clapped her hands together lightly, “did you find this for me? How adorable, thank you!” The hamster flopped on its back at the praise, revealing a soft, white underbelly. After she successfully retrieved the off-white piece of paper, she slowly stretched out a slender finger, intending to scratch the hamster's belly in reward. Before she could, however, a bandaged hand swiftly scooped up the creature and urged it to run up the length of the also bandaged arm.
Naturally, her gaze followed the gerbils movements until it was no longer in her sight, having wriggled its way into the elegant, magenta scarf the owner of the bandaged hand was wearing.
The boy before her had sharp features that seemed to be set in a permanent scowl from his lack of eyebrows and inability to see the lower half of his face. His dual toned eyes immediately caught her attention: one a striking red and the other a plain gray. She had heard of heterochromia before but to actually see it was breathtaking—or perhaps he was just breathtaking.
Every part of his appearance seemed carefully curated, from the dark black eyeliner that brought out the downturned nature of his eyes or the white money pieces that framed his face. Embarrassingly, Sonia wondered how long it took him to get ready in the morning. She was already planning on keeping that childish question to herself but the outright dark aura emitting from him deterred her as well.
“Supernova Silver Fox San-D’s mortal form may be small, but it is simply a trick befitting of her deceptive nature,” a deep voice lectured from above her, “had you have laid your fleshy digit upon her fur she would have swallowed you whole, foolish woman.” As if on cue, the hamster from earlier poked its impossibly tiny head out from under his scarf, squeaking in Sonia’s direction as if agreeing.
“Swallowed!” Sonia yelped, how could she have been so naive to not have noticed that threat, “but she’s only a hamster. Would it even be physically possible for her to consume me whole?”
His face changed impossibly fast, eyes widening and a smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth. He made a boisterous display of lowering his scarf and striking a confident pose.
Three other hamsters skittered out from the fabric and ran along his arms, shoulders, and hands to get in a practice formation—whoever this handsome stranger was, clearly had a talent for training small animals. His mouth dropped open in a complete grin, not quite crazed but something else Sonia was too amazed to pinpoint.
“Yes, to the untrained mortal’s eye San-D may seem like this hamster you speak of, but this is simply the form she and her brothers take in this mortal realm. For in actuality, my Four Dark Devas of Destruction are world-ending, ancient beasts biding their time as my underlings until I am supreme ruler of this temporary world!” He let out a booming cackle his devas seemed to imitate with their chittering.
Immediately following the performance, Sonia began to clap. She could feel her eyes practically sparkling. For half a second she could’ve sworn something between shock and confusion flashed in his eyes at her reaction but it was quickly masked by his earlier glare.
“Amazing! That was simply amazing!” The princess cooed, her hands resting on her cheeks, “your devas are so adorable that I fear, without your warning, I would have quickly become a demon’s snack. Please tell me your name!”
“Adorable you say,” Sonia couldn't contain her giggle as the ostentatious persona the boy had presented to her was interrupted by the cherry red on his face. He pulled his scarf up even higher than it had been previously, now coming up to the bridge of his nose.
He cleared his throat, crossing his arms and turning his head to the side. The hamsters resting on his arms and hands hurried back into their warm “nest.”
“You walk the thin line between recklessness and bravery which is why you wish to learn my name, maiden? Well the risk is yours, but remember it well for I will only say it once,” Sonia’s palms were flat against the top of her desk, using them as leverage to rise off the chair in anticipation, “I am Gundham Tanaka, Supreme Overlord of Ice, and the one who will one day rule over this world!”
Sonia fully pushed herself upwards, completely standing in front of Gundham. The pair was separated only by the desk between them. Her teeth sparkled under the white lights of the classroom as she beamed up at him. Even if it was just bravado and Gundham wasn’t really an overlord she still would’ve been just as impressed, Sonia reasoned. She leaned in towards him, her smile faltering for half a second when he flinched back.
They stayed like that for several minutes: Gundham’s posture rigid and his face hardened while Sonia continued to marvel, letting her thoughts get away from her. I was not aware I would be attending school with someone so powerful? Is this when I should bow? I have many things to ask him but I fear he may not answer them. Sonia’s gaze fell as she looked away sheepishly from her last thought, she hadn’t even introduced herself let alone thanked the warlock for the use of his subordinate and she was already thinking of bombarding him with her questions.
“It is nice to meet you Gundh—“
Gundham crossed his arms and clicked his teeth, “Tanaka the Forbidden One.”
Her arms slowly fell to her sides and she bowed slightly, “I apologize, it is nice to meet you Tanaka the Forbidden One. I am Sonia Nevermind and…thank you for the help from your very well-trained deva!” She raised her head, opening an eye to gauge his reaction. Her lips fell into a frown when she caught Gundham’s less than pleased reaction.
“That—That was not my doing,” he sighed, his body deflating slightly, “though I am the devas’ master, I am not a dictator to how they use their..abilities.”
Sonia blinked. He had a troubled look on his face but she wasn’t entirely sure why, was it not a good thing that his hamsters were smart enough to help another on their own. Or perhaps it was because it had helped her in particular, she dismissed the pessimistic thought with a shake of her head.
“Well, regardless I-“ Sonia was cut-off by someone clearing their throat—obnoxiously—next to her.
“Gundham, you better not be messing with a nice girl like Sonia,” Mahiru put her hands on her hips, eyeing Gundham up and down with a strict gaze, “she just got here and you’re already saying your nonsense. I expect better from you, now you gotta make up for this.”
Gundham scowled, muttering something about a ‘red-headed fiend’ under his breath before tossing his scarf behind his back and walking to his desk. Mahiru stared him down during the entire trek, her hands never leaving her sides.
“Sorry about him, Sonia,” Mahiru was shaking her head when she sighed, putting a hand on the princess’s shoulder, “I don’t mean to be rude but he’s utterly—“
“Amazing!”
“Dorky.”
“What?” Mahiru raised an eyebrow and Sonia sheepishly sank back into her seat. She swiftly avoided the photographer's curious glance and turned her head in the direction Gundham had stormed off to.
His hamsters were chasing each other in circles on his desk, wrestling with each other when they eventually caught up. They knocked each other down like dominoes and squeaked incoherently amongst each other. There was a faint crinkling sound followed by Gundham pulling a small bag of sunflower seeds from his pocket.
There was a faded sun design on the front and the bag was visibly torn and distressed in places, especially near the top. Sonia continued to watch curiously when all of the devas lined up for their snack, each hamster waited patiently while Gundham cooed something she couldn’t hear at them. In the blink of an eye, he’d laid out a seed in front of each one not unlike how a magician would lay out cards.
“Hey hey, you may wanna pay attention. Ms. Yukizome is here now,” a polite voice came from her right.
“Oh of course, thank you, Nanami,” Sonia nodded.
Her curiosity would have to wait for now.