Time, Eternally Stop

"Alright Major, I’ll take you up on that, but first things first. We need to get out of here in one piece. I know we can, it’ll just come down to how we go from here."

Araragi paused for a second and thought before turning back to the Major.

Kyousuke caught himself.  "I'm sorry, it's just that when you've dealt with as many underworld matters and less than savory characters who are interested only in saving their own skin as I have, you come across all sorts of... extreme situations.  My reasoning for this, however, is that the mastermind is clearly not interested in merely killing us -- he wouldn't have taken the time to bring us here and outfit us with these collars if that were the case.  No, I'm certain that the mastermind has got everything planned out -- I'd go so far as to say that he'll do everything in his power to keep us alive at his convenience... and that of course includes taking precautions against any unexpected scenarios."

Araragi looked over at the Major and sighed.

"And don't worry, I have just as much at stake in surviving this ordeal and escaping as anyone else here -- even though I hardly deal in savory enterprises, and my hands aren't exactly free of their share of blood, those I work with are more family to me than my real family is... was... and I want nothing more than to return to them safe and sound.  To that end, it is in my best interest to make as few enemies as possible, so you can count on me to uphold my end of our alliance as well, Araragi."

"But as for evidence?  I never had any of that, to be honest — it was mostly a gut feeling resulting from several connected circumstances.  I’d like to find some solid evidence, believe me, but for now all I’ve got — all any of us have got, really — are whatever hunches we may have… but then again, I’ve been alive long enough to know that sometimes a hunch is all you need.  It’s saved my hide more times than I can count, after all~”

"It sounds like this is going to be even more troublesome than I first thought. What kind of joke is this anyway?" he thought for a moment, then started again.

"First and foremost is the psychology of our captor and the possible reasons he might have for marking off certain areas as forbidden.  Could be that within these areas lie critical information with regards to our location or why we're here, or maybe a means by which to disarm the collars, or perhaps even a way out... who knows for sure, though?  One thing I'm more than willing to bet, of course, is that our captor is counting on us being too focused on the marked danger zones, and what they might contain, to worry about anything other than our own survival -- and that, Araragi, is where I believe our chance lies."

Kyousuke wiped a bead of sweat and pulled out his tablet, bringing up a map of the island.  "Here is where we are," he said, pointing to the location of the school building, "and here," he continued, zooming to the side, "is the adjoined dormitory.  Obviously we'll be spending most of our time in these two locations... or rather, that's what our captor is counting on -- which is the basis for my conjecture that there are more danger zones than the ones marked on the map."

"Plus, there's that radio tower -- if that's there, then obviously there's something to broadcast, which means that there's somewhere the signals are being broadcast from.  Now, one might assume, if one were to reach such a conclusion at all, that the broadcasting room is in one of the two marked danger zones -- however, I'm still of the opinion that our captor has thought all this through and has placed the broadcasting room somewhere right under our noses... but I wouldn't go searching for it just yet, or else our captor might grow suspicious.  I believe we should make a show of touring the premises and even examining the marked danger zones from a safe distance, to mask our trail."

"Of course, there's always the chance that our little friend there--" Kyousuke gestured towards the classroom door through which the sinister man had exited "--has anticipated such a line of thought and has marked completely innocuous areas as forbidden while leaving the truly sensitive zones in plain sight, where we might not think to go out of our ways to search... but you can bet for sure that I'll be taking my time to examine the off-limits areas as thoroughly as possible from as close as I can be without this collar going off in my face."

" Didn’t you sacks of shit hear me? Move your asses and plant ‘em in a chair right now. If I gotta repeat myself, heads are gonna fuckin’ roll. "

A tone of annoyance would escape from the individual, a jerk of his hand to motion for the imbeciles before him to take a seat.

" Now, now I know a bunch of kids like you have a bunch of questions right? We’ll we don’t have time for that, you know? So let’s see — "

Those red eyes would peer out at the assembled group in front of him.

" What a group this year, huh? Some of ya look like you’re pissing your pants. Others are composed as hell, some of ya got some pretty good eyes. I like that! That’s good. "

The heavily silhouetted man would pick up that knife on his desk and example it before placing it back down.

" Get ready for Sensei’s lesson, it’ll be on the exam — !! "

The man would exclaim excitedly, as the wall behind the students was illuminated with a projector.

" Turn your asses around and take it all in, these are the rules of survival here~! "

those 「collars 」around your neck — they’re pretty fancy pieces of shit right? top of the line in ..ah, i forgot. oh, If you try to remove them they’ll immediately detonate!

on each of your person, there should be one of those damned 「tablet」things or whatever. you brats are that information generation right? work those braincells and figure out how to work ‘em. they’re locked to you — so no trading or i’ll blow you up!

ah right, you’re currently on an artificial island smack dab in the middle of who knows where.  of course this a place of education so your safety is an immediate concern — so barred off 「 dangerous zones 」 for your own protection! if you wander into them, i’ll blow your fuckin’ head off.

naturally, acts of violence against the faculty are forbidden. if you hurt anything other than my feelings, i’ll blow your fuckin’ head off.

For Kyousuke, on the other hand, not much of what the man said came as much of a surprise.  He had presumed that the collars had some additional features besides sealing the powers of those wearing them — and the news that they would detonate upon attempted removal was right in line with what Kyousuke had predicted.

Sure enough, too, just as the man said, Kyousuke found a small tablet concealed among his clothes.  He had experience with all the latest technology, simply due to the nature of his livelihood, but this, like the collar, was clearly far beyond anything he had come across before.

It was the man’s third point that Kyousuke had not anticipated.  If what he said was to be believed, they were located on a supposedly undiscovered island, likely one that wasn’t on any map.  Given enough time, Kyousuke might be able to work out potential locations based on this information alone — however, given the purpose of their “education” here, as well as the general atmosphere among the “students,” such free time seemed unlikely.

"The danger zones, though…" A grin spread across Kyousuke’s face.  "Perhaps I’ll need to investigate these on my own time — within limits, of course."

Araragi turned his gaze slowly towards the opened door and saw the figure of the man gesturing for the “students” to enter the classroom.

"This bad joke hasn’t gotten any better yet."

Araragi said nothing more and sat down near the rear of the room but close enough for him to get a good look at the man. The gun and knife didn’t frighten him in the least. Although he wasn’t particularly fond of getting shot or stabbed, he had been through worse in the past. What bothered him was the man’s eyes. They were an empty pair of red eyes, much different from his own when his vampire powers were involved. They seemed infinitely more sinister. He wondered if there was an apparition involved. Whatever it may have been, he’d have to find a way to deal with it as soon as possible.

Araragi had seen this man before. He was one of his teachers a few years ago. It seemed so long ago that he couldn’t remember what subject he taught. Japanese History….Literature..? Whatever subject it was, he more than likely failed because he barely showed up. As soon as the thought entered his head, before he could even think about it, he spoke up.

Kyousuke turned to face the would-be vampire, the apprehension on the latter’s face altogether apparent.  Judging from the boy’s words, it was not at all unlikely that this man, the one who abducted Kyousuke, was the same one who abducted Koyomi — and likely everyone else as well.

"I take it this man’s face rings more than a few bells, hm?"

As if being able to overpower the world’s strongest esper, as well as a half-vampire, wasn’t enough indication, the man’s deep red fire pits that passed for eyes hammered home the fact that he was clearly no ordinary human, if, of course, he was human at all.  The more and more Kyousuke thought about it, the less it seemed that an ECM would have been necessary to subdue him and bring him here… clearly this was quite the individual they were dealing with.”

Kyousuke folded his hands in front of him as he took a seat at his desk.  “Any ideas, Koyomi?”

"How could I possibly trust someone who can’t even bring themselves to remember their mother’s maiden name? If you love your mother you would never forget, and if you hated her it would be a curse that plagued you. No one would only half-care for their mother." Regardless of her contempt the girl continued without a beat missed, her head rolling to the other side as she spoke. 

"You’ve made it clear enough that there are others here and that you’ve seen them, however, so I have no choice. I know nothing, so I have nothing to offer you in exchange for your information, but tell me: Who are they? Where are we? For what reasons do you and the others agree we’ve been brought here for?" The next question she asked bore no difference in tone, nor was there a telltale pause to magnify its significance, but it itself was telling in its importance to her; the only question she really wanted answered.

Kyousuke stopped himself.  What was he doing, raising his voice to someone he had only just met?  Certainly, aggravation and anxiety were perfectly normal reactions for someone trapped in this scenario, but then again, Kyousuke himself was far from normal, so one supposes that such a thing is to be expected.

"I apologize, Miss," Kyousuke muttered, heaving a deep sigh.  "There are parts of my past that I still have yet to come to terms with after the better part of a century, my own familial situation being one of them.  Regardless of my own issues, however, I believe I can provide answers to your other questions."

Kyousuke cleared his throat.  “I cannot vouch for the identities of all our fellow… captives, I suppose, would be the best word, but I have personally interacted with a number of them, and at least two of those possess some degree of supernatural abilities… or would, were it not for these collars, which appear to have some sort of limiting effect.”

"As for where we are," he continued, "I am afraid I cannot provide an answer; again, were it not for this collar about my neck, I would not only be able to discern our location but break out of here as well, perhaps finding and annihilating our captor in the process… alas, I’m in the same boat as the rest of you—"

"—which brings me to why we are here.  Judging from the fact that any abilities we might have seem to have been sealed by these collars, as well as whatever other sinister function they may hold, I am fairly certain we have been brought here to be pitted against each other in some sort of elimination contest.  As to its true nature, I know not, but you seem like a perfectly capable and quick-witted young lady, so I doubt you’ll have much problem," Kyousuke mused.  "And as for your last question, did this vampire friend of yours — I assume he is a friend, if you are so curious as to his location — happen to have dark hair, a singular cowlick, and short stature?"

“ Hey, shit stains! Gather ‘round, cause I got somethin’ for ya’! “ 

it was time.

the culmination of fear and anticipation reached a crescendo inside of one classroom — with a potentially familiar face waiting beyond the door, arms held out in a mockery of a welcoming gesture. his hood no longer obscured the eerie visage underneath, one of a handsome young man that many youth in the school had grown accustomed to seeing over their attendance. three things about his form quickly stood out: a pistol and a knife were sitting next to his person, yet the exact model of pistol could not be ascertained due to the lack of visibility in the classroom. the third, which all were sure to notice, was a pair of hollow red eyes watching each student with an egotistical leer.

idly, the mockery of a high school teacher plopped down on the edge of his desk and pulled a knee inward to his chest, draping an arm over it afterward. kobayashi gestured the undoubtedly bewildered students inward to have a seat, just like an average day at school. 

Through he had come to a general conclusion regarding a number of points — why they had been brought here being first and foremost among these — but the one point on which Kyousuke was stuck was perhaps the most obvious of them all:

Who was it who brought them there?

All Kyousuke could remember, and so, it seemed, could anyone else, was that the abductor was clad in black, with a hoodie obscuring his — Kyousuke had assumed it was a man — facial features, but whoever it was was clearly no ordinary human to be able to subdue the most powerful esper on the planet — as well as a whole room full of what Kyousuke presumed were similarly powered individuals, as the cold metal collars sealing Kyousuke’s and others’ powers would seem to indicate.

Upon the door sliding open, however, that last piece of the puzzle was cleared up as the mysterious man’s face was no longer blocked — a pair of sinister red eyes gazed at Kyousuke, as if to stare into his soul.

Instinctively, Kyousuke reached for the limiter affixed to the collar of his gakuran, fingers gripping it in preparation for rotating it and releasing the full brunt of Kyousuke’s psychic powers — but he soon let his hand relax; after all, whatever the collar had done to seal his powers likely would not be overcome so easily.

"Some habits die hard," Kyousuke mused, taking a seat as his abductor assumed his own place behind the desk at the head of the classroom, a knife and gun adorning the desk’s wooden surface. 

She listened carefully to his words, and despite his gruffness, Misturu couldn’t deny that they rung true to a certain extent. Working in a group was far more beneficial than merely working by ones self, she knew that much better than most. Even so, she wasn’t about to so easily reveal the entirety of her closely-guarded secrets to someone she’d only just met. Though she had learned much about forging relationships with others from her fellow S.E.E.S members, it surely went without saying that her ability to trust others had been left severely damaged by Ikutsuki.

Something about his proposition disturbed her, however. What did he know about their situation that made him think an alliance was necessary? True, working in numbers to escape from this facility would make sense, but as far as Mitsuru was concerned, they had become a part of some observational experiment against their will. Their escape would be inevitable, if she had anything to say about it, but what exactly did Kyousuke think was in store for them? And how far would he extend the hand of camaraderie? He surely didn’t seem to come off as a person with ill-intent, but if the situation was something more sinister than the heiress had initially perceived…

Suffice to say, she was rather well-acquainted with what actions despair could drive a person to commit.

Kyousuke should have known that someone of such high standing would have a few critical secrets to keep, especially if what she said about preventing calamity from befalling the world was to be believed.  Normally, one would be hesitant to believe such words, but considering his own circumstances — especially the future he was working towards — what she was saying seemed not too far-fetched after all.

"Worry not, Miss Kirijo — I do not plan to press the matter further.  I’m all too familiar with having secrets one cannot reveal, so I shall respect your boundaries."

"However, even I can tell that you seem to have at least a faint idea of why we’re here, and since knowledge is power — since information, according to some, is the most effective weapon of all — perhaps you’d care to hear my conclusions as to the reasons we have been brought here?  Perhaps then you might give the thought of an alliance with me a second consideration."

This was a situation Senjougahara would have rather preferred to be on the other side of.

The hollow clicking of shoes rang through empty and desolate hallways, ones that looked like the empty cram school but less familiar and by extension of that more menacing. She’d awoken on the floor of one room—similarly empty and dark—and swore she heard Araragi’s voice before then, but was still alone when her eyes fluttered open. She was a light sleeper (once upon a time in more ways than one) so it was clear she was pulled here, by force, of someone else’s accord. She wouldn’t have slept through a cliche kidnapping, nor being collared like a cheap dog.

There were other signs, too, but that was the most telling.

Her walk seemed endless and above all fruitless, her footsteps echoing for the last ten minutes before and the next ten after. Only when Hitagi heard another set of noise, another set of lungs breathing from somewhere behind her did she stop. Without a moment’s hesitation she also turned, one hand brandishing a pair of scissors and the other a set of scalpels positioned between each finger, all of which were kindly given to her by the abandoned desks she snooped through beforehand.

"You have .02 seconds to tell me your name, date and place of birth, your social insurance number, all open bank accounts with accompanying PINs, your mother’s maiden name and the first pet you owned."

Certainly he had been caught off-guard by the sudden intensity displayed by the girl in front of him, as well as the improvised weapons she suddenly brandished — where she had hidden those, he cared not to know — but neither was particularly threatening; the limitations imposed on his psychic abilities would only be a small hindrance should this girl decide to attack.

In short, he didn’t deem her that much of a threat, especially since he knew that, were she to act, she likely wouldn’t last long in the situation they and numerous others had found themselves.

He didn’t ask for any of this.

Neku doesn’t want to admit he’s quite used to this situation— knocking out and waking up to a scenery he doesn’t recognize. In fact, he’s been through this exact same thing three times already. It’s nothing new to him anymore. At this point, he could explain the proper protocol for awakening in such a sense, even. 

He lays on the hard ground, up but not stirring. He remembers being attacked, so his memories are still intact. He can hear people murmuring around him, so it seems he’s not the only one here. Despite the throbbing pain in his head and his back, Neku doesn’t find one thing out of the ordinary. 

Other than being abducted of course. 

And it’s just got to be his luck, having someone fucking step on him the second he decides it’s time to get moving. Rise and shine, Mr. Grumpy, you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and its name is “Grade A Asshole.”

As the leader of P.A.N.D.R.A., Kyousuke had made it his business to take in any esper children orphaned as a result of the ongoing struggle against normals.  As a result, he was more than used to dealing with children — both in terms of actual children and in terms of the more… childish members of P.A.N.D.R.A.’s main force.

Judging from the shouting coming from in front of and below him, however, this bright-haired youth clearly tended towards the latter.

"My, my, I didn’t mean to cause offense," Kyousuke spoke through gritted teeth.  "And thank you so kindly for the suggestion — yes, indeed, perhaps I should tread upon the rest of the individuals resting on the floor around me.  It would certainly do wonders, making an enemy out of everyone in the room right off the bat, as I seem to have done with you!”

Kyousuke forced a smile, the upturned corner of his mouth twitching.

"Oh, I’m sorry, that was sarcasm, wasn’t it?  Forgive me, boy, but in all my many decades I seem to have lost my knack for such conversational techniques.  Please, do accept my apologies, Mister…?”

Mitsuru was intrigued by his explanation. Having accessed the Kirijo Group’s archives and research many a time, she once recalled having read into a study of psychically powered individuals. Could these ‘Espers’ he mentioned be a formal organization of that group? If not, perhaps a faction? What’s more, she could only ponder as to how this new information pertained to their current circumstances. Though it was a loosely-grounded assumption considering she only had his and her accounts to go off of, could it be that her initial deduction had been correct? Several youths in possession of some variant of unique mental abilities gathered together in the name of experimentation? As it was a probable explanation, the metal collar secured tightly around her neck gave her the incentive to think that whoever the grandmaster behind this kidnapping scheme was had something much more sinister in mind.

"I am the leader of a small task force whose members’ possess the abilities to manifest their psyche into defense mechanisms called ‘Persona’. It is with our Persona that we eliminate entities known as ‘Shadows’ from the world and prevent any cataclysmic event that may befall the world should the Shadows prevail." Suffice to say, Mitsuru wasn’t too eager to give too many details about S.E.E.S and The Dark Hour away, even if Kyousuke appeared like an open book himself. That, coupled with the fact that the manifestation and use of a Persona was somewhat of a difficult process to explain, made it a bit hard to give away much information. In fact, the heiress knew it would be far easier to merely show him her abilities. But without her evoker, it would be difficult for her summon her Persona. And judging from Kyousuke’s admission, she wondered if she would even be able to tap into her abilities, evoker or not. “I too remember little before my abduction. After having been disarmed by a black-shrouded assailant, I believe I managed to land some sort of attack in a brief hand-to-hand scuffle before passing out and waking up here."

"Were it not for this infernal device around my neck, my powers would be more than sufficient to destroy our would-be prison and allow each and every one of us to escape — and judging from your demeanor, you seem to be hiding at least a few details about your own powers, about this "Persona" of yours.  Now, I believe that honesty is the foundation of any relationship, whether it be one of acquaintances or one of allies in whatever twisted scheme might lay in store for us, so I’ve got a proposition for you — I have a, well, a family I’m more than eager to return to, and the longer this collar remains around my neck, the more my life is in danger, so I’ll need all the allies I can get to survive what’s in store.  You seem like a perfectly capable young woman, so if you would consider telling me about this "Persona" of yours, I’d be inclined to suggest we enter into an alliance, a mutually beneficial relationship, in order to better ensure the both of us survive this ordeal… whatever it might be."

He sighed thinking back on it in such detail for the first time in a long time.

"Now I’m only a psuedo-vampire. I heal faster than normal but it just means I’m difficult to kill. I can see really well and I get a little stronger than normal every now and then…" Araragi tapped the collar on his neck. “This thing, whatever it is, is making my healing nonexistent."

Araragi laughed then cringed a little thinking about all of the times he’s unconsciously relied on his near immortal body, how he’s only survived this long because of it, and how even if he didn’t have it he still would have done the same thing.

"It would seem that my analogy about caged rats was spot-on, then."

"This might seem outlandish," Kyousuke began, "but considering the circumstances that brought us here, my assumption might well be on the mark.  It is altogether likely that whoever kidnapped us and brought us to this location plans to pit us against each other for their own amusement.  I know not how, nor do I know when, but it would appear that we are all to be contestants in some sort of game — these collars, designed to strip us of whatever powers we may have, as well as whatever other means they employ to keep us in line, would seem to indicate that."

Kyousuke wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.  “Now, mind you, I could be completely mistaken, but I have lived a very long time, and since we clearly are far from in a normal prison situation, as our numbers and the fact that we were sedated prior to arriving here would lead me to believe, the possibility of us all being pitted against each other seems altogether likely.  And assuming that is the case, an alliance would be both advantageous and problematic — with an alliance, betrayal is always a possibility… and yet, in all but a few outlying cases, allying with others is a sure way to last at least a bit longer in an elimination scenario.  So, Araragi… what do you say?”