Chapter Text
Everything was spinning, and not in a fun way. Your thoughts were muffled, as though someone had placed a layer of film over them. It was difficult to establish what was real and what were the fuzzy afterimages of a dream you couldn't quite remember as you opened your eyes. Reaching out to stretch your sore limbs, your hand struck metal painfully. You flinched back to cradle the injured arm, feeling the swelling of a bruise pulsating with pain. Tentatively, you reached your hand once more, finding the cold metal walls of an unforgiving prison.
It was dim, aside from the wayward rays that peeked in through tiny slats at the top of the box as you looked around the limited space, scrambling to your feet, using the walls as a crutch. After assessing the damage to your hand - hitting metal had hurt, but nothing seemed broken - you pushed against the metal once more. It gave little resistance, swinging open with a creak to reveal a place you had no recollection of. Blinking away spots of dizziness to adjust to the new light level, a classroom lay spread out before you.
You had emerged from the clutches of a locker, dingy blue and tinged with flakes of rust - this place was abandoned. Vines crept along the walls and ceiling, overgrown with tiny blooming flowers, white and pink. Chairs and tables stood in orderly rows facing a projector, emanating electric blue light and wavering with a static hum. There was nothing displayed despite the screen being left on. Beneath rows of assorted pipes, a monitor had been nestled into the wall, mismatching speakers attached haphazardly to the sides. Was the technology here postmodern or retro? It was hard to tell. Casting a glance to the windows was of no reassurance, as thick crimson chains boarded them up. Spikes had been affixed to them, serrated edges gleaming in the light.
A wave of anxiety washed over you - just where was this place? You were alone in an undisclosed location, unable to remember how you had gotten here. Who had taken you? Why had they brought you to an abandoned classroom, and why couldn't you remember anything? It was like someone had rubbed away your memories, leaving images you couldn't decipher.
You had been kidnapped; It was the only thing that made the gaps make sense.
Half-falling, half-sliding onto the floor, it was hard to breathe as you gasped for air, head swimming from lack of oxygen. It was warm - too warm. You tugged at the blazer around your shoulders, numb hands brushing over smooth plastic buttons and the item of clothing lay at your feet, discarded onto the floor.
You could feel each sense shutting down. Tears slid down your cheeks freely, you needed to get out of here, leave. But you couldn't, the grip of fear submerging you under, drowning, never to reach the surface again. You were underwater, no one to save you, no friends to cling onto. Your vision clouded in a salty waterfall and you closed your eyes painfully, A prickle of helplessness strung you up, clawing and tearing at any semblance of reality like a knife in an open wound. There was a horrible thudding of your heartbeat as blood rushed through your ears and the taste of copper on your tongue as you bit your lip, viscous and thick and overwhelming.
It was irrational; Freezing up wouldn't solve anything. Perhaps that knowledge made it worse, that you could do something if you were actually intelligent. Someone smarter, better would be able to just pick themselves up and explore, not throw themselves to the ground like a wounded animal, pleading and begging for help. You had no idea how long you sat there, trembling and alone, hands picking at cracks and flaws in the pavement and helplessly yanking out patches of vibrant green grass to ground yourself. Pain bloomed in your hand as nails dug into skin, desperate to feel something.
Someone screamed. It wasn't you. A thud resounded throughout the room and you whipped around to find the source, only to be met with a sob.
"Someone help, please!"
Ignoring the pins and needles in your legs, you stumbled to your feet, forcing the words out. "Hey... Hey, it's okay, I'm here! You're stuck inside a locker!"
"A-A locker!?" echoed the petrified voice, high pitched and feminine.
"Yeah..." you trailed off, gingerly knocking on the front. "U-Umm. If you push against it here, it opens pretty easy. Just be careful not to fall."
There was a nervous 'okay', then the creak of metal as the door shuddered open painfully. Limping over to one of the desks to support her trembling body was a girl - you were about the same age, you noted distantly - dressed in a sailor style school uniform. Long teal-blue hair cascaded down to her knees, tussled from the stress of being stuffed in an enclosed space. Framing her face were round, rimless glasses she took off as she rubbed at her temples to relieve the pressure. The knee-length skirt she was wearing was crinkled from where she had been pulling at it.
Both of you stood there in tentative silence, unable to break the awkward atmosphere as you openly gawked at each other. You internally cringed - this was weird.
She cleared her throat, sniffling and wiping her eyes with her sleeve where she had been crying. "Thanks for that. If- If you weren't here, I might have been trapped in there for a while... Umm... Where are we? Who are you? Did you bring me here!? Wait, are you okay? You look as though you've been crying."
Oh wow, she had a lot of questions that you couldn't answer. You were too tired, the remnants of anxiety crawling down your skin and dried tear tracks that clung to you uncomfortably. This whole ordeal had taken more out of you than you thought and it hadn't even started yet - you'd barely stepped a foot into the woods.
"Umm, sorry, can't answer all your questions. I'm the same as you, woke up in that locker over there. As for the other stuff... I don't know where we are, looks like a school - but I promise I didn't bring you here. I think we've been kidnapped."
"That's right!" she corroborated. "I remember now. There were those agents, in the black suits, they surrounded me and must've knocked me out..."
Now that you thought about it, that scene seemed awfully familiar. Walking to school early with the eerie sensation of being watched, but ignoring it and going about your day. The carefully calculated foot stuck out to make you trip. Agents surrounding you as you clawed desperately at the arm wrapped around your neck, nails finding purchase on nothing but velvet. The last thing you remembered before blacking out was being stuffed unceremoniously into a car, thrown into the back haphazardly onto the leather seats and screaming for help as other people, normal like you, ignored the commotion.
You held a hand put towards the girl, who took it, grasping onto you with both of her own as though you had just handed her a lifeline. "Well, I don't know what happened to us, but.." you introduced yourself.
"I'm Tsumugi Shirogane, and I'm sorry... I shouldn't have expected you to know everything, we're both just students." She shook your hand hesitantly as she spoke, pulling away when the touch began to linger.
"Yeah, it's weird..." you trailed off. Tsumugi stared in confusion. "Us just being students, I mean. Why would these people, who seem to have a lot of resources if they can put us in a classroom like this, kidnap two normal students?"
"It's just plain ominous, like we've been spirited away to another dimension..."
You raised an eyebrow at the turn of phrase. "I-I really don't think that's what happened. Maybe there are other people here?"
"Hmm... Could be. Oh, are you carrying anything?" she asked, turning the pockets of her dress inside out as she spoke, as if searching for something.
"Huh?"
"I just thought that we'd find something our kidnappers missed." Tsumugi mused.
You hummed thoughtfully, leaning down to pick up the discarded blazer. There didn't seem to be much in the outside pockets- fingers finding nothing but empty grey fabric where the seams knit together. Inspecting the inside pockets, your hand wrapped around something rectangular with smoothed out edges. It took a moment but once you retrieved the item, you immediately recognised it. One of your lockpicks, in all its chipped black plastic glory. Once upon a time, it had a sleek design, the brand name etched out in bright white, a jackknife design; With years of various types of damage from the weather and your own fumbles, the text had peeled away, leaving little flecks and chips that you mindlessly thumbed over.
Flicking it open thoughtfully, you noted the different picks were still there. Good, you thought. At least I still have one of my possessions.
"It's not much, but I have this," you said, showcasing the tool before pocketing it once more. Tsumugi's hopeful expression soured into a neutral frown as she stared down at it. Perhaps she'd thought better of you. "Before we go, maybe we should look around this classroom. This place seems abandoned, but we could find something useful."
"Like finding a chest behind a waterfall!"
With that... Creative comment, the two of you began your search. You leafed over musty old textbooks, examined old posters that were tattered, greyed with time. Even tapping at the blackboard resulted in no response, only a flicker of electric blue light. In the corner of your eye, you spotted your companion examining desks and chairs, pattering over to the windows to peer through the glass, misty with condensation. She sighed and hopped onto one of the desks as you finished your search, sitting adjacent to her as the two of you attempted to decipher the meaning of the dilapidated room.
"There wasn't anything on the chairs and desks," Tsumugi began, frowning as she circled a lock of hair around her finger. "You can't see through the windows either, they're too smudged and the vines are covering the edges..."
"Nothing in the books, either. Everything seems old, those books must've been left out for weeks. I'm starting to think this place is abandoned."
Tsumugi looked absolutely crestfallen at the idea, eyebrows pulled together in fear. "W-Well, there's got to be some evidence that there's people here!"
Contemplatively, you ran a finger on the wooden surface of the desks. The surface was smooth, clean of blemish. Someone had meticulously pieced together this classroom, putting desks and chairs into neat little rows, divided neatly down the middle. But why? Why go to all the trouble of a kidnapping, only to abandon the very people that had been taken. An inkling of thought rushed to you; What if something had gone wrong, terribly wrong during your kidnapping and now you were stuck here?
You stared at the finger that came away clean gloomily.
Wait a moment...
"Tsumugi, we're not alone... The desks are clean!" you scrambled over the words you wanted to say, a wave of shame following your outburst. Your ideas always sounded worse when they were expressed in words. "Uhh, sorry. I meant that the desks don't have any dust on them, cause there'd be a ton of it if this place was left alone. Plus, if this place has been left, why would the electricity still be on? The lights and even the whiteboard - they should be off."
She followed your actions, swiping her hand over another desk and gasping when it came away completely clean. "You're right! How strange."
"And if this place hasn't been left, then there has to be people around here!"
"Does that mean we might find someone to help us?" she asked, expression hopeful.
"Maybe. But it's better than waiting for someone to come to us."
With a surprisingly steady hand, Tsumugi cracked open the door a sliver and two of you cautiously peered out, unsure of what to expect. It was eerily silent, aside from the distant rhythmic thud of machinery. To the left lay a set of stairs heading downwards, painted gaudy pink, dotted with pastel purple spots. The flowers continued their out of control infection through the hall, grass growing in patches where the concrete ground split and mechanical pipes ran alongside vines thicker than veins. Installed next to the door was a sign illuminated in blue, the word 'CLASSROOM' in a chunky blue font that blinked in and out of existence.
The next thing you saw made you grab onto your companion's arm and yank her back into the classroom, covering her mouth with a hand so that she wouldn't shriek and reveal your position. A hulking machine, tall, taller than any human. Patrolling the centre of the courtyard with its back turned away, you could see the bipedal creature's thick metal plating for armour, a chipped and weary shade of pink. Long black iwires nterconnected each segment, knit together in an abominable caricature of muscular figure. Worst of all, as it went to turn, you saw its eyes. Underneath the hooded plating were half a dozen pinpricks of red light, beady and dangerous as they scoured the open space.
Terror spiked in your gut as you relinquished your hold on Tsumugi, who was trembling in fear.
"What the heck was that thing!?" she whispered incredulously.
"I-I don't know!" you hissed back, feeling every sense heighten as adrenaline kicked in. "We... We need to get past that thing. Heading down won't help, we're on the ground floor."
"You saw how big it was... No way we can force ourselves past that thing."
The odds were impossible; Two high school students, armed with nothing but their own wits and determination? You weren't irrational enough to think that blazing a trail through those things would be easy. There had to be another solution. Much to the chagrin of your companion who played with the ends of the ribbon around her neck, you dared a glance through the door once more. Although you were sweating and jittery, you could make out the framework of the room. The centre where the machine prowled was split into three, with two symmetrical side entrances adjourned by bars equidistant to one another.
"Hey, I have an idea. We don't have to force ourselves through it if we sneak around, take the side passage while it's not looking." you looked at Tsumugi, finding nothing but hesitance and fear. She looked just as scared as you felt, pupils blown wide at the suggestion. Gently, you took her hand, clammy with sweat and shaking. "C'mon, we can do it together. We're both scared, but standing here might be worse... We've got each other, okay?"
She nodded, resolve steeled by your encouragement, squeezing your hand as you trudged back over to the door. "Right. What's the worst thing that could happen?"
The worst thing possible happened.
Everything had been going just right. You'd crept around the side passage, Tsumugi trailing behind you in a surprisingly decent attempt at being quiet - she was treading carefully in her grey loafers as to not disturb the granite that decorated the floors. The machine ahead seemed rather preoccupied watching over a door barred with a metal lock. Although you were curious about what lay beyond, it was better to look around without drawing attention before making any drastic moves. The fear was palpable on your tongue as you tip-toed closer to the machine, thick and heavy like lead.
You froze as it slowly turned, fear turning the blood in your veins to ice. It was going to see you paralysed, unable to move, unable to think. Each red eye was going to zero in, track you down until you were forced to do whatever those mysterious kidnappers wanted you to do. You had almost reached the end, been so close to freedom and now it was going to be torn away from you by your own incapability. Then. A hand clasped over your own, pulling you towards a subsection of wall that obscured you from line of sight. Giving her a thankful nod as it turned back, she smiled back and the two of you continued.
Stepping into the pathway was simple enough once you were sure the guard was looking the other way, over clumps of moss and unruly grass, almost colliding into another one of those machines.
A scream ripped from your throat as you stumbled backward, crashing into Tsumugi as she grabbed your shoulders. She tugged you by the arm, encouraging you to run. Blood rushed through your ears, heart pounding. The two of you dashed in a different direction, stumbling over flora and wayward vegetation as two pairs of shoes slammed over pavement. You could hear shrill metal scraping against the roof as the mysterious machine pursued, hot on your heels. Chancing a glance behind had you flinging yourself to the side desperately as two metal arms swiped in your direction, missing your head by a thread. The disturbed air felt warm and heavy - that immense strength could have killed in a single blow, knocking you to the ground and splitting your skull on the pavement.
"This way!" called the girl in front of you, making for an open door with metal bars. The twists and turns were dizzying, bringing another fresh wave of pain at the back of your skull as the two of you rushed recklessly through the long corridor, leaping over murky puddles and trampling loose rubble from shattered concrete. Your legs thrummed with pain as you turned a final corner, desperate to escape a merciless death at the hand of a giant metal robot.
Seeing as the ceiling here hugged closer, your pursuer couldn't reach you. It turned, content with marching off now that it had chased you sufficiently. Well, you certainly weren't going to waste the chance to peruse a new area of the school uninterrupted. Cautiously, you meandered over to another door, with a 'GYM' sign to match. What was with this place and ostentatious signs next to closed doors? Ignoring the seed of worry festering in the back of your mind, you swung the door open.
The gym was populated with more foliage than the previous rooms, little daisies in a mini-meadow sheltered beneath the shade of a looming tree, tall as the windows that had been shut out by red curtains. One of the conspicuous monitors had been installed to the side of the stage, the back half covered by a thick black curtain. Instead of natural light, the illumination from the room came from various stage lights, glaringly bright. Tsumugi collapsed to her knees as the two of you stumbled through the doors, falling onto the wooden floor with a harsh thud.
"You okay over there?" came a relaxed voice.
Oh. There were other people here. You had been ignoring that.
Seven students dotted the gym, wearing various looks of apprehension as they stared at you. All dressed in various school uniforms, there didn't seem to be a pattern among who had been taken or even why. You stood helpless - what were you supposed to say? Nice to meet you, how was the abduction? Did you almost get your heads removed as well?
"Oh, umm, me?" Tsumugi asked between breaths as she dusted off her skirt, standing up with a hand from you. She shot you a grateful look and you returned it with a forced smile. "I'm fine, just plain exhausted after running from those... Things."
"You two were chased by those fuckers as well!?" demanded a girl with strawberry blonde hair, pointing an accusatory finger at the both of you.
"Yeah. We nearly died..." she returned.
The same voice spoke up from before and you finally put a face to it. A boy with green hair and a stripy orange-red tie that had been loosened to hang loosely around his shoulders. He raised two hands towards you both amicably, severing the tension that had been spreading like poison. "Then it looks like everyone's in the same boat. But hey, don't worry about that now."
"Don't worry about it?" you questioned. Did he know something that the others didn't? He was remarkably calm compared to everyone else, expression not betraying the slightest hint of hesitance; Even the people who kept distant were creased with worry and anxiety as their gazes flickered around the gym, highly-strung and poised to strike.
"Well, it's best we wait for everyone else to arrive so we don't have to keep explaining ourselves. So, relax. If this is what I think it is, then there'll be plenty of others left to come."
You were concerned, but he had a point. At least you wouldn't have to hear multiple explanations. Finding an empty corner of the gym was pretty easy and Tsumugi trailed behind you like a lost puppy, leaning on the wall next to you. Everyone seemed to snap back into their own conversations, forming little hushed groups that whispered to each other. Was everyone already making allies, choosing who to trust?
Your gaze drifted over to the sound of sniffing, belonging to one of the shorter girls, with bright red hair and a cute bow to match. She was sobbing and shaking like a leaf in the wind, hand over her mouth as she curled in on herself. Her grey blazer was soaked with tears and snot from where she had blown her nose. Another girl wearing a navy blue tie and matching blazer was consoling her, rubbing her back soothingly and whispering something that seemed to stem the flow of tears. She produced a tissue from her pocket with a sparkle in her green eyes and gently moved her hand to wipe at the other girl's face. Awkwardly, you looked away from their tender moment to give them some privacy.
Even the unsociable types slot into their own groups. One of the boys - was he wearing two jackets? - with purple spiky hair was loudly making conversation with a red-eyed girl who had yet to speak up as she lent against the wall, glaring daggers that he either was completely oblivious to or was choosing to ignore. You could have sworn she mouthed the word 'idiot' to herself as she attempted to (unsuccessfully) ignore him.
Other students eventually trickled in over time, each in pairs and recounting similar experiences of being chased around. The room livened up as more extrovert types stumbled in - the boy with wispy purple hair had barged into the room with his companion, another boy with untamed green hair and a pair of silver glasses. Their banter had almost entirely covered the entrance of a girl who wore an anxious frown as she entered. She quietly accepted the explanation given to her, moving her sage-coloured bangs out of her face to reveal a pair of timid green eyes.
By now, quiet chatter had filled the gym as everyone discussed their kidnappings, or what their last few memories were when the doors swung open, revealing the final pair. A girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, kept back by grey slides was holding out a hand to the boy who had fallen face first onto the floor. He accepted her help, clutching the black hat that hid his eyes, though rogue strands of dark blue hair peeked through it. Avoiding eye contact with everyone else, he quietly thanked the girl next to him as she looked around the gym at the other students.
"Ohhh... More people have arrived." Commented one of the girls with blue eyes and stark white hair. You didn't recognise her, but she had a slight accent.
"Did you both get chased by those monsters too?"
The blonde girl picked up the conversation, sensing that her companion wasn't going to speak up. "O-Oh, yeah."
"What... are they? What do they want from us?"
Before, you thought that the boy with purple hair and similar violet eyes had just been messing around with his companion. When he spoke up, it was obvious he had been paying heed to the conversation, a neutral expression decorating his sharp eyes. "Do you want me to check on what's happening?" Okay, maybe you needed to get better at reading people.
"You can't!" exclaimed the girl who had been comforting the redhead. She struck a defensive pose. "It's too dangerous out there."
"S-She's right! Those things could still be around..." Tsumugi seemed to have put herself together. She nervously adjusted her glasses, gaze flittering around the rest of you in worry.
"Wait!" The blonde exclaimed, clearly confused. The boy next to her looked as though he could sink into his hat at her shout. "W-Who are you guys? And why am I here-"
"That makes seventeen." There was a pause as everyone turned to the boy who had been resolutely calm. He was tugging at his hair mindlessly, deep in thought. It was unnerving, the casual way in which he spoke. "Seventeen high school students. What do you think that means?"
You bit your lip as a thoughtful silence enveloped everyone. That was what each of you had been trying to piece together! He looked toward everyone's bewildered expressions and shrugged. "That's right, I didn't answer your question. My name's Rantaro Amami, let's leave it at that for now."
"What's so special about seventeen students? Wouldn't it be better to have eighteen, or twenty? And didn't we say it would be better to wait for other students?" you asked.
"Nah, not in this case. It's a bit unusual, but it can still work." Rantaro returned. "If this is what I think it is, then that'll be all of us."
"If this is what you think it is?" came a sardonic voice from the left; The girl who had been ignoring the purple-haired boy finally spoke up.
"Don't worry about it too much," he returned. He turned to you. "Say, have we-"
Static screeched through the air and everyone rushed to cover their ears, cringing at the horrible sound. A voice blared from the speakers, childish and light.
"Okie dokieeeee, quiet everyone! Shimmy down, shimmy down!" Whoever they were, they were way too nonchalant considering the bizarre circumstances.
A second voice accompanied it, more feminine than the first. "No, no, no. It's 'simmer down'."
"Huh? Who are they? Where are they?"
You didn't have time to see who had asked. No, you were rather too busy being forced to back into a circle with your fellow students. Five of those machines - No, monsters, appeared around you in a surprising showcase of agility. Up close, they dwarfed in size compared to any of you, intimidating red lights glaring down as the pilots inside cackled maniacally at everyone's fear. A few people screamed as they crashed into each other, tumbling to the floor in a mess of limbs while others lowered into a fighting position. They all raised their weapons into the air in sync, showcasing the massive barrels of a gun attached to each arm. You could picture the bloody mess they would make if they decided to strike, steel that could shatter bones.
"Kyahahahaha! Thanks for waiting!" All of them shouted at the same time, machinery humming with power as they spoke.
"Damn it!" Someone shouted, "there's more of those monsters!"
The red machine... Spoke up? It was slightly obscured, but you could faintly recognise the voice as the first one that had spoken to you through the speakers. This was way too much information at once. "These aren't monsters. They're Exisals!"
"They're highly mobile, bipedal weapons platforms," said the yellow one, as if that would clear anything up.
"W-Weapons!?" the boy in the hat was quivering, staring down at his shaking hands as he gasped out the words.
"Should we take these for a spin by killin' one of 'em?!"
"Woah! Wait, wait a minute!" The girl with the headband cried. She had earlier pulled herself into a defensive position, but her arms were now shaking, uselessly waving around in the air as she stammered. "It wouldn't be any fun picking on plain, good-for-nothing commoners!"
The Exisals turned towards each other, arguing pointlessly. They were gesturing wildly, mechanisms hissing as it worked to keep up with their movements. If you weren't fearing for your life, you would have likely found their incessant bickering sort of annoying, but considering they were cheerfully debating about how best to maim a group of high schoolers and berating the pilot inside the green mech, it didn't seem the brightest idea to meddle in their affairs.
At that moment, the red one butted in on the conversation. "Hold on a minute! We can't kill them with the Exisals. According to the schedule, they aren't supposed to show up 'til later."
"But... We're in the Exisals right now."
"We screwed up... We're not supposed to be in them for our first appearance."
First appearance? Why was that relevant?
"I told ya we shoulda read the script!"
"No, ya didn't."
"Well, why don't we get out of these here mechs? It shouldn't be too late for that."
"Y-Yeah, let's do that!"
You braced yourself, expecting five intimidating human figures to emerge from the cockpit of the mechs. Instead, in a flurry of smoke and steam emerged five pudgy bears, which was quite literally the most colourful thing you had seen all day. Each of them was clad in a corresponding colour and tacky fashion sense, wearing little accessories that seemed to defy the laws of physics. They all landed in front of you, posing with their grubby little bear paws. You resisted the urge to facepalm. Why did you let these midget robots threaten you?
Tuning out their useless conversation as everyone looked on in disbelief, you turned your mind to what they had been bickering about. A first appearance? If they wanted to coerce you into doing something, it would have been a better idea to have just stayed inside the murder machines. So why were they showing their weird animal forms? To let your guard down? It just didn't make sense; Maybe they just didn't make any sense.
The fearful atmosphere had disappeared and everyone was now throwing questions at the bear-robot amalgamations, but the yellow one interrupted any further line of questioning with a frustrated shout. "Gahhh! Shut up, all of you! All of you are reactin' way too normally to this! It's boring!"
"Hey!" The blonde girl tried once again to steer the conversation. It seemed like a lost cause, but at least she was trying to communicate with them? "Answer me! If you guys are called the Monokubs, then-"
"Who the hell're you punks!?"
Everyone stood in silence, disillusioned. These... things had kidnapped you in an elaborate plan and set you up in a school, to not know who you were? The notion seemed ridiculous.
"What do you mean?"
The yellow bear brought up a paw to wipe at its glasses as it spoke, "We're just wondering... Do youse guys have Ultimate talents or anything like that?"
Had... had they kidnapped the wrong group of people? You knew you weren't anyone special; Sure, you had hobbies and crafts that you thought you were decent at, but to be an Ultimate? The very best of the best? At least you understood their motivations now, kidnapping a bunch of insanely talented people was a decently motivated crime. Looking at everyone, at their regular school uniforms and faces alight with fear, even you could tell there were no Ultimates among your group. They would stand out more, have a more interesting personality and wouldn't back down in the face of danger. You were just... An ordinary person who got caught up in these antics.
So, you voiced exactly that. "Ultimate talents..? What are you talking about? Look, I don't know about the others, but I think you've got the wrong people..." There was a general murmur of agreement, a few students voicing the same opinion.
"I knew it! They haven't got their first memory yet!"
It seemed as though none of you were going to get a word in edgewise as the mini bears fought with each other over their assigned roles. Once again, the yellow bear offered an explanation. "Don't worry about us. The real issue is youse bastards, which is actually a huge problem. You've all forgotten your talents and become generic high school students."
"You've all become different people because of the Ultimate Hunt!" added the red bear, who had finished the argument with the pink and blue one in favour of admonishing your group.
Huh? Ultimate Hunt? What kind of fantasy world is this?
"Umm..." Tsumugi wavered for a moment, unsure of whether to ask her question. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's pointless to talk to you guys in this kind of state."
"That's right! We need you guys to remember your true selves and unlock your sealed talents!"
You gazed around everyone else, overcome with whiplash at the tonal shift in the room. To your own credit, you weren't the only person who was astounded. Among your group, only a few people had actually kept it together.
The short, pale boy with wild purple hair tilted his head at their remarks. He looked remarkably puzzled as he spoke, quite literally poking at the bear with his words. You could have sworn he was scrutinising every one of you earlier, but now he painted the picture of innocence. Did he really have such a good lid on his emotions? "I don't get it... What are these sealed talents you're talking about?"
"How are we supposed to talk when you keep askin' so many friggin' questions!? Let's get to the main event already, no one wants to watch a bunch of generic high school whiners."
What happened next should have been impossible. Produced from the Exisals was a kaleidoscope of different clothes - how did any of that manage to fit into such a small space? Pleated skirts and button-down shirts, jackets and personalised accessories rained from the sky like fashionable confetti, each set of clothes finding their owner with impeccable accuracy.
Watching everyone change outfits was strange; You blinked and they were examining themselves in confusion, adjusting lapels and tying ribbons to suit their own tastes. Tsumugi looked as though someone drained the colour from her, the blue and bright white of her sailor style uniform gave way to shades of dark teal, accented by the silvered buttons on each lapel. She was busying herself with pinning an orange bow to the centre of her fresh white blouse, but her glasses had clattered to the floor in the chaos, the only remnant of her old attire.
As you lent down to retrieve them for her, a rush of wind swept past and the faint aroma of freshly picked flowers filled your lungs. It was as though someone had dipped the back of your hands into a vat of molten gold as you stared at the gloves that molded into the shape of your hands, form fitting. A dark half-cape rested on the shoulder of your dominant arm, stitched intricately in threaded patterns of gold. It was soft and faintly warm. You looked around for your old uniform, but it had disappeared, melted into thin air.
"Mm-hm! Looking good!" affirmed the pink bear; If it had a proper face, it would have been smiling reassuringly. "Now you look more like Ultimates!"
"Next up, youse's first memory."
"Get ready! Once the seal is broken, we'll be in the domain of the killing game!"
Killing game.
What?
This was what you had been brought here for? To slaughter each other like freshly captured vermin, lab rats in an experiment? To plunge the knife and twist into the back of a newly formed friendship, tearing each other apart for scraps of survival? You couldn't, wouldn't.
You gazed down at Tsumugi's glasses that had scuffed against the floorboards, mind racing a thousand miles an hour. If you were going to be thrown into a killing game, you needed allies, someone you knew was worth placing faith in. Ducking down to grasp at the silvered lenses, you shoved them into one of the pockets of your newly acquired cloak. Sure, it wasn't polite to steal from one of the only people you could even remotely call trustworthy, but it was proof. Proof of your ally, of the girl who had kept you safe in a dire situation - she could have thrown you to the wolves, but she had chosen to pull you along even at the risk of her own life.
"Hey," you whispered to her over the bickering of the Monokubs, leaning into her personal space. "Let's... We need to get out of here, before something happens."
She jumped at the sudden voice close to her ear, before nodding feverishly. "Y-Yeah! I don't like all this talk of a killing game, it's wrong."
Before you could turn to run, a chorus of 'so long, bear well!' Came from the bears. One of them produced a strange flashlight, which it flicked on with its paws and before you could question how a robotic bear had turned on a flashlight, it pointed the light towards the crowd.
You made a beeline for Tsumugi, but found the action difficult, as though you were piloting your body sideways. It was difficult to think as your mind transported you to a liminal space, processing strings of information as your brain raced to lap up every detail of what you had forgotten. Although it was an uncomfortable sensation, eyes watering with the effort of keeping them open, you found yourself unable to shy away. Memories slotted perfectly into place as you finally understood, a web of truths that congealed together as though it were a fully fledged plan. Words made sense, had been given context where before you had been stumbling around in the dark - Ultimates, talents, true selves - you finally had all the answers!
You blacked out.