Passenger Introductions

[Monokuma]

*From a nigh invisible hatch in the floor of the Upper Deck a catchy jingle of music plays and with an audible "boing!" a small black and white bear, not entirely dissimilar to a stuffed toy, is launched into the air and lands seated, before everyone assembled*

Hey guys! The way I see it, if you all are going to be spending an indefinite amount of time aboard my ship we ought to get to know each other. Well, of course I already know all of YOU, but that's besides the point. I suppose it is up to me to break the ice.

My name is Monokuma! I'm the captain and, because I know you will ask, no, I am NOT a teddy bear. I may look cute but I am in complete control of this vessel!

What is this vessel, you ask? Great question! This here is the single most sophisticate boat on the seas; the Hope's Horizon! On board we've got a gaming hall, ball room, waterpark, theatrical stage, and more! Of course it would be far too overwhelming to give you free reign of the place already, so I've kindly barred you, for the time being from everywhere besides the upper deck and your personal quarters. Now the halls may seem a little barren to you-- the ship has a full capacity of several thousand!-- but we're keeping our numbers down to just 16 hand selected individuals.

Now I'm sure you have several other questions running through your hormonally charged little brains so let me just put them to rest before you utter them. Normally this ship would perform a casual circuit in the Pacific Ocean, dropping by some tropical islands along the way, before returning back to Japan and letting all its passengers off. I've decided that we'll sail the ocean blue until I say otherwise! Of course there may be a way or two to persuade me to cut our voyage short, but I'm not going to let those beans spill quite yet.

In the meantime, I expect you all to familiarize yourselves with one another as well as the ship. Keep your ears open for my announcements. If you have any questions ask me and I, the beneficent Monokuma, shall answer! Last but not least; have fuuuuuuuuuuun!

[Shishiko Takenaka]

    One girl, standing erect in position, keenly focused in on the words this "captain" of theirs. Surely it wasn't this bear mascot; there had to be a human operating it. With that logic, she assumed this was all some ploy for the entertainment of the students. That was manageable. She admitted too, that it was rather good-natured of the captain to fill in the students about their current situation. Good or bad, at least not very many details were left out as to the plan for this cruise. That's not to say there were hidden surprises in the future; everyone was just given enough information to comprehend their roles on this ship. And, as it happened, the captain had assigned them with a new one: to familiarize themselves with each other. Simple enough. Now, this girl was not one to shy out and wait for someone to speak before her; she had in mind to take the initiative.
   
    Strolling confidently to the center of the deck, she addressed those present in a powerful voice: "To those willing to listen, my name is Takenaka Shishiko. Although I am only just now making your acquaintances, I would prefer you simply refer to me as Shishiko. I'd rather everyone feel comfortable around me, above all. My specialty is improvisation dance performing, but you can just call me Super High School Level Improv Dancer. Um, as far as other interesting qualities go, I'm very good at acting calmly under pressure, but there's not that much else that's eye-opening about me, I'm afraid. At the moment, you are all strangers to me, but if we can learn more about each other, I feel communication in this trip will be much easier." Taking a waist low bow to no one in particular, she made her way to the railing at the edge of the deck.

[Mizushima Arashi]

A young man among the silent crowd casts his eyes blue eyes back and forth over his newfound peers. In his right hand he holds a thin black briefcase equipped with a complicated locking mechanism. His expression betrays a cocktail of amusement and derision. He stalls a moment, awaiting a break to the reticence that never comes. Tugging at the loose ends of a red strip of cloth tied around his exposed forearm, he steps forward, turning around to face the assembly. He sets his briefcase down beside him before he begins.

"No one else gonna take the floor? All right, I'll go next. Name's Mizushima Arashi." His clear tenor voice is tainted by a heavy Osakan accent.

Arashi adjusts the tinted, slight-framed glasses perched upon the tip of his slim nose and pulls a hand through his shaggy, petrol-black hair.

"I'd say nice to meet yah, but to be frank, y'all are boring me to tears. I'm not even certain any of you, Shishiko-chan over there being the exception of course, know so much as how to use your voicebox proper."

Arashi steps back, raising his arms and resting his hands on the back of his head. A slight gust of wind catches his collared shirt, which, being worn with only one button pushed through its hole, flutters open, revealing a series of tattoos across his now-exposed chest. The theme of the ink images seems to be naval, featuring an elaborate anchor, a ship-in-a-bottle, and more.

"Anyway, I'll keep this here introduction brief and wrap it up right now. My talents lie in the spray of the sea and the rock of emerald waves. To use the parlance of this ship I'd be your Super High School Level Sailor." He pauses a moment before announcing his title, perhaps in contemplation of some form or another. He reaches down, picking up his briefcase.

"Seems to me that is all the more any of you need to know at the moment. I don't tend to be to keen on getting personal, but if any of you want to learn a thing or two about the sea or the ship, come see me."

Arashi swaggers off to the side of the group and leans up against the ship's railing, staring out over the water that extends to the horizon. He digs around in a pocket, withdrawing a crumpled box of cigarettes, takes one, and lights up.

"Well? Who's next?" He inquires with a puff of chalk-colored smoke.

[Takeo Kenari]

A tinny laugh, a sound like rusted bells ringing at an abandoned church, echoed from one side of the deck. The owner of the laugh flashed a huge smile, full of teeth, which might have to some looked like a shark's grin when those wild green eyes were taken into account. They were a tall, slender figure, around six feet, slouched against a wall with a thick sketchbook under one arm. Their dark green trenchcoat and long chocolate-colored hair fluttered in the light sea breeze as they leaned off of the wall dramatically, having to spring back up from something like a bowing position, and begun surveying the crowd. "Oh man, everyone's taking this so seriously~" their voice rung out as they flicked their mechanical pencil in the direction of those who had wandered off to the railing. They turned and took a few steps toward the monochrome bear, toward the center of the deck.

"Well, whatever you wanna think, Misushima-san~ You've got tough guy type written all over you, but since we're on a boat you're probably important to the plot!" They wiggled their pencil at the sailor, still grinning as they said this. "And Shishiko-san is clearly the confident pretty one!" Now they pointed their pencil at her. "I'll bet I'm comic relief..." They spun on their heel, now pointing their pencil in Monokuma's direction. "And you! What a great little mascot! I mean, it'd be better if you were a rabbit, but I love that creepy-cute black-white divide thing you've got going!" They laughed again, swirling around to face their peers with a great flourish.

"I guess I'll introduce myself! I'm Takeo Kenari, and if you don't know if from the name, I'm the Super High School Level Sequential Artist! Or Comic Artist or Manga-ka, whatever; the point is I write comics!" Takeo's name might have rung familiar in a few brains: an up-and-coming star in the comic world, he was known best for his twisted psychological horror combined with likeable characters and intense storytelling style. He had gotten popular making webcomics online and now had several published short comics along with one complete serialized work called "Night Watch", which had recently received an anime adaptation.

"Really, this whole dramatic introduction thing is just too cliche for me, tho~ugh," he pursed his lips into a tight pout, crossing his arms. "I think I'll have to refrain from them in the future. But oh well~" He yawned a little and stretched his shoulders. "I think I'll go sit over there and try to draw you guys. Feel free to bother me~ Oh! And keep introducing yourselves, it'll help me figure out what kind of cast we have~" He waved his hand, with the pencil still in it, and sauntered steadily over to the wall again, where he promptly sat cross-legged and opened up his sketchbook. He started idly doodling while observing the other students, showing that same death's head grin.

[Naoki Nakamura]

Quite the bear. Loud, assertive, surely the person operating the creature would have an odd presence. Just from the stuffed bears word, it was obvious that there was something odd going to happen to the students who had decided to board the ship. Or, perhaps it wasn't obvious to everyone...

A black haired boy stared silently at the bear as it spoke, then looked around to the other students. Introductions? Did the bear really expect such dramatic entranced from everyone here? That was no way for the group to meet. The boy hid his mouth in his scarf as he thought. This wasn't a very good situation. Perhaps the boat wasn't the best choice in the world... He pushed his glasses up and scanned the group yet again. Sometimes, being extremely short had it's advantages, but as he stood in the crowd, the boy felt more claustrophobic than anything.

One girl addressed the students and the boy turned to her without so much as a hint of emotion. Loud, confident, the girl seemed to have a lot going for her in that respect. Her name was Shishiko, an improve dancer. The girl took quite a bit of time talking about herself, and the boy seemed to tune out. Loud, confident, yes, but not interesting. The girl seemed generic from first glance. Nothing the boy was concerned with for the moment.

Soon, another student spoke. Male, taller, seemingly strong. Arashi, a sailor. Brash with a hint of rudeness, probably grew up in a poorer family. A somewhat intriguing character. A person like that might be quick to fall back from conversation but fight in psychical confrontation. Honest to a slight fault, but that seemed to be a good thing. He used a few to many words for the scarf wearing boy, but perhaps he was just following the lead of Shishiko, who had chosen to start the introductions in a very flamboyant way. A small smirk came to the thoughtful boy as Arashi finished his introduction. A dislike of getting personal? That was a good trait, one worth keeping in mind. The boy stored that information for later use and turn his attention to an obnoxious laugh.

This person was odd. They seemed to be completely androgynous, which had the boy stumped. As the strange person introduced themself, it became a little more obvious that he was male. Takeo Kenari was a famous artist and writer, working with comics. The boy had heard his name a few times in the past, though he had chosen not to read the super high school level sequential artist's works due to a lack of interest. The boy stared uncaringly as Takeo continued to introduce himself. What was it with these loud introductions? Such an annoyance.

Loud, quirky, but somewhat confident. Takeo seemed to have his mind already set in place. The sequential artist also seemed to be very aware of some of the oddities of the situation, including the cliched introductions and odd mascot like "captain" of the ship. Overall, odd. Refrain from looking for too much out of this one.

When the group seemed to go silent again, the boy gave a slight sigh. It was bound to happen. He would have to break the silence in order to introduce himself. He waited just a moment more before finally opening his mouth to speak in a dark but quiet tone.

"Nakamura Naoki, Super High School Level Character Analyst," He paused for a moment to allow his words to sink in. Naoki's name might have been familiar to those who had heard of his father's business, but he didn't assume anything. Most high schoolers were not interested in large corporations. He looked to the group again, still hiding his emotions.

"Refer to me as Naoki, others are called Nakamura... I hope we can..." His voice trailed off as he began to walk away; choosing to stand next to Arashi, "Be friends..." With this he crossed his arms and returned the piercing gaze to the group, as well as the few that had moved away. As unnerving as he may have looked; dressed in monochrome with a stone cold glare, he was just doing what he was used to. He would discover everyone's secrets and flaws as quickly as possible, then move on. The ice cold glare moved to Arashi for a moment. First target? He would have to see...

He looked back to the group and hid his mouth in his scarf once more. He wouldn't say anymore. There was no point. Surely someone else felt a need to make another dramatic introduction. One Naoki himself felt no need to attempt. The five-foot tall boy just looked over the group. More interesting characters...

[roog]

During the silence. A young boy emerges from the shadows and casts glares at the other students. Though he seems to lack grace, he was completely undetected until just now. All of his clothes are ragged and worn, from the beanie on his head to the boots sloppily fastened to his feet. He wears a grey scarf wrapped around his face, the tail blowing in the sea breeze. His eyes are empty, and the bags under his eyes reveal a significant lack of sleep. He raises his hand to silence the crowd in front of him, and clears his throat.

"Yo!"

He pauses for but a brief moment, once again casting glares around the other passengers.

"The name's Roog. I don't know tha fuck I'm doin' here," his voice is monotonous and dry, though his dialect gives him a very dangerous aura. The apathetic tone would cause discomfort to anyone in a conversation with him. "I mean, I never signed up for no damn cruise, an' I don' know any of you losers."

The boy pauses once more to pull his beanie down to his eyebrows, and takes a deep breath.

"I said I never signed up for no damn cruise! Now get me the fuck off'a this ship! You punks pickd the wrong street ninja to mess with!"

After the outburst, the boy sighs and retreats back into his corner. The angry look in eyes turned into a lifeless one.