I would’ve recognized that voice anywhere! Ishi Utsunomiya, the Ultimate Jammer, as in the point-scoring position in roller derby. It still feels strange to call her an Ultimate student– she and I had been best friends for years, since even before I moved to Japan.
This whole situation was weird, but Ishi’s presence here was the weirdest of all to me. So far it seemed like all of us were picked at random from the students of Hope’s Peak Academy… Was I just really lucky? That’s what I settled on as she swept me up into one of her rib-crushing hugs.
That wasn’t a joke or anything– Ishi has a penchant for brawling, especially in defense of the helpless (among which I count myself.) Still, there was an undercurrent of fear beneath her bravado.
I gave her another hug, and this time she didn’t give me a noogie, thankfully.
I nodded– if Ishi has her heart set on something, it’s tough to say no. So my unusual friend joined me on my quest to meet the rest of the captives, following me around like a bodyguard in booty shorts.
It was so nice to see a familiar face, but I couldn’t help but wonder what ulterior motives our captor might have in bringing her here…