Invitation to The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center

I arrived at the front steps of The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center, with my chauffeur Sabanto parked behind me in the limo. As the younger of the two Kantoku siblings, and the only daughter, it was up to me to carry on the Kantoku family business. Our family has run a mortuary for hundreds of years, and I have had to study every single funereal ritual known to man. Burials, cairns, pyres, mummification, taxidermy, modern-day cremations...you name it, I have had to study it, know it, and do it.

Traditionally, the eldest daughter carries on the legacy, and does not take the husband's name upon marriage. Our lives are devoted to the dead first, and the living second, and this refusal to take a married name is our way of testing potential husbands.

The building looked majestic, five floors high, with a single story wing. Curious, I walked around the single story wing, staying along the sidewalk.

Around the edge of the wing were two sections, running parallel to each other, and a flight of stairs going down, likely into the basement. Carefully, I walked down the stairs and peeked into the door's windows, being careful not to trip down the stairs in my dark grey heels. I would not want to show up to my first day with a dirty skirt, or a rip in my tights. That simply would not do.

I could see a black and white raccoon with a red slitted eye, sitting on a worktable. It had a grey mask and two grey rings on its tail, and the tip of its tail was the same color. If it wasn't for its red slitted eye, it would almost be cute. The rest of the room appeared to be a workshop of sorts, but it was too dark to really see much else.

Leaving the door window, I went back up the stairs, back around to the entrance. The building itself was a lovely sandy color, and the roof and windows were a dark grey, like clouds on a dreary day.

Collecting myself, I brushed my long black hair back and examined my white blouse and black skirt. Satisfied with my appearance, I finally approached the doors to The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center, feeling ready for whatever may come my way.

Opening one of the double doors, I found myself facing a door leading to a courtyard, with a hallway going to my left and right. Curious, I decided to check out the Courtyard. I took about three steps towards the Courtyard door, and...

And suddenly, I was sitting, face down, in a classroom. Confused, I got up, and noticed another student in the room with me, head also down on their desk, about two seats in front of me, and one row to my right. He wore a long black jacket with strange symbols on it, and had black hair with grey streaks in it, possibly dyed. Something small appeared to be inside his scarf, but I could not tell what.

Cautiously, I approached the strange boy.  I saw something move within his scarf, and then the boy stirred. The object underneath the scarf revealed itself, crawling out from underneath.

It was...a fat, orange hamster.

Surprised, I considered reaching out, but the boy then woke up. Hearing me, he quickly stood up and faced me.

"Are you the vile demon who incarcerated me in this room?" the boy sneered, sounding like some sort of cartoon villain.

Slightly confused, but understanding the question, I replied, "No, I have not trapped you here. Is this where our first class shall be?"

The boy looked around the room. "Kehehehe...I see no master in this room. I see merely boarded windows and a monitor."

I looked to my side and, indeed, the windows had metal plates on them. The monitor had a staticky background, with some sort of shadow in front of it. It looked like some sort of mammal, like a raccoon, or opossum, or perhaps a badger of some sort.

Turning back to the strange boy, he asked me, "What name have you taken to declare your existence?"

Assuming he was asking my name, I curtsied and responded, "My name is Shishano Kantoku. I am the Ultimate Mortician."

The boy nodded, seemingly with approval. "Ah, a practitioner of the dead arts. As for me, I am Gundham Tanaka, Supreme Overlord of Ice! With me are the Four Dark Devas of Destruction! San-D, Jum-P, Maga-Z, and Cham-P!" He produced four hamsters from his scarf, which seemed cute and friendly, but I made no motion towards them.

"A pleasure to meet you all." I smiled, then glanced towards the classroom door. "Shall we see if we are truly locked in here?"

Gundham checked the door, which opened inwards without much effort. As we exited, I looked up, and saw a sign above our door labeled "Classroom 1-C". Looking to the left, I saw another classroom, marked 1-B. The two of us walked inside, where a boy with green hair appeared to be sleeping. While Gundham stood in the doorway, I walked over and gently woke him up.

"Huh? Oh, hello there. Who are you?" The boy asked sleepily.

"My name is Shishano Kantoku. That is Gundham Tanaka at the door. We woke up in a classroom together, and we are looking for others."

"Huh. Sorry, but I've only seen you two in here, just now. My name's Rantaro Amami. Nice to meet you two."

I curtsied, and then noticed Gundham was looking outside the doorway, not really paying much attention. I was about to ask Gundham what he was looking at in the hallway, when suddenly the monitor kicked on. A black and white raccoon, with a grey mask over its eyes (right eye was black and beady, and the left eye was red and jagged), appeared on the screen.

"Hey everyone! Welcome to The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center! We finally got our renovations finished, so we hope you enjoy our accommodations! Everyone, meet up at the gymnasium! It's time to get your E-Handbooks, get to know each other, and start your school orientation!"

Rantaro nodded at the two of us. "Alright, let's go. It should be fun meeting everyone in our class!"

Regretfully, nothing about our class orientation would be fun. We were all in serious trouble, in ways I could not imagine.