Will you be able to save humanity?

The scrape on her knee ached and stung, but there wasn’t much she could do about it at the time. The pain in her stomach was much stronger than the one on her legs, she never once took a bite of food while she was here and now it was starting to take its toll; even if she wanted to take care of her pathetic injury, she…honestly knew nothing about treating cuts or scrapes. With that, she just left it out in the open for all to see- not that it was anything to really get worked up over, of course. Fresh air would be good for it…right?

Limping to the kitchen, she looked around to make sure no one was around while she was trying to cook. Nearly everyone here was trying to scare her for some reason- especially that Ryan kid! They had no chill whatsoever…sneaking behind her and scaring her when they were in a situation like this- it was just cruel! Umi let out a huff of annoyance before walking over to the nearest cabinet, grabbing the ingredients to make…something. She never really learnt how to cook anything more than instant noodles, but that wouldn’t really fill her up enough…so she had to actually attempt to make something and make it edible. Walking over to the stove with her ingredients, she preheated the stove and placed a pot and pan on the burners. (Boy, wouldn’t it suck if a cougar was suddenly released? Or if there was cyanide inside the burner? Yeah, that would suck.)

She filled the pot up with water, using a cup to bring it from the sink to the stove; she left it to boil as she chopped up some veggies. They…didn’t look the best, but she would take whatever she could get, even if they were cut unevenly and a bit soft. Once she was done with that, she added a bit of cooking oil to the pain and tossed the vegetable inside as well. So far…everything was going just fine! It was surprising, to say the least…but not a bad surprise! A small smile replaced the frown she often wore as she added the noodles to the boiling water, suddenly looking down and thinking about things that no longer mattered. For example, her mind drifted off to the very few memories she had with her now dead friends. Sure, she had Yoshimasa with her now (who was…not really her friend, though they did something for her years ago, something she could never repay them for,) but everyone else was…presumed dead.

{ Good things you don’t plan to make anymore friends, huh? Even when you make some they all die. }

Shaking the negative thoughts out of her head, she did her best to focus solely on her creation- wait…

The smell of smoke filled her lungs as she looked up from the ground, feeling the scorching heat of not only the pan…but also a fire. Guess things were just too good for too long, since now it was all ruined and there was a fire. Fidgeting nervously, Umi backed away slowly and did nothing but stare at the growing flames. H…how was she supposed to put this out!? Would water work? No…she heard that it wouldn’t…so then what would?

Instead of finding out, she stood there and screamed out for help. Nice one.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! H-HELP! SOMEONE HELP M-ME…! F…FIRE! THERE’S A…A…A FIRE!”

The pure sanitation of this world was quite appealing to Thalia- contrasting the smoky darkness that she usually spent her time in, this was quite nice. Quite nice indeed, and yet… she sensed it. A feeling of unrest. The dead were stirring, but perhaps that was because there were simply so many, and they were latching onto one of the only living sources who could speak to them. Ah, yes. The necromancer finds herself spending much of her time in her room, doing who knows what.

Dutifully she meets up as instructed, cloak pulled tight around her as if to protect from a cold wind. Her gaze fixes on Momoku as their ‘caretaker’ rambles on, speaking of health and other concerns that she doesn’t share. The dead had no time for sanitation. 

And then…

"What on Earth…? A plague doctor…? How… appropriate."

There’s a note of something as of yet unheard in the necromancer’s voice as she watches this Byouki assault their caretaker. No, that wasn’t her concern. It was the intrusion- everything about the plague doctor was wrong. The fact that there was a pandemic was notwithstanding. Always, new arrivals like this bode poorly for those who seemed privileged, like the Biblical plagues. 

Ah, yes. The thing present in Thalia’s voice is trepidation.

The announcement of their infection passes her, and she focuses on the next words, her eyes narrowing. Slowly her hands raise, bringing her hood up, and it’s no longer fear in her voice, but fury. 

"How dare you appropriate death like this- it is not yours to control! You cannot demand that we use it for evil, you scum! Death is a natural process, guided only by fate, and you offer a reward like it’s some carnival game? Pah! You disgusting… nuisance!”

As far as she was concerned, this Byouki had crossed a very thin line that only she could cross. The command of death and life was her domain, not some upstart’s!

With a whirling of her cloak, she turns to face her classmates, raising one pale hand, her hood still lowered slightly as if to hide her expression.

"I can assure you that I will never intrude in such a way as to kill one of you so casually. Pathetic, truly.”

Eddi Asano was a youth not corrupted by any means on Earth or beyond. They were a soul whose gaze drifted from one place to another in a quiet contemplation, their lids half open with the sight that went on before them.

It was a frightening scene, to be honest- it was frightening, and left them with… A nagging sensation that they should know what was going on. Instead of any sort of spark of knowledge being lit within their brain, a dimness spread- extinguishing the thoughts of what was going on with an indescribable fear unlike anything they’d felt before.

… Well, that was a lie.

Yuri had watched in quiet curiosity as the entire mess went down. If she had thought things couldn’t get worse, well, she was wrong. Even if the guy was wearing some stupid mask and had a stupid face. Clearly, he wasn’t one to be fucked with.

But she didn’t believe a word out of his mouth. No way were any of them sick, and no way were any of them going to die because of some illness or because somebody went crazy and killed another person. None of it seemed possible. Still, giving a warning in some way or another might have been for the best.

"Who the hell do you think we are? Nobody’s stupid enough to try and commit murder."

She eyed the crowd, hoping that she made her point. Then she left the room, ignoring the sudden feeling of sweat. Not from sickness obviously, but nervousness. 

Nothing made a lick of sense. From the very beginning, Umi was almost sure that this was nothing more than an extremely terrible nightmare; now it was obvious that was not the case. People in the outside were dead…and all of them would soon follow. The world was in ruin and only the few in this room were the hope of a new generation- but now that hope was stolen from them. Hope…Hope…Hope…Hpoe…Hoep…

Hope didn’t even sound like a real word anymore, it sounded like some made up word a child came up with for a little game. But now, that child was all grown up, and they had no need for the childish word anymore…because with their childhood, the game they worked so hard on died with it.

Hope was dead, and soon they would be too.

Byouki. The stranger’s arrival alone was a lot to take in…Umi wasn’t quite sure what exactly was happening anymore- she just knew that over time they would all die; she knew that from the moment they arrived to this strange place. 

"…W…Huh…? I…I don’t…What just…happened…?"

Once the new arrival disappeared from her sight, she blinked once, twice, thrice, still trying to digest the information drilled into her brain. Closing her eyes, she tried to pick out the key words and see if it would lead her to a conclusion.

Infected.

Kill or be killed.

EDM.

Sacrifice. 

Classmates.

"W-WHAT…!?"

Reality finally set in, and the tears followed along with it. Umi Sugimura was going to die here without the people she cared about with her…

{ Do you even care about anyone, Umi? You like your brother, Ren and Kaneko…but who else? No one. You’re heartless…and it’s all to outrun something that isn’t even chasing you. }

{ Who do you care about, Umi? }

"…I…I’m sorry…I…Don’t w-want to die here…! A…ah…"

Without another word, she ran out of the room to find the dorm hall way- she had to get away from everyone now! She couldn’t just…stand there and let them kill her! She wouldn’t let herself die here…she couldn’t! In her panic she slipped, landing on her knees with her arms planted firmly on the ground to save her face from any damage. 

Now she was a sitting duck.

Seeing no reason to get up and run, she continued to cry, hunched over on the ground. If anyone was trying to kill her, they would’ve caught up before she could ever get herself back up.

Lies, lies, lies, the word repeated itself like a broken record in the dancer’s head. His face remained blank, if not puzzled, but his hands had balled into fists at his sides. Who here was the liar, exactly…?

Hibiki didn’t know much about how any of this stuff worked, and he put his money on Momoku being right, if solely because… well, it just sounded right. A boatload of numbers and figures and words that he didn’t understand, it sounded a hell of a lot more professional than…

Than some person in a bird mask busting in out of nowhere, claiming they were all sick and that they had a cure.

He didn’t… feel sick. And even if he was, what was the point in fighting, killing, for the cure if it was only temporary? Just to buy more time before meeting their grisly end?

If it was all for naught in the end, what point was there in even trying to begin with?

The dancer sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as his gaze drifted up towards the ceiling.

"Yeah… mhmm. Cool. Great. Say, uh — how do you know we’re sick? Because I don’t believe you if you can’t prove it to us.”

"So there’s… no real reason to freak out. We’re probably not even sick, so there’s… no reason to actually kill anyone, right? You clearly want us dead for whatever reason, but don’t expect us to do the dirty work for you."

He yawned, turning to leave the room as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Everything would be fine, surely, surely. He had no intentions on hurting anyone for the sake of that “cure.” So long as they didn’t hurt him, he had no reason to. 

But this person in the mask? Wasn’t serious. Couldn’t be. No way.

Everything was happening so much, so fast fast! Miss Momoku was there, and then someone attacked her, and then they were speaking, and then—EMD?! But no, wait, that wasn’t the end—they had to—to—to-?! They had to murder.

At the immediate thought, Atsuko bursted into tears. She sobbed uncontrollably, clutching herself. (Dammit! You were supposed to be a figure of justice!)

“Hic, n-no!! That’s not-hic-that’s not right! I…”

Atsuko trailed off, crying and concentrating. She needed to summon every bit of self-possession and get it together, even just for a moment. Her message would get out.

"I-hic-I won’t give in! I will never murder! That’s not -hic- right! It’s immoral! I swear, on the Gem G-Guardian name, you will not get away with this!”

What just happened? No, seriously. What the hell just went down over there? Were they really infected? Honestly, Hadar kind of didn’t think about that, as a newly forming bruise occupied his time. His neck now had a dark spot below his jaw, which likely looked as if he got ‘lucky’ or something. Man, if someone had to guess, that was far from the truth.  Regardless, Hadar didn’t act to help the lady before him. He wanted to, but the person with the weird mask confused and intrigued him too much. For starters, why were they so sure that the lady was lying? What proof did they have? Even if he asked, would they offer him the proof he might ask for?  Likely, the person might tell him to see if he dies and see for himself. At least, this was the conclusion that Hadar came to. Why should this person give him a serious answer anyway? He didn’t really expect some mask toting person to assume responsibility for him.  He didn’t expect anyone to assume responsibility for him. After all, he was his own man. He could control this situation, without killing or any of that bullshit. The other people though: some of them would likely not be smart enough not to ignore this troublemaker’s ‘warnings’.  Shrugging, Hadar walked up to some guy with glasses pretty casually. He had no reason to be in a panic, and it seemed at least, that this guy probably had the same idea. Hadar put his hands behind his head before nodding over to the guy. Hopefully he would be chill or something. 

"All this talk about that chick being a liar and us killing each other seems so silly: Don’t you agree? It’s just that…you seem like a chill fella. Someone with your head screwed on right." 

Sick.

When the word stuck out in their mind, they recalled simply staying in bed and calling in sick later. They remembered getting a visit sometimes by their best friend just to check up on them. They remembered occasionally toughing it out and attending school anyway but wearing a mask over their mouth to avoid spreading whatever was plaguing them at that very moment.

They could not say they particularly thought of being desperate for the cure. Of course, they would think it over and hope for their illness to be swept away as soon as possible, but to actively get rid of it through something other than medicine? That was a new tactic.

Furthermore, to stain their own hands to retrieve it was such a desperate maneuver that they were stunned by what was even being proposed to them. What was supposed to be a briefing over their state spiraled into… admittedly still a briefing over their current state right now but it held so much more significance now than initially predicted.

「 This would fit you perfectly, right? 」

Huh…? Did they just think that? Covering their mouth, Yoshimasa bit their lower lip as they tensed up. That thought would not be deadly if said aloud, but it would certainly be… strange. Trying to recall the last few moments, they hoped that their suspicion had been right. No, they tried to convince themself that it had been right. They had not said that— they did not! They did not they did not they did not they did NOT!

Clutching their head, they winced. This was not the kinds of thoughts they wanted to have. Not now. Not ever. They dropped to their knees, hunching over a bit as their hands reached for the sides of their head as if a terrible ringing noise was permeating their brain at this very moment.

They would not cry, but this influx of new information and things to adapt to were flooding into their head at an alarming rate. How could they make smart (though most likely risky) maneuvers if they could not even get much of a grip on the current situation before a new aspect was thrown their way? How could they manage? Suddenly, they were starting to miss home, even if it wasn’t the most inviting place…

[ ♪♪]

“Who are you?! ..W...Why are you here!?...”

“Why, I’m the headmaster, of course! I believe we’ve gone through this already, miss. Now… As a headmaster, your service is not needed anymore, Momoku. You can trot out from this facility… After all, the entrance is right… There!.."

Byouki chuckled, pointing with their gloved hand behind themselves. Their heel dig into Momoku’s wrist, a cruel grin on their scarred face. Their red eyes flick up at the group of students. With no care, they simply shake their head and laugh while Momoku is choking on her own tears. The scream of her agony drowns out any other sound that the students may utter out.

This safe haven has been corrupted, tainted with hatred. It was no longer a place that could be considered a paradise anymore. It was just beginning to pollute, and melt in with the other places in this dying world.

                            Don't take this world away from me

“See this insect here? Do you all see her? Let me tell you all!.. Momoku is a liar! A filthy filthy liar! Isn’t that right, Momoku!? Hey, come on! Speak up!”

There’s a long silence between the two. Momoku was practically choking on her own tears at this point. Her voice is weak and her eyes are glossy. Byouki scoffs and takes their one foot off from her wrist, but instead kicks her lightly.

“Ahk--! …Aaaaaaangnhh…. Please I beg of you...P-Please don’t hurt them..Aaaghh...Itai...Itai...They haven’t done a-anything wrong...Please d-don’t do a...Ow..ow...ow..ow...ow!!..”

“....Don't mind her, please. After all, Momoku here has been so rude to you all!... She’s been lying this whole time! She thinks it’s good to feed you all on a delusional game of life and death, but I think otherwise! You all are aware of EMD, correct? You all are aware that you guys are the only one left who’s not… Oh, you know, infected, right?”

A snicker lead into a loud cackle. Byouki holds over their stomach, cackling right at their faces. Their cruel laughter drowned out any plea from their weak teacher, Momoku. Wiping a tear of laughter, Byouki grins at the group of students. It was clear, they were excited, thrilled. They were practically grinning from ear to ear.

“Heh… That’s so funny! Last time I checked, all of you guys have it! See, it’s in your head, your brain! But ehe, here’s positive note! I have a temporary cure to halt the progression for this little… Problem!  Here, let me show you all...”

Byouki unbuttons a little opening in their heavy costume to pull out a small bottle with a clear and shimmering liquid in it. Their gloved hand shake it a little and grin. Their tall height making it impossible for any of the students to even reach it. After a moment of silence, they tuck it back where it came from and clasps their hands together.

“But here’s the catch, ehehehe! You guys won’t even be able to go near this cure! Nope, not over my cold dead body even! But if you guys wish to have it then.. Well, you guys can if you just…  Sacrifice one of your classmates! Hey, I’ll let you all have fun and pick the victim yourself, too! I’m so nice, no? Kill however you’d like, I don’t care! Just… Don’t. Get. Found out. You'll find out, hehe.”

Mumbles from left to right, every student look at each other with a puzzled look. What was the meaning of this? Everything was going so fast. They have it?.. EMD, the illness that’s spread across the whole world! And to halt this whole process they had to… Fight for a cure? No, not fight.. They had to…

Kill one of their classmates?

“If I were any of you… I’d hop right to it! If you don’t kill, you can either get killed… Or die naturally in vain due to the illness! You decide.. But choose quickly! The countdown has started a long time ago… It’s just a matter of time now before the illness strikes!.. “

Byouki looks down at the crying mess known as Momoku, pull at her broken wrist- leaving her to wince and cry in pain- and drag her out of the main hall and into the office. The students were left there to simply let the cold air flow between each other.

Anxiety, tears, paranoia.

To kill, or to be killed or to.. Die in pain.

The clock is ticking.

[ ♪♪]

                         Cling!...

Another sound could be heard. There was questions that needed to be answered, but even how much you and your classmates tried to force a reply from Momoku- it was all for nothing. She didn’t say anything. She only said words, percentages, and names that you have never heard of.

                                      Why didn’t she say anything?

                        Clog, clog, clog….

Momoku look over at the direction from where the sound of footsteps can be heard. A figure dressed in heavy black waxed fabric was seen walking down from the entrance and towards the students. The person is wearing a mask. A curved beak resembling like a bird, glass openings reflecting in the shimmering light.

                             Is this... A joke? A plague doctor?

When they’ve come closer to the crowd, their gloved leather hand reaches for the mask, sliding it to their right, after that they take off their hat- revealing .... Who is this?..

“...Heh, what a quiet audience. I expected some clapping, but I suppose you’re all a bit shocked by your headmasters sudden… Appearance. That’s right! Your ears are functioning properly. Now, my name is… Well, a secret, but you all may call me Byouki.”

Momoku was quick to move her body over to the other. She was standing between them and the group of students now. Her brows furrow, and a serious face was on the teacher as she stood there. The stranger didn't seem to be too happy with this, however. With a frown, they shake their head and shrug their shoulders. Within a split second, they crack a smile and take a big step forward, their red eyes glaring right at the teacher.

“Oh haha!... What a show you’re pulling. Miss, I do advise you to step aside. With a delusional and ignorant mind like yours, I don’t want you to be tainting our only hope left in this sick sick world!”

“What?! Oh my?! Hey who do you think you are? How did you get in here? How did you manage to sneak past security?!”

“..... My patience is quite low, Miss. I’ve gone a long way to get here. Now, get out of my way. I have to speak to my fellow students here.”

[ ♪♪ ]

“It seems like you’ve all made it. good good. I was a little worried for a second. I thought you might of saw me as an old hag who’s just nagging at you. Ho ho! Thank you all for coming though, it seems like you’re all taking this situation quite seriously...not like you wouldn’t ! You’re all pretty much adults now!...”

There’s a pause. She seems almost a little… Worried, perhaps. Her green eyes stare down at her papers and then at the others before she finally clears her throat. Her lips curve and she manages to force a smile for the students.

“Alright. Just to let you know..again..that everythings okay, nothing bad's happened to any of you. I’m just here to talk about EMD and your health conditions. If you’re even remotely worried about getting sick or infected..then don’t be! after all I’m here to protect you all because that’s what teachers do..they protect their students right? Or at least thats what I’m told. So you can all count on me. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions.”

And she smiles again. It seemed a little more genuine this time. She adjusts the papers order briefly- her eyes quickly scanning through each page she flips through. After a couple of seconds, she began to speak once more and with a swift movement, she holds up a paper with a rather silly illustration of them and the world.

“Well. I gathered you all here so that I could say that..you are the future! You are the power source that will lead humanity into hope! The brightest star in the sky! It sounds cheesy but it’s true. We are the last ones left. I’m sure of it..I’m sure we’ll all make it through together. We’ll find paradise..we’ll help the world backup from it’s knees! If you all stay clean and healthy then we’ll be okay. We’ll all do fine. Now remember to take showers every day..cleanse yourself, use hand sanitizer, use baby wipes and all that other jazz..also wash your hands! I know it seems like much but it’s all for you remember..! You come firs--”

                                                            Cling!...

                                      Where did that noise come from?... 

Momoku froze. Her face grows gradually paler for every second. She shook her head, looked around herself. She seem to be mumbling something under her breath. Was she panicking?... There’s mumbling in the crowd of students. They’re confused, uncomfortable- it all just feels so… Narrow. 

Ding dong ding….

[ ♪♪]

A rather loud bell echoes throughout the facility. A familiar voice was soon connected to the speakers. The noise of paper shuffling could be heard before the teacher began her (probably prepared) speech.

“Good morning everyone. I sure do hope you slept alright. I mean adjusting to this new lifestyle must be hard right? I understand. I was tossing and turning last night hehe. Ah so um, I wanted to talk to you all in person again. I think we should gather up...lets see...in the main hall perhaps? I need everyone there.”

“It’s an announcement concerning EMD and your health conditions. Don't worry!  it’s nothing bad. I feel like I’m repeating myself but trust me...you’re all fine. So hurry up and be there soon okay? Don’t make me wait.”

Huh, the main hall?.. That was an odd meeting place for an announcement to be made. As per usual, the teacher repeated her common phrase.

                                             “You’re all fine.”

Yes, of course. You’re fine in this facility, right? After all, this is the cleanest place on Earth now. You have all the resources a human could possibly need. Clean water, working air ventilations, and food that’s enough to feed everyone for decades.  

                                                       …

Oh, what a day this had been. A good number of new faces, new places, new disease killing people outside the facility. Hoo boy, what a lot to talk in.

His last encounter in particular had left this bunch of sour grapes in a pretty bad mood, and he’d figured he’d at least make good on his previous intentions before running into that hula hooper and check the rest of this place out.

His plans ran somewhat short when he bumped into another figure in the hall. Hibiki tensed up, pausing to cool down and hold his tongue. He’d already been in enough of a tizzy talking to Hadar, he didn’t need more of this anger junk. Don’t get mad, don’t get mad, don’t get mad don’t get mad

Inhale… exhale… ok. Go.

  "…Sorry."

Yoshimasa felt the need to go around after a while, finally setting themself into a more comfortable ‘zone’ of sorts. They had had a few conversations by now to adjust themselves accordingly to the new people (well… mostly new people) and this new area, but they had yet to really explore they felt.

So, the student had decided it was best to investigate for the more necessary supplies. Satisfied with knowing that there were sleeping conditions already, they paced around the area with a wary look. It might take a while, but this didn’t seem too large a location…

Entering the kitchen, they set aside some time to look around the equipment. They searched at each nook and cranny, barely realizing that another soul might have entered the immediate area. Turning around with two pans in hand, they stared at the other individual before awkwardly smiling and hitting the two pans together to create a large noise.

언니 힘내세요♡

Yoon-ji slowly rises, the words playing over in her head hundreds of times before she becomes completely concious. Her head hurts. She wants to gohome. None of this could possibly be happening, could it? Pale and sweaty hands violently shake while trying desperately to cling to her skirt while the gentle, tormenting Korean voice replays hundreds of times in her mind. Whom it belonged to was not here. She looked. Desperately! Yet here was no sight of the dark, silken-haired maiden; the rapper was alone. 

The feeling of unrest would surely consume her, but wouldn’t that be weak? There would be no possible way that, in this situation, Yoon-ji would even dare showing any sort of real emotions. She isn’t allowed. Always smile, always be charismatic, never lash out, always modest— picture perfect but all-too devastating in situations like this.

온 몸이 아파요!!

Oh— right, right. They probably don’t speak…okay. 

The redhead squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head after the screen went blank. No. No, she refused to even try to accept this. Everybody else was gone? Infected, with…with this disgusting disease? Her adopted—no, her family? Her sisters? ..Even her father? She took a deep breath, before screaming as loud as her lungs would allow. 

She couldn’t accept it.

Yet she had to put on a show. There were other students here with her, and she would not let them see her weakness. Not ever. Her father taught her to stay strong, but he wasn’t here for her to vent and cry to when the day was over. She’d have to pretend. She wanted to make him proud.

So, she had found herself stood in front of her door, straightening out her skirts, and twisting the handle to step out into the doorway. To her surprise, there was already somebody out in the hallway. Someone she recognised to the bus. Posy shoved that memory aside and put a hand to her skirt, curtseying politely.

"Hello. How are you?"