[IC] The World of Wasted Dreams

[cerozer0]

Day 0 - Classroom ?-?

"Don't you dare even consider using any of us just to make sure you can get away. I am not letting anyone else die on my hands, especially because of some coward who only cares for himself. Is that understood, Shiba-san?"

Akane watched Shizune grip Aito's shirt through narrowed eyes, but her voice felt too strained to speak up against it, and instead she lowered her head and scratched at her arms. They had finally stopped beside another classroom door, and their red-eyed leader (well, that's what she seemed to be, at least) suggested that they rest in here for now. Glancing inside, however, they found a room that had been almost the same as the one they had just left. Holing up into an almost identical classroom to the last was, well, unsettling to say the least, but none seemed to have the energy to complain. They entered one by one and began to settle, and Akane gripped Aito's arm and dragged him to a rather secure corner, just where they could see the door but the door, or anything outside the door, wouldn't be able to see them.

"Don't be afraid, Ai-chan." Her voice was tight, worried, and yet scolding, "and listen to Yoshida-san." Akane glanced at the black-haired Shizune, eyes scanning her face, and once again she could only feel emptiness. Something was strange about that girl, but it seemed that she knew what was going on.

Akane could do nothing but trust her judgement.

And with that final thought, she settled down onto the wooden floor and curled up, resting her head against the wall. While fear currently kept her awake, exhaustion quickly caught up to her eyes, and she was asleep within an hour.

---

Day 1 - Classroom ?-?

"Onee-chan! Onii-chan! Save me! It hurts....big brother! Big sister! Save me!"

Akane quickly sat up, eyes wide with an unfathomable need to protect. er breath caught and she slowly rose into a stand, glancing around the room with confusion and worry.

'Those voices, children. Wait. Who's? Beni? No, too many, where am I... Where am I?'

She lowered her head, seeing the familiar shape of Aito, and then began to see the others through the red-tinted darkness. Shizune, Reiko, Shino, Tsubasa, Shiori. Those who had experienced the same fright she had the day before. Akane sighed once she realized that this wasn't home, but flinched once the voices began crying out again. Could... Could Beni be here? No, she went home early, right? Akane slowly lowered again, digging into her skirt pockets furiously until her hand clenched around the shape of a cellphone. She opened it slowly and sighed once the light blared forward, and her eyes traced two messages that had been received many, many hours before.

Before what? The earthquake? The power outage?

The two messages read: "I got home safe and sound, Akane." while the second read "No Service". Beni was most likely (hopefully) home, unless this realm had the ability to cause untrue text messages.

"Onii-chan! Onee-chan! Please...save us! It hurts...it hurts so much! Make it stop! Please, make it stop! Kabetake! Hazama! Make it stop! Save us! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so bad..he's....he's coming closer....please...On....chan..."

Again, Akane flinched, which caused her to lose grip on the phone as she reached up to cover her ears, trying to get the pain-filled voices out of her head. It tumbled to the ground and landed with a hard crack at her feet, but she was too focused on the door now, where the voices seemed to be pouring out of. Tsubasa was up now too, holding his baseball bat tightly as he approached the door slowly, but instead of throwing it open he turned to Shizune, who seemed to have stayed awake throughout their resting period, and asked a very simple question,

“They’re not real right? I mean, they’ve got to be just monsters. There’s no way,”

"Yeah, yeah." She spoke up as well, wincing slightly, "they're... They're not real, right?"

[Makatsume Haru]

Day 0

As Aito was grabbed by Shizune, an arrogant smirk crossed his face. "Oh yeah? If you claim to know me so well, then why are you thinking I'll do that right off the bat? It is... merely a reserve plan. If I can, I too want to save as must people as possible. But wouldn't it be better for at least one of us to survive in spite of the others? I am pretty sure Audrey's sacrifice has given us an edge now. We survived something we weren't supposed to because of her." His words fell into no one's ears, though, since the girl was already long gone. He clicked his tongue. "Tch. I'll have to play the good man for now, it seems." He followed Shizune until they arrived to the room, even though it looked exactly the same, but with some chairs. "What the heck is wrong with this world?" He let is body drop on one of the chairs and he stretched out. "Ah.... just a few moments in and we have already lost someone.... Shows just how dangerous this place is." He said to himself, before being pulled away by Akane.

"W-what is it? When they finally stopped and Akane told him to 'not be afraid', Aito inevitably blushed. "I am not scared. It's just... just.." When she brought up the thing about Shizune, Aito's eyes sharpened and he glared at her. "So, you're siding with her, huh? What can she know? She hasn't spent any time with me and claims to know me. I hate girls like her." He was annoyed and upset at Akane, but he didn't want to, so he just dismissed it with his hand. "You know what, forget it. Talk to you later."

He walked away from her and sit in one of the chairs, crossing his arms and falling asleep there. Not the most comfortable thing, but the most practical if he had to make a run for it in any instant. Faster than raising from the floor. He left the flashlight of his cellphone on until he remembered that the battery wouldn't last forever. When he checked, the screen already was telling Aito to plug in his charger. "God dammit." He put it back in his chest pocket and returned to sleep. Somewhere inside him, he wished for everything to go back to what it originally was when he opened up his eyes, though the probability was minimal.

---

Day 1

Aito slightly jumped in the chair when he heard the child like cries. His eyes quickly scanned through the room, searching for Akane. It was in her nature to always help someone in need, but this clearly wasn't something she could handle. Besides, the voice felt oddly familiar. If Aito recalled it correctly, it seemed like that of her sister, Beni.

He saw the newest addition to the group, Tsubasa, go near Shizune and asking her something that seemed obvious. Aito felt the need to answer him and Akane, who followed in with the question. He put himself behind Tsubasa and put a hand on his shoulder. "Of course it isn't real. In here, there's nothing but mosters and us. But..." Aito also felt uneasy at the constant cries of the kids, but he had to keep his level-headness right now, or they would lose another pair of people, and falling for a trap like that was just insulting. "Hey, Yoshida. Think we can move from here to somewhere, I dunno, 'safer'? Not that I expect somewhere in this hellhole to be safer, but still." He asked the field expert, but he knew that the answer might be that no, there wasn't any place safer than that.

[Xaltwind]

Day 0

There had been much to contemplate and think about - after having treated the others' injuries that was. Most of the bandaids and wet-wipes from her bag had been used up treating Akane's legs and the marks on both Akane and Reiko's necks. Truly an unfortunate set-back that she had had to use almost all of her 'medical' supplies, if you could call it that, so quickly, but on the other hand it was infintely better to keep people healthy and strong than to gamble on them not getting infected injuries. Shiori sighed, there was no good choices in thgis world, no right or wrong, just the choice between greater or lesser bad.

When they arrived at the new classroom, which upon entry looked just like the old classroom they had left earlier, Mizuhana was momentarily dumbfounded. It was clear they had been walking away from the location, but somehow they wound up back there again? No, no, that wasn't it. There were black hairs in this room - something the previous one did not. Walking inside, she saw Akane and Aito discuss something, though she didnb't care to eavesdrop, as well as hearing Shizune telling them to rest and that she would be taking the watch.

Watch, huh...?

A novel concept. Against that Friagne not even the combined efforts of Akane and Shizune managed toe ven get through the swarm of dolls, so what was she hoping to accomplish? There was also only one way out of the classroom, meaning that if any monsters showed up, they'd be trapped regardless if someone sat and kept an eye on the door or not. Still, it was kind of her to offer to watch over them, she supposed. Not that Shiori was feeling very tired after having seen the bastard child of Edgar Scissor-hands and the Phantom of the Opera ropping one of her classmates into bits and pieces. Not to mention the red, demonic light from the sky and black moon outside was anything but soothing.

Grabbing one of the chairs by the back, she pulled it along the floor and plopped it down against one of the walls near the three, large windows of the room. Sitting on it, she leant back and rested, staribg off into the ceiling for a few minutes before finally closing her eyes. There was so much to think about, so much to consider and so much to fear. An unknown world with horrors from the deepest depths of the most heinous nightmars... Working together wouldn't be enough to survive this, they would need trust and luck.

Too bad scientists discredited luck and chance, claiming to be non-existent.

Though she wouldn't get much sleep, mostly since she spent an inordinate amount of time thinking by herself, Shiori's eyelids eventually shut fully and granted her a few hours of sleep, which felt like mere moments to the girl.

Day 1

Waking up, Shiori realized she had awoken slightly before everyone else. Something had caused her to open her eyes suddenly. There was a slight pain, no, more like an irritation, on her neck. Moving her gloved fingers up to the spot that was causing the discomfort, she let a s surprised 'eh?' slip out, before clamming up. There were two puncture wounds on her neck... But how? She was fairly sure that she hadn't been injured yesterday. Actually, she was sure of it, since she had checked that right after seeing to everyone else. So, how had this happened? SShe lookedover to the door, but Yoshida was still sitting there - awake - meaning that the girl hadn't fallen asleep at her post.

Had something entered through the window? She looked. No, the dust was still there, meaning nobody had opened it enough to let air slip in. But then... How? Why...? Or, pehaps more importantly, what had caused this? She also noticed, now that she was fully awake, that her body felt a bit heavy and sluggish. Was it from the lack of sleep? No, she'd pulled all-nighters before and been perfectly functional the whole day... Tiredness? From what? She hadn't done any running or excersise, other then tackling Resan-san to prevent her from becoming a sock-puppet. No, something was definetely off here. Unfortunately, Shiori wasn't given time to contemplate or ask Yoshida about it, as something happened.

A scream. Or perhaps, several.

They were the voices of children, crying out in horrid pain and agony, begging for salvation. It was a heart-wrenching scream, something that plucked at your heart and would make the soft no doubtbegin to tear up in their eyes. She stood, slowly since she wasn't feeling at her fullest and fittest, and began to move towards the door. But Aito and Tsubasa, along with Akane, beat her to it. Tsubasa and Akane asked a question, while Aito interjected and gave his answer on the matter. Her eyes narrowed in discontent as she watched and listened. He was suggesting they leave. And go where? Anywhere but here? Was he honestly thinking that anywhere else would be safer than here? They were safe nowhere. She was about to take a step forward and speak up, but then... Something caughther attention and she froze up.

Staring... Shiori looked past Akane, Tsubasa, Aito and Shizune, past them and to the corner a bit away from the door. There, the corner furthest from the windows, stained in shadows and blackness, there was something... A small figure was there, one that hadn't been there before. It wasn't one of her classmates either, it was too short for that. Staring, she finally shook her head and brought attention to it.

"Everyone. Over there. In the corner..." She said, calmly but with a clear tinge of steely and tense unnervedness.

Once it had heard that it had been discovered,d, the figure stepped out into the light a bit. The first thing you saw were its legs. Thin, pale legs, with bruises and soot on them. They were thin, scrawny even, and it wore no shoes, revealing a pair of small, human feet as well. The skin was pale, but a bit ashen, sickly even. The being moved forward again, revealing more of itself. Now one could see the torso and arms, as well as its clothes.

It waas wearing a pair of torn and frayed shorts, gray and made out of something that looked sacky and cheap. It wore a t-shirt on its upper body, also torn and frayed, with holes and long tears in the fabric. Its arms were also bruised and dirty, and like the legs they were also extremely slim and pale.. It moved forward again, and now you could see the entire being. The final part revealed - its head - Shiori took a step back and let out a slight, quick and surprised gasp.

The child's face... It´was horrible! Bruises and dirt, a mess of unkempt and stringy black hair that fell like dead weeds over its dome. Its cheeks were indented and its lips were cracked and had a slightly darker tinge to them, as if the child was freezing. But the worst part was its eyes... Its haunting, black eyes. It had no whites! There was no iris, no whites, no pupil! Just a black ... blob! You couldn't tell if it could see or if it was lookijng at someone, because you couldn't follow its gaze, since it had none! Shiori felt the hairs on her back stand on end and she had to clench her hands to keep them from shaking.

The child surveyed the room, then turned towards the group of four near the door. It opened and closed its mouth a few times, quickly as if it was trying to say something but words or voice would not come... Then, it finally unhinged its jaw and opened its mouth fully! A black tongue and nasty teeth - some of which were missing - as well as a blackned tongue revealed! It looked like the child was going to vomit, for it just stood there with its mouth agape, yet you could see that its jaw-muscles were tensed, meaning it was keeping the mouth open on its own will...

But why? Shiori couldn't hear anything... It just looked incredibly disturbing.

... Is this a victim of this world too? Trapped here like us? ... Or is it another horror, come to haunt us.

Shiori did not move an inch, and she did not look away from the small boy either as he stood, silently screaming at them without a voice.

[UnendingEmpire]

Day 0: Classroom ?-?...

"Please...try to get some rest."

Like hell I'm resting. Reiko had no intention of sleeping. There was one chair for each girl here, so she could at least sit if she wanted. Grabbing one from the circle, Reiko followed the girl who said to get some rest - what the hell was it? - and set a chair next to hers loud enough to announce her intentions of I'm sitting here. The next thing Reiko did was take her shinai out from the back of her shirt, rest her hands on one end, and set the other on the floor to hold her hands up with. She then placed her head on her hands, alternating now and then between looking ahead of her to whatever would come, to her side at the girl, and behind her at everyone else. This girl may have had the know-how about this place, but knowing your enemy was only half the battle.

"You said you were here once before, so you got out somehow. Be frank with me. What are our odds of getting out of here alive?" She'd wait as long as she had to for an answer. Before long though, the day caught up with her, and Reiko fell asleep on the spot, still clutching her shinai.

---

Day 1...

"Onee-chan! Onii-chan! Save me! It hurts....big brother! Big sister! Save me!"

That woke Reiko up right bloody quick. Leaping out of sleep and into action mode, knocking her chair over in the process, the Osakan kendo wonder gripped the end of her shinai with both hands, turning right around to make sure it wasn't somebody in the room that was screaming. No, everybody in there seemed to be fine...

"Onii-chan! Onee-chan! Please...save us! It hurts...it hurts so much! Make it stop! Please, make it stop! Kabetake! Hazama! Make it stop! Save us! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so bad..he's....he's coming closer....please...On....chan..."

If we're about to deal with some little kid monster, it better only be as strong as an actual little kid. This kind of crap got old the moment it started becoming a frequent deal in horror flicks. Reiko was beginning to like this place less and less. Not that she even liked it upon first arriving. Becoming the food of any of the things here didn't sound like a good way to die in the least, and Reiko already knew how she wanted to go when the time came anyway. It did not involve food in any way. And then a voice from the group spoke up with something Reiko thought helpful.

"Everyone. Over there. In the corner..."

About damn time! Reiko would compensate for the humiliating loss that Friagne gave her by beating whatever came now to a rotten pulp. Heading to where the voice came from and looking in the same corner as her, Reiko saw the figure when it stepped forth. She even flinched a bit when she saw how disheveled the kid looked. Then she caught sight of the eyes. No doubt about it. Either this was a monster, or a child with no eyes. Reiko kind of doubted the latter. Her doubts were pretty much all erased when it opened its mouth. That tongue. Those teeth. Not taking her eyes off this one, Reiko asked aloud "Oi, Miss Expert-On-This-Place, what's this guy? Any tricks up his sleeve?"

[Skyswimsky]

Shinobu Resan

---

Like some doll, Shinobu was easily pushed towards the next room, giving her Senpai only a small nod for some sort of conformation or similar. She still couldn't believe what just happened, really, it just felt too real.

But that was the thing if she would wake up from this nightmare everything would be fine, no? So why was she even so troubled by all this? Maybe it was a sign? Maybe she should make sure the next time she saw the red-hair to definitely get along with her? Whatever the case was, Shinobu didn't want to think too much now and simply decided to ignore everything and anyone and try to end this nightmare simply by falling asleep. But what if this wasn't a dream? A thought that plagued her at least two more hours before she finally fell asleep on the few desks she put together as an improvised bed.

---

Unlike the harsh reality the muffler girl was in, it was clearly visible that her own dream world was a place people could enjoy themselves in. Either that, or her drooling combined with a really happy face was a completely normal sleeping habit. Obviously her peace was disturbed by yet another annoying monstrosity. Slowly opening her eyes the first thing she realized was the discomfort of the tables, her entire back hurt but she got up nonetheless.

Having a look around it slowly came back to her, the place she was trapped in, for better or worse, not her own nightmare. Upon gazing on the small pile of...flesh...thoughts of yesterday came back to her, if this was real, it meant...the person...really... . No. The green hair shook her head, she was completely idiotic and useless yesterday, she even had to be babysitted. No, Shinobu was a strong Independent otaku that would make it out of here alive, if common sense didn't apply here, there was nothing wrong with going after what she learned in horror games, right? Despite, being sad and gloomy didn't fit her at all, not to mention dwelling on the past was a thing she disliked.

Having encouraged herself and grabbing her muffler more tightly she was actually able to put a slight smile on her face before returning to more urgent matters; the quarrel in front of the door did not slip her attention. Before she could speak her mind however, Shiori put her attention towards the mute screamer: a boy who looked worse than the poorest zombie-horror-eyes-hobo in the real world, for Shinobus taste, definitely not human, just the eyes made that clear enough. Compared to yesterday that thing was nothing though. Getting closer to the group at the door she finally spoke her mind, tightening the grip she had on her muffler."I agree with Aito-kun, I think somewhere else is still safer than here! I also think we should make haste...oh, and good morning by the way!"

[TheWendil]

Shizune stepped back from the...the thing. Really, there was no other way to describe it. Some kind of mutilated child...its appearance and blank eyes-or lack thereof-were enough to unnerve the usually calm girl.

"I don't....I don't know what that is....this has never happened before...none of this has..." She was more shocked than horrified in all honesty. Even the voices, which continued to become more frantic and violent, were a complete mystery to her. She frowned. "If I had to guess, then these voices...they're most likely fake. Meant to lure us in no doubt."

By now, everyone was gathered to the front of the door. Opening their only exit, Shizune narrowed her eyes and allowed everyone else to see. The environment had changed again. Not one, but two hallways now appeared before them, darkness shrouding the passageways to make it impossible to see the end. One hallway echoed with the pained howls of the children. The other remained ghostly silent.

Shizune turned back to the group. "As much as I hate to agree with you on...anything, you're right Shiba-san. As are you Resan-san. We have to keep moving, only stopping when absolutely necessa-agh!"

A sudden wave of pain hit her, the shock of it forcing Shizune on her knees. A burning sensation began to toil and churn within her abdomen, forcing her to cover the area with her hands. Gritting her teeth, she scanned around to try and help the others. Even despite the pain, her body was still able to stiffen in disbelief.

No one else was affected.

Panting on the ground, she frantically began searching as the burning increased. What was different? What had changed? The screams...then the child....looking over at it now, realization dawned on her. That creature had its jaws wide open in a soundless scream. This began when that monster opened its mouth. And yet it only affected her....was it because....?

"Ahh!" The pain...it was unbearable! She lashed her arms out, clenching her palms on the ground. This feeling...this desire....could it....her red eyes widened. No...no she had to escape. To get away from the others before....

"Nag...ata...Nagatani-san," she gasped out. "You....wanted to know...our chances...right?" Her breathing was coming out now in barely held back sobs.

"Right...r-right now...it's z-zero...sorry..."

Standing up on trembling legs, Shizune launched forward, shoved the gray-skinned child on the floor, and bolted out the door. Without a second thought, she chose the left pathway that remained unplagued by the voices and ran. Ran as fast as she could, each step bringing a new flash of pain and selfish instinct.

The rotting boy on the ground remained unfazed, its black maw still caught in its unnatural expression. Standing up, the creature completely ignored the rest of the group and quietly walked in pursuit of Shizune.

It didn't take very long for the dark haired girl to reach a wall made of a suspiciously fleshy and red material down the hallway. A dead end. Touching it hesitantly, her hand drew back when her mind quickly pieced it together. A wall of literal flesh. Charming.

Grunting, Shizune collapsed on the ground and held her stomach in the fetal position. A movement later she retched and vomited on the ground, a thick and bubbly crimson liquid pouring from her mouth. Straight from the stomach.

"S....s-shit...." This new creature had successfully separated her from the group. No matter. They still had Shiori. The P.O.I.R president would lead them in her absence. Shizune had faith in her.

Besides, Shizune could handle herself. In fact, she had specifically chose to flee simply to draw this monster out and finish it off herself. It...it was best if the others didn't bear witness. Whimpering in the dark, her frail body trembling all over, the black haired girl began scratching at the floor again, feeling her vision sway and her eyes dilate.

"Hurry up..." she willed. "Hurry up and get...get here...so I can kill you personally...."

Another shudder of the burning sensation passed through her, ears strained until finally they were met with the soft patter of the child's footsteps.

Back in the classroom, the voices of the right path increased even more so, as if invading their very minds and threatening to rip them apart from the inside.

"Ahh! On...chan! It burns! It burns! Help me! Hazama! Kabetake! Help m-ahh!"

[Xaltwind]

Having watched Shizune retreat out through the door - after shoving the... corpse-boy.... to the ground, something dawned on Shiori. Having listened to the conversation between Akane, Reiko, Aito and Tsubasa, it became clear. They hadn't heard anything, nor had she, because the critter had specifically come to target Yoshida. It had arrived to force her away from the group. How did she come to this conclusion? Simple: For one, Yoshida claimed to have prior knowledge of this world and hving been here before. Secondly; Even when the creature opened its mouth and sseemingly shrieked for all the power it could muster with whatever lungs it had, only Yoshida caed over, as if she could hear something. Finally, after Shizune ran from the room, the boy fllowed her - not even paying any of the other four people at the door any heed, what so ever.

This was in stark contrast to the Friagne from yesterday, who had blatantly gone after pretty much anyone and everyone who got close to it - leading Shiori to the realization that perhaps Yoshida was indeed telling the truth. Maybe that girl had been to this world before, but it was now trying to keep her from helping the others. Naturally, there was alsot he possibility that this was all a coincidence and that the boy-monster just particularly wanted to munch on Shizune's brain - but, Mizuhana somehow doubted that such was the case.

Still, there was a new problem... Without Shizune to guide them or herd them about, the group was momentarily stuck, and with the noises from from the hallway outside getting louder and louder, Shiori felt like things would soon turn for the worse if nothing was done. The screams of pain and agony were almost overwhelming now, and she tried to cover her ears to see if that helped, but alas it did not. With Shizune's cryptic remark to Reiko, that their chances right now were zero, things had to change and happen, right away.

But where to go? Shizune had run off in the opposite direction from the hall that heralded the screams - but she hadn't run away because she was scared. She'd fled to dra the creature away, and... Perhaps... keep herself from the others, for a while. She had no way to prove this of course, and it could be tahat the girl just took that path so as to not get into more trouble, but what about them? The voices were specifically calling for Akane and Tsubasa... Which meant that letting them go to that hallway was probably a very, very unwise decision.

She still felt fatigued and anemic, and the bug-bites on her neck - or whatever they were - still stung. Still, Shiori had to step up and do something, less they end up standing here until the voices and shouts became loud enough to pop their eardrums.

"You're all right. We need to leave, right now." She said, in a bit f a louder voice than usual as to make herself heard over the pained cries for help.

She stepped outside the classroom and looked at the two hallways, a deep frown settling on her face. Follow Yoshida and deal with whatever dangers that may bring, or head towards the crying voices and no doubt end up in a sticky and unpleasant trap or ambush... She sighed, just like before there were no right or wrong choice, just two bad ones. The quesiton, though, which was the less bad one this time? Moving her gloved hand to her chin, she thought for a brief while, then turned back to the people still inside the classroom.

"Kabetake, Hazama... It appears the voices want you to go to them. I think it'd be best if you two didn't go down that hallway." She said this blankly, as if it was a mere suggestion that she really didn't care if they listened to or not. She wasn't going to force anyone to take her advice, after all. "Rather, I'd suggest you two, since you got a weapon and can handle yourselves, go after Yoshida-san... Though-" She looked over at the quiet hallway. "... it might be good to be very, very careful. She didn't run away because she was scared, she wanted to gey away from us because of that boy."

Her fill attention went back to the group... Aito, Akane, Reiko, Tsubasa and Shinobu. Her classmates, her friends, though some far more or far less so than others. Regardless of their interactions before though, they had all ended up here in this place together, and now - more than ever - they needed to trust and rely on each other. Because, it was painfully clear, that nobody - [i]nobdoy[/i could escape, or even survive, this place alone.

"I'm going to go investigae the voices." She then said, abruptly and calmly, with her usual poker-face in play. "I want to see who or what is calling for you two, and what might happen if you went yourselves." She turned around and took a few steps, her dark jacket swaying as she walked, but then she stopped and turned her head back so as to look over her shoulder. "It might actually be best if you all lwent to look for Yoshida and make sure she's alright. Coming with me means you'd have to stay quiet, and the more of use that go together, the harder that'd be."

With that said, Shiori Mizuhana started off again, slowly making her way down the screaming hallway, with light steps. She had completely entered investigatory-mode, as some of her club members jokingly refered to it. It was a state in which their club prez discarded all thoughts and concerns for anything else but that which she was looking into. It was a rare state-of-mind sort of thing, where the girl exhibited skills in both sneaking, hiding and stalking, something the young girl had learned to do after years of practice and repeated failure and improvement.

Of course, the skills of a human could not possibly compete with the supernatural beings of this place, but at least - hopefully - nothing would come out of the walls and she could check whetever this direction was actually safe or not. And hopefully, Tsubasa, Akane and all the rest, heeded her warning and jugement, for their own sake. Of course, Shiori had no intention of dying in vain either, if worse came to wear, she'd retreat back to this classroom or somewhere else if the opportunity arised.

... But she really wanted to know, if everything they heard and saw in this place was truly out to kill them, or if there were indeed any exceptions.

[peachpenguin]

Tsubasa let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when Aito touched his shoulder. He didn't know the other boy, not really. His name and face and maybe a few words had been spoken between the two of them in the past, but then again that was how Tsubasa knew everyone, friendly but never too personal. Maybe it was the physical contact, the reminder that even though they were in whatever circle of hell this happened to be that they weren't alone, that made some of the tension leave his body. "Right, yeah. Of course they aren't real." You just have to calm down and think rationally, Tsubasa. Freaking out won't help at all. Telling himself that was all but useless. It wasn't going to make those horrible screams go away. Even if they weren't his brothers and sisters, they were still heart breaking.

At the suggestion of leaving and finding somewhere safer, Tsubasa remembered the set of keys in his pocket. They were all but useless now, unless you wanted to stab someone with them. If the layout of this place could change on a whim like it did yesterday, they'd probably never get anywhere close to the club room ever again.

All thoughts of being safe just because they were in a closed room went out the window when he looked over at the thing in the corner. It was heart breaking yet absolutely terrifying at the same time. He wanted to clean it up and tell it everything was going to be okay but at the same time wanted to smash it's head in with a baseball bat. It was those eyes, those black,
seemingly soulless eyes. They sent shivers down his spine.

From there, everything happened almost too. One second Shizune was doubling over in pain and the next she was out the door, horrify child right behind her. Tsubasa felt entirely helpless. What was she doing, going off on her own? Part of him wanted to run after her, tell her how stupid she was being, that strength in numbers was a very real thing, but the voices from the other hall kept him in place.

“Wait,” he called out as Shiori left. No, splitting up like this was most certainly not the safe thing to do. No, they were like a team here and teams didn’t function when members left or closed themselves off from others. It just didn’t work. She wasn’t even armed. Neither of them were. Maybe he was a worrywart, his siblings would certainly accuse him of being one, but letting those two go off alone was as good as letting them die in his mind. Maybe he was crying just a little bit too, but that wasn’t important right now. He had to talk to the others before anything happened.

“Listen,” Tsubasa said, turning back to the rest of the group. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to let anyone go anywhere alone. Hell, I don’t even think it was a good idea to let those two go off on their own, but we can’t change that now. But I also think that if we want to get both of them back, we’re going to have to split up.” Deep breaths “But you’ve all seen how this place changes. I’m afraid if we split up now, we’ll never get back to each other. For all we know, we could have already been permanently split off from the other two.” Put on a brave face Tsubasa. Like it’s a game and the other players don’t think they can win. The stakes are just a little bit higher. “But I don’t want to give up on them either. I just...I’m sorry. I don’t really know what to do, but I want everyone to stay alive.”

It was moments like those that Tsubasa wished he was more intelligent. A more intelligent person would have come up with a plan, not just offer a shitty motivational speech. Tsubasa could be the heart, proud, motivational, supporting, but he couldn’t be a brain. A brain was what they needed right now. A brain would keep them alive.

[UnendingEmpire]

"Nag...ata...Nagatani-san, you....wanted to know...our chances...right? Right...r-right now...it's z-zero...sorry..."

And the motivational speech of the year award went to...not the red-eyed girl. Reiko made a mental note that she really had to start remembering names. But before she could think to get the girl's name, she leapt up and bolted down the hall. The cliche-monster-kid followed her down the hall; one of two. Down one hall was red-eyes and that monster kid Reiko was liking less and less with each passing second. Down the other, further screams from children. They were getting too loud at this point, even by Reiko's standards. Right here in this unmarked classroom with her were other students. Choices, choices...

"It might actually be best if you all went to look for Yoshida and make sure she's alright. Coming with me means you'd have to stay quiet, and the more of use that go together, the harder that'd be."

"Guess I know where I'm going," Reiko spoke up to the girl who had said that, raising her voice to be heard over the screams as well. "I don't think I like you, just off first impressions and all, but try not to die down the hall. If you die, I'll find a way to bring you back just to beat you half to death." Then her attention turned to another student of note. Her fellow kendo club member, muffler-girl. Pointing at her with the shinai, Reiko said "You're with the kendo club, right? Follow me and keep close and calm. I can't risk something coming in here while my back's turned if it could kill somebody in my club. When we rescue...Yoshida, was it? When we rescue her, I'll also want your name. Got all that?"

[Skyswimsky]

Shinobu Resan

---

And off she was, the self-proclaimed leader didn't even think twice about rushing out, the alienzombiehobochild following closely. And if that wasn't enough, those damn voices kept increasing in volume. Zero chance for survival? Well, in Shinobu's book that does not equal impossible!

Having accepted the current circumstances and not allowing herself to go all emo again the green-hair opened her mouth, but as no one reacted she concluded those goddamn voices were in the way. This time, Shiori spoke up, suggesting something crazy as 'going alone'! Yeah, splitting up in those horror games she played always ended up the same way. "Tsubasa-kun is right! Splitting and ending up alone sets you right to the bad end route! Someone who is not Akane-chan and Tsubasa-kun should go with you! Also when meet up again we should agree on some sort of code to prove it is really us! Since time is ticking, let's just go with 'Meow Meow Nya'!" All the yelling was really annoying and Shino needed a moment of pause before continuing, alas, Reiko took the initiative, calling the "muffler-girl" out.

Since Reiko was a person Shino looked up to, the thought of suggesting to follow Shiori never left her mind and instead she saluted. "Aye!" Still full of positivity, those voices would need to turn up their volume even more if they wanted to subdue Shinobu Resan!

[cerozer0]

Day 0 - Classroom ?-?

At the sight of the gruesome, horror movie-esq child, Akane felt her legs give. Such a pitiful creature, and a child at though, how sad. Fear clutched Akane's head and she slowly shut her eyes and hummed, ever so slightly, hoping to drive the continuing screams from her mind. And then, the speaking started. Everyone deciding what to do, how to handle this situation, and honestly, it made her feel a bit relieved. But not entirely. Akane stared at the discussing group with worried eyes. Shizune had apparently run off, probably sometime between Akane closing her eyes and then re-opening them, and everyone was somewhat concerned about that. Shiori, or Prez, as Akane liked to call her, was curious about the source of the screams, and while Akane was much to afraid to investigate herself, this poker-faced girl seemed very ready to discover the reasons. Trouble, people were getting themselves in trouble, but Tsubasa was correct. It was safer to stay in a group. Shizune had mentioned the exact thing after waking up in this foreign land. So, she listened, taking in every detail of every person's words, and when the Prez finally vanished into the halls, towards the screaming children that were surely going to haunt Akane for a while, she stood.

"If we do decide to split up after Prez and Yoshida-san, it's best that the ones who are armed and the ones who are capable of defending are devised fairly." Her eyes drifted over the group. Tsubasa had his bat, Reiko had her shinai, and Akane had courage in her skills. Reiko seemed very interested in saving Yoshida, as was Prez's request, and Shino was being asked to tag along with her as well. But Akane felt like Prez was going to get herself into danger, more so because Shizune had proven that she had a lot of knowledge on this realm. Still, both girls had been unarmed and possibly unskilled in any defensive arts. Akane, however, did not want to go down the screaming hall, mostly because her name had been uttered countless times already, but Prez was most likely in danger. Besides, what about Aito. He was unarmed, and while smart, cowardly, perhaps Akane should just tag along with him to make sure he was okay. But... But...!

'My head hurts.'

Akane sighed, rubbing her temples slowly as the screams began to increase in volume. Shizune was already going to be helped by Reiko, but what about Prez. Yes, Prez. Even if it was the screaming hall, Prez was still...

"I'm going after Yoshida-san." She finally stammered out, stepping forward. Fear, fear had taken hold. Fear of the screaming. Shizune's hall was quiet. Sorry, Prez. Sorry.

[Makatsume Haru]

Aito turned to see what everyone else was looking at, the... kid, obviously, it was nothing close to one, but how else could he describe such a horrible spectre that took the form of a child? Due to the surprise, Aito fell over. He couldn't believe his eyes, was that thing for real? He couldn't talk, nothing would come out of his mouth. When the child-monster opened its mout, he closed his eyes, expecting something to happen. But, nothing happened, nothing at all. He let out a nervous laugh as he stood up. "Seems we shouldn't have worried so much about... it. It must be harmless and is just meant to scare us, yeah, that must be it." He said with way more confidence than someone in his situation should have. "Or, maybe, it is, I dunno, loading something or is calling another one in an ultrasonic frequence we can't hear, or..." He hit his mouth with his open palm after realizing he was spouting random, stupid bits and pieces of theories that formulated in his head. This time, not only would he be unnerved by his useless rambling, but everyone else too, and that wouldn't be helpful for them. Even so, all of his theories went directly down the toilet when Yoshida seemed to be aching of something.

After hearing how nonexistant their opportunities of surviving were and watching the same girl who practically called him self-centered and selfish, run out the front doorin a selfish attempt to save her own life, Aito smiled nervously. "And here I though I WAS the selfish one." He was relieved to see the thing go after her. It seems that yet another girl decided to take one for the team. Even so, she was valuable, being the only one with some kind of idea regarding this world, it seemed wrong to just let her die, since her death, meant their death. Or at least, less chances of surviving. Had the ghostly boy just gone there to kill Yoshida Shizune, or at the very least, to separete her from the others? Sure seemed so, since he ran after her when she left. Maybe the world was alive and trying to kill them? Yeah, right, some crazy theory he formulated there. Even so, it wasn't something completely impossible, so he didn't cross it out as useless for now.

When people started talking about going after Shizune and whatnot, Aito wanted to speak up, but he too wanted to go search for her. Without her, their information on this world would be limited, and thus, the probability of dying increased at least twice. Even so, Shizune didn't seem to know anything about the boy, so maybe that meant that the world was in constant evolution, searching for something to hurt every and each one of them? As more and more questions popped in Aito's head, the president of the P.O.I.R also decided to head out, but she went in the opposite direction Shizune took. "Great, just great, I really think I said that we shouldn't split up, but no one ever listens to me! God...." He quickly balanced things out in his head. Which would be the best course of action? Going after Shizune or after Shiori? A 'rescue team' for Shizune had already been formed, with the remaining girls following after her. That left him and Tsubasa. 'Oh, god. Akane went with them, didn't she?' He felt a chill go down his spine. But wait, this wasn't the time to be fearful, this time his life was on the line. Either he kept his fear at bay, or he will end up dead. He shook his head and finished his thinking on the situation. Right now, Shiori was all alone, and he already that the less people together, the less chances they'll have to survive.

He went to the door too and before leaving, he turned to see Tsubasa. "Look, we have to go after the president. We need to ensure that we lose no more people, or the next ones to die will be us. Are you going to come or not, Hazama?" He didn't even let him answer, he dashed out of the classroom, aiming to reach Shiori as soon as he could. "President...! Mizuhana! Wait for me!" He shouted as he ran down the hallway. "If you go alone, you'll end up dead! And by consequence, many more of us will! Our strength is in numbers right now!" He was trying to reason with her, but he was also trying to block the voices coming from the hallway. They were scary. He was scared. But what else could he do? Lay down and die wasn't an option.

[TheWendil]

"That's right....just a...few more...."

Shizune willed herself to glare up at the childish monstrosity that now stood above her. Its blank eyes held no emotion, its jaws now extended to an inhuman degree. The pain was unbearable now, and Shizune had to hold back another gag. Now she knew. Now it became obvious. This...this thing had only one purpose. Why else did it have this effect on only her?

It was meant to silence her. To make sure the others had no chance. How cruel this world really was. Always learning...

Gritting her teeth, Shizune pounced forward and landed on the child in one quick leap. The monster didn't even flinch, instead continuing to direct its soundless wail straight at her.

"Shut up!"

Bringing her hand down, she clawed at the boy's horrible face, splattering spittle and a black substance to the side. The creature instantly snapped its head back in place, the intensity of its scream increasing by the second. "Shut up!" Another swipe to the face. Again, the same result.

The pain, the atmosphere, the sheer frustration of it all was enough to make Shizune lose it. She began to rapidly swipe now, losing all sense of direction or will.

"I said shut up already! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"

The room became silent, filled only by Shizune's bouts of rage and the soft noise of cold flesh being torn and hacked at. At last though, the boy finally became still once more, its sightless eyes staring up and unmoving at its murderer. Shuddering, Shizune rolled herself off the damned thing, standing up....only to retch again to the side.

The pain...still? The crimson steam stung her throat as it splashed on the grimy floor.

Snarling, she whirled around and tore at the grey flesh of the boy's throat in one strike, cleaving it from the rest of his body. The head rolled to the side, disappearing into the darkness of the low light. Lost forever. Panting and coughing, Shizune bent down on her knees to examine the monster closely.

She...she needed to...it didn't matter in the end..that thing succeeded in its twisted goal. One final retch and she had completely emptied all the contents of her stomach next to her. This wasn't good. She was convinced this thing was only after now more than ever.

It wouldn't be long...she had to....bending down at the stump of a neck. Shizune began to sniff the oily black substance that was oozing out of the wound...only to hiss back in disgust. There was no telling what the hell it was, but she just couldn't...then that meant....

Her eyes narrowed into a feral state, and she brought her knees up to her chest. Her body shook violently, only being calmed by the sound of footsteps and voices approaching her. The others? Those idiots! Why would they....well, maybe this was a good thing. Any longer, and she might have lost herself fully.

Hearing the steps get closer now, she looked up and fixed an animal-like stare at the entrance. She would get it...she needed it..whether they gave it willingly didn't matter. She would not die here. Not now. She would take it by force if she had to.

Fight or flight....she was ready to bear her fangs if it came to that. Red eyes just faintly glowing in the dark, she began to scratch at the floor again impatiently.

She needed it....or she'd lose her control...

As Shiori made her way down the other hallway, the voices were still rampant. They were everywhere, echoing down the halls, making it impossible to think straight. As if that weren't enough, Shiori would soon find her path to be blocked by a giant mirror, one that took up the entire entrance to...a room where the horrid voices were radiating from.

A clear and polished mirror, as if brand new....

[UnendingEmpire]

Reiko still didn't like this. Not the part that she was saving somebody, that was fine by her. No, what she didn't like was how this hallway was so quiet. Reiko never was one to enjoy silence. Checking to ensure that the kendo club girl was still behind her, Reiko spoke up with new orders for the girl. "I don't know what this kid monster is capable of. Seems like Yoshida doesn't know, either. We're at a total disadvantage; we don't even know what we're really up against. So let's get one thing clear." To make her point, Reiko stopped walking, and turned around to directly face her fellow club member. "I'm the president of your club. As a result, even though I usually fail to notice when I have to, it's part of my job as club president to make sure the members of the kendo club are all okay. Yoshida said we have no chance of surviving this hellhole, but even if I slack off a lot, I'm going to be a club president the right way. So if I say to run, you run."

Reiko even flinched for a moment after saying that. Probably the realization that this person's life - at least for now - was in her hands. It was a lot more responsibility than being a club president. But she planned to hold up to it. "Got that? If I tell you to run away and leave me for dead, I expect your back to be the last thing I ever see. I'm not letting somebody in my club die on my watch. If we have no chance of making it out of here, I want to at least go down as a good club president. Take a moment and think about that. If you don't think you can leave me for dead when I say so, speak up right now. And I mean right now."

[Xaltwind]

Unfortunately for Aito Shiba, all his yelling fell on deaf ears. Shiori was a ways ahead of him and where she was at the time when he started screaming, the voices from beyond the corridor were so loud and obnoxious that she became deaf to all other sounds. In fact, you could have probably dropped a piano straight next to her, and she wouldn't have been able to hear it - that's how loud and intense these shouting children and their plaintive cries were. Still, when the giant mirror which blocked the entire path ahead, made itself apparent, Shiori stopped dead in her tracks and simply stared at it.

She raised her gloved hand to her chin and stood there, amidst the shrieks of terror, staring at the polished surface. It was horribly out of place - compared to the sbuilding interior around them, which was crumbling, dusty and dirty, this mirror on the other hand was pristine and well cared for, almost as if straight out of a plastic wrapper. To say it was suspicious would be an understatement, and for that reason the POIR Preesident keppt some distance between herself and the reflective surface that blocked her path. Still, something odd began to happen as she stood there and looked into it. Her own reflection slowly faded away, and was instead replaced by another... No, two others' visage.

"... Impossible." She stared, dumbfounded and surprised.

In the mirror, the two figures that had taken her place, were her parents. Her father, Keita and her mother Honoka. They were standing there, in the reflective mirrored world, crying and calling. She couldn't hear what they were yelling, but she could see their lips move and tears stream down their eyes. Her mother was cupping her hands infront of her mouth, as if trying to hold back a choking sob and her father was vigorously yelling with all of his might - that's what it looked like.

"... I'm... here..." She said to nobody in particular, perhaps to the two in the mirror? But due to the sries from beyond said thing, nobody could likely hear it.

She took a step closer. It was hert-wrenching and horrible to see her parents like this. Were they crying for her? Because she was gone? She stepped closer. Don't cry. I'm right here. The thoughts repeated in her head, and she stepped closer again... And then again... And again. She was now almost right up at the mirror, so close she could just reach out and touch it.

But she stopped.

And then she smiled, while hear head slumped and a shadow came across her eyes.

"... Such an obvious lie." She almost laughed the words. "There's no way my parents would show such pathetic faces!" She told the mirror with an uncharacteristically loud voice.

As she told the mirror this, the visions of her parents faded - as if ripples on a lake that dispersed into nothing - and were instead replaced by several, ethereal and see-through hands coming straight for her, right out of the mirror! Shiori gasped in surprise and she stumbled backwards, caught off-guard by the sudden attack. Although three of the hands missed, the fourth one grabed hold off her necktie! The red fabric became taut and was yanked back towards the mirror, the other hands quickly groping and latching onto it as well!

Snip.

"Ungh...! Heh, too bad." The president let out a strained gasp of air and a defiant chuckle as she fell back on her butt, while the hands flew back into the mirror with her necktie. "If that'd been a real tie, you might've strangled and gotten me. But all schools use the snap-on, velcro ties for just thesee sorts of occasions."

The hands retreated back into the mirror with her tie, flailing it wildly and ripping at it greedily. And then, just as soon as they had appeared, once they were back in the mirror, they vanished - completely, as if they'd never been there to begin with. The president sat there on the dirty floor for a bit, breathing quick, short breaths - startled and unsettled. Just what would have happened if those things had actually gotten hold off her? Would they have strangled her? Would they have smashed her into the mirror? Would they have pulled her into the mirror, like with her tie? She shivered at the possibilities.

But one thing was for certain; Staying away from polished surfaces in the future was a good way to keep from being grabbed by surprise. A valuable bit of information no doubt!

Standing back up, she dusted her miniskirt off and looked around, only just now noticing the figure of her club-member and classmate come running down the hall. As he approached, she had a scowl on her face and a hard, icey glare. However, she did not attempt to shout or talk - the overwhelming noise from the cries beyond the mirror made any attempt at vocal communication impossible. Either body-language or written messages would have to be used if you wanted to say anything here.

.... And for that same reason, Shiori reached into her purse and withdrew a notepad and a pen. She also made sure to back away further from the mirror. For while it seemed that the ghostly hands could only reach as far as a grown man's arm-length, it would be silly to take unnecessary risks.

[Skyswimsky]

Luckily for her, as they walked down the hallway the voices became gradually weaker and weaker to the point there could be discarded as ambience. Since both of them were rather silent, Shinobu used this time to think deeply about their situation, silently murmuring her thoughts out aloud the girl made actually quite a lot of video game references and possibilities to herself, nothing that Reiko seemed to care about though.

However, as they suddenly came to a halt Shinobi nearly crashed into the other girl, luckily she could stop herself. Listening to the Shinai wearing girls request the green haired girl urged to move on (by simply, and slowly, continuing to walk) while answering. "No way I would abandon anyone, we gonna survive this, i'd rather have a bad living Senpai than a good dead one! Despite, being alone decreases the survival-chance from zero to impossible!" Saying that Shinobu added a. "Oohh, look!" Pointing towards a door that was finally coming into sight-view.

[UnendingEmpire]

"No way I would abandon anyone, we gonna survive this, i'd rather have a bad living Senpai than a good dead one! Despite, being alone decreases the survival-chance from zero to impossible!"

"Then you'd better not die," Reiko replied, picking up her pace to put herself in front of the muffler girl again. Reiko wasn't about to let herself be held responsible for a human being's death. Sure, she'd had her fair share of beating the hell out of people, but never did she actually kill someone. Somebody taking a beating and somebody dying were two entirely different things. If Reiko didn't know that already, yesterday would have taught her quite well. Then the girl pointed out a door that was drawing near. No doubt Yoshida and her assailant were behind it. She didn't hear anything on the other side, but that didn't surprise her. The only one who had seemed to hear the kid-monster before was Yoshida. Still, this was it. Behind here.

"Don't die," Reiko repeated. Setting her hand on the doorknob and hesitating for merely a moment, Reiko turned it and pushed the door open. At least now she knew why she couldn't hear the kid-monster now, even if she couldn't before. Seemed that Yoshida was able to take it down on her own, but she didn't look to be in good shape. Keeping her shinai in her hands just to be sure, Reiko looked right at Yoshida. "You alright?"

[TheWendil]

If Shizune heard Reiko's voice, she didn't show any signs of it. She continued to stare at the doorway, red eyes shining with need and want. They were just moving shapes to her now...pulsing...beating...flowing...too much...it was too much...too much!

With an inhuman shriek, Shizune leapt up onto all fours and launched herself at the nearest body, landing on top of them. Pinning the struggling form down with her weight alone, she reared back her head to strike.

It shined brightly in the low light, gleaming in an unnatural tint. Everyone had seen it as clear as day. Just as they were about to witness the death of another.

Fangs.

Shizune bit down on the neck, her teeth penetrating the flesh to rip a new opening. Then she drank her fill. The one underneath her let out choked garbles as they struggled in vain to escape. Struggles that soon became weaker and weaker as the life continued to be drained out of them.

It was over in mere seconds.

Gasping, Shizune separated her grip and rolled off the form, panting and coughing violently, taking the time to wipe spare droplets of blood off of her lips. Sitting up, she began to recognize her surroundings once more as her vision cleared up. Shinobu....Reiko....and...

Cold fear shot through her spine, and Shizune turned to look at the body before her. Lifeless. Limp. Dead. "No.....no, no, no, no!" Shizune backed off, trying to put as much distance between her and the new corpse. She looked at Reiko, the only one with a weapon, with scared eyes. She had seen it all.

"I...I-I didn't mean to...I only wanted enough for...no...I didn't w-want to..."

Whatever confidence Shizune had prior was shattered now as a new form of trembling overtook her. Shiori....where was Shiori...she would understand...she had to!

And that's when she finally noticed it. The screams of the children had ceased into nothingness. As if sated that blood had finally been drawn. The first real kill. Dealt by Shizune herself.

"K...K-K....Kabetake!"

[UnendingEmpire]

It was all too fast. Big surprise there. Ever since she'd gotten here, Reiko felt like everything was somehow faster than her. But that was just the beginning. That didn't begin to describe what was happening in front of her. The sights. The sounds. That girl whose name she didn't even know, having her throat ripped open and dying from blood loss. Yoshida, who did it to begin with. Miss "Keep Everyone Alive" had just killed this person, when she herself was the one trying to protect everyone. Reiko didn't even know the girl's name. Between yesterday and earlier today, Reiko had seen some shit. But this? But this? If the expression on Reiko's face was any indicator, she wasn't about to let this slide. Reiko's expression looked as though she could literally begin spewing flames any moment. The rapid twitching of her arms didn't make her look any calmer.

"No.....no, no, no, no!"

"Y-Y...You..." She could feel her heart pounding. Slamming, more like. It felt as though it could burst out of her chest and self-destruct at any moment. Staring Yoshida down, Reiko couldn't even get her words straight. She couldn't even straighten out her thoughts. She was having a difficult time pinpointing just how she felt right now. Was she angry? Sad? Grieving? All three? Whatever she was, Reiko and anybody who could have seen her would know right away that whatever feelings were coursing through her, they weren't good ones. Bursting forth with the words as though they were flames, Reiko finally shouted "You killed her!" Now she was talking. Now she was at least able to recognize part of what she was feeling. That all-too-familiar rush of adrenaline. It only intensified her rage. Setting her shinai down - or rather, violently throwing it past Yoshida - Reiko began approaching the girl and the corpse, making extra certain to crack every knuckle she had.

"You'd better thank your lucky stars that shinai ain't actually a katana," Reiko started. Each word packed intensity, each syllable almost tangibly venomous. "If it were, I'd have loved to end your miserable existence. That'd be a fair punishment, right? For a murderer like you?" At this point, Reiko was standing directly over Yoshida. "Get up. On your feet, worm. You just ripped open the throat of a living, breathing human being, and drank their blood like some kind of monster."

"I...I-I didn't mean to...I only wanted enough for...no...I didn't w-want to..."

"No excuses!" Gripping the sides of the doorway to cut off Yoshida's exit tight enough for her knuckles to go white, Reiko continued "You're not going anywhere until you tell me everything I could ever want to know about this hellhole. And I. Mean. Everything." Not moving an inch, Reiko finished "Well? Out with it. Or you could always just kill me, too. Since for someone concerned with protecting us, you take so much care to not rip our throats open when we're trying to rescue you."

[Jedly]

Before the Loss of Light:

The dismissal bell rang throughout the halls of the school, signaling the end of the day. The teacher quickly finished up with his lesson and shouted a reminder at his pupils to finish their homework. Kaku slumped over in his seat and rested on his elbow, staring blankly at the reality beyond the windows. Students were either making their way home or rushing to club meetings. Those who were leaving for their abodes either traveled alone or in small groups, conversing about their school day or other boring subjects. People who were committed to a sport jogged around the grounds with their teammates, reciting motivational songs and cheers to pass the time. The sun glowed orange in the sky, behind it was a canvas of mixed bright colors and smudges of gray. Yet another ordinary day came to a close, nothing notable by Kaku’s standards had occurred today.

The headphones which sat firmly on his scalp blared music into his ears. Recently, he has developed an addiction for OSTs, mostly from animes forced upon him by a certain fellow club member. Within the POIR, Kaku was more of an assistant than a researcher. He never had the initiative to pursue his own subject, instead, he lends a helping hand as an analyst. Speaking of the club, somebody in the congregation wanted him to take notes on a certain entity, but he was unable to remember what the name of it was. Kaku made a shrug at the thought and let out a loud yawn. By this point, his classmates had vacated the room, so there was no need to excuse himself for making such a gesture. Was this how he would continue his last year of high school? Gazing at the setting sun, contemplating his current social standings and his future.

After twenty more minutes passed, the boy decided to rise from his seat and proceed to the club room. Waiting for him was a comfortable couch and a coffee machine, along with a handful of lively students, who were deeply enthralled by their studies. He stopped the music and slid the headphones around his neck, then grabbed his carrier bag. As he was about to depart, the ground began to shake erratically. Realization slowly came over him, his eyes widened as the earthquake continued on with its destructive shakes. Kaku lost his footing and stumbled forward, catching himself with his hands. The lights flickered and turned off, the illumination matched that of outside. Screams of panic echoed from outside, he was able to hear car horns from the local town. Kaku leaned on his side, hoping the floor wouldn’t give way beneath him. ”Can’t make my way to the club room now. The city must be hell at the moment.” Suddenly, the sounds and the shaking came to a complete stop. It was utter silence, everything had come to a halt. Then, almost instantly, darkness engulfed the school, disrupting any travel of light to the ground. He was unable to see even a centimeter ahead of him, though his eyes were still wide open. While attempting to get up, a sudden wave of nausea came over him. Kaku was sprawled out on the floor, lost in a deep sleep.

Day 1:

”Man, I feel like shit. What happened?” Kaku muttered as he regained consciousness. The massive headache and sore body wasn’t helping to relieve the pain. As he slowly regained his senses, he noticed his right hand was in a liquid. It was sticky, almost a paste, and it reeked of iron. His eyes opened a sliver to see what exactly was covering his hand. What he saw was an unnerving sight. The substance was a hue of dark red on the verge of black, a puddle of it laid before Kaku. As he got a better look of the situation, it turned out his whole entire arm was doused in the stuff. His eyes widened as he realized what he was partially covered in. ”Blood?!” He quickly shot up out of surprise and slammed his head into the bottom of a desk. He felt a numbing pain course through his spine, but too much adrenaline through his veins for it to hurt that much. His fingers fumbled while trying to undo the buttons, as his mind wasn’t in the calmest state at the moment. The second the last button was undone, the student threw his overly expensive jacket across the room, blood splattered on its impact. ”What the he-”

An attempt at a sentence was cut off as light of the same color poured through the window. Only now was the student able to visually intake the current state of the room. A mixture of dust, grime and blood coated the walls and window sills. The desks had been turned over, and looked like they hadn’t been used in ages, as the wood which made them up was now rotting. A glance at the outside confused the student even more. The sky lacked a sun, in its place was an endless plain of butts. No longer was an urban terrain in front of the school, now the whole entire establishment was surrounded by a forest. He was unable to put together an explanation with the facts he had written down in his mind. All he could muster was curses under his breath, resting his head in his clean hand. After a few minutes of silence, Kaku was able to compose an acceptable facade. Whatever he was in, it was definitely not a lucid dream, it was too realistic to be a creation of his imagination. There would be no waking up from this nightmare.

As first order of business, Kaku decided to make his way to the bathroom. He stepped out into the hallway, which was even darker than the barely illuminated classroom. While using his phone as a light, he proceeded towards the bathroom. ”I hope I am the only one in this hellhole. I wouldn’t want for any of the others to get stuck in here. Not even any of the students I despise deserve to be thrown into this prison.” Kaku shined his light on the blue symbol, representing a male individual. The student proceeded into the bathroom and sprinted to the sinks. After propping up his phone to focus the light on the mirror, he placed his hand on the nozzle. As Kaku turned it, a sigh of relief escaped his mouth as clean water flowed from the sink. A nice twist would be that the liquid would be mixed with gasoline, making it a constant combustible source. Fortunately, Kaku did not smell anything of the sort originating from the faucet. When he finished drying off his hand, something caught bright caught his eye. Sticking out of the mirror was a group of perfectly white teeth, pristine enough to reflect the light from his phone. A black mist seeped from the crevices between each tooth, the glass was perfectly molded around the grouping. The congregation of teeth turned into the grin, moving the glass with it. Kaku couldn’t even comprehend how many laws of physics these dental masterpieces had just broke. The student took a step back, completely speechless. More groups of teeth slowly phased out of the glass, just barely poking from the surface. Faceless grins covered the mirror, the fog oozed from the cracks and traveled to a space in the middle of the pane. The final product was a vague phrase; Your friends will be tasty The student grabbed his phone and retreated from the room, as he had no intentions of sticking around. ”NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE” Kaku shouted as he ran as fast as he could from the whole entire area.

”That confirms my suspicions, the others are here. I’m useless on my own. I wonder how they have been. How long have I been asleep?” Every question he asked himself split off into their own subcategories, and continued on from there. Out of all of it, he was only able to audibly muster one phrase; “Wait. What the legitimate fuck is happening?” The query was simple and straight to the point. Kaku continued down the hallway, listening to his footsteps echo repeatedly. A sudden scream from down the hall broke the silence, followed by the shrill cries of what sounded like toddlers. He threw his headphones on and heavily press onto them in an attempt to reduce the sound. With his eyes barely open, the student sprinted down the hall, until he slammed face first into a surface, stopping his blind assault. As his eyes shot upon, an appendage flew at him, causing him to jump back a meter. Once he was out of the range, he shined his light on the source of the hand. Kaku was facing a mirror, which reflected an image of him sitting on his rear next to another person. She would almost be as tall as Kaku if he was standing up. He nearly labled it as another hostile entity, until he noticed the distinguishable violet-white hair. Shiori was known for staying calm and collected, even now she was taking notes of the extraordinary mirror. He let out a sigh and looked up at the fellow human being; ”Pres? Even though I wouldn’t have been able to hear any of your warnings over my frantic shouting, you could’ve at least stiff armed me." He spoke in short phrases, trying to get out as many words with each miniscule breath. "I’m sure you have a better understanding of what is going on than me.” Kaku tried to moderate his breath, as he was worn out from the running. Another male voice echoed throughout the halls, the contents of his words sounded similar to whatever Kaku was just spewing. ”...And there’s Aito-san.”