8:35 AM, Day 1

?

Kaede Akamatsu found herself waking up with a pounding headache. With a soft groan, she slowly stirred into consciousness, blinking blearily as she tried to take in her surroundings. The bright, harsh light of the sun didn't help her aching head at all, and only made her wince as she looked around. However, she didn't recognize the area around her immediately, and if anything her surroundings only made her more confused. Was she...on a beach?

She slowly stood up, feeling the soft crunch of sand beneath her feet. She could see a few palm trees around her, while in front of her stood the wide expanse of the crystal blue ocean, the water stretching out as far as the eye could see. For a good moment, Kaede stared at the sight, dumbfounded.

She was at the beach all right. But...how? And perhaps more importantly, why?! Very quickly, Kaede checked herself over, and to her relief she was still wearing clothes. Her long-sleeved white shirt, and the pink sweater-vest over it, were both still on her body, as was the purple skirt with musical notes that she wore. And she could still feel the weight of her backpack behind her, so it was still there too. All in all, she still had all her clothes, and her body didn't seem any worse for wear, which relieved her quite a bit.

Still, what was going on? The last thing she remembered was...ugh, what was the last thing she remembered? It was all a hazy blur, for some reason. Kaede was fairly sure she'd gotten...something? Something that had made her happy? But what was that?

Something nagged at her mind, Kaede could feel it. She was just on the verge of remembering something—

"Ugh..."

The groans of another person disrupted her train of thought, and immediately she found herself searching for the source. Not far from where she'd woken up, she spotted a boy near her age, also laying on the beach. He was dressed in a formal black suit of some sort, almost like a uniform, and he had a black cap that covered his head and obscured some of his features. His body was shifting slowly against the sand, soft grunts and noises escaping his lips as he, too, stirred into consciousness.

At once Kaede rushed to his side, kneeling down beside the boy. She placed a hand on his chest and gently shook his body, a surge of fear coursing through her body. He didn't seem to be injured, from what she could tell, but she found herself concerned nonetheless!

"Hey! Are you all right? D-Do I need to call an ambulance or something?" she asked, her brow knitted in worry.

Between her words and physical stimulation, the boy emerged into full consciousness. He blinked his eyes rapidly, revealing a set of yellow orbs beneath. He abruptly sat up, wincing slightly as he brought a hand to his head, knocking his cap askew.

"Ah...I-I think I'm all right..." he breathed, though a grimace still tugged at his lips. He looked around, both at her and their surroundings, until his gaze firmly fixed on her. "Um...are we...on a beach?"

His tone was incredulous and uncertain, which gave Kaede a small sense of relief...and disappointment. She felt glad that she wasn't the only one in the dark here, but at the same time, having some answers would be nice. Still, she didn't dwell on that feeling too long.

"Yeah, it seems that way," Kaede acknowledged, giving an awkward little chuckle. "I guess you don't know why we're here either? Or how we got here, for that matter? I...don't think I was anywhere near a beach when I went to sleep last night. Oh, um, I'm Kaede, by the way. Kaede Akamatsu."

"Oh, I'm Shuichi Saihara. It's, uh, nice to meet you," he introduced himself in turn, nodding at her. His eyes soon drifted back to their surroundings, a more concentrated look falling upon his face as he took everything in. "What is the last thing you remember, by the way?"

That was a good question. Kaede closed her eyes in concentration, trying her best to scrounge up some scrap of memory, something to tell her what she'd been doing last, before all this. Though her head still throbbed uncomfortably, which made it harder to fully recall anything.

"I'm...not sure. It's all kind of a big blur right now. But...I think it was something that made me happy? Like, I'd gotten something, like a present maybe, that really got me excited?" she ventured, crossing her arms as she did her best to think.

"Got you excited?" Shuichi questioned back at her, tilting his head slightly. After a moment though, his eyes widened, and an almost bashful look crossed his face. "Wait...could it be...that you're that Kaede Akamatsu?"

Kaede felt a small blush tinge her cheeks, reeling back a bit as she shyly turned her head away. Well, it wasn't too surprising that he'd make that connection. Still, it felt a little embarrassing. "Ah, yes, well...I am! I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist...at least, that's what a lot of people call me. I haven't received a letter from Hope's Peak yet, so it isn't official..."

She trailed off, as the missing pieces finally clicked into her mind. All at once, her memory—some of it at least—returned to her. "That was it! That's what got me so excited! I had received an acceptance letter from Hope's Peak Academy!"

A beaming smile graced her lips, her earlier distress forgotten for the moment. That's right! She'd just finished up a concert, and her manager had given her some wonderful news. Hope's Peak Academy had sent her a letter, officially inducting her into the Ultimates Program! She'd been so excited, that she had dashed off to find her sister and tell her the good news...

….

But that's where her memories ended, frustratingly enough. Kaede couldn't remember anything after that.

"Is that so? Well, it seems we have something in common." Shuichi's voice brought her back to reality, and she focused her eyes back on him. He still seemed a bit bashful, but some of his seriousness had returned to him.

Seeing her questioning look, he explained. "Well, I've gotten a letter from Hope's Peak too. I...may not look like it, but people call me the Ultimate Detective. The last thing I remember was getting ready for my first day there, and going inside. After that...nothing."

"Really? I don't have any memories of going to school. I just...remember getting the letter." she countered, confusion laced in her tone.

"You don't? Now that's odd..." Shuichi replied, murmuring to himself more than anything else. His face scrunched up in thought after that, though that expression abruptly left as he opened his eyes, taking in their surroundings again.

"We can talk about that later. We...should really get up, and see if we can find someone. We might get answers that way," he suggested. Though after a few seconds, a hint of a blush tinged his cheeks, and he darted his eyes away nervously. "Also...um, you can take your hand off my chest now."

"Huh?" Kaede looked down and, much to her embarrassment, noticed that her hand was still on Shuichi's stomach. Her own cheeks flushed with pink, as she rapidly yanked her palm away from him. "S-Sorry about that!"

Shuichi accepted her apology easily enough, and after a moment she helped him to stand up. The awkward moment passed them by soon after, as Kaede found herself looking around again. This time however, she did notice something: a tripod-mounted camera not too far away, that was directly pointed at them.

She gave the device an odd look, getting Shuichi's attention as she gestured over to it. He followed her gaze, and wordlessly approached it, Kaede following behind them. Together they studied the camera, though Kaede herself wasn't even sure what she was looking for. She didn't see any power source or cables that the camera itself was plugged into, so there was no telling if it was even on.

Shuichi tried to take the camera itself off of the mount, but it wouldn't budge. He looked back over to Kaede, shrugging slightly. "I...don't think there are cameras on the beach like this, normally, but...other than that, I can't tell much of anything about it. Should we keep looking around?"

She nodded at that, and soon the two of them left the camera behind as they trudged further through the beach. It took a few minutes of walking, but after awhile her eyes did spot what looked like the 'end' of the beach, as the sand gave way to a dirt road up ahead.

Shuichi noticed it near the same time, and after a moment they started to approach it. Once they were on the road proper, they still didn't see anyone else, nor any signs of any cars, oddly enough. But they'd come across civilization sooner or later if they kept to the road, so Kaede found herself walking alongside Shuichi.

After five minutes of walking, the dirt road led away to a proper concrete road, which itself led to another destination. A hotel slowly but surely showed up in the distance, which made the two of them all the more eager to get to it. Though as they got closer, Kaede could also make out the figure of another boy standing at the gates to the hotel itself.

His back was turned to them, revealing a large black jacket that seemed to cover up most of his body, at least on the backside. The jacket itself had a large puffed up collar, and some sort of symbol was stitched into the upper back of the cloth, though Kaede didn't recognize it at all.

Hearing their footsteps, the mysterious stranger turned around to face them, revealing his front. Underneath the jacket he wore a white shirt underneath and a pair of black, baggy pants and a pair of simple shoes. Though what drew Kaede's attention the most was the frankly ridiculous pompadour that the stranger had styled his hair into: it extended several inches from his forehead, ending in a pointed tip. He also seemed to have dyed his hair red, from what Kaede could discern.

Despite how inappropriate it would be, Kaede felt her face waver as a giggle threatened to surface. Thankfully, though, she managed to suppress the urge. Even if he had a weird hairdo, she couldn't laugh at him! Making a bad first impression would be a terrible mistake, especially if he knew what was going on!

The stranger didn't seem so concerned about first impressions himself, however, as his face immediately contorted in rage. Baring his teeth into a large scowl, he charged over to them and immediately grabbed Shuichi, lifting him up by the scruff of his shirt!

"You've got some fuckin' nerve, asshole! You have ten seconds to tell me where the fuck you've taken me, before I beat the crap outta ya!" he thundered, spittle flying directly into Shuichi's terrified face.

He squirmed in the stranger's grasp, trying to stutter out some sort of reply to him. Kaede, meanwhile, took an uncertain step back...before moving at the stranger's side, grabbing at his arm in an attempt to make him let go of Shuichi!

"Hey! Let him go!" she demanded, shaking his arm to the best of her ability. "He's got nothing to do with this! Neither do I! We have no idea how we got here!"

All at once, the stranger froze up, glancing over at Kaede for the first time, as if just now noticing her. He blinked in rapid succession, a touch of regret flickering across his face as he suddenly let go of Shuichi, leaving him to stumble back in surprise.

"R-Really? You're in the same boat as me, huh?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head as he averted his eyes from her. "Uh, sorry about that. Didn't, uh, mean to scare you or nothin'."

"N-No problem?" Shuichi stuttered out, his voice cracking slightly as he recovered from the fright he had received. The stranger gave a quick nod at that.

After a moment of awkward silence, Kaede decided to speak up, taking the initiative to introduce herself and Shuichi. He eyed them both, his gaze seeming to linger on Shuichi for some reason, before he introduced himself in turn.

"Name's Mondo Owada: I'm the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader. Nice to meet'cha." he stiffly replied.

Kaede couldn't help but take a step back at that, a feeling of unease creeping over her. It was rude, she knew, but she couldn't help but react that way. He was basically admitting to being a delinquent and criminal, after all! Though to be fair, his actions had certainly given him away as one.

"So uh, Mondo, you don't know why we're here either?" Shuichi spoke up, having now recovered from the earlier misunderstanding. He'd once more adopted a speculative look, as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Yep. Damnedest thing: I woke up on the side of the road, with no idea how I'd got there. I just started walking until I found this hotel...and, well, then I met you two," Mondo confirmed. "Last thing I remember, I was about to start my first day at Hope's Peak Academy. Then...I woke up here. I've got no fuckin' clue what happened to me."

"Ah, I see. We're the same. Well, mostly." Shuichi admitted, glancing at Kaede briefly before turning his attention back to Mondo.

He fell silent after that, still mulling things over it seemed. Well, he was the Ultimate Detective; perhaps that wasn't such a surprise. Seeing he wasn't about to speak up though, she did instead. "Well...since we're all here, perhaps we should explore the hotel together? Maybe we can find some answers, or find more people!"

Both Shuichi and Mondo seemed to agree with that idea, and soon enough the three of them stepped onto the hotel grounds.

The first thing that caught Kaede's attention was the layout of the place. Entering through the gates, she saw a large walkway leading up to the hotel itself, and just outside the entrance that walkway branched out into two different pathways, each containing two rows of cottages.

Up near the hotel itself, the pathway ended at a large pool that took up the center of the area. A variety of poolside chairs and tables were scattered at the edges of the pool, while an older wooden building caught her eye at the left-most side of the area. Then, of course, at the very back was (presumably) the hotel building proper. It was a modest looking building, seemingly four stories tall by her estimation. And at the side of it rested a staircase that seemed to lead to another part of the building.

"What the fuck?" Mondo spoke up, breaking Kaede out of her observations. He had walked over to the left row of cottages, and stood in front of a cottage nearest to the walkway. He was bent over slightly, peering at a mailbox planted in front of the cottage itself.

"This mailbox has my fucking face on it! What the fuck?!" Mondo swore again, his face reddening while he clenched and unclenched his fist.

Kaede peered over his shoulder, and sure enough, she saw a cartoonish version of Mondo's face plastered over the front of the mailbox. She took a look at some of the other nearby mailboxes, and noted that different, but equally cartoonish, faces were painted over the fronts. What did that mean? Was it some sort of indication on whose cottage it was, perhaps?

"Not just you. I can see my own face on a mailbox down the row." Shuichi observed, glancing at another cottage. Then, after a moment, he echoed Kaede's own thoughts. "Maybe they're supposed to be a sign of who owns or lives in that particular cottage?"

Mondo didn't have an answer for that, instead choosing to mutter harshly under his breath. Before they could investigate the cottages further, however, Kaede heard the distant splashing of water. Was someone in the pool?

She called the issue to their attention, and together they traveled down the walkway to the pool itself. Sure enough, they could see someone swimming in the pool, their shape and figure somewhat obscured as they darted through the confines of the pool. Then, just as Kaede wondered if perhaps they should call out for their attention, the figure paused and broke the surface.

"Ah, that's the stuff! Man, been awhile since I got to swim in a nice pool. This feels great!" the newest stranger declared, her voice somewhat deep but carrying an unmistakably feminine tone.

Only her head was breaching the water right now, but it was enough to tell Kaede that this person was definitely a girl. Her skin was noticeably dark, the result of spending too much time in the sun no doubt. Her eyes were a dark gray color, while her hair was a vibrant brown, and seemed to trail down her back, though how far was difficult to tell with most of it submerged under water.

"Huh?" the stranger blinked as she suddenly noticed them, looking the trio over. After a moment, her face broke out into a curious look. "Oh, hey, new people."

"Uh, hi there. I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist," Kaede greeted, introducing Mondo and Shuichi in turn. "So, who are you? I don't suppose you know why we're here?"

"Nah, don't know a thing. I have no idea how I got here! I mean, last I remember, I was going for my first day at Hope's Peak," she freely admitted. "Oh, and the name's Akane Owari! I'm the Ultimate Gymnast. Nice meeting ya, Karen!"

"...It's Kaede," she replied, her eyebrow twitching the slightest bit. So, there was another Ultimate here who had no idea what was going on. A pattern seemed to be developing here. Though what it meant, Kaede wasn't so sure.

Akane shrugged, murmuring something about that being what she said. At the same time, she stretched inside the pool, bringing out her arms, thrusting her chest out as a result...which revealed her incredibly naked breasts to the trio.

It took a few seconds for Kaede to properly register it, but indeed, Akane's bare, naked breasts were suddenly out in the open. For the briefest moment, she found herself mesmerized by the sight, particularly with how large they were. But that fascination soon gave way to embarrassment and mortification, as a shocked gasp escaped her lips. Given the startled yelps Mondo and Shuichi gave out in turn, it seemed they noticed it too.

Kaede took an instinctive step back, her face rapidly flushing crimson while her ahoge seemed to develop a mind of its own as it flared straight up. After that, she rapidly moved her hands and covered up both Mondo and Shuichi's eyes in some vain, foolish attempt at protecting Akane's modesty.

"W-W-Wh-Why are you topless in the pool?!" Kaede demanded, an uncharacteristic stutter preceding her words.

"Huh? Oh, I'm not topless. I'm completely naked under here," Akane corrected, acting as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

After a belated pause, Kaede felt the twitch return to her eyebrow, while she heard Mondo and Shuichi gawk and gasp further beside her.

"...Okay. Why are you naked in the pool then?" she ground out, desperately hoping she'd have some sensible answer for her. After all, why on earth would a girl just go naked in a public pool?! Especially when there was the chance that boys might stumble upon her?!

"...Because I didn't want to get my clothes wet?" Akane retorted, speaking slowly and carefully, as if talking to a child.

The twitch started to increase in frequency, while Kaede felt her face redden even further somehow. At the same time, her eyes couldn't help but stray to the set of boobs that were now resting gently against the top of the water. But just as quickly, she tore her gaze away so she could look back at Akane's nonchalant face.

"...And why didn't you put a swimsuit on, then?" she questioned, her brow still twitching faintly. "Or swim in your underwear?"

"Wet underwear is gross and I didn't have a swimsuit to use. So I just went in naked. It's not that big a deal, really," Akane replied, now sounding faintly annoyed at this continued line of questioning.

Kaede couldn't suppress the sigh that heaved from her mouth, and she brought a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. It took her a few seconds to realize her mistake though, her error allowing Shuichi to stare once more at Akane's naked breasts. His face was just as flushed as Kaede's, and much like her, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight.

She gave a groan at that, and immediately slapped her hand across his eyes again, blocking his view. Though Shuichi still seemed too stunned to object to her actions.

"...Look, can you, can you just please go dry off and put some clothes on? Please?" she openly pleaded.

Akane rolled her eyes but otherwise didn't comment, instead swimming over to the pool ladder on the other side. She climbed out moments later, revealing that she was, indeed, completely naked. And while her view of her breasts was now gone, Kaede found herself equally enchanted by Akane's swaying hips and her large, round...head. Yes, her head, and nothing else.

"You know, if you keep staring like that, you'll turn into a dirty old man," Akane suddenly declared in a teasing tone, turning her head to stare back at Kaede.

She gave an indignant squeak at that, tearing her palms away from Mondo and Shuichi as she balled her hands into fists. But that only allowed Mondo and Shuichi to share the view with her now.

Akane grinned at her in response, and turned to start walking away. She turned the corner of the pool, revealing her front with no hint of shame whatsoever, displaying her body to the trio. Kaede, and the boys beside her, could only stare and gawk as Akane strode away, walking right next to Shuichi before moving behind them, and making her way back to the cottage area.

A lingering, tension-filled silence was left in the wake of Akane's departure, the three of them still glancing back at where she had been. Then, quite abruptly, Mondo's words pierced through the quiet.

"So, uh, I-I think I'm gonna go explore on my own. Starting with my...cottage, I guess. May as well check it out, right?" Mondo declared, pointedly turning his crimson face away from the two of them. With that said, he practically bolted, making a beeline toward what they presumed was his cottage.

That just left the two of them, then. Ever so slowly, Kaede turned her head to face Shuichi, her eyes fixed on him with a cutting stare.

"And do you need to go investigate your cottage too, Shuichi?" she inquired, her voice flat and monotone.

"Ah! No! Not at all! I-I'm just fine, thanks!" Shuichi denied, his lips issuing a nervous chuckle. He looked everywhere but at her, while he pulled his hat down lower on his head. "Ah, I th-think we should continue investigating the hotel itself?"

Kaede stared long and hard at him, before slowly nodding her head in agreement. Without another spoken word, she walked around the edge of the pool and toward the hotel proper, Shuichi following her in her wake.

Testing the entrance doors, they opened up just fine, revealing a wider lobby inside. A number of comfortable looking chairs took up one portion of the room, alongside a small desk—presumably for the concierge, or other hotel managers. On the other side of the room meanwhile, there rested—of all things—several arcade machines, each hosting a different game. And to the back of the lobby there was more. Against the back wall there was an elevator door, and perpendicular to the elevator was a closed door: presumably the stairs that led to the upper floors. And opposite the closed door there was an open staircase, leading up to the second story. Of course, what really caught Kaede's attention was the figure that had settled in among the chairs in the lobby.

It was a girl that Kaede saw, with long, knee-length cerulean hair and teal eyes. She wore a pair of rimless glasses, and had on a school uniform of some sort, with a white blouse, a knee-length pleated skirt, black knee-high socks, grey shoes, and a dark-colored blazer. She had settled herself in one of the seats of the lobby, and was seemingly lost in thought as she stared off at nothing in particular.

"Hey there! I don't suppose you know what's going on, huh?" Kaede inquired, glancing over at the other girl curiously. She didn't respond at all, however, or even acknowledged them at all as she stared off.

Kaede stared quizzically at her, pausing a moment before she leaned over, waving a hand in front of the girl's face. "Um, hello? Can you hear me?"

And for a second time, she continued to ignore them. For whatever reason, she remained silent as she sat on the chair, staring in apparent concentration away from them.

"Eh? She still can't hear me? Maybe she's really a detailed mannequin?" Kaede wondered aloud to herself as she took a step back, staring at the unresponsive girl with slight worry.

"I don't...think that's the case," Shuichi spoke up besides her, looking a little nervous himself. "Maybe we should just leave her alone?"

"Hey, don't be so quick to judge, Shuichi! I mean, you never know. At this rate, anything could be possible." Kaede replied, even as she reached over to poke the girl's cheek. She felt the skin squish beneath her fingertip. Even then, the girl didn't give much of a reaction.

"Huh, that didn't work either?" she murmured to herself, furrowing her brow in thought. "Then maybe she is just a doll...but, she looks so real! Hey, Shuichi! Why don't you try it too?"

"Huh?" Shuichi looked over at her in surprise, not expecting to hear such an offer. A blush rapidly spread across his cheeks, and he quickly shook his head. "Ah, n-no, I don't think that's a good idea..."

Kaede, however, was having none of that. She reached over to grab Shuichi's hand, dragging it forward to make him poke the unresponsive girl. "Ah, come on Shuichi! It's so fun! Besides, if that doesn't work, then maybe we can try flipping her skirt, and see how life-like this doll is!"

"I never thought I'd be poked from both sides. How truly unexpected," the girl finally commented, just as Kaede made Shuichi press his finger against her cheek. "Also, I'd prefer it if you didn't flip my skirt. I mean, there is a boy in the room and all."

"Ha! So she wasn't a mannequin!" Kaede confirmed, nodding her head decisively. "Well, I already knew that. I just figured poking you would get you to respond eventually!"

Shuichi, meanwhile, just gave Kaede an odd look as he snatched his hand back. But then, his brain caught up with the rest of what Tsumugi said. Despite himself, he couldn't help but ask, "Wait...you'd be okay if it was just Kaede who saw your...?"

"Panties? Yes. I mean, we are both girls, so it wouldn't really be a big deal," the girl confirmed, nodding her head. "Also...I figured if I ignored you two, you'd both go elsewhere. But, well, it seems that didn't work out at all."

"Well, that's rude," Kaede commented, crossing her arms.

"Well, isn't it rude to force someone to talk when they don't want to?" she countered, raising an eyebrow. But after a moment, she shrugged. "Oh, but it's okay now. I feel like talking. So! What do you want to start with? Oh, how about our favorite animes? My favorite has to be Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood! What's yours?!"

A great deal of enthusiasm and energy seemed to take hold of the girl all of a sudden, as she suddenly shot to her feet! She stood almost directly in front of Kaede now, an eager smile on her face, while her eyes seemed to sparkle.

Kaede took a reflexive step back, surprised to see the girl get so animated all of a sudden. "Um, before we talk about that, can you tell us your name first?"

"Oh, my name is Tsumugi Shirogane. I'm the Ultimate Cosplayer," she replied, a more subdued, natural smile taking shape on her face, as she put a hand on her hip. After a moment though, a more sheepish expression appeared on her face, and she moved her hand to cup the side of her face. "Are you surprised? I get that a lot, since I'm so plain."

"No, no. I mean, it sorta makes sense. You have this strange, almost sexy aura about you!" Kaede declared in reply, smiling brightly at Tsumugi. "I bet it's because you've got people ogling all your curves on a daily basis, huh?"

Shuichi could only give an uncomfortable little cough at her words, eyeing Kaede uncertainty as she spoke. "Kaede...um, y-you're starting to sound like a creepy old man..."

In most other circumstances, Kaede would have rolled along with Shuichi's words. After all, he did have a point. But, well...that only just brought back up uncomfortable memories of Akane, which in turn caused her to glare at him; to which Shuichi could only raise his hands in a sheepish apology.

"Normally, I don't really like people looking at me like that..." Tsumugi said, seeming to ignore their own little exchange. "I just like making cosplay. I'm fine with others wearing them. But lately, cosplayers are putting themselves before the characters. I'd rather wear my outfits myself in that case, and do it with love! I—!"

"Ah, sorry to interrupt, but...do you know what's going on? Do you know where we are?" Shuichi abruptly asked, his face shifting to a more serious tone. "As far as we can tell, there seem to be a lot of Ultimates that...just woke up here, with no memory of how they got here, or where we are."

Tsumugi blinked at the sudden question. Her happy mood from before seemed to vanish, as beads of sweat started appearing on her face. She grabbed her arm and pursed her lips for a moment, looking decidedly uncomfortable with the sudden change in topic. "That's...well, that's a very good question. I honestly don't know myself. I've been trying not to...think about it too much. It's, well, pretty scary. I don't know much myself, really. I just...woke up here in this lobby, and I've been in here since. I've been a bit...too afraid to go outside, I suppose."

"Ah, I can understand that. This is a pretty nerve-wracking situation, isn't it?" Kaede agreed, giving a soft sigh. "Oh, wait, we haven't introduced ourselves, have we? I'm Kaede Akamatsu, and this is Shuichi Saihara. We're the Ultimate Pianist and Ultimate Detective, respectively."

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. So, we have an Ultimate Detective here? I gotta admit, it's a bit reassuring knowing that," Tsumugi said, directing a smile toward Shuichi.

The boy in question blushed a little, but before he could stutter out a reply, Kaede leaned over and draped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him abruptly close to her. "It sure is! I'm sure Shuichi here will figure things out in no time!"

Shuichi blushed and fidgeted, clearly not expecting such intimate contact. "Ah, y-you're giving me too much credit, r-really..."

Before either Kaede or Tsumugi could respond to that, however, a loud 'thump' upstairs caught their attention. They all froze, and Kaede craned her head upwards, as if to try and see through the ceiling above them. A few seconds later, the sound of more loud noises met their ears, as some sort of ruckus seemed to unfold on the floor above them.

"Whatever that is, it doesn't sound good," Shuichi noted, a touch of concern in his tone. "We should find out what's going on, right away!"

Kaede couldn't agree more with that, as she drew herself away from Shuichi. Shortly thereafter, the three of them raced toward the staircase leading up to the second floor.

However, they were all thoroughly unprepared for the sight that met them: streaks of pink covered the floor, chairs and tables were overturned, and in the center of the room, laid the prone body of a short man in a chef's outfit.