Chapter 3

I heard a voice talking. It's a voice I recognized, but no matter how hard I tried, I can't recall their name or face. The voice sounded far away as my consciousness kept drifting.

'Mirai is so dependable. I feel calm when I talk to you.'

'You are such a good listener. I feel better after talking to you.'

'If only you're not here!'

Who are you? I reached out my hand to the source of the voice, but my hand touched upon a cold, hard surface.

I slowly opened my eyes and found that I was in a dark room. No, it's not a room. This is.. inside a locker? How did I end up here?

I used my hand to push the locker door. The door opened easily. What is this place? It looked like a classroom. However, why are there plants all over? And the windows are shut tightly by spiky iron wires.

Hang on, what is this feeling of deja-vu? I feel like I've been to this place before.

I tried hard to remember and searched for my memory. It's no use. I can't remember how I ended up here.

How long have I been unconscious? Why were they targeting me? Hmm? Wait what is this?

I reached down on my coat pocket when I felt something in it. It was a tablet. Where did this come from?

I tried to turn it on and my name automatically appeared on it. However, aside from that, there was nothing much to see. This mystery was getting more and more complicated.

Suddenly, I heard a rattling sound from behind me. I turned my body and saw the locker beside the one I came out of, started swaying and shaking. The sound made my body stiffened with alertness.

Then, the locker door opened and I unconsciously held my breath. From inside, a young man came out with a confused look on his face.

He has a particular shade of green hair. It reminded me of withered grass. He has the same eye color as his hair. He wears a blue-stripe shirt and brown pants, and numerous accessories.

"Um, who are you?" I asked him while carefully keeping my distance.

The guy looked at me, then flashed me a friendly smile. "Hey there. Sorry to startle you. Please don't be alarmed. The name's Rantaro Amami."

Wait, do I know him? He looked weirdly familiar for some reason. I pondered for a bit while staring at him.

Rantaro who felt my stare smiled awkwardly, "Is there something on my face? You are staring hard at me."

Oops, without realizing it, I was unconsciously checking him out. He must be thinking I was some kind of rude girl. I tried to recover by introducing myself. "I am Mirai Nanase. I am sorry for staring. It's just... I can't help but feel like I have met you before. Do we know each other, perhaps?"

Rantaro stopped for a moment but then answered, "I am sure this is the first time we met. Unless you can enlighten me on when and where we have met before?"

"I don't remember clearly either. I just feel you are weirdly familiar, but perhaps I made a mistake. Please forget it."

Rantaro nodded, and looked around his surroundings, "By the look of it, can I assume we both are in the same boat?"

"I woke up inside the locker with no recollection of how I got here. If you have the same experience as me, then yes we are on the same boat."

"Hmm... So the question is where are we, and why are we ended up here?" Rantaro put his fingers on his chin, looking deep into thoughts.

He was quite a peculiar guy. He looked calm for some reason. The way he immediately started checking the locker was oddly relaxed too like he was used to this.

"Seems there is nothing worthy of notice in these lockers," said Rantaro after he finished checking the lockers. "Wait, I feel something in my pocket."

Rantaro put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the same tablet as mine.

"Oh that. I have mine too here. It shows my name when I turn it on, but aside from that, there is no clue."

"Well, we might as well keep it for now." said Rantaro, "I can wildly guess the motive behind this to some point, but I need more clues."

"Huh? Wait, do you know some--"

I can't finish my sentence since suddenly, an unknown voice echoes throughout the classroom. "Rise and shine, ursine!"

Following that, 5 stuffed animals pop out of nowhere. They have different colors and for some reason, they can talk and move.

"...."

I and Rantaro just stared at them. I don't even know how to react to this.

"Wait! This is not how you are supposed to react! Follow the script, will ya!?" exclaimed the white-blue bear annoyedly.

"We have an unusual pair here, it seems," said the white-yellow one.

"I don't care! Just say something! I am about to die of awkwardness here!"

I never imagined I'd encounter talking Teddy Bears here, but why do I feel so unfazed by this? I feel weird. The sense of deja-vu hitting me hard once again.

"Who are you guys? Are you the one behind this?" asked Rantaro.

"You're wrong! You are supposed to ask why can we move and talk!" said the white-red one.

"Speaking of which, how can we talk again?" asked the white-pink one.

"It's because we are the most advanced bear in the world. We are the Monokubs," said the white-yellow one.

"We are not Monokubs! We are stuffed animals!" The white-blue bear suddenly shouted.

"Psst Monokid, you've got it backward."

"No stuffed animals, us! Monokubs, them!"

"Geez, it's even worse now."

They talked too much it's almost annoying. It seemed this conversation will not end unless we ask them the correct question, "You guys called Monokubs right? How can a stuffed animal talk? Where exactly is this place?"

The Monokubs started to look at each other, and then...

"Yaayy! It worked."

"Phew, scares me a bit there."

"It's good if the problem is solved. We almost get into a huge problem back there."

I stared at the Monokubs confusedly, "What do you mean? What worked out?"

"Okay, now that everything's back to how it is, what is your question? Let's tackle it one by one!" said the white-red bear.

"Oh my, you are so dependable, Monotaro!" said the white-pink one.

"I have a lot to ask. First of all, where is this place? Since we are in the classroom, are we inside a school?"

The white-red bear which is called Monotaro looked at me and answered, "Okay, this place is called The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles."

What? An ultimate Academy?

"I've never heard of a school like that before," said Rantaro.

"Of course you haven't. This school is specially made for you seventeen cretins," said the white-pink one.

"Seventeen?"

"Yeah. There are seventeen Ultimates within this school. You know what Ultimates are, right? They are students scouted by the government through a program called Ultimate Initiative."

I think that was a general information that everybody already knew. "Yes, we already know that much. What we want to know is why are we in that Academy?"

"Shut up! Quit yappin' and get started already!" The white-blue one or Monokid shouted at me loudly. What the hell? You are the one who told us to ask questions.

"Get started.. what is?" asked Rantaro.

"Why, exploring the Academy of course! You can't live your school life if you don't explore the school on the first day!" said Monotaro.

"While you at it, you should meet the other Ultimates and introduce yourselves. You will have an activity together later," said the white-yellow one.

"Making a first friend in school always makes your heart flutter with anticipation! Oh and please make sure you always keep your Monopad with you. It will act as your student handbook, so make sure you don't lose it." said the white-pink one.

Are they talking about the tablet in my pocket?

"Well, that's that! Let's get started already!"

"So long! Bear well!"

After the Monokubs left, I felt there were more questions rather than answers now. What exactly are those stuffed animals?

"They left as abrupt as when they came."

"Yeah. But at least now we know where we are and why we were brought here," said Rantaro.

"Do you mean what they were saying earlier? Regarding Ultimates?"

"Yeah. Since this is an Ultimate Academy, it seems plausible to think that the people who were brought here are Ultimates. Why the Ultimates are gathered here is still a mystery, though." l

Hmm? There was nothing wrong with what he was saying, but the way he said it sounded weird. Like he was talking about someone else's problem.

"Say, you are an Ultimate right? What is your talent?" asked Rantaro again.

"Oh? Um, I am called the Ultimate Therapist."

"Therapist, huh? That's a cool talent. You must be good at listening to other people's problems."

I laughed dryly. "Well, I guess? What about you, Rantaro?"

"Hmm.."

What's wrong? He seemed perturbed. Does he not want to talk about it?

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. Don't force yourself."

Rantaro scratched the back of his head while smiling awkwardly, "No, it's not that I don't want to tell you... I am just worried you will trust me less after what I will tell you."

What does he mean by that? Is his talent a dangerous one? But I would be lying if I said I was not curious, "Don't worry, Rantaro. I won't doubt you just like that. After all, we need to work together to get out of here, right?"

Rantaro looked relieved, "Fair point, I guess. Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I can't remember what my Ultimate talent is. I know it's a stretch, but it's the truth."

He can't remember his Ultimate talent? It explained his hesitation earlier, but who will thought it was because of this reason.

Rantaro tried to put up a relaxed look, but I can tell he was quite uncomfortable. I shouldn't probe him any further than this. So I tried to make my smile as reassuring as possible. "I see. Thank you for telling me that. It makes me happy to have you here with me. Let's work this out together, Rantaro."

Rantaro looked at me for a moment before chuckled, "You are very calm-headed and easy to speak to, just as expected. I am sure you will be fine even without me here."

"That may be true, but I am truly glad you are here. It's always better to have someone by your side during times like this. Now, shall we meet the other Ultimates?"