Average would have been an awful way to describe him, as almost every part of him was the opposite of just that. Even if his appearance seemed plain he always managed to stand out in some way. Maybe it was because of his personality which seemed to shift at the drop of a hat.
Maybe it was because of his eyes, two mismatching orbs, on the left was black almost as though he was missing his iris and the other was a blood red swirling in an intricate pattern. Maybe it was because of his dark stare that could analyze any situation in a matter of moments.
Maybe it was all of those things combined to form one of the most enticing human beings the world had ever known. Of course very few people ever truly saw that with him. If you wanted to know the truth it was his because of his way to calm everyone down with a mere look, or how he could pull people in with his words spun intricately to believe in him, to believe in his hope.
...
...
...
What a bunch of fucking morons.
She was strange to him. She was different than anyone else he had met. She was so full of despair and she held such a strange aura of beauty. She was just like him.
He knew what she was doing and he didn't stop her. That was the beauty of his life though, the strange way she showed her love for him.
Still following through with every step of his plan was not something he had expected her to do, and no one was the wiser. Here he stood now with the members of his killing game and she did not stand among them.
While it was true that her name did float amongst those there were before him he knew her sister when he saw her. The girl's chest was noticeably smaller than her sister's and while it wasn't entirely obvious she was definitely more pale.
She followed through with his plan step for step, the looks the other students sent him were proof enough. Still he wondered how long it would be until he saw what she had changed.
Maybe a motive would be swapped, maybe some implanted memories. He still held doubts that she would have changed anything, especially with the way she acted towards him, but she always tried to surprise him.
"Introductions sound like a wonderful idea!" It was the hall monitor who's voice finally shook him from his thoughts.
"Sounds good to me." He responded with a smile.
He watched as the group dispersed into smaller sections of the room, with fake smile plastered on his face he made his way to one of the groups for the introductions he had gone through two years prior, though none of them knew that.
The first one he approached was the hall monitor. He was dressed in a silver suit with a red band around his left arm. He wore a pair black knee-high, laced up boots. His eyes were a vivid shade of red and his short black hair made even his appearance look disciplined.
"Hello there!" He spoke to the hall monitor with a bright smile which was returned in kind.
"Hello! My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru, I look forwards to spending a peaceful communal life here with you." His voice was loud to say the least but he had gotten used to it.
"My name is Makoto Naegi, I look forward to spending time with you too." His response was bright and cheery, even though it was quite the opposite of how be felt.
"Haha, That's a good name, a strong name. Thank your parents for giving you that name. Now you must work hard daily to make sure it doesn't lose it's meaning!" Makoto had already heard this speech and it was just as annoying the second time.
"Well it was nice to meet you, though I need to speak with the others." Makoto broke away from the conversation, especially when a boy with an absurd hairdo came up to the hall monitor to speak about his guardian angel.
'Why am I not surprised Hiro?' Makoto thought to himself rather bored.
He made his way to a girl staring off silently in the corner away from everyone. She was wearing an average japanese school uniform with an extension to the skirt. Her hair was dark purple, and tied in twin braids. Her eyes were gray and peered at him from behind a rounded pair of glasses.
"W...what are you staring at?" The girl asked, in a rather rude tone.
"Huh?" Makoto asked a bit confused.
"I...I...I get it. You think I'm disgusting. Th....that I'm just some hideous creature for you to gawk at." She stuttered out in an accusatory tone, glaring at him.
"What? No, I wasn't thinking that at all!" He quickly defended himself and he watched the girl momentarily flinch.
"D...don't lie to me!" She responded with a stutter.
"No really, I think you're rather beautiful." Makoto said rather quickly, it wasn't a lie but she seemed like she wouldn't believe him.
"White Knight." Toko spoke so quietly he barely heard her.
"Could you repeat that?" He asked to the girl who now was pressing her fingers together and bushing madly.
"..." She remained that way completely silent.
"May I at least get your name?" He asked hoping for her to speak.
"Anything for my white knight! My name is Toko Fukawa." Suddenly her stutter was gone and she seemed extremely happy, though her words troubled him slightly.
"Well it's nice to meet you Toko. I am Makoto Naegi." His voice was kind and calm though the words white knight reminded him of what she spent two years calling The Ultimate Affluent Progeny.
"Even your name is perfect." She said with a deepening blush.
"What?" Makoto asked the girl her mumbling being completely audible to him but he needed to act like the person they had known at one point.
"..." She was silent and caught in her thoughts.
'It seems that I have become Toko's muse instead of Byakuya. I wonder how this will affect the game.' His thoughts were ones of interest but he was sure that his face showed signs of worry.
Silently he backed away from the girl who was awkwardly cradling herself with a blush on her face. If he had to guess she was thinking about what she wanted to write, something almost guaranteed to include him.
As he moved away a rather large student approached him. If he didn't know any better he would have assumed the figure to be a male. The Ultimate Martial Artist was a rather strange one, she was one of the people Makoto was the closest with before his plan was completed.
He figured he'd feel something, maybe even remorse, from seeing her, knowing she may very well die. Here he stood though, bored as ever, feeling no other emotion.
The martial artist was tall and very muscular, as one would expect. She wore a sailor's uniform that hung a bit loose to leave some room to move. Her hair fell down past her back and was completely white. She had bandages trailing up her wrists and lower portion of her legs, as well as a pair of sandals.
Her reaction to him was the same as when they had first met. She patted him down and press her hands around him feeling his muscles to see his body type. With a small grin and a nod on her face she spoke.
"Despite your slim looking frame I can feel how much power you carry within you. You would make a very suitable sparring partner for me." Makoto almost chuckled at her enjoyment, she hardly showed happiness so thoroughly unless she was with Aoi, but it seemed that she had yet to meet The Ultimate Swimmer.
"That sounds quite enjoyable, I do already have a fond enjoyment of martial arts and it is always wonderful to exercise. May I have your name miss?" Makoto held a lot of respect for the girl even if she had yet to actually defeat him in a fight.
"My name is Sakura Oogami." Her voice was gruff and deep, like one of a man, the previous happiness almost undetectable.
"It's absolutely wonderful to meet you, my name is Makoto Naegi. Now as much as I would love to talk I do believe Kiyotaka would rather us not chat." Sakura nodded to him, and with an agreement to meet up and talk after introductions, they separated.
Makoto had just begun to walk towards a red haired boy in the corner of the room when a girl stepped in front of him. The girl was actually very pretty, if he was being honest she may have even the most attractive one in the room. She had azure hair that fell down past her back and eyes the color of the sky.
She was dressed in a normal high school outfit with a green plaid skirt, and a light pink ribbon tying her shirt together. She had pale skin that complimented her slim frame beautifully. She was The Ultimate Pop Idol and she had gone to middle school with him. What was strange was that she wrapped her arms around him for a hug.
"It's good to see you again Makoto." She said as he awkwardly put his arms around her.
"You remember me Sayaka?" He asked a bit surprised.
"Of course, I always wanted to talk with you again after middle school but you never responded to my messages." She said and he nearly broke character.
"Those were really from you?" He asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, I really cared for you." She spoke wistfully being honest.
"We only talked like once though." Makoto said in confusion.
"Yeah but you were so kind." She explained to him.
"Really?" He asked with a laugh.
"Yeah especially after what you did with the crane." Sayaka said as though her middle school crush still held true.
"You remember that?" His words were ones of shock, even if it was fake.
"Yeah, it's what made me-" She was speaking when something interrupted her.
"This isn't the time for idle chit-chat, there are more introductions to be done." The loud voice of the hall monitor cut her off
'Of course Kiyotaka has to interrupt again when I'm talking to Sayaka.' He thought to himself noticing the way her expression seemed to dim.
"I guess we will just have to talk later." Makoto said at her downtrodden look.
"Yeah, after introductions?" She asked and he nodded.
"If you're okay with Sakura." He said and she thought for a moment.
"That sounds fine to me." Sayaka said and turned around but after a second she whipped around and gave him a bone-crushing hug.
"It's good to see you again." She whispered to him and with that she was gone while Makoto held a small smile on his face.
He didn't even need to move from his position when a red haired boy had approached him. His hair was spiky and untamed. His eyes were light blue, that of a man with dream. He had a small goatee and it seemed to be braided. He wore a white jacket with a high collar and underneath was a white shirt with a red skull. His pants were just a pair of black jeans held up by a checkerboard belt.
"Hey!" His voice called out to Makoto and he smiled at the boy.
"Hello." Makoto responded a smile plastered onto his face.
"Were you just talking to Sayaka?" Leon asked incredulously.
"Yes, why do you ask?" Makoto asked back with curiosity.
"Cause she hardly said anything to me and she seemed like she was in deep conversation with you." Leon explained while rubbing his arm in embarrassment.
"Oh, well we were just talking about middle school." Makito responded to clear up what was most likely the reasoning behind her actions.
"You were in the same school?" The redhead asked once again even more surprised.
"Yes, I was quite surprised to see she had remembered me." Makoto said with a laugh which quickly shook Leon from his stupor.
"Oh, that explains it. Well it's nice to meet you! The name's Leon Kuwata I'm The Ultimate Baseball Pro." The boy was full of energy and Makoto could not remember a time that he had been that spritely.
"I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." Makoto's smile was bright and calming and he could tell it drew Leon in.
"Yo, you want to know a secret?" The baseball pro asked in a hushed whisper.
"I guess?" Makoto said in an equally low tone.
"Come on man, don't say it like that. I'm about to tell you something awesome." The boy's first few words droned on in an displeased manner before putting more energy into the last half.
"Alright then. What is it?" Makoto said with more vigor than before.
"I actually hate baseball, like the moment I got accepted to this school I quit. I've never even been to a practice. Honestly I want to be a musician, do you think I could do that?" Leon was asking with sincerity and Makoto felt a pang of guilt.
"Well, you've got my support and I bet Sayaka would totally help you out." Still he answered with encouragement making Leon smile.
"Really?" He asked sparing a glance toward the idol.
'If I asked she would' Makoto thought to himself.
"Of course, just wait until you get to know her." His worded response was not the same as his thoughts.
"Sounds good man. You know what? You and I should hang out after these introductions you're a pretty cool guy." Leon said with an arm extended for a fist bump, to which Makoto awkwardly returned.
With a few words about his current arrangement to meet with Sayaka and Sakura after introductions to which Leon asked to join they separated from each other. Soon after a meek looking girl approached him. She had light caramel, wavy hair and hazel eyes. Her jacket was emerald green with a white undershirt. She wore a puffy brown skirt and emerald green stockings with white shoes.
"H...hi" The girl said in an extremely meek voice.
"Hello there." He responded in kind with a warm smile.
"I...It's nice to m...meet you." The girl continued to stutter and Makoto figured he should try and make her more comfortable.
"I'd say it's nice to meet you as well but I have yet to know your name." Makoto joked with a laugh.
"O..oh. I'm s...sorry I didn't m...mean to up...upset you." The girl's eyes watered up as though she had committed some kind of sin.
"Don't worry you didn't, I just want to know your name." Makoto said trying to calm the girl, not exactly comfortable.
"Okay. I...I'm Chiro Fujisaki. I...I'm called The Ul...Ultimate Programmer." With a few sniffles she spoke and her words seemed to be filled with less sadness.
"Well now I can say it. It's nice to meet you Chihiro, I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto said with a smile which Chihiro returned meekly.
"L...Lucky Student?" She asked with a small stutter.
"Yes, it's not much of a talent I know." He said with a downtrodden tone and his rather lackluster ability.
"S...sorry I didn't mean to make you mad." She looked on the verge of tears seemingly misunderstanding his meaning once again.
"What? Oh no, you didn't. My ability just isn't like yours." Makoto said clearing the air between them.
"I see." She said with the sadness in her eyes not leaving fully.
"I swear there's no reason for you to feel bad." Makoto said while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly in embarrassment.
"Really?" She asked with hope in her sad eyes.
"Really." Makoto said with a small smile.
"Well...Thank you." She said pausing slightly to think.
"For what?" He asked in response.
"For not g...getting mad at me." She explained her eyes glancing over to the corner before focusing back on Makoto.
"Why would I?" Makoto asked in a confused tone.
"Well Byakuya did." She explained once again looking at the corner.
'Of course he did.' Makoto thought to himself inwardly rolling his eyes.
"I'm sorry who?" Makoto asked once again not revealing his thoughts.
"Umm...he's over there." She pointed to a blonde boy in the corner of the room and Makoto nodded.
"Hey why don't you come join my group after introductions so we can hang out?" He asked almost as though he felt responsible for the girl.
"Umm...will he be there?" She asked with a small stutter.
"Most definitely not." His response put a bright smile on her face before she paused.
"W...who will be there?" She asked with a bit of worry laced in her voice.
"At the moment Sayaka Maizono, Sakura Oogami, Leon Kuwata, you if your interested, and me." She looked a bit relieved at that.
"S...sure. They won't mind?" She asked her stutter still not gone.
"Of course not, they'll love to have you." He said with an infectious smile that spread to her.
"T...thank you!" She said and two seconds later she was hugging him like he was her savior.
"There's nothing to be thankful for." Makoto said with his arms falling around her in a protective stance.
With a few words of reassurance about their later meeting they parted ways the girl smiling brightly. Quickly he made his way to the Blonde in the corner to confront him about how he treated the girl. Byakuya was a rather lean and his blonde hair fell to a point at the base of his neck. His eyes were light blue and he wore a black suit with a white undershirt. Everything about him seemed formal and he just gave off the aura of being rude.
"Hey." Makoto called out to the boy with venom in his voice.
"What do you want?" To the boy's credit he didn't so much as flinch at his tone, choosing to glare at him.
"Why were you rude to Chihiro?" Makoto asked with a bite in his voice that he hardly ever used.
"She's just a plankton, as useless as you." Byakuya said scoffing as though it was obvious.
"I suppose your better?" Makoto asked with an expectation to find a good answer to his question which the boy would not provide.
"I'm Byakuya Togami The Ultimate Affluent Progeny." He spoke as though his words held any true meaning when instead they were hollow.
"So because your parents are important you got into this school?" Makoto asked with a smirk on his face.
"We are the most powerful conglomerate in the world." Byakuya said equally smirking at him.
"That makes you what? Intelligent? No, it makes you arrogant." Makoto asked again knowing he was right.
"How did you get here?" Byakuya asked in an irate voice.
"I got here through a raffle." Makoto said as though his smirk was permanently etched onto his face.
"So a filthy commoner like you who has no talent is trying to insult someone like me. Your intelligence is rather lacking." Byakuya said as though he was wasting his time though he seemed to be wasting oxygen.
"Yes, as you so put it a commoner is calling you out. The Ultimate Affluent Progeny is practically the same title as mine. You just got lucky with your family." The blonde had no response to that so he settled for a glare.
When he left after meeting with Byakuya he was fuming but also rather proud that he had shut the boy up. From there it was once again only a moment before another person approached him, much different from the first time around.
This guy was taller than Makoto and had an abnormally pointed afro of dark brown hair. His eyes were light brown and he wore three layers of clothing. He had an amber colored shirt covered by a white jacket followed by a dark brown coat. He had a leather belt to hold up his baggy shorts and sandals adorned his feet.
"Yo." The boy said before a faraway look fell in his eyes.
"Hello." Makoto said with a smile but the boy ignored him.
"Oh man..." The boy said looking downtrodden.
"What?" Makoto asked and the boy looked back to him.
"I could totally see it." He said as though that explained the oddity of his actions.
"See what?" Makoto asked in response to which the boy smiled madly.
"A guardian angel with a crazy perm chasing after Bigfoot running off with a skyfish in its mouth. And that angel is your guardian angel." He said with a bright smile making Makoto step back a bit.
"What?" Makoto asked in utter confusion.
"Nah man I'm totally kidding. I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure, take it easy yeah? I know I will." The boy, now dubbed Yasuhiro, said with a laugh and Makoto smiled with him a bit more comfortable.
"Oh, you're The Ultimate Clairvoyant right?" He asked the crazy haired boy.
"Yeah my predictions are one-hundred percent correct thirty percent of the time." He said bragging even though it was not a great achievement.
"I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto introduced himself and Yasuhiro looked taken aback.
"Lucky Student? Really? I see so much more in your future though." He said with seriousness that didn't match his earlier joke.
"You do?" Makoto asked, actually intrigued with the boy.
"Yeah man, we can talk about it over a couple of brewskis some time." Yasuhiro said with a smile and a pat on Makoto's back.
"We're too young to drink." Makoto exclaimed not wanting to break any laws.
"Oh, well I'm actually twenty-one. I got held back a few times." The clairvoyant said rubbing the back of his neck embarrassed.
"That makes sense then." Makoto said with a nod and a smile.
"Yeah, so maybe we can just hang out when this is all said and done yeah?" Yasuhiro asked cupping his chin with his thumb and index finger.
"Sounds good." Makoto said and they both went silent.
Yasuhiro went on his way fairly quickly after that and Makoto finally got to walk around without someone coming up to him. He went to the corner for a moment to look around the room at those he hadn't met yet. There was still the boy with an extremely pointed pompadour hairstyle. There was the girl with lavender hair who had been sending people away from her. Also there was the girl with black hair drills the rather overweight boy, and The Ultimate Swimmer.
He decided upon the overweight boy to talk to, figuring one of them would approach him afterwards anyways. The boy was dressed in a grey suit and a bright orange tie with a blue arrow. His hair was cut short with a curl falling on his forehead. He wore circular glasses and his eyes were dark grey.
"Hey dude." Makoto said starting the introduction.
"Hello." His voice was high-pitched and it didn't match his look in the slightest.
"I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto said in a kind tone though he had bad memories of the boy.
"I'm Hifumi Yamada, but you want to refer to me by my nickname, The Alpha and The Omega, that's fine too." The boy lowered his voice halfway through his introduction but quickly switched back to normal.
"Well it's nice to meet you." Makoto said already getting red flags from the boy in front of him.
"Same to you. Tell me Master Naegi, do you know the world of 2D?" He asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"No I'm afraid I do not." Makoto said with an apologetic tone.
"Not to worry, I will introduce you to it. It is my job as The Ultimate Fanfiction Creator." Hifumi's voice was one of bragging and Makoto could hardly stand it.
"Fanfiction?" Makoto asked in fake surprise.
"Yes, do you read them?" Hifumi asked with a hopeful tone.
"Not very often." Makoto said with meek smile.
"I think you should at some point, I once sold over ten thousand copies of my works at a school festival." Hifumi was once again bragging and Makoto wanted to roll his eyes.
"That's quite a number." Makoto said in a sarcastic manner that the other boy didn't notice.
"The most of a single fanfiction to be purchased at the time." Hifumi said driving Makoto to be even more irritated with.
"Now, tell me what you think of the divine ladies that have assembled here." Hifumi said with a small and glassiness in his eyes.
"What?" Makoto asked irritated.
"Are your protagonist powers leading you to any of them. Perhaps you've already..." His face went flush and Makoto was prepared to punch him.
"Protagonist powers?" Makoto asked in a bit of confusion and Hifumi seemed to revert back to normal.
"Quite right, you seem to be that of a typical 2D hero. You are obviously the protagonist of our story here at Hope's Peak." His perverted side had definitely calmed down but he still made little sense.
Makoto was quick to end the conversation after that, feeling increasingly uncomfortable around the boy. Once again Makoto then found himself being approached by someone, this time a girl with lavender hair.
'How odd, she would never normally approach anyone.' Makoto thought to himself as he studied her while she moved with purpose towards him.
She was extremely pale, and her lavender hair fell to her waist with a singular braid on her left side. Her lilac colored eyes held a calculating stare as though watching every part of a room at once. She wore a violet jacket with a white undershirt and oak colored tie. She had a pair of gloves on her hands the same color as her jacket and the skirt she wore matched. She had on a pair of knee-high boots that were also violet and a pair of white stockings just barely visible under them.
"Hello?" He asked cautiously when she had reached him.
"Hello." She responded coolly giving no other words.
"Umm...may I ask your name?" Makoto asked not sure how to proceed.
"It's Kyoko, Kyoko Kirigiri." She had a blush that he hadn't seen before, almost as though she had somehow been pushed into this.
"Well it's nice to meet you Kyoko. I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto said with a smile that was not returned.
"..." She stayed silent, looking to the side and blushing.
"May I know your talent?" He asked, trying to find conversation with the lavender haired girl.
"I'm afraid I cannot remember it." She said not meeting his eyes as though it would unravel her.
"Really?" Makoto asked and the blush died away from her face.
"Yes, it is strange isn't it? I know I was accepted here but I cannot remember what for." She turned to face him now, not meeting his eyes but her face was no longer red.
"Yes it is strange, but I'm sure you'll remember soon though." Makoto said with a smile that showed on her face for a moment before disappearing.
"That is true. Can I ask a favor of you?" She asked and Makoto was shocked for a moment.
"Sure, what is it?" Makoto asked, confused by the emotion the girl showed.
"Would you meet up with me after introductions?" She asked with the blush returning to her cheeks.
"Well I have a group already getting together when we are done." Makoto explained looking back quickly to the others in his group.
"Oh." She said with a very well masked disappointment.
"You could always join if you would like." Makoto suggested because of her tone.
"No, that's alright. Could you join me after you are done with them?" She asked with a sense of hope in her voice.
"No problem." He said with a smile.
"Thank you." She said with a bow of her head.
"Of course." Makoto said with the smile still on his face.
"I'm afraid I have more introductions left so I'll be on my way." Even though it was just for a second, he saw the sadness in her eyes from his words and he could tell she was confused by it.
Their conversation had barely ended when Makoto felt an arm upon his shoulder. Turning around to find a boy in a black jacket that extended down to his ankles with a popped up collar. The boy's hair was in a pompadour style but it seemed a bit excessive considering just how far it extended. His eyes were grey and he wore a white t-shirt under his jacket as well as a pair of baggy black pants.
"Well hello." Makoto said looking up at the taller boy.
"Hey. The name's Mondo Owada nice to fucking meet'cha." Despite his crass language he seemed genuinely nice from his introduction.
"I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto said with a smile.
"Makoto huh? I like that name." Mondo said and Makoto smiled brighter than before at the compliment.
"Thanks. You're The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader right?" Makoto asked to which Mondo grinned before responding.
"Yeah, do you ride?" Mondo asked Makoto in an excited manner.
"When I have the time. I tend to take care of my sister a lot." Makoto said with an embarrassed smile.
"That's fucking awesome, maybe I could take you for a ride sometime." Mondo said the grin growing on his face.
"Of course, I'd love to go for a ride." Makoto said with a smile.
"What kind of ride do you have?" Mondo asked actively into the conversation.
"I have a KTM RC390, it's a bit more sporty than I'd like but it does it's job." Makoto said thinking back to the last ride he had out on his old bike.
"How did you afford one of those?" Mondo asked in surprise.
"I actually won it in a raffle." Makoto explained with a chuckle.
"Really?" Mondo asked in awe.
"Yeah, my luck is kind of extreme, though I'm not sure it's a talent." Makoto said still chuckling even though he despised the title he had been given.
"Maybe not but that doesn't deny how fucking awesome it is." Mondo said giving Makoto a pat on the back.
"That I can agree with." Makoto said with a grin.
"Oh, earlier you said you take care of your sister. How old is she?" Mondo took the conversation away from talks of their bikes to talks of family.
"Yeah I take care of my youngest sister, she's 10." Makoto said thinking of the pink haired girl that held a special spot in his heart.
"Really what's her name?" Mondo asked and Makoto smiled.
"Kotoko, It's actually a bit weird not being around her." Makoto said his smile growing.
"You're a good man Makoto. I'll talk with you later." Mondo said seeing an irate hall monitor approaching them.
"You're a good guy too Mondo. See you later." Makoto spoke and nodded to the boy before giving him a pat on the back.
With Mondo out of the way there were three people left who he had yet to introduce himself too. He made his way over to a girl in a gothic style black and white dress with a black blazer and a blood red tie. She had by far the most pale skin in the room and her eyes were a vibrant shade of red. She had black hair that fell to her waist in drills and a pair of thigh high gothic styled stockings and black high heels.
"Hello." Makoto said cordially to the girl.
"Hello." Her voice was soft and melodic, seemingly fitting her style.
"I am Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." Makoto said while the girl studied him.
"Lucky Student? I wonder how you're luck would fair against me. Oh, my apologies I have yet to introduce myself. I am Celestia Ludenberg, The Ultimate Gambler." The girl now dubbed Celestia spoke and Makoto looked away.
"It wonderful to meet you, though I'm sure my luck would not compare to your skill." He said rather numbly, while his luck was extreme it was not anywhere near a talent.
"We will have to see no?" She asked and he kept from looking back to her.
"Sure, I guess I'd be okay with playing a few games with you, just don't be surprised if I don't win." He said still downtrodden, much different from his earlier conversations.
"We will not know until then. Perhaps I may have found my match." She said placing a hand upon his shoulder causing him to face her once again.
"So Celestia why do you enjoy gambling?" He asked trying to turn the conversation from his talent.
"You may call me Celeste if you wish, I do not mind. I enjoy gambling because it was something I was taught by my parents at a very young age. I have used it as a profession since then." She said leaving most of her history intentionally ambiguous.
"Intriguing, I'm afraid I just won a lottery to get here." Makoto said before explaining why he was in the school.
"True but that was a lottery that included every highschool student in Japan and you were selected." She explained and he nodded.
"I suppose that is true." He said with a look of contemplation.
"So why do you say your luck is not a talent?" She asked and he thought about it for a moment.
"It isn't something I can control or develop further unlike most everyone else's." Makoto explained from his thoughts to which she debated in her mind for a moment.
"I see but I would have to disagree. You would not be here if Hope's Peak did not view it as a talent no?" Celestia said and Makoto took her words to heart.
"I've never thought about it like that. Thank you Celestia." Makoto said with a bow of his head in thanks.
"You are quite welcome and as I said before you may call me Celeste." She said and Makoto shook his head with a laugh.
"Do you wish to be addressed as such?" Makoto asked and the girl shook her head.
"I do not mind, it is what most people call me." She explained and once again Makoto laughed.
"I think your name is too pretty to be cut short." He said causing the faintest of blushes to appear on her cheeks before she forced it away.
"Why thank you, if you wish to address me by my full name use it at your leisure." She said with a smile, refusing to meet his gaze.
"Thank you, now I'm afraid I have more people to meet though I'm sure we can meet up again at some point.' Makoto said with a nod.
"Most certainly." She said in an odd tone.
The conversation was a strange one but it made Makoto feel oddly pleased. He didn't have much time with his thoughts before the rather large breasted girl in the room made her way over to him. She had her mocha colored hair tied up in a ponytail and her eyes were sky blue. She wore a white t-shirt and a red track jacket on over it. She also wore a pair of light blue jean shorts and a pair of knee high white socks and a red knee brace on her right leg.
"Sup?" She asked in greeting.
"Hello." Makoto said with a bow as his greeting.
"I'm Aoi Asahina, The Ultimate Swimming Pro. It's great to meet you." She said with a bright smile her hair waving.
"I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." He said with a smile.
"Makoto Naegi?" She asked tracing something onto her palm.
"Yeah that's right. What are you doing?" Makoto responded asking her what her actions were for.
"Don't you know that if you trace someone's name on your palm three times you'll remember it?" She asked seemingly finishing with her tracing.
"I've never heard of that." Makoto said and she smiled at him.
"Oh it's something I've always done." She said in a upbeat tone.
"Maybe I'll try it sometime." He said with a laugh.
"It's always worked for me." She responded, laughing with him.
"So you're The Ultimate Swimmer?" Makoto asked remembering the research he had done on the other students.
"Yeah, I love swimming, it's probably the best thing in the world next to donuts." She said with a hungered look on her face.
"Why swimming?" He asked and she smiled at him.
"I think it has a lot to do with the way the water feels at hit hits my skin, it's just so relaxing you know?" She said phrasing the last part of her sentence as a question.
"I understand how you feel, I used to be on the swim team for my old school." Makoto responded fixing the pin on his shirt.
"Really?" She asked with intrigue.
"Yeah, I hold the record for fastest one-hundred meter backstroke time at Dusk High School." He said pointing to the very pin he had just adjusted.
"That's so cool, you should go swimming with me sometime, I usually go in the mornings though." She said in a psyched up manner, amazed with the boy in front of her.
"That's what I tend to do, though it's generally after my morning runs." Makoto explained opting for a thoughtful look.
"I run in the mornings too, maybe we could go together?" Though it was a suggestion she phrased it as a question.
"Sure, I'm definitely willing to do that." Makoto said agreeing to her idea, actually getting kind of excited at the thought.
"Sweet, I actually have one more person to talk to and Taka keeps yelling at me." That was the third time that the hall monitor had managed to end one of his conversations, even if it wasn't intentional.
"Well be on your way then, don't let me get you into trouble." Makoto said in a light tone, a small chuckle escaping his lips.
"Ok, I'll talk to you later then?" Once again she let out a suggestion phrased as a question.
"Yeah, feel free to join my group after introductions we'd love to have you." Makoto said sparing a glance towards the others who he was meeting up with.
"Sure, sounds like fun to me." She said agreeing to meet up turning of the numbers in his group to six.
"Thanks Makoto." She said with a wave.
"No problem." He responded with a wave of his own.
She quickly turned away and walked over to Kyoko while Makoto stood there thinking for a moment. It wasn't to last though as he was quickly whisked from his thoughts in an unsurprising way.
"Makoto was it?" A female voice rolled out from the last person he hadn't introduced himself to, it was high pitched, cheery, hopeful, and entirely fake.
"That would be correct Miss?" When he turned to face the speaker The Ultimate Soldier stared back at him even if no one else knew that.
"It's Junko, Junko Enoshima." He could hardly believe how similar she sounded to her sister.
"Well, it's nice to meet you." Makoto said staring at the girl with calculating eyes.
"Listen Makoto you can't just up and leave a girl hanging like that." Mukuro was acting just like her sister, especially with her teasing.
"What?" He asked with a red tinge to his cheeks.
"Come on this is the part where you tell me your name and your talent." He rolled his eyes at the words she spoke.
"Oh, well I'm Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky Student." He said the blush still on his face.
"There you go Herbivore Man, now that's an introduction." She said with a fake cheer.
"What did you call me?" Makoto acting as though he was confused.
"Herbivore man, you're very clearly not the dominant one in a relationship." The way she said it almost made him slip into one of his many other personas but he knew she was just playing her role, so he forced a blush to his face.
"I...I don't. I'm not..." Makoto stuttered out with a fake innocence.
No one could see through his act, not The Ultimate Detective, not even Junko knew anything about him until he trusted her. It had always been his talent, nothing like The Ultimate Lucky Student. He had always been able to act, it was fun for him. He just got bored with everything so quickly, even his own personality, so he changed it, He changed it so much in fact that he could slip into any new persona the moment he got bored with his old one.
It was difficult at first not to show them, he had to be what everyone thought he was. He had to been the hopelessly average boy who was extremely optimistic. He hated it, he hated them, all of them. He hated their hope, it had never done anything for him and her knew it never would. He didn't need their despair, at least not in the way Junko had wanted when she first met him.
No, he wanted to watch them fall, to see their hope come falling down until the only thing left for them was him. He didn't want them to die, at least not all of them, only the ones who were to weak to survive. He wanted to see their armor crack when they realized he had done it all.
Of course none of them knew what was happening yet. None of them knew that they were in a game of life or death. None of them knew that he was behind it all. No, none of them knew that Makoto Naegi was the mastermind of a killing game that was just waiting to start, and no one knew that they were already his.