The Ultimates

One

When I received the invitation to attend Hope's Peak Academy, I honestly wasn't expecting much. The only reason I accepted the invitation was because graduating meant success post-graduation. I wouldn't have considered myself talentless, as I did have a few hobbies, but none of them would guarantee me success at finding a job. However, if I graduated from Hope's Peak, then surely I could find a way to earn some scholarship money for university.

With all of my classmates either coming from wealth, aristocracy, or being considered the best of the best in their fields, I didn't think I would have much in common with any of them. I didn't expect myself to become friends with any of them, as they would most likely look down on me for not being an equal to them.

Surprisingly, I'd become decent friends with most of my classmates. None of them looked down on me for being a lottery student. In fact, most of them found that to be the most enticing part about me. Either the rich aristocrats found me interesting over my basic knowledge while the rest found me relatable, as they were also considered "commoners."

It was nice to have friends who enjoyed talking with me. More than anything, I was glad that one of my best friends happened to be last years lottery winner, Makoto Naegi. The two of us grew up together in the same cul-de-sac, so having him show me the ropes of the academy was heaven-sent.

Every lunch, he would stop by my classroom, and we would head to the rooftop to eat. He had a lot of admirers, too, so I had to assume lottery winners were some of the most well liked people in school. Though, after a month of attending Hope's Peak, I'd yet to become well known outside of my classroom.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Makoto said, slapping my back. "I'm only well known because I'm involved with school activities. If you take up a sport or club, you'll make more friends."

"It's not about wanting to make more friends as much as worrying I'll let everyone down when they realize how average I am."

"So? Who cares if you're average? That's why your classmates like you. They probably don't feel threatened by you," he explained. "I mean, everyone here has to deal with rich assholes all the time in their daily lives and people who are only their friends to get something from them or are trying to constantly one up them. You don't care about any of that, so they don't feel like you're a threat."

"That oddly makes me feel better," I chuckled.

"Seriously, bud, don't worry too much about it. Next year, whatever classmates you get will also like you. In the meantime, just enjoy the school year with your current classmates. I know Nagito and Gundham are pretty cool."

"You know them?"

"Yeah, we do the same club activities."

"You know, you've never actually mentioned what your club is."

"Because it's a lot more fun making you guess what it is."

"Okay...senpai."

Makoto shivered in disgust. "Seriously. Do not call me that."

^^^

After school, I had cleaning duty. It didn't take long to finish up, so I was able to leave fairly early. As I was walking towards the main entrance, a little orange and white hamster ran up to me. If it weren't for the fact I shared class with Gundham, I would have thought it escaped from the bio lab. However, I knew it was one of his pets.

Holding out my hand for the little guy, he climbed up into my hand. Glancing down both halls, I expected to see him approaching me. Instead, the little guy was all alone. Knowing better than to leave the hamster by itself, I began walking down the hall it came from, hoping to find Gundham somewhere.

As I passed the school's café doors, they burst open, surprising me. Gundham stood in the doorway, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans with a white apron. Nagito stood behind him, dressed the same, peering over his shoulder at me.

"Oh, Gundham," I said, holding the hamster out to him. "I found one of your Deva's wandering the halls."

Gundham's face lit up as he held out his hand, the hamster jumping into his palm. "Oh, thank you, mortal. San-D will sometimes wander around when I'm working, but this was the first time he's ever escaped."

"Sure thing," I nodded, turning around to walk back towards the school's exit. Gundham was one of the few classmates of mine that I hadn't clicked with quite yet. I found him a nice man, but his "mortal" talk confused me.

"Mortal," he spoke out, grabbing my shoulder, "as thanks for finding my Deva, I must repay you. I will repay you with one free item from our café on the house."

"Oh," I slowly said. "That's very nice of you, but I'm actually-"

"Hajime," Nagito shyly spoke from the doorway, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just accept."

Exhaling, I nodded. "Thank you, Gundham."

Letting go of my shoulder, Gundham walked back into the café. Nagito moved aside for him and smiled as I walked in.