◤ ◥
ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ʀᴇᴠɪᴠᴀʟ
◣ ◢
——
The sound of a gentle breeze was the first thing you heard, your consciousness not being able to comprehend anything around you. Your hands were the first thing to move, twitching gently as you succumb to a gentle wake, your eyes wincing at the harsh light that seeped into your sockets.
Your first thought since waking up enters your mind.
'Where am I?'
You try to move, but the second you did you realize that you're in an unfamiliar confined space.
Your heart began to race, the reality of the situation finally hitting you hard once your eyes adjust to the light. Your hands could barely move, only being able to take in the sensation of cold metal, rigid and rough now and then, you immediately figured out what you were in. The idea is cemented by the three slots that were filing in beams of light.
You were in a locker.
Your eyes begin to become unfocused, your chest expanding and deflating as the pace of your breaths picked up, as much as you hated small spaces the most concerning part was that you didn't know how you got there, didn't know why your head was hurting so much when only a few seconds ago, you were on your way to a hotel.
You could feel your head hurt more as you try to remember how you got in a locker in the first place.
There was a feeling of dread playing on your mind, but no matter how much you try to cling to that feeling, it didn't make any sense. The last thing you remember doing was getting into a car and then the memories start to blur from there, too painful for you to remember.
You shake uncontrollably, your hands gripping onto whatever you could. Did you get kidnapped? More thoughts began to surface, none helping your growing concern and anxiety. You force yourself out of your thoughts.
Even if you did somehow get kidnapped, panicking was only going to get you in trouble. You count in your mind since your hands were barely able to move up to pull on your hair. After a few moments of calming yourself down, you sigh out of relief, shaking off any worries you had.
There was no time for this, you needed to get out of here. You shifted uncomfortably, trying to turn sideways so you can attempt to knock the locker door down.
Your body seemed to take over, and purely by muscle memory your face became stoic as you rammed your shoulder into the locker door, the door flying upon impact and landing a few feet away onto the opposite wall.
Maybe you would have felt accomplished if you didn't know how you got the door down, especially since you had never done anything physically strenuous in a while. You couldn't even begin to comprehend what just happened before a cough caught your attention.
You turn around, too fast for it to be your own body you thought, your body shifting into one of offense. Your eyes glanced over the area only to tense at the sight of teddy bears on the floor. Confusion wracks your body, your mind racing at the way your body immediately tenses at the sight of teddy bears.
Why did you feel almost on edge while looking at the bears, maybe it was because they were standing up? They felt familiar in a bad way and your stance tightens your face pulled into the neutral look. Ridiculous, this scene may look ridiculous to others but the second you heard a voice you knew you weren't crazy.
"Eep! She's looking at us!" The bears all huddled behind the green more mechanical-looking one, shivering in exaggerated fear. You identify the first voice coming from the more feminine and pink one.
"D-don't fuck with me!" The second belonged to the weirdly designed bear, blue with a distinct feature of chest hair. The yellow one spoke, also behind the green one.
"I-it's hard to look scary when you're shivering like a baby!" You couldn't help but marvel at the bears. More questions than answers were popping up in your head, and you could feel a headache begin to make its appearance as you thought about the physics and science behind the bears.
The room was silent after that, you looking at them in confusion while they slowly shuffle out behind the quiet bear. They awkwardly looked at each other, huddling in a small circle.
"Uh, should we still do our intro?" The red one whispered loudly enough for you to hear them, you look at them, amused thoroughly as they discussed.
"You messed us up by getting scared!" The blue one didn't even try to be subtle, the feminine one shushing him nervously.
"Shh! She might hear us!" They began to whisper again until finally, they came to a conclusion. Judging from the red one's voice, and demeanor he seemed to take the lead in the conversation. You take note of who seemed the most important, your eyes falling on the green one who seemed excluded from the circle, standing to the side.
"Alright, one two three!" The bears all strike a pose, their loud voices making you tense up from the sudden noise and in unison, they proceed to scream.
"Rise and shine, Ursine!" You stare at them, their charisma seemingly coming back to them as they all stand confidently before you. The red one speaks up first, still in his very entertaining pose. "Monotaro!"
The yellow one strikes a, almost overly trying to be, mature pose. "Monosuke!"
The pink one appears bashful. "Monophanie!"
The green stays the same for the most part, hands high in the air. "Monodam-"
"Monokid!" The blue one interrupts the self-proclaimed Monodam, his blue electric guitar a prop in his introduction.
You stand, now less confrontational and even more confused than before. The idea of talking, moving sentient stuffed bears was not giving you the closure you needed in a situation where you had been kidnapped.
The bears all smile up at you, or at least you can only think so. Most of their faces were in a permanent design of faux happiness, you can only guess that it was for them to appear more friendly, ironically demolished by the fact that almost all of them have sharp impeding teeth.
Once again your attention diverts to odd one of the group, who stood quietly. You didn't want to project but you felt bad for the green bear, different from its brothers and sister. You pause, were they related?
Your thoughts were interrupted by the red one, proving your claim that he seemed to be a leader of sorts. "Hey hey! Did our really cool intro stop you from killing us?" You raise a brow.
"Killing you?" Your question, did you look that scary to them? The yellow one nods, pushing his glasses up with feigned annoyance, choosing to ignore the fact he was shaking in fear only a few seconds earlier.
"You were so fucking scary I almost shit my pants!" Monokid exclaims. Monophanie looks at him in disgust scooting away while Monotaro just looked plain confused, his paw resting on his chin as he tilts his head.
"Since when do you we have pants?" Monotaro questioned. Monosuke quickly interrupted before they could go further.
"Anyways, I'm sure youse got questions, as do all you of youse, so spill 'em." You frowned, you had gotten distracted by their antics. Thinking about it more clearly, you guess the first question you should ask was where were you, and so you do. Monosuke and the others, well except for Monodam, all looked smug, like they were expecting the question.
Monotaro speaks up once more. "You're in the ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ ꜰᴏʀ ɢɪꜰᴛᴇᴅ ᴊᴜᴠᴇɴɪʟᴇꜱ!" You had already noticed the fact you were in a classroom, so the academy part was somewhat of a given, it was the 'juveniles' part that caught your eye.
"This school was made for all sixteen-" Monophanie fumbles over her words, nervously coughing to mask her mistake. "-seventeen of you cretins!" You pay close attention to their words, were there originally sixteen people?
That made you or someone else the odd one out, making that person immediately suspicious in not only your eyes but probably everyone else's as well. It would be bad if you were the one that was unaccounted for, that would just bring unwanted attention to you.
"Made especially for all you ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇꜱ." You tilt your head at Monosuke's words, ultimates huh? You knew what they were, who wouldn't? They were the top dogs if you could describe them. The government personally scouts these high schoolers through the ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ, and gives these random kids special 'favors', if you will.
And of course, you were one of them. The ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ʙᴏᴅʏɢᴜᴀʀᴅ to be exact. Born to be a protector.
You were always naturally gifted in the area of martial arts and combat, helping your friends from bullies and getting paid by other kids for your services. As you grew up, the stakes kept rising and soon you were protecting government officials.
Still, you couldn't help but feel off about the memories. Your parents were proud of you, they loved you so much you felt embarrassed most of the time. So why were you leaving the house to go to a hotel? It didn't make sense.
You sigh and shake off the feeling.
You stop the bears from continuing their little explanation of what Ultimates were and bend down, facing towards the small bears. "Why am I here?" Monotaro tries to respond.
"Because you wanted to be-" Monosuke pushes him to the side and you comedically hear a 'BOING' as Monotaro was pushed. Monosuke picks up where his brother left off.
"Because that's just how it is." He pushes up his glasses and makes a shooing motion towards you with his paws. "Anyway, it's about time you get started!" You tilt your head
"Start what?" You ask and Monokid continues for his brother.
"Exploring the Academy of course! Get the fuck out there or I'll really start to shit my pants!" Monokid yells placing his hands on his stomach before he blanches, "Shit! It's coming out!"
"No! Not now!" Monophanie yells as they all vanish with a shout, "So long bear well!!" leaving you for the most part alone. Except for the remaining green bear who stares at the vacant spot with a distant look. You didn't get far with questioning the bears so you turn to Monodam, staring at him in interest until your hand slowly moved towards him until it laid flat on his head.
You unsurprisingly felt bad for the little guy, after all, he was left behind by his own family. You stroke his head, ignoring the warning signs that Monodam could be behind your kidnapping. He looks at you in surprise, tensing completely like this was his first time getting affection, before relaxing into your touch.
You don't smile, just giving shallow disconnected comfort and he lets you, nuzzling into your arm. He was smooth enough that the sensation wasn't unpleasant per se, but it reminds you that this was an A.I. Someone created these bears.
So perhaps you were just wasting time trying to give comfort to something that wasn't real. You let out a huff of air, your hand finally stopping. You start to regret it when Monodam looks to you with a look akin to disappointment, so you relent. "I'll give you more pats later, I just need to explore like your siblings said alright?"
He seems happier at the first bit, nodding slowly before disappearing like his other siblings. You stood up and decided to inspect the classroom.
Other than the reoccurring patches of grass and moss, there really wasn't anything noteworthy about the place. So you retrace your steps and look around again, perhaps missing something. Thankfully you did because in the locker you had been in, laid a tablet of some kind, turned off but hopefully working.
You take note of the name on the back. 'Monopad.'
When you started it, it displayed your name and ultimate talent. You could only guess it was a sort of student handbook, which would be normal if not for the fact you didn't go to this school. You suck your teeth, placing the tablet into your pocket which was somehow big enough for it.
Finally, after thoroughly searching for a few minutes, you decide to leave. You walk out, your gloves you don't remember putting on covered in dust, reach out towards the door handle only to stop short when the door opens up suddenly.
You tense up, as a duo pair stood before you letting out a yelp at the sight of you so close, you presume. One was a girl, shorter than you with cute music-themed clothes clad in a pink school uniform. Her hair was a pale blond, her eyes, a complementing pink.
The boy next to her screamed insecurity. He had a naturally hunched-over posture, his eyes resembling a fading daffodil. He had on another uniform that seemed customized with designs unique to him and of course that hat atop his head, shielding him from scrutinizing eyes.
They both calmed down slightly, seeming sheepish from the shrieks they let out earlier. The girl placed her hand on top of her beating chest, looking towards you with very slight embarrassment unlike the boy next to her who was very red.
"Oh sorry, we didn't know anyone would be in here." She stands with a radiant smile on her face, relaxing your nerves just by the sight of it. "We had been exploring for a while, I was so sure this place was locked too..." She mumbles the last part, her hand on her chin briefly before she waves it off.
"Anyway! You must be an Ultimate too right?" You nod, thinking back to what the bears had said earlier. They already stated that other people were here too, there was no need to be overly cautious. Kaede smiles, "Ah, well you wouldn't happen to know about how we got here, would you?" you shake your head and she frowns.
"It seems everyone doesn't know how they got here." You take it that they already explored the academy together, and by correlation had met the other people, judging from their outfits, students. You felt apologetic but you weren't about to tell much of what you remembered, which wasn't anything important anyway, so it shouldn't matter.
You speak up, bowing slightly."I'm sorry I couldn't help more." Kaede fumbles over her words a bit exchanging a look with the boy beside her as she grabs your shoulders, trying to make you stand straight. "Oh no, it's fine! We don't even know so everyone is at fault. Please don't bow."
You stand up straight looking down at this girl with a nod. She freezes very shortly and you could feel her hands squeeze the part of your shoulders they were gripping on. You stare down in amusement as her friend noticed her dazed look.
"Uh, Kaede?" She snaps out of daze stepping back with wide flustered eyes, her cheeks taking a pink tint.
"Oh, uh... Sorry! You were just really muscular and I didn't expect that." You look at her in surprise. She catches your expression and quickly tries to remedy the situation. "Not that that's a bad thing! It's really sexy actually." The sincere tone in her voice made you feel flustered and you feel your face heat up a bit. The boy beside her gives an exasperated sigh that borders on the line of fondness.
"You keep sounding like a creepy old man." Kaede gives a sheepish smile, exclaiming another apology.
You shake your head, hoping you had calmed down enough. "It's fine. In any case, I should introduce myself." You bow once more, stating your name while avoiding her gaze, knowing that you'll crawl into yourself the second you met the girl's eyes.
You had never met anyone on the planet who would describe you as 'sexy', and hearing from a really pretty girl's mouth was also jarring. You close your eyes to ground yourself from getting lost in your thoughts and finally open them, standing up while offering the duo a small smile. "I'm the Ultimate Bodyguard."
——
[(ʏ/ɴ) (ʟ/ɴ) - ᴛʜᴇ ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ʙᴏᴅʏɢᴜᴀʀᴅ]
——
"H-huh? The Ultimate Bodyguard?" You nod and she shares a quick look between herself and the boy before looking back towards you with awe. "That's really cool! So you punch bad guys and stuff and protect people?" She makes a punching motion enthusiastically and you smile, charmed by her personality the more you talked to her.
"Ah well, I do get into fights most of the time, but..." You think back on the times you had to protect other people and most of the time, you really just stood around and looked intimidating. "I really just stood around really, it's a miracle to be called an Ultimate for doing so little..."
"Ah..." Kaede stutters slightly before letting out a groan, pouting afterward. "Not another Shuichi!" You gaze back at her with confusion, did you say something wrong? "There's no way the government picked you by chance just because you stood around! You obviously are doing something remarkable that would warrant an Ultimate title!"
For someone who just met you, her confidence in you was completely genuine. It baffled you.
You look towards the timid boy who only shrugs, tugging his cap to hide his face from your scrutiny. You feel a bubbly feeling rise from the pits of your stomach at the ridiculousness of it all, and you let out a laugh.
Kaede flushes from the sound of your laughter and the sight of you holding your stomach, she felt a bit embarrassed she got so carried away but felt more flustered by the nice sound of your laughter. It was a really beautiful sound, just like the keys on a piano. Less graceful, but still pleasing to the ears.
Kaede wasn't shy in admitting it too. "You have a really nice laugh." Her voice sounded awe-stricken and you slowed your laughter, getting flustered from her boldness once again. Kaede giggles, finding the way you were easily flustered cute.
Deciding to spare you from further attacks, Kaede introduces herself first knowing that Shuichi would speak up after her. "My name's Kaede Akamatsu. I'm the Ultimate Pianist, I hope we get along well!" She smiled brightly towards you. You smile back, more reserved than her yet relaxed all the same.
The music notes on her uniform finally make much more sense.
——
[ᴋᴀᴇᴅᴇ ᴀᴋᴀᴍᴀᴛꜱᴜ - ᴛʜᴇ ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴘɪᴀɴɪꜱᴛ]
——
The boy beside her decides to follow suit, as Kaede had predicted. His voice cracks a bit at first, showing that he either doesn't talk a lot or wasn't used to talking at a volume higher than a whisper. "My n-ame is..." He turns pink at his mistake but continues seeing Kaede's encouraging smile. "Shuichi Saihara... The Ultimate Detective."
Kaede looked proud. Shuichi had finally introduced himself without saying but! It was a win in her book, unbeknownst to you who smiled at the boy. "Nice to meet you Saihara." He returns a nod in return, avoiding your eyes as you had done to Kaede.
——
[ꜱʜᴜɪᴄʜɪ ꜱᴀɪʜᴀʀᴀ - ᴛʜᴇ ᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴅᴇᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ.]
——
You felt a vibration in your pocket where you left your tablet. You curiously pulled it out, pleasantly greeted with basic information of the two Ultimates while also seeing you had a ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘ ꜰʀᴀɢᴍᴇɴᴛ.
You looked towards the two who seemed used to it by now. Kaede seeing your confused stare takes it upon herself to explain. "Uh well, we also have those tablets." She pulled a similar one out of her pocket as well. "On the back, it's called a Monopad!"
She smiles, and you nod already knowing the information. She fumbles slightly with her words. "And that's all we really know... Sorry." She laughs sheepishly, looking at the ground apologetically. You smile.
"It's fine, I don't expect you to know everything. I'll just have to inspect it later." You took the device back into your pocket and sigh. "It was nice meeting you but I must get going if I want to try to figure out how to get out of here. "
Shuichi sighed looking solemn, Kaede looks sheepish again but unlike the last time, she was tenser. "About that..."
"We're caged in." Shuichi finishes her sentence. You didn't expect your body to have such a violent reaction as it did. You freeze and dread washes over you in harsh waves.
"What do you mean we're caged in?" Your voice comes put harsher than you meant it to and they both winced.
"Well..." Kaede goes on to explain how they already had explored the school and met the other Ultimates as well. They were hopeful when they could finally go outside only to be crushed by the giant glass cage around them.
You try to calm yourself down in the situation. First a group kidnapping and then this? Your day just couldn't get better, could it?
You sigh and walk past the two, leaving the classroom. Kaede looks back at you with wide eyes. "Where are you going?" You force a smile.
"To explore." You face the confused girl. "Even if it is like you had said, I still need to meet the other Ultimates, don't I?" Kaede calms down a bit nodding understandingly, you continue. "And knowing the school layout may come in handy later. Who knows? I might find something that'll help us escape."
Kaede nods again smiling. "That makes sense, why don't Shuichi and I help you-"
"I like to work alone... A habit of mine." You felt bad for cutting her off but you couldn't exactly roam around an unknown place with strangers. Years of training told you to be suspicious of any person you didn't know. So as nice as the duo seemed, you didn't want to take the risk.
Kaede smiles sadly and nods. "Uh yeah, we get it it's fine." Shuichi nods alongside her and you wave goodbye, walking away to the nearest hallway.
—-
ᴀᴜᴛᴏ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ!
——
ᴘᴏɪɴᴛꜱ ᴀᴅᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴛᴀᴛꜱ!
[¹⁵/¹⁰⁰⁰]
——
[ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇꜱ ᴜɴʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ:
ᴄᴀʀʀʏ ʜɪᴍ?
>ʸᵉˢ |> ⁿᵒ
ɢᴏ ʟᴇꜰᴛ ᴏʀ ʀɪɢʜᴛ?
>ʸᵉˢ | >ⁿᵒ
ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛ ʜɪꜱ ᴏꜰꜰᴇʀ?
>ʸᵉˢ | >ⁿᵒ]
——
ⁿᵒᵗᵉ: ᵃⁿʸ ᵍʳᵃᵐᵐᵃʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ˢᵖᵉˡˡⁱⁿᵍ ᵐⁱˢᵗᵃᵏᵉˢ ʷⁱˡˡ ᵇᵉ ᶜᵒʳʳᵉᶜᵗᵉᵈ ˢᵒᵒⁿ.
ⁿᵒᵗᵉ ²: ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᵃⁿ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵃᶜᵗⁱᵛᵉ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁱˢ ᶜʳᵒˢˢ⁻ᵖᵒˢᵗᵉᵈ ᵒⁿ Qᵘᵒᵗᵉᵛ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵂᵃᵗᵗᵖᵃᵈ. ᵀʰᵉ ᶜʰᵒⁱᶜᵉˢ ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ⁱᵐᵖᵃᶜᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ, ᵖᵒˢⁱᵗⁱᵛᵉˡʸ ᵒʳ ⁿᵉᵍᵃᵗⁱᵛᵉˡʸ.
ᵀʰᵉ ᶜʰᵒⁱᶜᵉ ⁱˢ ʸᵒᵘʳˢ