Hikari sat at a local park and scrolled through his phone while he waited for his friend to arrive. Today was both of their first day of college and Hikari was beyond excited since they would be attending the same class this time.

The sun was exceptionally hot today causing Hikari to pull at the peach colored cardigan he wore covered in pins he's collected from several places around the world. Sweat began to form on the sides of his head and he guessed he should've worn something more like a tank top. Still, this was his favorite sweater and he sort of had a habit of wearing it everywhere.

"Where is he?" Hikari whined to himself just as he felt someone's hand ruffle his turquoise hair from behind.

"If you keep talking to yourself people will start to think you're weird," a voice said and Hikari turned around to see a boy with short blonde hair wearing a plain white shirt with shorts and flip flops.

"You could've at least tried to wear something presentable. You look homeless," Hikari immediately judged.

"Very funny," the boy said and sat down on the bench next to his friend, "it's just too hot to wear that school uniform right now. Didn't we agree to change once we get there?"

"I know but I'm still hot."

The boy eyed Hikari's cardigan. "I wonder why."

"Very funny," Hikari mocked right back at him. He then fiddled with a pin on his sweater and asked a question he bothered his friend with many times before. "Are you scared?"

"Scared of going to school?" The boy played dumb. "Why would I be?"

"You know why."

His friend only sighed and did not answer which caused Hikari to face him.

"You are Ichiro Kobayashi, the Ultimate Linguist. You seriously dodged a bullet with that last class of yours."

Ichiro groaned. "Yeah, yeah I know. I've had enough of interviews asking me those same questions so I don't need my best friend doing the same, okay? I still don't know why they chose to let me be..."

"Who cares! You're incredibly lucky. It just sucks that your classmates had to go through all that before you even got a chance to meet them."

Ichiro nodded at that then observed Hikari's face. "You're the one who's scared, aren't you?"

"Pfft, nooo."

Ichiro pretended to not hear Hikari's voice quiver then pat his back. "Look. We're going to go to school, change, meet our classmates, and start off our first day with a bang. We will be fine."

Hikari slightly pouted, still having a bad feeling but was interrupted by a ding from his phone.

"Is that our ride?" Ichiro asked.

Hikari nodded. "Yeah. It's stupid that the school doesn't have any student parking spaces. I guess they just expect us to be dropped off."

Ichiro laughed. "At least I don't have to be embarrassed by that turquoise monstrosity you call a van."

The two chuckled and made their way to the spot Hikari's phone displayed and saw a sleek black car waiting for them. They both climbed inside and Hikari looked up at the man in the drivers seat.

The man had slicked back dark hair, glasses and wore a black suit. He didn't look like some ordinary cab driver.

"He's a little weird," Ichiro said then cursed in what sounded like Spanish under his breath, "I mean, not even a hello?"

The car began to take off in silence and Hikari watched as they departed from the crowded area. Ichiro shrugged off the rudeness and played with his phone but Hikari continued to gaze out the window. His first day was important to him so of course he memorized every aspect of the school including the route although his mother thought it was a bit excessive.

That must be why as Hikari gazed out the window he also realized that they were going the wrong way.

When Hikari turned back to the front to comment on the misdirection, he saw the man pick something up off of the passenger seat and attach it to his face.

"What are you—" Hikari began but out of nowhere, a strange foggy gas started to fill the car finally catching Ichiro's attention. They both started to cough uncontrollably as their eyes stung from the intensity of it. Hikari felt around for the door handle but the last thing he saw before fading unconscious was Ichiro looking back at him with a fearful, knowing expression...

....

.......
............

..................................

Sandalwood

Fresh linen

... and lotus?

Those were the three things Hikari smelt first as he blinked rapidly from the soreness of his entire body. When his vision finally stabled he saw that he was staring up at a wooden ceiling with a fan swirling above him. He instantly sat up, on alert, and observed his new surroundings.

The bed Hikari was placed on had turquoise sheets, the same color as his hair, and white pillows. The room he was in also seemed to be decorated specifically for him.

There were cultural flags scattered around the walls along with photos of himself that he took in many popular vacation spots. He wondered how those photos even ended up here as he observed the white wooden dresser and shelves along with a comfy blue chair that sat at a desk.

On the desk was a colorful world globe, a pink camera, and a mini fridge filled with peach soda.

His favorite...

The lotus scent was even coming from a candle on the dresser that was also his favorite scent...

A bunch of international souvenirs were placed around the room just like the flags and Hikari eventually began to move off of the bed. He was glad to see he was in the same attire but his head still felt a little fuzzy.

"Uh oh," Hikari spoke to himself as his legs almost buckled from underneath him. He looked around the room frantically and thanked god once he saw what he was looking for.

A bathroom.

Hikari wasted no time in using it, forgetting all about this strange kidnapping. The inside of the bathroom was even decorated to his liking just like the room.

After he was done, he walked out feeling satisfied but that feeling was immediately replaced by panic.

"Ichiro!"

Without thinking, Hikari ran out of the room and sunlight hit his face, making him hold his hands up. When his vision refocused once again, he saw that the room he was in was actually just a small singular house that also had its own porch. He looked to his sides and saw similar houses next to him with more across the narrow street and in the distance there were more buildings. It looked to be some kind of small town.

Hikari frantically looked around for his friend or at least any other person and eventually saw a girl sitting on the porch of the house next to him. He grinned with relief and descended from his own and jogged over.

"Hello?" Hikari said first and took one step further to the house but as soon as he did, the girl jumped up in a fighting stance.

Hikari held his hands up in defense. "Woah! What did I do?"

The girl only stared at him a bit more before lowering her hands. She had short black hair with the back dyed lime green and wore an olive colored top with ripped graffitied jeans. She also had some sort of karate belt around her waist that didn't really match her pants.

Hikari could see tattooed numbers on her wrist and multiple silver rings on her hand.

"Don't sneak up on me," the girl spoke. She almost sounded annoyed.

Hikari pointed to the house he came out of. "I was right over there though. You didn't see me?"

"No."

Hikari shifted at the awkward silence. "Are you an ultimate too? Actually never mind, have you seen my friend, he's a boy with blonde hair about this tall?" He raised his hand a little above his head.

"I've seen many people."

Hikari cocked his head. "Huh?"

The girl sighed. "You're the last one to wake up. Everyone else already wandered off to explore this place."

"And what is this place?"

The girl shrugged. "Beats me."

"Alright... so there are others here? Why aren't you with them?"

"Someone needed to stay behind so when you wake up you don't get lost or confused."

"Aw, thanks."

The girl opened her mouth probably to tell him she didn't stay behind for his sake but just shook her head and laughed a little instead.

"I'm Isana Takagi, the Ultimate Jujutsu Master."

Hikari figured that's why she went into defensive mode so fast and now knew what that belt actually was for. "Hikari Sekino, the Ultimate Tourist."

"Tourist?" Isana questioned, "so you travel and stuff?"

"Yep! I love traveling, I have my own van and everything. I also enjoy tasting all the different kinds of yummy food."

"So food is all you care about?" Isana laughed again.

Hikari huffed. "I mean that is a big part of it but I also like learning about different cultures. It's interesting how the world is so vastly distinct. That's probably why Ichiro and I get along so well."

"That names sounds familiar. Is that your friend?"

Hikari nodded. "Yeah, he's the Ultimate Linguist."

Isana's eyes widened. "Holy crap, he's that guy from the news. The one that got lucky with that killing game..." she looked around at their surroundings. "Do you think..."

Hikari immediately shook his head. "No, don't say that."

Isana looked down the road. "I guess we should go meet the others until we figure out what's going on."

Hikari agreed and they both made their way to what seemed like the main area where there was a wide water fountain. Around the fountain was a large road and more buildings but there was one in particular that caught Hikari's attention.

Isana rolled her eyes at Hikari who darted to the building that said 'dining hall'.

The dining hall was just an old timey looking cafe with red swivel seats at a bar table and black chairs that sat at more cream colored tables. There was a kitchen in the back that you could halfway see and Hikari walked in further with Isana right behind him but something or other someone to his right came into view.

In one of the red swivel chairs sat a... young girl.

Hikari blinked but the girl only smiled up at him.

"Hi!" She greeted.

"Uh, hi..."

Isana came up beside him. "What the hell?"

"Watch your mouth," Hikari said and hit her shoulder.

"I'm not a child." the girl frowned. She had a short wolf cut hairstyle that was half black, half blonde and she wore a white hoodie with bunny ears.

"How old are you then?" Isana asked.

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen?!" Hikari exclaimed, "in college?!"

The girl only smiled. "Yes!" She then stuck out her hand. "I'm Emi Inoue, the Ultimate Rabbit Fancier."

Hikari shook it then finally looked down at the plate of food that was in front of the girl. Before he could ask where she got it from Isana spoke again.

"What's a rabbit fancier?" Isana asked, "never heard of it."

Emi's eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "What I basically do is breed and raise rabbits! I even have one in my cabin. Her name is Cinnabun."

"That's a cute name," Hikari complimented but Isana looked skeptical.

"Whoever kidnapped us let you have a rabbit in your room?"

Emi nodded, appearing extremely grateful.

"On to more important matters," Hikari began then gestured to Emi's plate, "where did you get the food from?"

Almost as if on cue, a voice called out from the back of the kitchen.

"Do you want another plate Emi? There's tons back here!"

Just then, a girl walked out and into view with her own food but stopped once she saw the two newcomers.

The girl had very noticeable hot pink hair that flowed down her back which was the same color as the cocktail dress she wore and her painted lips. Her stilettos were a vibrant yellow and she also wore golden eyeshadow with rose gold earrings that sparkled.

"Oh!" The girl said, surprised by their presence, "new faces, how fun!" She sat her food down and thrusted out her hand and Hikari could already tell she was a ball of energy.

"I'm Akiko Kishimoto, the Ultimate Party Host!"

Hikari and Isana introduced themselves back while Akiko took a seat next to Emi.

"The food was already prepared when we arrived," Emi answered Hikari's question.

Isana turned her nose up. "So you're just going to eat something made by some stranger?"

"At least it's edible!" Akiko piped up, "and delicious!"

That was all Hikari needed to hear for him to get a plate of his own. He tried offering Isana one but she declined. The two then sat down with Emi and Akiko.

"Can any of you two remember how we got here?" Isana asked them.

Akiko shook her head. "Nope! All I remember was preparing for my first day."

"Me too!" Hikari added, "I took a cab to get to school but there was this..."

"Smelly smoke?" Akiko finished for him.

"Yeah..."

Akiko hummed to herself. "Say... was the cab you got into also a black car?"

Hikari's eyes widened. "It was!"

"Oh, me too, me too!" Emi joined in.

Isana groaned. "Great, so we were all kidnapped. Did we all just have the same idea to take a cab on our first day?"

The four exchanged nervous glances.

"I guess that is weird..." Hikari admitted. He tried remembering the exact moment when he actually booked his ride but everything became fuzzy.

"It's not that weird," Akiko said, "our school doesn't have student parking so..."

Emi wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Do you remember the news of that killing game that happened a few months ago?"

Akiko now looked fearful. "That can't be what this is... right?"

"Well, it sure does appear that way," Isana said then glanced at Hikari, "if your friend is here then I guess he wasn't that lucky."

"Friend?" Emi asked.

"Yeah," Hikari spoke, "the Ultimate Linguist."

Akiko gasped. "Oh, I remember him from the news!"

"Looks like that person is at it again," Isana said then tapped her chin, "didn't the survivors say the perpetrator was the son of the Michio family?"

"They did," Hikari confirmed.

"Then we all must be classmates then," Isana concluded, "since the last students he kidnapped were a class as well."

"How have they not caught this guy yet?" Akiko complained, "that's just crazy! If.. if this is real then..."

Emi rubbed Akiko's back. "I'm sure we'll be fine. Maybe this is a mistake."

"A mistake?" Isana scoffed.

"Yeah! Maybe they just brought us to the wrong location," Emi continued.

"Then how do you explain the smoke that knocked us all out?" Isana asked, "plus, I don't see any schools around here in this town."

Emi tried to think of an explanation but just kept her head down.

"Let's just continue to explore," Hikari said, finishing his food, "maybe we'll find a way out or meet some more students." He stood up then looked to Emi and Akiko. "Do you two want to come?"

"No thanks, I'll stay here with Akiko!" Emi smiled.

Akiko and Emi waved them goodbye as Hikari and Isana left the dining hall.

The two wandered back into the street, past the water fountain, and winded up in front of a building that looked like a small supermarket.

"I wonder if we have to pay if we decide to get something," Hikari wondered out loud.

"I doubt it," Isana answered, "this place is a ghost town."

The two students walked inside and were greeted with an ordinary grocery store with cash registers and numbered aisles.

"Nothing special," Isana commented.

"Let's split up," Hikari told her and walked off towards the food section while Isana made her way over to the pharmacy.

As Hikari strolled through different aisles, he finally came across one filled with snacks but he also saw someone else already there.

A tall guy with messy brown hair wearing a red fire suit and black gloves was examining a bag of jalapeño chips in his hands. He then put them back down to pick another option when he finally noticed Hikari.

"Jeez!" The guy jumped a little. "Why are you just standing there silent and... menacingly."

Hikari rubbed his arm. "Sorry."

The guy put a hand to his heart. "Nah, it's fine, man. I promise I'm not a scaredy cat." He then observed Hikari's face. "You must be the guy who woke up last. I would've stayed behind with you but I kinda didn't want to..."

Hikari chuckled a little. "That's fine."

The guy smiled at that response then held his fist up to his chest proudly. "Anyways, I'm Hayato Asai, the Ultimate Race Car Driver!"

Hikari nodded slowly at that then introduced himself back.

Hayato's face fell from the lack of reaction. "Do... do you not know what a race car driver is?"

Before Hikari could assure the guy that was not the case, another voice interrupted them.

"No one cares Hayato!"

Hikari looked over the guy's shoulder and saw a short girl walking towards them with Isana right behind her. The girl had a smug look and Isana already seemed extremely annoyed by whatever encounter they had.

"A race car driver is so lame." The girl continued to hurt the guy's ego. "Why should he be impressed by that?" The girl had black bangs and her hair was tied up into a fancy ponytail. She wore a beige fur coat and a white skirt with tall brown boots.

"Hey, I think race car drivers are pretty cool," Hikari defended Hayato, "I was just... processing what he said!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "My talent is way more remarkable." She grinned smugly. "I am Jomei Goya, the Ultimate Horseback Rider."

As soon as the words left her mouth Isana burst out laughing.

Jomei gaped at her. "What's- what's that about?!"

Isana wiped away an imaginary tear. "You're getting onto to him about his talent when you're basically a cowgirl?"

Jomei's face flushed red. "Those are two separately different things!"

"Are they though?" Hikari genuinely thought to himself.

"Do you say giddy up before you take off?" Hayato added salt to the wound and Jomei stomped her foot.

"Whatever! I'm not spending another second around you incompetent people." With that being said, Jomei left the supermarket in a quickness as Isana continued to laugh.

Hayato turned to Hikari. "Thanks for having my back," he said and gave a thumbs up, "we're practically best friends now!"

"That's not how that works," Isana said.

"Sorry but I already have a best friend," Hikari politely declined, "he should be around here somewhere. He's a blonde guy only about an inch taller than me."

Hayato perked up. "Ah, I remember meeting a blonde guy in the gym nearby. He was kind of a prick though... no offense."

Hikari shook his head. "Ichiro can be a bit difficult sometimes but he's not rude. Well at least not to people who haven't wronged him."

"Hey I didn't do anything to that guy," Hayato defended, "he was acting all snobby and douchey in my opinion. Sort of like that chick that just left."

"And you said you saw him in the gym?" Isana asked looking interested now.

"Yeah just down the street—"

Isana was already out the door and Hikari quickly waved goodbye before following her.

Just like Hayato said, a little further down was a wide building labeled 'gym center'. Isana entered the place first and they both observed the area.

The walls were gray and the floor was black.
There were treadmills lined up against one of the walls and more gym equipment to the side with a set of dumbbells. There was a weight lifting station, yoga mats, and even a refreshment stand in the corner.

Hikari was also not surprised to see a blonde boy already inside using the dumbbells but there was another person inside as well.

"Alright, newcomers." The other person grinned. "Welcome!"

The guy that greeted them had a dark complexion and short dark blue hair. He was extremely tall and pretty buff which was a bit intimidating but he had a kind smile. He wore a gray sports jacket, red shorts, and black tennis shoes.

"The name's Daihachi Ohara, the Ultimate Fitness Coach! Just let me know if you need any assistance."

Isana stretched. "I won't need any assistance. I'm Isana Takagi, the Ultimate Jujutsu Master."

Daihachi looked impressed. "Jujutsu master? Wow, you'll have to show me some moves later on."

"Yuck, quit your flirting," the blonde guy said, finally walking over and gave Isana a charming smile, "if you want a real man then I think you'll be happy to know that I'm single."

Isana held a hand up to her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick."

The blonde guy looked perplexed by her response. "That's not how this is supposed to go... do you have a boyfriend or something?"

Hikari stared at the guy in disappointment. "You're not Ichiro..."

The guy raised an eyebrow. "Huh? You're not my type."

"What are you talking about?" Hikari questioned, confused, by that statement while Daihachi punched the guy's shoulder.

"You shouldn't act like that to people," Daihachi scolded, "you won't make any friends or let alone get a girlfriend."

The guy scoffed. "That's never been a concern of mine. I'm Katsurou Matsuzaki, the Ultimate Lifeguard."

"No wonder you're so insufferable," Isana said, "let me guess, your favorite show is Baywatch?"

Katsurou was shocked once again. "What kind of girl are you?"

"Excuse me?"

Hikari had to hold Isana back from putting the guy in a chokehold.

"I tried to tell you man," Daihachi mumbled.

"Hayato was right," Hikari said, "you are a douchebag."

"What?" Katsurou cracked his knuckles. "So he's been talking about me behind my back. Ha! He thinks I'm bad? What about that guy with the whole dark and brooding personality?"

Hikari had no idea who he was referring to but Katsurou continued.

"We tried asking him his name and talent but he straight up ignored us!"

"Maybe you made him sick as well," Isana said, "he probably had to leave in a hurry so he could find a place to throw up."

Katsurou choked on a gasp. "There's seriously something wrong with you..."

"I think we should leave," Hikari said and Daihachi frowned.

"Look what you did Katsurou, they hate us now."

"Not you," Hikari said and pointed to the lifeguard, "just him."

"What did I do?" Katsurou looked genuinely confused. He quickly brushed it off and turned away from the two.

"But he's right about that other guy," Daihachi told them, "he was a bit strange since he didn't talk or even make eye contact with us. If you haven't met him yet then I'd advise to stay away."

Hikari nodded at the advice and only waved bye to Daihachi when he and Isana left the gym. The two continued to search for other students and places while Hikari hoped he would find Ichiro soon and hopefully avoid the guy Daichi warned them about...