Chapter 1: Welcome to Hope's peak

Jin Kirigiri looked over the young woman standing before him. Red hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing a blue suit jacket over a white shirt. She couldn't seem to sit still as she stood in front of the desk.

"Miss Yukizome? You're the new homeroom teacher for our 77th class," he said.

"Great! I'll be the best teacher you've ever seen!" she responded.

"Are you addicted to any substances?"

"No."

"Have you committed any felonies or anything that could be construed as a crime against humanity or good sense?"

"No?"

"Are you qualified to instruct high school students?"

"Well, I just graduated from here a few months ago, so I'm not quite sure whether…"

"Congratulations, you're the best teacher who has ever graced this academy. Good luck."

Kizakura, wearing his flat cap and goatee, then placed himself into the conversation with a well-timed belch.

"Sorry, nursing a hangover," he said.

"And here we have the man you're replacing, hope's peak's talent scout and designated drunk." As Jin spoke, he propped his head on his arm, leaning it against the desk.

"Wait, Hope's peak only has one talent scout and they have him doubling as a teacher?" Yukizome asked.

"Yeah, cheapass trustees can't be bothered to hire more than the bare minimum to be considered a school. The old bastards are more concerned with their checkbooks than the kids who come through here," Kizakura said, stumbling over his words as he spoke.

"Sadly, he was also the best teacher to ever grace Hope's peak, up until today. Anyway, class starts in ten minutes. You should get over there if you plan to make the most of your time," Jin said.

"Yes sir! Right away sir!" Yukizome replied, jogging out of the room. Kizakura stumbled over to Jin's desk and threw an arm over his shoulder.

"So, that's Munakata's girl? Heard he had to pull a few strings to get her in," he said.

"Yes, though I doubt telling her about the trustees is going to win you any favors from them," Jin answered.

"Bah, it's their own fault for hiring a drunk then overworking him until he starts rambling over every little thing. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

Chisa Yukizome arrived at room 1B to little fanfare. When she entered, it quickly became apparent that she had work to do. Chisa had read the student files on the class, so she already knew their names and faces, but they didn't exactly know her, and there was one minor issue with the current state of the class.

"Good morning everyone, I am Chisa Yukizome and I'll be your new homeroom teacher," she said, "though I could have sworn this class had more than 4 students."

"Wait! Sorry I'm late!" Mikan Tsumiki stumbled into the room. Chisa quickly reached out and caught her before she fell, helping her to her desk since the girl looked like she had missed a lot of sleep.

"No problem, class just started. But seriously, where are the rest of the students?" Chisa asked.

"The academy doesn't care if you attend class as long as you pass the exams," Mahiru Koizumi said in a very matter-of-fact manner.

"I'm trying to keep coming to class, but I keep getting held up and-" Mikan said, stumbling over her words.

"Really, it's fine. We just need to round up the rest of the class and bring them back here." Chisa tried to sound reassuring, the girl clearly wasn't in good sorts.

"Why? If they want to skip class like a bunch of lazy pricks and miss the whole year it's their own fault," Hiyoko Saionji remarked.

"As the Ultimate Housekeeper," Chisa said, donning her apron, "I can hardly just let these things go! If we consider this class a home and the students the inhabitants, I couldn't just let everyone sleep in the woods because they don't know where their beds are!"

"Wait, you're a student?" Mahiru asked.

"Not any more, graduated last year, but I was. I'll give a better opening speech when we get everyone here, but the important part is that your fellow students are the only part of this education that's gonna matter in the long run."

"That sounds like the kind of thing I imagined when I transferred to this school!" Sonia Nevermind said.

"Okay, I'll ask, what the fuck happened to Kizakura?" This time it was Fuyuhiko's turn to ask a question.

"He won't be a problem anymore…" Chisa slowly pulled out the wakizashi she kept in her apron, letting the light glint off it. "Just kidding," She slid the blade back into its sheath, "he's got a hangover and the headmaster finally convinced the board to hire new staff."

"Now then, let's go get the rest of the class!"

After a day full of hijinks and shenanigans, the whole class was gathered. Unfortunately, the day was ending as Chiaki was finally dragged back to class.

"Well, now that everyone knows where to gather, I hope I'll see everyone tomorrow," Chisa said.

"Bit of a stretch, I thought we weren't expected to attend class," Akane said.

"Miss Yukizome, wasn't there a speech you said you were going to give?" Sonia asked.

Chisa nodded and said, "Yes and yes. You're not required to attend classes by the school, but it's very important that you do. I was a student here before I was a teacher, so take it from me when I say that the most important part of this school isn't the classes or improving your talent, it's interacting with your fellow students."

"You are all destined for greatness, and in your lines of work it's inevitable that you will be the greatest in your field, unparalleled and unrivaled. Nobody will be able to hold a candle to you, and it will isolate you. I've already seen some of my classmates become resented by their coworkers for their talent. Talent also tends to go hand in hand with desperation during your upbringing, which doesn't help develop social skills."

"But, here you are all equals. You are not part of your field, competing to be the best, you are just fellow students striving to succeed in your own way. The exams given by this school are open ended and loose as a necessity to accommodate all students, so you will pass them easily, but they don't test the importance of social networking. Maybe you'll have trouble relating to each other because you're such different people, but that's fine too. You don't all need to be friends, but you do need to learn to work with each other because for a lot of you, working with others is going to be vital."

"I met my two best friends in my class and we've been together ever since. I can't even remember what I did to develop my talent, but I do remember the times I spent with them. I'm not about to let you guys give up the opportunity to get that for yourselves, so you can either come to class tomorrow or wander off and have me drag you back here just like today. Okay?"

Chisa was almost out of breath after her spiel, but the students seemed captivated. She would have to tell Munakata about it later. Then the bell rang, dismissing the students from class.

"Oh, and if anyone wants to talk about anything after class, I'm all ears," Chisa gave her warmest smile.