"[Ultimate Counselor]? Now that's one heck of a talent!"
The girl who introduced herself as Kaede Akamatsu lit up the moment she heard my introduction and started chattering away at full speed.
"Whenever my piano playing makes people happy, it makes me really happy too! So I think a counselor who heals people's wounded hearts is an amazing talent too!"
"Ah... then your talent is?"
"Yep, let me introduce myself again. I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the [Ultimate Pianist]."
"Though honestly, I'm less of a pianist and more of a total piano idiot!"
After that, she launched into an earnest self-introduction. To summarize it roughly, it was the story of a talent monster who'd been obsessed with piano since childhood and eventually wound up earning an Ultimate title.
My first impression was simple: if she had been an ordinary student instead of someone attending this academy, she definitely would have been the kind of bright, energetic girl who took the lead in class and pulled everyone along with her.
"Um, then... what about you over there? Your name and talent?"
"Saihara... Shuichi. Apparently, I'm listed as the [Ultimate Detective]..."
"Ugh!!"
"Huh? W-What's wrong?"
The instant I heard the keyword "[Ultimate Detective]," a bolt of unimaginable pain tore through my skull. I couldn't even finish listening to his greeting before I clutched my head and crumpled to the floor.
"...Kyo... ko..."
"H-hey, are you okay?"
"Why all of a sudden? Did you get hurt when you were kidnapped and dragged here or something?"
"...N-no. I just get really bad migraines."
I remembered. That had been her talent too: [Ultimate Detective]. If that was true, then the person more precious than anything to me had also been chosen by the Gifteds System as an "Ultimate," just like me.
But wait. Did he just say "kidnapped"? Well... he wasn't wrong. We had been kidnapped.
'...Huh?'
Something was off. Why was I so certain this unknown situation was a kidnapping? There still wasn't any concrete clue telling us what was going on.
"Hey... what do you mean, kidnapped?"
"I think this is an organized abduction targeting Ultimates."
"...What? But is that even possible? How could anyone kidnap sixteen Ultimates...?"
"Then let me ask you something. Akamatsu-san, do you remember how you got here?"
"Th-that's..."
"You don't, right? Same here. No matter how hard I try, I can't remember coming here at all..."
"Ugh..."
"A-Akamatsu-san?"
As we talked, I realized I wasn't the only one whose memories had been tampered with. Well, theirs hadn't been erased to the catastrophic extent mine had. At the very least, they still knew their own pasts, didn't they?
"If all three of us can't remember... then this definitely isn't normal..."
"Yeah... Maybe all of us are in serious danger..."
"D-don't worry! I'm sure it's not anything that serious..."
As Saihara and I muttered grimly, Akamatsu forced a cheerful expression and tried to encourage us.
"When things get confusing, that's exactly when you need to stay calm. Try thinking of Ravel's [Sonatine]..."
"...Sonatine?"
"....."
"Ah, you guys don't know it? Hehe... sorry. That's why people call me a piano idiot. But I'll tell you about it once we get outside, so for now, why don't we find the exit first?"
"...Yeah."
"And let's meet the other Ultimates and introduce ourselves! They might know more than we do...!"
And so the three of us left the classroom and set out in search of the other Ultimates.
Without the faintest clue what kind of nightmare was about to descend on us.
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.
.
.
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"Hmm..."
"Um, hi there?"
"Mmm..."
"Uh, do you maybe want to introduce ourselves...?"
"Mmmm..."
"I-is she a doll?"
The first person we found after leaving the classroom was a blue-haired girl. She was staring intently at a statue, lost in thought so completely that Akamatsu apparently mistook her for a mannequin.
"Whoa, she's so squishy! She really is a doll!"
"A-Akamatsu-san... that's kind of rude..."
"Come on, Saihara-kun, you try touching her too...!"
"U-uaaah..."
Akamatsu grabbed Saihara's hand and started poking the blue-haired girl's cheek over and over.
"Mmmmm..."
"H-huh...? Is she really a doll?"
And yet the blue-haired girl just kept staring fixedly at the statue.
"...K-K-kun, do you want to try too?"
Honestly, her cheeks looked so soft that I kind of wanted to poke them too. Fine. Just once. Carefully.
"...Oh, wow, it really is squi—"
"Hello?"
"Aaaah!! You scared me!"
The instant I muttered that while poking her cheek, she suddenly spoke to me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Still, I didn't expect this. I never imagined three people would start fiddling with my cheeks. I predicted two, but not three..."
"Uh, s-sorry... They just looked really soft..."
"There wasn't any malice, right? I just didn't want to be interrupted while I was thinking."
She stared straight at me for a moment, then suddenly perked up and started talking with startling enthusiasm.
"But now I suddenly really, really want to chat! So then... what should we talk about first?"
"...Uh, huh!?"
"My favorite Kiteretsu Encyclopedia episode is episode 53! The one with Mayo's marriage fortune!"
"...What's Kiteretsu Encyclopedia?"
"Huh? You don't know it...? That's too bad. Not knowing such a masterpiece..."
"Forget that. Could you tell us your name and talent?"
"Ahh, right. My name is Shirogane Tsumugi. I'm the [Ultimate Cosplayer]!"
"Cos... player...?"
"I know, it's surprising, right? A plain girl like me being a cosplayer... People tell me all the time that it doesn't match."
"No, I mean, if you were chosen by the Gifteds System, then you must really be that talented... So I think you can be more confident..."
"Is this the part where the counselor starts counseling me already?"
"Ah... haha..."
If I was trying to counsel her unconsciously, then I guess I really was a counselor after all. I scratched my head at the strange feeling, and Akamatsu threw Shirogane a question.
"Hey... how did you end up becoming a cosplayer, Shirogane? Do you maybe just like showing off your body or something? I don't know, you've kind of got this pheromone thing going on..."
"A-Akamatsu-san... you sound like a creepy old man..."
Akamatsu was saying something absolutely outrageous with a bright, innocent smile. Of course, she probably didn't mean it like that, but somehow it still invited all kinds of misunderstandings.
"Um... K-kun? Why is your face so red?"
"Ah, uh... th-that's..."
While I was thinking that, Shirogane suddenly turned to me with an awkward look and asked me directly. Caught off guard, I could only stammer.
"What were you imagining?"
"N-nothing... really... ahaha..."
"...Well, just don't get the wrong idea. I don't actually like being looked at all that much."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"What I really like is recreating a character's outfit. And I like seeing other people wear it. But these days, there are a lot of cosplayers who cosplay for profit instead of becoming the character..."
Shirogane's expression turned serious as she explained. At first glance, I'd thought she'd be hard to talk to, but now that she had started, she was talking way too much. Was her personality this mercurial because she was a cosplayer?
"...So instead of handing my costumes over to people like that, I decided I'd wear them myself. Then companies started sponsoring me, I got featured in magazines, and before I knew it, I ended up with an Ultimate title..."
"That's really impressive... I guess none of you have ordinary talents at all..."
"Well, that's probably why we ended up at Saishu Academy, right?"
"Hey, but there's one thing I'm curious about."
While Akamatsu and I were talking about talents, Saihara suddenly asked Shirogane a question.
"Yeah?"
"Why were you so deep in thought earlier?"
"Ah... that? This statue here was bothering me in a very plain sort of way..."
At that, I looked over at the dragon statue beside us. It was definitely cool-looking, sure... but not so mesmerizing that you'd keep staring at it even while people poked your cheeks.
"This is a school, right? So why is there a statue like this here...? And there are plants growing in the hallway, but no exit anywhere..."
"Hmm... yeah, that is weird..."
"...I'm getting worried after all. Do you think we'll really be able to get out of here safely...?"
"......"
As Shirogane muttered that with a frightened expression, Akamatsu's face suddenly stiffened.
"Akamatsu-san? What's wrong?"
"No, it's just... I was thinking even your scared face looks kind of sexy."
Yeah. I definitely hadn't misunderstood her earlier. She was absolutely doing this on purpose.
"...Just kidding. Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing serious. Everyone's scared right now, but once it's all over, it'll probably turn out to be no big deal."
"...Akamatsu-san, you're really optimistic, huh?"
"Haha, people do tell me I'm an optimist a lot..."
"You're like a protagonist."
"...Huh?"
Akamatsu stopped talking and blinked in confusion, and Shirogane smiled as she continued.
"You know, like one of those hot-blooded protagonists from manga or anime!"
"Ah, haha... thanks, I guess..."
"And that detective over there feels like a growth-type protagonist..."
"I-is that a compliment?"
"...Who knows?"
This girl was alarmingly perceptive. Just from first impressions alone, she'd nailed the kids' character types with eerie precision. Those two really did feel like...
'...Huh? What was I just thinking...?'
"And you over there... you feel like the 'self-sacrificing companion' type!"
"Let's be clear, that's not a compliment, right?"
"It's a joke. But... that's exactly the vibe you give off."
I didn't know why, but hearing something like that from someone with such sharp instincts filled me with a creeping sense of dread, and my expression darkened on its own.
"Forget that stuff... If we just stand around worrying, we'll never get our energy back, so let's think positively!"
"Yeah. Like Akamatsu-san said, let's go meet the others too, K."
Those two really did seem kind. We'd barely known each other any time at all, and yet they were already trying to comfort me and suggesting we stick together. For the time being, it would probably be best for me to keep moving with those two...
"Hey, would it be okay if I made one very plain suggestion...?"
"Hm? Shirogane?"
"So far, you three are the only people I've met... I want to go around introducing myself too, but doing that alone feels a little awkward..."
"Oh, if that's all, then come with us!"
Akamatsu said it with a bright smile, and Shirogane smiled just as brightly in return.
"Ah, thanks, but... in situations like this, isn't it a cliché for people to split into pairs?"
"...Huh?"
"If four people move together, the character dynamics get way too messy... But if you split into pairs, the interactions get more interesting and it's nicer to watch!"
"I-is that so...?"
"Yep, yep! Like a detective with a pipe and his doctor's assistant, or a dumb cat who keeps getting duped and a clever mouse, or a man who's a billionaire by day and a superhero by night with his sidekick..."
"O-okay, I get it. Bottom line, you want us to split into pairs, right?"
"Exactly! So Akamatsu-san and Saihara-kun should pair up! Protagonists should move with protagonists! K-kun, who's got the 'self-sacrificing companion' role, can move with plain, ordinary me as fellow supporting characters!"
"Haha, sure. Why not..."
"Then, K-kun... we're going to go introduce ourselves to the other students, so see you later, okay?"
"...Uh, wha?"
Before I could even object, the two people who had felt so reassuring vanished into the distance. And just like that, I naturally ended up stuck traveling with a hardcore otaku girl.
"Hey... doesn't your heart kind of pound? It feels like we've become the leads of a mystery manga... Ah, right, we're the plain supporting cast. Still, doesn't it kind of feel like that anyway...?"
"....."
"...Hehe."
Figuring there was no helping it, I started heading elsewhere, but the otaku girl muttered that nonsense while looking at me, then broke into a suspicious little grin. Yeah. I needed to shake her off somehow, and fast.
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Meanwhile, in some unknown place...
"Haaah... what kind of glorious fortune did I think I was signing up for...?"
"Upupupu!!"
"Upupupupu~!!"
"Gyao~!!"
"...Still, I promised I'd protect her for the rest of my life."
Mukuro Ikusaba, eyes blazing, crushed the Monokumas charging at her one after another as she made her way toward somewhere unknown.