Ｄａｒｌｉｎｇ 浦ゆン

【ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｔｈｒｅｅ】

"Hello," someone says from behind me.
I jump up in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden hollow voice. "What the fuck?!" Spinning around, I see a blank faced Peko a few feet away from me.
"I'm sorry for scaring you. Are you all right?" she inquires.

I wave my hand in dismissal, letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just a bit caught up in my own thoughts."

She nods, although reluctantly, and outstretches her palm. "My name is Peko Pekoyama, the ultimate swordsman. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I immediately grasp it, shaking her hand eagerly. "Pleasure! My name is y/n l/n, the Ultimate Darling."

"What an odd talent. Would you mind elaborating?"

I rub the back of my neck awkwardly, glancing away. "Sadly, I haven't a single clue on what it could be."

It's probably better to lie in this situation.

"I see. Well, I hope you are able to find the meaning of your ultimate eventually."

I tug at my collar, not really comfortable lying. I pride myself on being moderately honest, so doing this makes me a bit nervous. "Haha, yeah. Thanks."

"Are you all right? You seem to be perspiring," she asks, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Absolutely. Totally. Why would you think otherwise?"

She looks at me, obviously a bit suspicious, but ends up brushing it off. I'm not sure why, given that I'm obviously attempting to hide something, but I just want to appreciate that she didn't dig into it.
God, I really need to get used to fibbing if I want to stay safe here. If the truth comes out, any and all chance of escape would be torn away from me.

"Anyways," Peko reluctantly states. "I should probably be going now. We've exchanged all necessary information, so there's nothing else to be said."

"I guess that's a logical way of thinking." I say, shrugging.

Peko promptly walks off, not even bothering to say goodbye. I don't mind that per say, though it would be a bit rude if anyone else here had done it.

The next person steps up.

"Hello! I am Sonia Nevermind, the ultimate princess. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Wow, that went fast.

"It's nice to meet you as well. I'm y/n l/n, the ultimate darling."

"Are you a foreigner, by any chance? You sound slightly different from everyone else here. Could it perhaps be an accent?" she asks, placing a hand on her chin.

I grin, bobbing my head as confirmation. "Yes I am!"

She clasps my hands in hers, her eyes sparkling. "How wonderful! I'm happy to know that I won't be the only one here. I adore being at Hope's Peak and all, but it's rather nice to know that there's someone else like me."

Why is she so excited? I know that it may be a bit difficult to adjust, but it can't possibly be that hard. She didn't seem to care too much about being a foreigner in the original game either. I may just be forgetting something though. You know what? I'll just go along with it. I don't have nearly enough time to do an in depth analysis of her possible behavioural flaws.

"I understand the feeling. Being a foreign student here is honestly a bit overwhelming, but I'm glad that I found someone here to rely on."

She nods vigorously. "Yes, yes! I hope that we will be able to become very close homies."

I have to bite my lip to hold in my laughter. Homies? God, that phrasing did not suit her one bit. I guess that was what made it funny in the game. Her curiosity and fascination with culture was part of what made her such a charming character.

"What is wrong? Did I say something distasteful? I apologize, though I do not know what I said to provoke such a negative reaction." She looks down, seemingly very ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry if you dislike me now."

I wave my hand in dismissal. "No, no! You don't need to fret about that."

"Thank goodness! I was so worried that I had soured your first impression of me." Sonia chirped, her usual grin returning immediately.

How strange. I don't remember her being this sensitive.

"I don't think my image of you could ever become sour! Though we've just met, I have a feeling that we'll be fast friends."

"Truly?" Sonia asks. It's a seemingly innocent question, but I have the sinking feeling that there's something sinister lurking behind her words.

"I- of course! Why would you assume otherwise?" I question, taken off guard.

"No reason! Don't worry about it," Sonia chirps, waving me off dismissively. "I should probably be going. I wouldn't want to hold up the line after all."

I nod in understanding. "Of course! I hope that we can spend time together at a later date, though."

Sonia lights up, giving me a quick kiss on both of my cheeks. "It would be my pleasure. Goodbye!" And with that, she gracefully walks off.

That was quite the experience. She seemed a bit out of character back there. I wonder why that was?

I must have been taking too long to greet my next visitor, because they immediately snap at me.

"Hey whore, What's taking you so long?" The guest barks. I can immediately tell who this is from the tone of voice: Hiyoko.

This should be fun.

"Hello! Who might you be?" I inquire, desperately trying to hide the annoyance in my voice. God, she was a nightmare. She was a wonderful character, but I always knew that I would never ever want to meet her in real life. This little girl was absolutely vicious.

She giggles and sends me a haughty grin. "I'm Hiyoko Saionji, the Ultimate Traditional Dancer. You had better not forget it!"

"Oh, how- how nice." I give her a closed eye smile.

"Hey, hey! You look really really pissy. Don't you know that fake smiling so much will give you wrinkles? Still, you look wrinkly already, so there's no use in telling you that," she cackles.

I swear to whatever god is up there, if she opens her mouth one more time I will zip tie it closed.

"Ha ha. Funny." The corner of my mouth twitches, and my hands clench at my sides.