Future's Hope - A Danganronpa Spinoff

P - 2 : Introductions

A staircase behind a wall of rusted, bent bars, too small for someone to fit through.

"Dammit." I grumbled, gripping one of the bars and pulling it. Surprisingly, it held strong.

"I bet we need a special key to unlock it! And to find that key, we have to solve a series of increasingly difficult puzzles which will test the strength of our comrades and eventually lead us to an irrefutable victory with the combined knowledge and power of friendship!" Kioko shouted excitedly, "let's start searching!"
I went to reply to her, but before I could another voice interrupted us.

"Ooooooiii, is that other people I see?" The person shouted from down the hallway.
I spun to see a boy with short blonde curls peeking out from under a pilot's hat, looking at us with binoculars he made from his hands.
But before I could question anything that was happening, he shot off like a rocket towards us.
Shocked, I simply froze in place as he barrelled towards me at full force, awaiting my certain doom at the hands of this...pilot?
But then he stopped.
The boy looked up at Kioko and I with wide blue eyes, a huge smile on his face.

He wore a white and gold Pilot's uniform, but instead of a button-up shirt underneath the blazer he simply wore an orange t-shirt. His shoes were navy blue, matching the accents on his uniform, and his hat was the same, a badge of a shield with a singular wing coming out of the top of it placed squarely in the centre of his hat. His uniform was adorned with pins of random things, from popular characters in fiction to the names of cities.

"Hi! What's your names? Where did you come from? Have you found the way out? Are you Ultimates? Which school do you go to? How come you've got white hair? What are those bars? Have you seen a toilet anywhere? Where's everyone else?" The barrage of questions didn't stop, and I found myself at a loss for words.
Kioko Kozakura, in contrast, was the one to stop the boy from continuing.

"There's a toilet in your room!" She said, pointing down the hallway.

"What? Really?" The boy's eyes lit up, "woah, that's awesome! I've never had an en-suite bathroom before!"

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked.

The boy paused for a moment, and then the question registered and he smiled widely.

"Me? I'm Eiji Hikou, the Ultimate Airplane Pilot! I've never flown a real plane before, but when I do I'll live my life in the sky, soaring with the birds!" Eiji Hikou saluted to us.

"An Ultimate that's never done their talent before?" I asked, intrigued.

"Yep yep! I've done all the simulations, but I haven't done the final test yet!" Hikou explained.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Eiji Hikou. I'm Asahi Seiko, the Ultimate Parkour Expert." I held a hand out for him to shake, which he did.
"That's a really cool talent!" He said, before turning to Kioko.

"I'm Kioko Kozakura, the Ultimate Board Gamer! I'm the best of the best in any game of logic!" She grinned, reaching her hand out, and Hikou shook it.

"Do you know what we're doing here?" I asked Eiji.

"Nope! Why are those bars on the staircase?" The Airplane Pilot replied.

"We have to complete a puzzle and collect all the keys so we can escape!" Kioko replied.

"Uh, that might not be true..." I drifted off - neither of them were listening to me.

"Woah! Can I join in? I'll be the Ultimate navigator for your trip! First, we go right!" The Pilot pointed in the direction and spun, walking off.