(First Person)

I continued drawing cats. Why? I felt like drawing cats are my comfort drawings. Then I got bored so I decided to read. I picked out a random manga and flipped to the first page. I sat down on my bed and crossed my legs. The manga was pretty interesting and before long I was halfway done. I checked the time and realized it was nearly lunchtime. I folded the edge of the page and set the manga down. I walked out of my cottage to the hotel so I can eat lunch with my classmates.

Nothing interesting happened at lunch. I sat next to Nagito and Chiaki again and just ate lunch. I didn't get to eat much because it was mainly salad and I hate salad. "So...excited for the party?" I asked. Chiaki nodded. "It looks like it's going to be fun," she replied. "I hope we all get along well," Nagito said. There it is again, I thought. That change of tone. The word hope has to do something with that, guess I'll ask him later. "I wonder what kinds of food will Teruteru make?" I wondered out loud. Teruteru passed us and replied, "I outdid myself this time. All of you better like the food I'm spending time on." "Alright," all three of us said. I thought I saw him give a scared glance at Nagito but I passed it off as my imagination when I turned to get a good look at Teruteru. He had his back turned and was humming happily to himself.

"So Flare, I have been meaning to ask you something," Chiaki said. I tilted my head, "What's up?" "You do know about that ahoge right?" She asked. "Uhh what? I don't follow," I said. Chiaki poked my hair and I realized what she meant. "Oh that. Yeah I had no idea it was there," I said. "I think most of us have noticed. Not that there is anything wrong with having an ahoge. I mean Hajime has one," Nagito said and pointed to Hajime who was drinking orange juice. What's his obsession with orange juice? I thought. "It's fine," I said. Lunch was quiet after that.

I was walking back to my cottage because there was still time before the party officially started. I could hang out with one of my classmates but I want to finish that manga first and then I'll ask. There wasn't much to finish but I still want to read it. I sat on my bed again and went to the part where I folded the page. It wasn't soon after that I was on the last page. But then..."Hey...can you hear me?" Who's that? I don't recognize that voice, I thought. I got up from bed and opened the door but saw nobody there. Did I imagine that voice? I wondered as I closed the door. "Check your E-Handbook," the voice said. Ok so I'm not imagining it, I thought and checked my Handbook. The screen was glitching but after it settled, it showed the face of a young girl. "Wha-? What's this?" I asked. "O-oh. I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry," she(?) apologized. "Who the hell are you?" I asked. "My name is Alter-Ego. I have been programmed in an E-Handbook of someone who is on a mission. I guess you're the student who is on the mission," she(?) explained. "Whoa whoa whoa. Mission? What are you talking about? I don't remember any sort of mission," I said. Alter-Ego blinked in surprised. "Wait you mean you don't remember it?" She(?) asked. "No. I don't remember anything. None of us do," I explained. "I see. I-I was supposed to watch over that particular student but I guess he programmed me into the wrong E-Handbook," Alter-Ego said. "Yeah others would totally not freak out to see the head of a girl on their E-Handbook," I said sarcastically. "...I'm a boy," Alter-Ego explained. Sh- I messed up, I thought. "Oh I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know. Sorry if that offended you," I said. "It's alright. I get that a lot," Alter-Ego said, smiling. Oh thank god, I thought. "S-so you're a program?" I asked. "Yep. I'm mainly used to check for data but I'm also here to watch over that student and guide them," he replied. "Hmm I guess I can find someone here to program you into the correct E-Handbook. Which student are you supposed to be watching over? There's 17 of us," I said. "All I remember is their talent as Ultimate Spy," Alter-Ego explained. "Huh...you got the wrong class. There is no one here with that talent," I said.

"R-really? Dang it, my memory file is blank. I can't remember who," he said. "Yeah...I wish to help you and all but there's a party soon and I want to hang out with my classmates to get to know them better so..." I put my E-Handbook on the desk and was about to leave. "Wait a party? Oh no don't go!" Alter-Ego cried. "Huh why?" I asked. "There's going to be a murder tonight!" He explained. I stopped. A murder? Someone is going to kill someone? I thought. "Umm Miss?" Alter-Ego asked. "Y-you're lying. Nobody is going to kill anyone," I said, turning to face him. "B-but according to my files, someone is going to commit a murder tonight," Alter-Ego explained. "You're wrong!" I shouted, not wanting to believe it. Alter-Ego stayed quiet. "Just go do whatever you can do on my E-Handbook," I said, feeling guilty that I shouted at him. Alter-Ego's head disappeared and my E-Handbook looked the same. My hand rested on the door handle. Is he right? Will someone be killed tonight? I thought, feeling cold.

Knock knock. Someone was knocking at my door. I turned the handle and opened the door to see Nagito there. "O-oh Nagito. What brings you here?" I asked. "I heard you shouting. Is everything alright?" He asked. "Oh that. Umm," I couldn't tell him about Alter-Ego. He'd think I'm crazy. I shook my head. "It's nothing," I said. Nagito tilted his head which for some odd reason felt cute to me. Wait what? I thought. "If you say so," he said and was about to leave before I grabbed his arm. "Wait." "Hmm. What's wrong?" Nagito asked. "I was just thinking if we could hang out for a bit. You know before the party," I suggested. Nagito looked surprised but he smiled, "Sure." I let him in. Nagito looked around my cottage. "It looks cozy. It's perfect for an Ultimate Storyteller," he said. "Oh it's ok I guess," I muttered. "Did you draw this?" He gestured to my drawing. "O-oh...yeah," I said quietly. "It's amazing. These cats are filled with life, I didn't know you can draw like this," he praised. I wasn't sure if I blushed or not. "So tell me. What's it like being the Ultimate Storyteller?" Nagito asked. "Well, it's tiring if you have a massive audience but if you're like me with a smaller audience, I don't get to be pressured as much," I explained. "So you write stories?" Nagito asked. "Not really. Storytelling depends on the field. I'm a jack of all trades on the fields. Writing, drawing, singing, dancing etc etc really. I'm not the best of what I do," I explained. Nagito looked intrigued. "That's amazing. Your talent is so unique," he said. "S-so what about you? What's it like being the Ultimate Lucky Student?" I asked, changing the subject so I wouldn't be a blushing mess. "It's awfully dull compared to yours," Nagito explained. "So is it all good luck or do you also get bad luck?" I asked. "Well usually the title is given to someone who is chosen by a lottery of sorts but I suppose in my case I get both," he replied. "That's how you got in Hope's Peak?" I asked. He nodded. "I don't remember exactly how I got in. I might have been deemed talentless before the higher ups or whatever found out what I do and well here I am," I said.

"I'm glad you found your talent. Else we wouldn't have met," Nagito said. "Huh? R-really?" I asked. "You're such an interesting person to talk to," he explained. "You're too kind. I'm honestly very boring," I said. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "I don't think of you as boring," he said. I took a step back. "Th-th-thanks N-nagito," I stuttered. Why am I like this? I thought. "Oh dear. Sorry if I offended you. Trash like me should know their place," Nagito apologized. "Why?" "Hmm?" "Why do you call yourself Trash? I don't think of you as trash," I asked. "Ah let's just say compared to the rest of the Ultimates here, I'm a low life," he explained. "Nobody is a lowlife. You have a purpose. If you can't find it, then make a purpose," I said. Nagito looked at me surprised. I blinked. "Ah I'm sorry. That must have been cringy, sorry," I said. "No it's alright. That's a nice saying. Did you come up with that?" He asked. "Yeah, I guess I made it before I entered Hope's Peak Academy," I said. He smiled at me. We talked more and I even made him laugh with a pun that made me cringe before seeing that it made him laugh. I smiled to myself. "Oh looks like it's almost time for the party," Nagito noted. "Oh let's go!" I said, excited. I looked at my E-Handbook and hesitated before grabbing it. Just in case, I thought. "So do you like parties?" Nagito asked. I shrugged. "I mainly go to family parties. Even then, I'm far too shy to talk to people. Let's just say I'm an introvert," I explained. "But with the right people, you seem more happy talking to them," Nagito spectated. "Well I suppose you're not wrong. Being around the right people, I become more extroverted," I explained. He smiled at me and I smiled back. It felt nice having someone to talk to.

We arrived at the old cottage and spotted Hajime there. He looked like he just arrived. "Oh hi Nagito and Flare," he said. "Looks like we got here just in time," I said. "Let's go in then," Nagito said. We entered in and the sight was peaceful. All of our classmates were there and they were happily talking amongst each other and in some cases, chowing down to the food that Teruteru made. Byakuya was waiting for us, his arms folded. "Wait. I need to do a body check," he said. "Huh come again?" I asked. "I need to check if any of you have anything that could potentially murder someone," Byakuya explained. I turned pale at those words. It reminded me of what Alter-Ego said. But no way he can be correct about that...right? I thought. "We have nothing to hide," Hajime said and Byakuya checked him. Hajime was clear and Byakuya moved on to me. It took longer for me probably because of my hoodie. "Alright you're clear. Your scarf though. Take that off, I'll give it back to you once the party is over," Byakuya ordered. I took off my scarf and handed it to him. "Don't lose it," I said. He moved on to check Nagito. He was clear. Chiaki waved at us and we went over to her. "This party is fun," she yawned. I looked at the food, my mouth watering at the sight of it. "Looks like Teruteru wasn't lying when he said he outdid himself," I noted. "Let's dig in," Hajime said.

The party was fun. Chiaki and I had fun playing some games and talking about our talents. Chiaki seemed impressed that my talent can be expanded to many different fields and I was impressed by her patience of when we were battling in a RPG game where we fight with critters (take a guess at which game). I learned a bit more of Chiaki. I talked to Hajime for a bit and even made a joke about him and orange juice even though he didn't get it. I noticed that Nagito was leaning on the wall all alone. I went up to talk to him. We talked about the party and he told me some facts about the others. Mahiru came up to us with her camera and said, "Cheese!" I swear Nagito did the bunny ears behind my head. I playfully punched his arm and we laughed. It was all fun but then...

"Hey what's this?"

"Who turned off the lights?"

"This isn't funny!"

"What...what are you doing?!"

"Ouch."

"Huh what the-,"

Thump

I got knocked down by someone and before I passed out I heard the most bloodcurdling scream.

"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

(Ohohoho. Things are getting interesting. Say hello to Alter-Ego everyone.

Take a guess on what just happened. You'll be surprised. 

That's it for now -Flare)