BiggerCheddar

“Uh, yeah, I have a question: What is wrong with you!?” - Cassidy Hellhound

“What do you mean by ‘we’?” - Kibo Hira

“Do you seriously think you can keep us here forever?” - Maria Teresa

“Who came up with this demented bullshit!?” - Munashe Sipho

And just like that, the floodgates opened: pure and utter pandemonium. All the calm and s’mores were discarded, leaving a mess of both the deck and ourselves.

If people weren’t getting up and yelling, they were seated and internally panicking: I was one of those people.

But, right out of the pandemonium, when Hi picked up Dev and threatened to burn them at the stake, an ear-splitting announcement rang out from the speakers and Dev.

“Violence against Captain Dev and all other crew members is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of property. Violations of this rule will result in immediate execution, no exceptions.” - Dev

A small thump was heard after that. I know Hi is the smallest victim here, but no, it wasn’t her body. She had quickly unhanded the “Captain”, leaving them to fall on the floor. We all knew that was no empty threat; Dev was as serious as a corpse.

“Less than a smooth landing, but I won’t penalize you for it. You’re welcome.” - Dev

“Thank you…?” - Fukusu Hi

“Don’t thank it! That’s a sign of weakness.” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“Careful now, insulting the damn thing might become against the rules.” - Yufukuna Kojika

“I can assure you all that won’t happen. You all may have the freedom of speech.” - Dev

“How generous…! The bare minimum.” - Yufukuna Kojika

Before anyone else could get another word out, that damn announcement rang out again. You don’t understand how ear-splitting that noise pollution was, just for Dev to say something stupid like,

“Unless a trial, game, or special request from the crew is in motion, sailors must return to a cabin room by midnight. The cabin room does not have to be your own, but if you fail to make it to a cabin room before midnight, don’t let a crew member catch you. Before midnight, you may ask a crew member to extend your curfew for the night, but only for that night. To follow that up, while you may be present in another sailor’s cabin, you may not remain there overnight, unless given permission by a crew member beforehand. For tonight and tonight only, you all have special permission to be out past curfew and be in each other’s cabin rooms overnight.” - Dev

And if things couldn’t get any worse, now we have a curfew, like we’re all children or something— well, some of us here are minors, but I’m not, so my point still stands.

I must’ve been too engrossed in my own thoughts, because Xing taking my hand and gently tugging me upwards had caught me off guard. I could faintly hear him mumbling something about how this was too much for one night, and how he needed to lie down. I was okay with tagging along, but one more inconvenience had to tick me off tonight.

“Kano! I feel really unsafe now… We should have a sleepover! Come on! I see the others doing it as well!” - Valentina Natalja

Which was true, the others were breaking off into their own little friend groups: Thao, Utsukushi, Usagi, and Sinclair. Sipho, Ji-Su, Kaze, and Kojika. Hellhound, Hi, Hira, and Kurasu. Teresa, Iro, Owari, and Luck. And right now, it’s me, Xing, Natalja, and Osamu, at least, that’s what they wanted. I didn’t forget earlier today, and I wasn’t going to pretend as I did: what nerve they have. Well, Natalja had mostly, Osamu looked forced to tag along. Still, I’m peeved.

“No, I refuse to do that with you two.” - Kano Shin

“What— Come on! We don’t plan on killing you two, we just wanna bond~” - Valentina Natalja

“I said no already. I don’t know why you want to talk to us now, especially after excluding us so much, but we’re not interested.” - Kano Shin

“Exclude!? I’ll let you know, we had a nice conversation earlier today!” - Valentina Natalja

“Shin, are you really about to be this petty?” - Nao Osamu

“It’s not about you, Osamu. Not everything I do is about you.” - Kano Shin

“…I never meant to imply that.” - Nao Osamu

“Whatever. Our answer is still no.” - Kano Shin

“You can’t speak for Xing. Come on, bunny wabbit, please~” - Valentina Natalja

I honestly expected Xing to fold, that we’d need another lesson, that I’d have to tolerate those two for the night, but no. Xing’s hold on my hand tightened, his whole body tensing up. He gave the two the nastiest glare, tugging at my sleeve a bit.

“We said no three times already. You know how weird of you that is? Leave us be. Let’s go, Ms. Shin.” - Xing Xing

“Of course, sugar…! I told you so.” - Kano Shin

Of course, as the two of us exited the deck, less than satisfied mutters came from behind us, where the two let out their grievances about our rejection.

“She uses that nickname often.” - Nao Osamu

“Wait, was I supposed to call her Ms. Shin? We’re only one year apart, no? Aww~ Kano is so strict~” - Valentina Natalja

“She’s much colder than normal, and it’s even infected the other guy. Have they really changed this much in only four days?” - Nao Osamu

“Two technically, if you believe them, but yeah! I swear he was much more open than that. But maybe they were always like that, we don’t really know know them like that, honestly.” - Valentina Natalja

“Sure.” - Nao Osamu

“What do you mean ‘sure’?” - Valentina Natalja

“I mean sure.” - Nao Osamu

“I’m glad my funny is rubbing off on you~ Wait… they could be acting like this because of what Dev said?” - Valentina Natalja

“It’s likely a combination of both.” - Nao Osamu

“Nao! The ever so wise~” - Valentina Natalja

“Hush. Immediately.” - Nao Osamu

Back to Xing and me again, I know you missed us. We made our way to our shared cabin in no time. We weren’t used to the layout quite yet, but it surprisingly wasn’t that confusing.

I had to quickly smack Xing’s hand away from the doorknob before it made contact, don’t want a repeat of our day one. We’ve been pretty on top of that since then, making sure to swipe our keycards first, but the emotional toll of today must’ve hazed that part of his mind.

“Keycard.” - Kano Shin

“Oh, yeah, right…” - Xing Xing

“You’ve had a long day, sugar. It’s okay. Nothing a nice shower and some rest can’t fix.” - Kano Shin

“I really hope…” - Xing Xing

“Hey, you can even use all the hot water, if that’s even possible. I should take more cold showers anyway.” - Kano Shin

“That’s psychotic.” - Xing Xing

“Medical, actually.” - Kano Shin

“Gosh, what more do you have?” - Xing Xing

“You’ll see as we go on, consider it as little surprises.” - Kano Shin

“I will be severely worried about you, I hope you know.” - Xing Xing

“I’ll tuck you into bed if that’ll help. Maybe read you a bedtime story too, sugar?” - Kano Shin

“I’m worried about you. I should be the one tucking you in.” - Xing Xing

“That does sound nice~” - Kano Shin

“Shush! Just because I find you funnier than them, doesn’t mean you’re actually funny.” - Xing Xing

“I know, it means I’m hilarious. Or does it? It honestly doesn’t take much to top them.” - Kano Shin

“Ooo, that was cold!” - Xing Xing

“You’re oozing sarcasm. Stop that.” - Kano Shin

“You don’t mean that, you think I’m good company too, admit it!” - Xing Xing

“I never denied it.” - Kano Shin

“Aww~” - Xing Xing

“Get in the room.“ - Kano Shin

That’s when I finally fished my keycard out of my landyard; that was enough chit-chat for now, at least for a short while. Xing is good company.

As soon as that small ding rang out, my hand went to the doorknob, turning the handle and pushing the door open. It’d take me time to get used to this glorified hotel room, but I’d rather be here right now than out there with the others.

As I waited for my turn to shower, I made sure my machine was ready for the night. I wasn’t sleepy, and I doubted I’d fall asleep right after my shower like last time, but I better do something while I waited. Almost as soon as I was done with that, it dawned on me that Xing and I hadn’t had dinner yet. I mean, we did skip out on having it yesterday, but that doesn’t mean it should turn into a habit.

*Perspective Shift To Xing Xing*

I don’t know how long I was in that shower for; I just know it was for too long. Ms. Shin said I could use all the hot water, so hopefully, she won’t be upset at me.

Today was too much, everything was too much. The situation, the people, the environment, the water temperature, did I mention the people yet? Every single thing was too much; everything was stressing me out, and it was only day four, day two of being fully conscious. If this is what the first few days were like, I’d never survive here. I cried on my second day, for god’s sake, that’s pathetic. At least Ms. Shin was there to pick me back up.

Don’t even get me started on the two I freaked out on earlier. I do somewhat regret it, but still not entirely, though, which kinda makes me feel even worse, and like a jerk. But it’s fine, they’ll get over it, it’s not like they’ll take it to heart; they don’t even like me. If they did, they wouldn’t make us feel so alienated after trying to be friendly. Maybe they’re the jerks? No, that’s what a jerk would say…

By the time I probably boiled the first layer of my skin off, my skin was flushed, and my fingers were pruny: yup, that was enough showering. It didn’t take me too long to moisturize or throw on some clean pajamas; thankfully, I was given a bunch of long sleeves. I also had to make sure to get my mask on properly. I’d take it off when it was time for bed, but for now, I didn’t even want my own eyes looking at that half, let alone Ms. Shin’s.

“Sorry I took so long—“ - Xing Xing

I was greeted with a plate of baked potatoes and a bottle of wine when I exited the bathroom, as well as a few bottles of water. Beside it was Ms. Shin, already a few pages deep into a book. As soon as she heard the bathroom door open, she perked up, setting the book aside without even folding the page or inserting a bookmark. I hope that meant she was eager to talk to me.

“We skipped dinner last night. Thought we should have something tonight.” - Kano Shin

“Oh, thank you…! And it’s still hot. How long ago did you make these?” - Xing Xing

“Not even twenty minutes ago. You took your sweet time in there, helped with the surprise.”

“Yeah… And I probably used all of the hot water as well. Sorry about that.” - Xing Xing

“Nothing to apologize for, I said you could.” - Kano Shin

Kano is good company, really good company. Maybe I’m just being clingy during hard times, but she didn’t even seem to mind; she didn’t even question why I still had my mask on. That’s a lot more than I could say for some other people. Falling into conversation was easy with her, even if I winced slightly whenever a negative comment was thrown out about the others.

I still had slight optimism about our peers, which made that earlier argument flash through my head again. I completely understood her, agreed even, but I still believed she had a rather pessimistic view on things. Or am I just a blind optimist? I can't tell which one of us is being realistic now…

“And guess who was in the kitchen while I was trying to cook? Hira, the apothecary one. I don’t have that big of a problem with him, but birds of a feather, you know? He’s still with them. So talk about awkward.” - Kano Shin

I must’ve been thinking a bit too hard, because a few seconds later, without a response from me, she perked up again, her voice much softer now. It reminded me of the tone she used towards the end of our argument, but it felt much more gentle now for some reason.

“Would you rather I change the topic?” - Kano Shin

“Yeah… gossip isn’t my strong suit.” - Xing Xing

“Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing, it’s fine.” - Kano Shin

“Right, sorry. Oh, I noticed that you didn’t add any cheese to your potato. Are you lactose intolerant?” - Xing Xing

“Nope, well… technically… I have Alpha Gale.” - Kano Shin

“Alpha Gale?” - Xing Xing

“I’m allergic to mammal meat. But it’s so bad, I can’t even eat mammal products. My main sources of protein are birds and seafood.” - Kano Shin

“Oh! Damn… So, you’ve never had a good stake before?” - Xing Xing

“Sadly, no. I mean, I wasn’t born with it; I contracted it after being bitten by a tick. But I was five at the time, so maybe that’s a good thing, or else I’d be longing for stake and lamb chops for fourteen years.” - Kano Shin

“At least you can have sushi?” - Xing Xing

“Thank god, and crab too. I’d rather forgo mammals than seafood.” - Kano Shin

“Really?” - Xing Xing

“Really. Or maybe I’m just coping…” - Kano Shin

“Maybe.” - Xing Xing

I pressed the glass of wine against my lips, tilting upwards to take a swig of the clear liquid. It warmed my chest as it went down, and I heard snickering from Ms. Shin as soon as the alcohol touched my lips. It wasn’t the cruel kind of laughter; it sounded much more lighthearted than that.

“Ooo~ You’re a criminal~” - Kano Shin

“Huh?” - Xing Xing

“Drinking, underaged. That’s illegal.” - Kano Shin

“No, I’m nineteen, remember?” - Xing Xing

“Yeah, you need to be twenty-one to drink.” - Kano Shin

“Since when? It’s eighteen.” - Xing Xing

“No— Where are you from?” - Kano Shin

“I mostly grew up in China: Beijing~” - Xing Xing

“America, New York. That’s why we’re confused.” - Kano Shin

“Are we in American waters?” - Xing Xing

“Hell if I know.” - Kano Shin

Ms. Shin then pressed the glass against her own lips, taking a bigger gulp than I did. Despite basically gulping down half of her drink in one go, she didn’t have the slightest hint of tipsiness. Either the potatoes were working overtime, or she was the actual criminal.

When she pulled the glass away from her lips, a small bit of lip gloss residue was left behind as she placed the glass down. She went in to take another bite of the dinner before noticing my eating habit, dang it…

“You really are like a bunny wabbit. Do you always tilt your head to the side when you eat or drink? - Kano Shin

“Do rabbits do that?” - Xing Xing

“Technically, no. But it seems stereotypically rabbit-like. Kind of like rabbits liking carrots.” - Kano Shin

“Rabbits don’t like carrots?” - Xing Xing

“They do, they just don’t eat it nearly as much as people would think.” - Kano Shin

“Hmm… Good thing I was never in charge of Jiāng.” - Xing Xing

“Jiāng?” - Kano Shin

“My pet rabbit back at home. One of my magical assistants!” - Xing Xing

“Nice~ I sadly don’t have any pets, allergies. I just have brothers.” - Kano Shin

“How many? I had one younger brother, but that’s it for siblings.” - Xing Xing

“I only have three brothers. Two older, one younger— ‘had’?” - Kano Shin

“I-I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full!” - Xing Xing

Ms. Shin gave me a bit of a skeptical look. I knew she wanted to press further, and probably circle back to that original question she had, but chose not to. Thank you.

Both topics are sensitive areas for me. While I like Ms. Shin, I wasn’t ready to say all of that yet. And she just finished her plate, gulping down the rest of her wine with it. Am I really that slow of an eater?

“Let’s hope the food wasn’t laced.” - Kano Shin

“I doubt it, since breakfast wasn’t a disaster.” - Xing Xing

“True, and the others would’ve been out before us.” - Kano Shin

“Mhm…” - Xing Xing

“Alright, I ought to hop in the shower now.” - Kano Shin

“M’kay, I’ll head to bed then.” - Xing Xing

“This early?” - Kano Shin

“Can we even tell what time it is?” - Xing Xing

“I didn’t imagine it being that late, though.” - Kano Shin

“I’m sleepy…” - Xing Xing

“Very well then. Sweet dreams, sugar…!” - Kano Shin

“Sweetest of dreams, Ms. Shin…!” - Xing Xing

And just like that, Ms. Shin arose from the floor, her palm coming into contact to lightly pat my head. She placed her empty plate down on her desk, mumbling something about “Not wanting to go back out there,” at least for the night, I hope. She walked towards the cabin bathroom and closed the door behind her, a soft click confirming the door was closed and locked. Finally, my mask was getting sweaty.

My wine was done, and I finally finished my food. It normally took me a while to eat, but it felt worse this time. I’ll blame it on stress. I crawled into bed, which was surprisingly plush, same thing with the pillows and blankets: Concerning, but I shouldn’t complain.

It took me a while to get to sleep, even after Ms. Shin completed her shower. There was too much running through my head. I forced my eyes shut, but the thought that this might be my resting place, my last moments would be spent here, and that the last time I saw the people I loved, it was on a stage where I couldn’t even be real to them, those realizations will forever haunt me. Before I could answer the question of what I did to deserve this, I thankfully fell asleep: I’m not gonna have sweet dreams tonight.

*Perspective Shift Back To Kano Shin*

“Shin! Shin!” - Xing Xing

“Ms. Shin.” - Kano Shin

“Ms. Shin!” - Xing Xing

“Yes?” - Kano Shin

“Did you manage to make any friends?” - Xing Xing

“I think? I was able to chat with the snake-looking one.” - Kano Shin

“Valentina? Was it pleasant?” - Xing Xing

“Define ‘pleasant.’” - Kano Shin

“I see…” - Xing Xing

“And you?” - Kano Shin

“So-so…” - Xing Xing

“So bad.” - Kano Shin

“I wouldn’t go that far!” - Xing Xing

Of course, you wouldn’t, you’re far too nice to actually say it, even if no one is listening. But, to be fair, the conversation could have actually been just okay. It’s just a bit skewed since Xing is too much of a sweetie pie. Sorry, it annoys me to great end, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity.

“So… do you know what all the buzz is about?” - Xing Xing

“What buzz? Did you hear about sweetie pie or something?” - Kano Shin

“Don’t remind me… But not that. I was just talking with Tuan and Nao kind of—“ - Xing Xing

“Oh.” - Kano Shin

“What?” - Xing Xing

“Nothing, nothing.” - Kano Shin

“Okay... I was talking with those two, and they were being all… weird. Like, all hush hush, you know?” - Xing Xing

“Oh, I know. Natalja was acting the same way. Not at first, but towards the end of our conversation, she was talking about ‘top secret’, and how I don’t have entry.” - Kano Shin

“Nao was scolding Tuan for trying to tell me about whatever that must’ve been. And he still didn’t tell me…” - Xing Xing

So it wasn’t just Madam Natalja, it was those two as well. I doubt this secrecy thing is just a small group thing; it’s most definitely everybody, everybody else but us. I promised to make more friends, but I don’t befriend the enemy. Okay, they’re not the enemy yet, but with all of the exclusion, it’ll soon become that way. If Xing doesn’t have the foresight to see it, I’ll have to guide him through the dark.

“Keeping secrets from us, huh? How friendly.” - Kano Shin

“I can see where this is going. Stop it. It must be for a good reason.” - Xing Xing

“You give people too much benefit of the doubt.” - Kano Shin

“You don’t give them nearly enough.” - Xing Xing

“Xing, sugar, you think they’re friendly just because they small-talk us sometimes? Come on, they don’t care to go any further.”

“Cut them some slack, this is a stressful situation—“ - Xing Xing

“Cut them slack? Did they ever cut us some slack? We were sick and overly drugged up for two whole days in a row. Did they care about that? No. Half of them don’t even want to talk to us.” - Kano Shin

“Some of them do—“ - Xing Xing

“To make fun of us. ‘Boytoy,’ ‘sweetie pie,’ not even giving us a day before scrutinizing us. Kicking down our door, showing us either disdain or mockery.” - Kano Shin

“Just give them time—“ - Xing Xing

“Making friends here is pointless, I can see that now. They want nothing to do with us, sugar. The only people here we can trust are—“ - Kano Shin

“Stop interrupting me!” - Xing Xing

Shit. Oh god… Before you even start, no, I’m not afraid of Xing, that just took me aback. Yeah, I only knew that guy for what? Two days? But he never seemed like the type to raise his voice: I guess everyone has a breaking point, though.

I guess my attempt at guidance wasn’t fancied or appreciated. Was my diction off or something? Maybe my tone? Whatever it was, I doubt Xing will let his upset from it linger long; I hope he doesn’t…

“For the love of god, stop interrupting me, and stop talking over me! Let me speak, please…” - Xing Xing

Silence, from me at least. I dare not even utter a word of understanding, deciding to just nod instead. I didn’t know how else to react, bowing my head almost instinctively. I still believed I was correct, but I also knew trying to argue further now would lead to disaster. Xing is delicate and gentle, so I should hold his hand more softly next time.

“Look me in the eye.” - Xing Xing

I did. I raised my head to look him right in the one visible eye he possessed. Holding his gaze wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I met this man only yesterday, and this is his second time getting upset at me. Whether it’s deserved or not, that’s not a good record to hold.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but you’re being way too prejudiced. Your thinking is completely 2D; you’re not considering why they’re doing it, you’re just thinking about how it makes you feel. That’s callous, you know that, right?”

“It’s rational. Am I meant to stuff my feelings down and shove them aside, just for the sake of others? Is that any more healthy?” - Kano Shin

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, be more patient.” - Xing Xing

“Be a people pleaser?” - Kano Shin

“Ms. Shin. If this continues to be a disagreement, I’ll be forced to distance myself from you.” - Xing Xing

Now that, that made something in me snap. Not in a loud way, but still violent either way. What was he thinking? I know I said I would never beg for friends, but would you really consider this begging? It’s persuasion, a plea to stay…

“Excuse me?” - Kano Shin

“I— Oh…” - Xing Xing

A soft touch to his hand, my promise to guide him more softly. Violence can feel soft, doesn’t mean it is, but I never promised that much.

I let our fingers intertwine, squeezing softly once I did. I make it sound tender, but the look I gave him was anything but that. There was frustration and barely restrained sorrow in my eyes, in my hold, in my voice. I never took myself for the needy type, but I guess the worst situations bring out our true selves.

“Distance? What? Do you plan on being alone the whole time, sugar? No one bothers to give you— us the time of day. We have to talk to them to be acknowledged, and even then, all it is is small talk. The only time they try, it’s out of pity, amusement, or necessity. That’s no company. I’m the only one here who actually treats you like a human being. Sugar, would you really rather eighteen hellos over one true friend?” - Kano Shin

“I… I… I’m sorry, this whole thing is just stressing me out…!” - Xing Xing

And that was the first time Xing broke down. He crashed against me and let it all out. We had met when the sun first began to rise the day before, and now, as the sunset the day after, I craddled the back of his head in my hand, my other hand soothingly rubbing his back.

When I said he let it all out, I meant it. His head rested on my shoulder while his face was buried in my neck, and he just sobbed while he was there, the only violent thing he was capable of so far. Xing was delicate, gentle, and apparently vulnerable too, bawling to the woman he had only met yesterday morning. I didn’t mind, not at all. I was more than willing to soothe him. Maybe I was vulnerable too, comforting the man I had only met one day prior.

“Dev wants us to have a bonfire. Says there’s something important they need to tell us—“ - Su-Ji Ji-Su

“I’m so sorry! Wrong time—!” - Liberty Luck

“It’s fine. You were sent by that little thing anyway.” - Kano Shin

I took Xing’s hand into mine once more, gently tugging him along. The ringmaster was more focused on hiding his face and disposing of his previous tears. I happily acted as his eyes.

I could sense the awkwardness from behind me, Ji-Su and Luck knowing they had come at a bad time and trying not to make it worse.

Getting to said bondfire didn’t take long. I could see the smoke from across the ship, and it was only out on the deck. Dev was generous enough to provide us with graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows, the whole s’more kit. Almost all of the seats were full, leaving only four empty spaces for me, Xing, Ji-Su, and Luck. I waited for the other two to find their space again, not wanting to accidentally sit where they once were.

Xing and I had our backs to the endless sea, the rabbit slumped on my shoulder, but still conscious. To my left was unfortunately Osamu, and to Xing’s right was Kaze. Like it was preprogrammed into the thing, as soon as we got settled, Dev spoke up.

“Hello, sailors! I hope you’re all getting along well?” - Dev

A few mumbles followed after that question. None real answers, and none came from me.

“I am holding this bonfire since I have a very important announcement to make. This was meant to happen on day two, but due to the two residents in the pink cabin needing urgent medical care for the first few days, I decided to postpone it. But day four is better than never!” - Dev

I could feel a few people glance our way when the little puppet mentioned us. Most quick glances, but it was all still noticeable.

“You may all be wondering why you are all here, and what we want with you. To answer your first question, all of your participation was somewhat voluntary. Some deception and brutality was done on our part, but all your signatures are still on the bottom of the papers. Think back, and you’ll have your answer. As for the second question, we wanted to hold both a test and a show. We wanted an entertaining way to experiment on how gifted and exceptional human beings would react in a psychological game. One of teamwork, solitude, life, and death.” - Dev

I knew it. Of course, I wasn’t theorizing a death game, but I knew our purpose on this ship was dark, and I didn’t entirely expect our purpose to be that much of a bombshell. My face almost gave way to the amount of despair that washed over me. Me? In a game of life and death? My body barely wanted to be alive itself, so now I’d just have eighteen more threats to worry about, and hopefully not nineteen.

I could hear whispers heighten, fabric and skin being clutched tighter, Xing sitting up straight, and the many glances to one another. As if that horrid news wasn’t enough, Dev kept going.

“The game you’ll be playing won’t have us killing you, hopefully. We want to see what it’ll take for you all to kill each other. We want to see if we can turn even the most civilized barbaric, if you will.” - Dev

So, is this a game or an experiment? Most likely both, Dev even said it themselves. What kind of enjoyment can one even get out of this? Brutality can be fun, sure, but not when it’s real; that’s just plain horrific, and least to the mentally sane.

“I know there will be resistance, so I’ll dangle treats in front of you all: Freedom. Kill one of your fellow sailors, get away with it, and you’ll be set free. But salvation won’t be that easy. Fail to get away with your crime, via being found rightfully guilty at the trial by fire, and face a brutal execution. Non-bloodied sailors, fail to convict the correct blackened, and face a brutal execution. To reduce confusion, a mock trial will be held in a few sunsets from now. Fail to participate, and you will walk the plank. Before that, you will all play a game the morning after tomorrow’s, those will become regular. Before that, tomorrow evening, I will have you all record something for us. Day seven will hold your mock trial, day six will hold your first game, and day five will be the recording. About a week to get cozy should be fair.” - Dev

A week? To be fair, no amount of time will get us used to our new conditions, but a week still seems cruel, especially since we have to do things in between, things that definitely aren’t optional.

Before you even mention it, don’t even get me started on this “game” that we’re meant to play: Kill each other? For our freedom? So, we have to reduce ourselves to the barbaric nature of murder, just to earn our natural right back? Wonderful…

My current concern was now trust. I knew everybody here wanted their freedom back; we’re all human, me included. I’m no different in this case, but that only added to the horror of our newfound situation. No, I wouldn’t say I’m scared, just a bit more… paranoid…

“Apologies for the information dump, but all of that was written in my script. Further rules will be put into place as we go along when necessary. Any questions, comments, or concerns?” - Dev

*Perspective Shift To Xing Xing*

I knew it’d be better if I tried befriending someone who was trying to talk to me and Ms. Shin yesterday, but I’m just stumped at which one to speak to. Maybe not Ruth; he was barely there. Yasei was also pretty quiet. Happi was rather… mean, not that I blame him, though. So, that just left me with either Oki or Tuan.

Good news, I didn’t have to think about whom I’d choose for long. Bad news…

“Whoa! Careful where you’re going, bunny!” - Tuan Thao

“Oh! Hello! Are you busy right now?” - Xing Xing

“Uh… Only a little bit. Did you need something—?” - Tuan Thao

“Yes, we are very busy right now. Come on, Tuan.” - Nao Osamu

Yeah, I almost got knocked down by Tuan and what he was holding, wohoo…

It may not be any of my business, but I couldn’t help but be curious: What were they busy with? And why did it require Tuan’s whole entire mattress? Well, it makes more sense that it’s his whole mattress.

“Nao, dude, relax. We can take five to talk.” - Tuan Thao

“Can we? I don’t fancy spending another day here.” - Nao Osamu

“We could at least let him in on the scoop.” - Tuan Thao

“Don’t be foolish, he’s not nearly trustworthy enough for that.” - Nao Osamu

“You said you trusted Kano, though. They both crawled out of the same room, at the same time.” - Tuan Thao

“That’s entirely different. It only takes one spy for this whole thing to crumble.” - Nao Osamu

“And how do you know we haven’t already invited a spy in? Come on, relax.” - Tuan Thao

“A damn near impossible task you’re asking of me. You do realize that, right?” - Nao Osamu

I’m still there, by the way, if you were wondering. My eyes pingponged between the two red roommates, watching optimism and paranoia trying to talk it out.

Now, I was really curious: Let me in on what? And still, why the mattress? Gosh, I’m asking a lot of questions today. I’ll definitely tell Ms. Shin about this later. Hopefully her attempt at making friends is going smoother than mine.

“Fine, fine, I concede. You can let him in. But if he stabs us in the back, I’m not responsible for it, at all.” - Nao Osamu

“Whatever. Thank you for at least letting me tell him though!” - Tuan Thao

“Yeah, yeah. And carry your own damn mattress. I won’t wait up.” - Nao Osamu

That conceding part was eerily similar to Ms. Shin, plus the trusting her part: I’ll ask her later, if I remember, of course.

Both Tuan and I watched as Nao walked out of the dormitory hallway, turning the corner and disappearing. So, about that top secret operation they were planning, or whatever. Sorry! That came out more sarcastic and rude than I meant…

“What was it again? Boytoy?” - Tuan Thao

“Please…” - Xing Xing

“My bad, only your sweetie pie can call you that~” - Tuan Thao

“Sweetie— What!? My what?” - Xing Xing

“Kano, you can thank me for that one~” - Tuan Thao

“It’s Ms. Shin. And first Tsuyoi, now you…?” - Xing Xing

“Relax, man! Just jokes!” - Tuan Thao

“Hahaha…” - Xing Xing

“Come on, don’t be like that! Walk with me!” - Tuan Thao

And like that, Tuan slung the mattress above his head, letting it rest on the crown of his head, his neck, and his shoulders, a good way to social distance, I guess.

Remember that top secret thingy Tuan was gonna let me in on? Yeah… about that… He kept getting sidetracked, and that never happened, even after I tried steering the conversation back that way multiple times. Don’t get me wrong, I mostly enjoyed the conversation, but that was a bit of a bummer. But hey, I came here to make a friend, and I think I succeeded at that!

Goddamn it, Xing. Yesterday, when I begrudgingly agreed to “make friends,” I was just expecting to hide behind Xing the entire time while he conversed, but no, far from that.

You don’t understand how pathetic it feels to be a renowned author, playwright, and storyteller in general, and still choke up when all you have to do is say a simple hi.

“Pardon me.” - Kano Shin

“Oh! Apologies~” - Valentina Natalja

When Natalja took a step to the side, I just stared at her awkwardly: That isn’t exactly what I wanted to happen.

What had happened was, probably for a few minutes, we just stared each other down. It was like the sun boring into my lenses: At this rate, I’ll get cataracts.

“Not much of a talker, aye?” - Valentina Natalja

“Excuse me?” - Kano Shin

“You wanted to get by right?” - Valentina Natalja

“Oh, no.” - Kano Shin

“Mmm! Aren’t you the easiest to talk to!” - Valentina Natalja

I want to talk, that’s what I wanted to do; I just, for some reason, can’t get the words out. Even if I could, I’d probably blurt out something idiotic like,

“I wanted to say hi.” - Kano Shin

“Hello to you too then! You just seemed so icy, didn’t know I was worthy of your grace~” - Valentina Natalja

“Yeah, yeah. You should thank your lucky stars I picked you.” - Kano Shin

Sarcasm! Sarcasm… I hope she understood that. I assume so, since she seemed like a jester herself. 

Whom am I kidding? I’m not a jester, but my point still stands.

“Believe me, I’m honored! Especially after seeing how you treat Nao and everybody else, you make me blush~” - Valentina Natalja

“Might as well kiss my feet while you’re at it.” - Kano Shin

“What about your hand~?” - Valentina Natalja

“I’ll pass. On both.” - Kano Shin

“Aww~ You’re being cold again!” - Valentina Natalja

“With how Russian your name sounds, that should be just fine and dandy with you.” - Kano Shin

She giggled a bit at that, a small snort leaving her nose. She reminded me a bit of a snake or a puppy dog; the permanent tongue peeking out helped my imagination. I best not mention that to her, though, there’s a fine line between adoring and infantilizing, not that I’m at either level, yet.

“Why are you trying to get all chummy with me, Ms. Shin~?”  - Valentina Natalja

“Is it a crime now?” - Kano Shin

“No~ No. Is it not working out with Sir. Boytoy~?” - Valentina Natalja

“God, this needs to end soon.” - Kano Shin

“If it makes you feel any worse, you know how he’s referred to as your boytoy? You’re referred to as his sweetie pie~” - Valentina Natalja

“You can not be serious. And why do I get the cheesy pet name?” - Kano Shin

“Irony, Ms. Storyteller.” - Valentina Natalja

“Irony is supposed to be funny.” - Kano Shin

“I’m laughing!” - Valentina Natalja

“It doesn’t take much to amuse a child.” - Kano Shin

“Eighteen!” - Valentina Natalja

“Not what I meant.” - Kano Shin

Despite how this conversation invoked more negative emotions out of me (*cough* *cough* annoyance *cough*), it was still rather entertaining. I appreciate Lady Luck— not Liberty. Anyway, I appreciate Lady Luck for giving me one of the least cold and stand-offish people to run into. Be the change I want to see in the world? My little inner soliloquy is rather disrespectful…

“Well~ I best get back to my duties!” - Valentina Natalja

“Which are?” - Kano Shin

“Top secret! An outsider like you hasn’t gained entry yet!” - Valentina Natalja

“How peachy.” - Kano Shin

And just like that, our conversation ended with Natalja basically skipping away. If I cared that much, I would’ve followed to see what that “top secret” was, but I have a bad enough reputation at this point, so I just remained standing there for a few more seconds. I wonder if I have a new acquaintance now.

It was finally the end of a long day. We woke up right before the sun, and now I was too tired to go to sleep after it.

Xing and I had collectively decided to start our friend-making mission tomorrow: give everybody the chance to settle down, and let the awe of two new people pass. In the meantime, we looked around the ship.

I know it’s a yacht, but our kidnappers must be billionaires. Even though Dev forbade us from some of the rooms, there were still signs near each of the areas: A pool, a hot tub, a spa area, landry room, a boiler room (which was blocked off), cabins, a storage room (which was also blocked off), and even a whole game room, which, when we asked, Dev informed us it was more for gambling than board games. And of course, there was also a water slide, a bar, which was weird, considering none of us can legally drink yet, anyway. There was also a cockpit (another thing blocked off), a different downstairs area (once again, blocked off), a kitchen, a medical bay, a currently unlit bonfire, and an ominous plank on the side of the ship.

When Xing and I decided that we’d call it a night, we got informed about a few things that we missed in our cabin room, a little “Ultimate Kit”. Like our med kits, each one was tailored specifically to each individual person and their needs.

“Are you a ringmaster, or a magician?” - Kano Shin

“I did both. I got grandfathered into the ringmaster role, but I was a magician before my promotion.” - Xing Xing

“Good to know.” - Kano Shin

I replied rather awkwardly, contemplating whether or not I should add on with a fun fact about myself, or if that would come off as trying to one-up him. Thankfully, I didn’t have to weigh my options for long.

“I see you got a Rubik's Cube. Does that have anything to do with storytelling?” - Xing Xing

“I could technically make the connection, but I still don’t know why they gave it to me, unscrambled too.” - Kano Shin

I placed the cube down, continuing to rummage through my box: Books, highlighters, a stapler, basically, just a lot of stationery. Something did excite me a bit, though. Of course, the books made me a bit happier; I won’t die of boredom, but I also found a journal with a pack of pens.

The storyteller likes writing, florals for spring, but let me have this in such a horrid time.

“I call first dibs on the shower!” - Xing Xing

“I’m fine with that, I must ask Dev something anyway…” - Kano Shin

“Dev!? Are you really gonna talk to that thing willingly? It was against our wills earlier, but now?” - Xing Xing

“It’s very important, no one likes sleeping with a snorer.” - Kano Shin

“True… Tell me about it later!” - Xing Xing

“I will, sugar.” - Kano Shin

I know that conversation between Dev and me would have been so interesting, not actually though. I just had to inform Dev to make a medical accommodation, to which they obliged, stating that they already had it covered. When I did come back, I found Xing on the floor playing with a deck of cards.

I noticed that Xing still had his mask on, the bunny wabbit one. It seemed a bit odd to me, considering he had his pajamas and seemed ready for bed, but it also wasn’t any of my business, I suppose.

“You’re back…!” - Xing Xing

“Not for long, I’m ready to shower.” - Kano Shin

“Tell me about your conversation afterward, please!” - Xing Xing “There’s no need to plead, I already promised beforehand.” - Kano Shin My shower was rather quick, ten to fifteen minutes to shower, and another fifteen to lotion, get dressed, and brush my teeth. The resort-level soap and lotion didn’t sit the best with me senstive skin, but it was better than nothing, I guess.

When I finally stepped out, I was met with the sight of Xing by my bed, looking a bit nervous. What could have possibly happened in the last, what? Half an hour?

“You have sleep appneya?” - Xing Xing

Ah, I see, that’s the issue. My machine wasn’t there before, but now that it was installed, Xing must’ve asked, then put the pieces together. I wouldn’t say I keep my allments a secret, it’s just more of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” sort of thing.

“I do, yes. I apologize, my machine tends to hum loudly—“ - Kano Shin

“Ms. Shin! Those probably can’t be your pajamas!” - Xing Xing

“What do you mean?” - Xing Xing

“You’re just in a robe! You can’t possibly be comfortable in just that, especially around a man you just met!” - Kano Shin

“You see more at the beach or a club. Besides, if we’re gonna be cabinmates for god knows how long, you’re gonna have to get used to this; might as well start desensitizing you to it now.”

“But—“ - Xing Xing

“All my bits are covered, you’ll be fine. It’s just a grown woman in breathable pajamas, you’ll live, sugar.” - Kano Shin

Even as I shooed Xing to his side of the room, I didn’t understand why he got so flustered. It’s just my preferred sleepwear; it’s not like I was naked or something. Oh well.

As I strapped the mask onto my face, I could hear Xing settle into bed as well, turned the opposite way from me. I was able to fight sleep off for maybe another hour or two. I wanted the other guy to be deep asleep first before I played the white noise of my life machine, not wanting to wake him, but…

“You weren’t joking…” - Xing Xing

“Ah, you’re still awake, apologies…” - Kano Shin

“Don’t, I’m not gonna be mad just because you want to survive the night. I can tank the noise.” - Xing Xing

“…Thank you. Good night, sugar.” - Kano Shin “Sweet dreams, Ms. Shin…!” - Xing Xing

“We’re comin’ in! If you don’t mind, of course…!” - Tuan Thao

I don’t see the point in asking if we mind while doing said action. But what do I know? In this situation, I wouldn’t even be bothered enough to check in on us. To be fair, though, I can’t even be bothered to get to know seventeen more in my current position, one- well, two is enough.

“It’s quite rude to just barge in, no?” - Yasei Kaze

“Come on, it’s a public space. Who cares?” - Happi Owari

“I couldn’t guess who…” - Kano Shin

For the sake of my peace and well-being, at least only four of them decided to join us in the kitchen: Kaze, Kurasu, Owari, and Thao, but I did also noticed Sinclair by the door, so maybe it’ll be five.

Even after they opened the door and stepped in, I didn’t bother to even glance over my shoulder to look at them. I could use the excuse that I was trying to focus on cooking, but the truth was pretty obvious: I just didn’t want to talk, period.

“You have not said one nice thing since you woke up, have you?” - Happi Owari

“I haven’t said anything nice to any of you, yes. But Xing?” - Kano Shin

“Can confirm!” - Xing Xing

That was the only time I looked away from the stove, just to look over at and motion towards Xing, who was now propped up on the counter and eating his apple again, somehow regaining his eccentricity.

“Okay, we didn’t come here for you to suck up to your little boy-toy. We wanna talk! To both of you! With no bias!” - Oki Kurasu

“Oh, I don’t want to talk anymore…” - Xing Xing

“I will never be friends with… Utsukushi was it? She has influenced you all…” - Kano Shin

“You can call her by her first name, you know? You can call all of us by our given names, it’s fine! Helps us become friends quicker, yeah?” - Tuan Thao

“That’s nice, but I still prefer last names. It’s just more formal.” - Kano Shin

“You call Xing by his first name, don’t you?” - Yasei Kaze

“Well, his given name is the same as his family name, so I don’t see how that counts.” - Kano Shin

“Alright, alright, let me steer this convo somewhere else. What are you making?” - Oki Kurasu

Silence. That’s all I gave, silence. It’s not that I didn’t have an answer, I just didn’t wanna give one. Why? Too much energy.

“…Chicken and waffles, she’s making chicken and waffles.” - Xing Xing

“I would’ve thought she was making crack by the way she’s acting.” - Happi Owari

“Let’s be civil now-!” - Oki Kurasu

“They don’t want to talk. Why must we force them?” - Yasei Kaze

“We’ll never get to know each other if we don’t force them- wait, whoa… Not like that! But we need to give them that push, you know?” - Tuan Thao

“Enough. Go and think before you speak. and let them have breakfast first.” - Ruth Sinclair

“Yeah, maybe they’ll actually be decent once they’re no longer hangry.” - Happi Owari

Hangry? Hangry. Fine, I’ll be hangry if it means they leave, being left alone. I could hear the shuffling from behind me, then the squeak of a door, but never that familiar click.

I rested the oil-soaked chicken onto a plate beside me, the napkin on to absorb the leftover grease. I patted each tender till the grease from the napkin transferred onto my hands, which I whipped off onto my already waffle-satined jeans. When I shifted to look over at the waffles, I saw two already completed ones on a separate plate, large and fluffy. I also observed Xing readying up two more waffles, one more for him, and one more for me, thank you.

“I feel a bit bad for turning them away like that. They just wanted us to feel more included.” - Xing Xing

“If they wanted that so badly, then they would’ve tried actually being decent. You have to admit, sugar, that was a horrible attempt.” - Kano Shin

“Maybe you’re judging them a little too harshly. Besides, we can’t be each other’s only friend, we have to branch out at some point.” - Xing Xing

“I would rather one good comrade than eighteen insufferable ones. When they fix their act, I’ll talk to them.” - Kano Shin

“Maybe you need to fix your act as well?” - Xing Xing

Fix my act? Yeah, right, please tell me that all nineteen of the other passengers are gonna piss me off, I’ll be by my goddamn self if I have to. If it means I don’t have to hear constant noise pollution, I’ll drag my bed into the middle of the sea.

“N-Not like that! I just mean, be more open and patient. People say dumb stuff, don’t shun them completely for it!” - Xing Xing

“I’m not lowering my standards just to make friends. I have the right to pick and choose whom I associate with.” - Kano Shin

“You’re right, of course, but… I kinda wanna be their friend, and I don’t want to see you all lonely and by yourself, you get me?” - Xing Xing

Before you think it, no, I don’t care that much that Xing wants to associate with the others, his life, his choice. Something that did unnerve me was the fact that he assumed I would be all alone without the others.

Humans are social creatures, yes, but I don’t need to be around so many people to feel something; that’s what the mind is for. But I had to admit, if not out loud, then at least to myself, I would go insane if I were truly by myself.

You see, I’m not weak, far from that, but I didn’t want to snuff out the one and only friendship-thingy I had here. As I stated previously, I don’t beg for friends, but in this case, I’ll try to nurture the only one I have.

“…I concede.” - Kano Shin

“What?” - Xing Xing

“You heard me, I concede: I’ll try to connect with other associates.” - Kano Shin

“Come on, don’t phrase it like that…” - Xing Xing

“…Make more friends.” - Kano Shin

“Thank you…!” - Xing Xing

“Mhm.” - Kano Shin

"Excuse me?" - Kano Shin

"Do you not accept my apology?" - Dev

"No, what are you talking about?" - Kano Shin

If we weren't already getting skeptical looks, which we were, we definitely are now. That "weird little puppet thing" that Ruth so cleverly named it was talking to us, how? Genuine question, how?

Dev was just a little bobble head figure that resembled an angel, a biblical one, not those baby ones you'd find at your grandmother's house.

"My team and I accidentally administered too much anesthetic to the both of you. We were also not aware of your allergy. We had to spend the past two days nursing you two back to perfect health." - Dev

"I still went into anaphylaxis." - Kano Shin

"And I was still severely sea sick!" - Xing Xing

"We tried our best..." - Dev

Well, whoever the rest of "we" and "our" are, their best wasn't enough, not nearly enough. The damn thing can kidnap twenty people and put them on a yacht successfully, but can't be proactive nor reactive when it comes to basic medical stuff? I'm not asking for brain surgeons; I just want school nurses at least.

"You two seem rather... comfortable around that thing." - Cassidy Hellhound

"How do you act around your friends?" - Xing Xing

"Huh?" - Cassidy Hellhound

"He's saying we're not comfortable around that bobble head. We don't know that thing at all." - Kano Shin

“I’ll believe it when I see it!” - Su-Ji Ji-Su

“Oh, what are we, five? Get your finger out of my face.” - Kano Shin

“Fine! You probably have some weird disease anyway…” - Su-Ji Ji-Su

This wasn’t the first time I was treated like a wild animal or radioactive, but it’s still annoying the up-teenth time. I don’t blame them for their skepticism; I wouldn’t trust me either. But— Oh for God’s sake…

“I am all for observing and not tampering, but I will have to politely ask you all to welcome the two with open arms. This game will not work without everyone playing their part.” - Dev

“Game?” - Happi Owari

“Playing their part?” - Yasei Kaze

“I will provide additional details at a later date. I don’t want the information provided to affect this crucial stage.” - Dev

“Crucial stage?” - Kibo Hira

“Making friends. Now, I would rather not have to explain every little thing. Sometimes it’s better to come to your own conclusions.” - Dev

I guess if I kidnapped twenty people, I wouldn’t feel like answering all of their questions either, so I just don’t kidnap twenty people. Now, I hope that everybody here can produce at least one independent thought, considering we’re all in our double digits, and we’re all ultimates, but “come to your own conclusions” is such a cop out, and I hate a cop out.

“Sure, whatever. But could you at least tell us who these two randos are?” - Happi Owari

“They are your fellow sailor, that’s concrete. They may also be your friends, they may also be your foes. That’s up to you.” - Dev

“Do you always talk like a fucking prophet?” - Maria Teresa

“That’s not how prophets talk.” - Liberty Luck

“Alright, Ultimate Mythology-er.” - Maria Teresa

That was kind of true, both of them. That’s not how a prophet talks, but Dev does have a scripted way of speaking. Sadly, I am truly no one to speak; my diction is too Shakespearean. See? I did that on purpose, though. I don’t always sound like some Shakespeare character.

“We’re not just some randos—!” - Xing Xing

“Quiet. What did I say before? There’s no point in talking to them, sugar.” - Kano Shin

“Geez, get over yourselves. You think you’re too good to befriend us?” - Munashe Sipho

“It’s not like we wanted to talk to you guys anyway.” - Yufukuna Kojika

“We?” - Oki Kurasu

“Then I hope we’ll be seeing little of each other, little of the rest of you in fact. We won’t go insane if it’s the both of us. Your hostility means nothing to me—“ - Kano Shin

“Oh my god, you talk like some fairy tale character, just speak like a normal person!” - Su-Ji Ji-Su

“Into The Woods reference!? Ahem… But yeah, you talk weird.” - Maria Teresa

“She keeps doing that...” - Liberty Luck

“Keep trying your life, Liberty.” - Maria Teresa

“Yeah, yeah…” - Liberty Luck

To point out the obvious, it definitely seems like we missed that critical stage already. I already noticed it before, but it’s even more evident with the two girls bickering, which seemed more friend than foe.

When Xing and I were walking around, finding everyone, we never found someone by themselves; they were always with someone, or calling for someone.

Two days doesn’t seem like a long time, but it was evident that it was enough for everyone to be somewhat buddy-buddy. No, it didn’t irk me. No, I didn’t feel even the slightest bit of fomo.

“Umm… Kano—“ - Nao Osamu

“Uh-uh. I think it’s time for us to eat. Don’t you agree, Xing?” - Kano Shin

“Uh— Yeah…! Coming!” - Xing Xing

The dialogue behind me didn’t matter, to me at least; I just needed to push past them. I wasn’t even hungry; I just needed an excuse to leave. I couldn’t bear being surrounded by hostility anymore. I’d like to think of myself as having thick skin, but we all have our limits, and I was starting to feel overwhelmed.

“Whoa!” - Kibo Hira

“Geez, take it easy.” - Yasei Kaze

“That was cold~!” - Valentina Natalja

“Hush. Immediately.” - Nao Osamu

“Don’t worry, I also kinda wanna give them a chance.” - Oki Kurasu

“Same kinda, they’re just two people, what’s the worst they could be? They’re on the same boat as us.” - Tuan Thao

“That wasn’t my exact intention.” - Nao Osamu

“Huh? Then what was—?” - Cassidy Hellhound

“Be friends with them? Maybe the bunny boy, not me, though. But I could understand him, not the other one, though, she’s just plain rude.” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“You can’t make that judgment so quickly.” - Ruth Sinclair

“She does have a point. First impressions are everything. She seems… bossy.” - Shinsetsu Usagi

“And he seems like a bitch.” - Munashe Sipho

“Ayo?” - Happi Owari

“His little card thingy said ‘Ultimate Ringmaster,’ yet it looks like she’s the one calling all the shots. He’s just letting her walk him like a dog.” - Munashe Sipho

“I wish I could do that honestly~” - Maria Teresa

“I wish you couldn’t.” - Liberty Luck

“What about you, little man? You’ve been real quiet this entire time~” - Tuan Thao

“I-I just don’t… have an opinion on them yet! That’s all!” - Megumi Iro

“Sure, sure, whatever…” - Kibo Hira

“No, I agree. We don’t know nearly enough about them to form a proper opinion on them.” - Ruth Sinclair

“Speak for yourself. They’ve given me all I needed to know.” - Yufukuna Kojika

“This conversation is making me feel like some meanie gossip girl...” - Fukusu Hi

“Don’t worry, you’ll never be popular enough to feel that way again!” - Valentina Natalja

“Alright, there’s no need to be rude about it.” - Fukusu Hi

“I mean, it’s true~ You were homeschooled, weren’t you?” - Valentina Natalja

As they talked, words becoming mummers I had no interest in deciphering, Xing and I finally arrived at the kitchen. It was located basically right next to the deck, the only thing separating the two areas being a door and four walls, of course.

“So, what do you want for breakfast, sugar?” - Kano Shin

“I’m not hungry…” - Xing Xing

“…Me neither.” - Kano Shin

“Is it even morning? It could be the afternoon for all we know.” - Xing Xing

“It’s like a casino here, there’s no way to tell the time.” - Kano Shin

“At least we can go outside…!” - Xing Xing

“How optimistic, the bare minimum. We should still eat, we need strength, especially after being in critical condition.” - Kano Shin

“Yeah… What do they even have here?” - Xing Xing

“Help me make chicken and waffles, will you?” - Kano Shin

“Oh! I’m not good at cooking—” - Xing Xing

“Just do as I say. We might have to make it from scratch, though. Not a good way to start off our post recovery…” - Kano Shin

“Okay! Just don’t slip anything into it…!” - Xing Xing

“Was thinking the same thing, sugar. What? Do you believe them? That we’re behind this whole thing~?” - Kano Shin

This is where I learned that Xing isn’t really the… culinary type. In his defense, he was recovering from severe sea sickness, and it’s not like his ultimate has anything to do with cooking, but still, it’s not that hard to cut up some apples and make pancake— sorry, waffle batter. The bright side is, I didn’t leave him in charge of anything else; all he had to do was make and mix the batter, as well as cut an apple into tiny chunks, and at least he didn’t completely fail at that.

Soon enough, the kitchen filled with the smell of seasonings, both sweet and savory. My apple and cinnamon wafted through the air, while Xing’s vanilla and caramel did the same. A foggy blanket floated to the top of the ceiling, threatening to set off the fire alarm, but luckily, didn’t give in to temptation. While I stood in front of the gas stove, Xing was nibbling on the other half of the apple, waiting for the main course to be done.

“Dev said don’t set off the fire alarm!” - Maria Teresa

“No? You said that.” - Liberty Luck

“You know how long it takes to style my hair in the morning?” - Maria Teresa

“You need to take a longer time.” - Liberty Luck

A muffled thump could be heard from the other side of the door. I didn’t know they were that good of friends already.

“What are you guys even making anyway?” - Oki Kurasu

“Calm down, piggy. You already had breakfast earlier.” - Fukusu Hi

“Our little comedian.” - Oki Kurasu

“Well, I thought it was funny.” - Yufukuna Kojika

“I would so stiff your bill.” - Oki Kurasu

“Should we…?” - Xing Xing

“My social battery is nowhere near full enough for that. I don’t think it will ever be.” - Kano Shin

My quiet frustration escaped me in a sigh when I heard the doorknob twist and the door drag against the floor moments later. Xing’s gaze immediately went to the door, and he straightened up as a result, abandoning the apple slice he was snacking on. I didn’t bother looking over myself. I could guess who it was, and even if I was wrong, it’s not like it would cost me my life.

“Don’t waste your breath, sugar. There’s no point in trying to convince the ignorant.” - Kano Shin

“Well, there’s a difference between ignorant and dense, so I’m glad you chose to use the former rather than the latter!” - Xing Xing

Optimism is always appreciated, but I can’t say I entirely appreciated it here. Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make alliances. I don’t know why he would want to with these people, but to each their own.

Anyways, like I was saying, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make alliances, but you will never catch me begging for friends, or trying hard to make them in general. It’s clear that we’re unwanted and not trusted at all here, but fine, Xing, be my guest.

“How come he gets the nice nickname? You just seem annoyed with us.” - Su-Ji Ji-Su

“I wonder why…” - Kano Shin “Let’s just give them the benefit of the doubt. They have nothing to prove their innocence, but we have nothing to prove their guilt; it is innocent until proven guilty.” - Ruth Sinclair

“My gut tells me otherwise. I’ll keep a close eye on them.” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“I don’t want you around me.” - Kano Shin

“Oh, so you do have something to hide!” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“Think about how you act, then think about if you would be a good person to hang around.” - Kano Shin

“Damn, you’re kinda rude, girl. Both of you are actually.” - Munashe Sipho

At least he acknowledged I’m not the only one misbehaving, even though I feel as if I’ve been too calm for this situation, especially with all the comments and provocation that’s been happening.

I could see Xing about to go on the defensive again, no offence, but I didn’t want to hear it. Arguments that go nowhere are pointless and tiresome.

I’d like to think my grip was gentle on his wrist, but he’d probably argue that it was firm. Either way, I tugged on his wrist to lead him out of the room, to which he followed suit. There were a few snickers behind me, and by a few, I just mean just Utsukushi and Thao.

When I pushed past the others and got outside, it just confirmed the boat suspicion. Not only were we on a boat, we were on a yacht at that, a very nice one too. The smell of seawater hit me in the face, and I already felt it drying out my skin. 

When I continued trying to bulldoze my way far from my room, I just had to run into somebody, like a true protagonist. It’s even funnier because whatever plot armor god is out there just had to make me run into-

“Kano!? Ahem… Shin.” - [Tizio]

“Nao!? Apologies… Osamu. And it’s Ms. Shin to you now.” - Kano Shin

“Awkward… I thought we’d all be strangers.” - [Imyarek] “You two know each other?” - Xing Xing

“Unfortunately, sugar. I wish I had stayed asleep...” - Kano Shin

“Ms. Shin? Did I really get demoted that much?” - [Tizio] Nao Osamu

Alright, meet “Nao Osamu”, his light red landyard reading “Ultimate Perfectionist”, but I knew that already, unfortunately.

As for the lady next to him, yeah, I don’t know her. What do you want from me? Her dark purple landyard read “Valentina Natalja”, the “Ultimate Winner”. I had to admit that was a pretty nice ultimate, even if it was vague.

“I don’t have the desire to uphold this convention.” - Kano Shin

“Wait up, Ms. Shin!” - Xing Xing

I know, childish. Storming away from someone I don’t like? What is this, kindergarten?

It was technically a win for him, but I’d cope by saying you can’t lose if you don’t play, and I’d eat pork before I play with him again.

“Is she always that fancy with her words?” - [Imyarek] Valentina Natalja

“Only when she’s upset.” - Nao Osamu

“You must be a prick then~” - Valentina Natalja

“Silence yourself.” - Nao Osamu

Luckily, I didn’t run into any more nuisances as I made my way to the front deck, Xing in tow.

When we arrived, the handful of people eyed us down, the analyzing feeling like scorn rather than intrigue, but who am I to assume?

“Dev didn’t tell us about critters like you.” - [Jane Doe]

“Where did you two even come from?” - [Yamada Tarō]

“Are you more of Dev’s minions?” - [Joe Public]

“One at a time.” - Kano Shin

“Please.” - Xing Xing

Those were the first few people to talk to— well, interrogate us out of the bunch. I don’t know which I prefer, constant questioning or ostracization; too bad we’re getting both.

“Oh, you definitely work for Dev, bunny wabbit.” - [Yamada Tarō]

“Excuse me?” - Xing Xing

“You… You look way too flamboyant...!” - [Nanashi]

“I was taken against my will at random, and I work in a circus! Did you expect kackies and a polo?” - Xing Xing

“Sick! You work in a circus, too?” - [Gonbei]

“Your girl here is a little too quiet. Hello?” - [Joe Public]

Ostracized, I’d rather be ostracized. That hello irked me for some reason, more than the accusations. Is it a crime not to be talkative in this scenario? I don’t care if it is, I’m not in the mood.

To get a few of them out of the way, I squinted at some of the landyards to read them. The lady who commented on my quietness wore a dark orange landyard that read, “Shinsetsu Usagi; Ultimate Public Relations Manager”. That was a long one, but still interesting.

I then took a look at the one who called Xing a “bunny wabbit”, which I had to admit was kind of funny. His light blue landyard read, “Yasei Kaze; Ultimate Thief”. Ignoring that being the thing he’s exceptional at, his card also seemingly had a misprint, his ultimate not being centered either.

Now for the uh… country bumkin? Sorry, but the woman with a country accent who just called us “critters”. She wore a light brown landyard that read, “Cassidy Hellhound; Ultimate Cowgirl”. What a name, it definitely matches the rest of her, no offence, of course.

“Hi.” - Kano Shin

“That’s all? You guys don’t make yourselves seem friendly...” - [Nanashi]

“That’s your opinion.” - Kano Shin

“Are ya gonna have a stick up yer ass this entire time?” - [Jane Doe] Cassidy Hellhound

“Spare me the vulgarity, please.” - Kano Shin

I’m going to have to backtrack a bit. I’m stuck on this ship with them; the least I could do is know their names. That little geek with the stutters and dots? He’s “Megumi Iro,” the “Ultimate Comic Book Artist”, at least that’s what his dark green landyard said. No offence, again, but that was pretty fitting.

Two quarters for me, since there are two circus workers here, which was a… choice for our kidnappers! That lady’s dark brown landyard stated she was “Oki Kurasu,” the “Ultimate Contortionist”.

“We won’t spare you anything…! You two are probably behind this whole thing, or at least a part of it.” - [Nanashi] Megumi Iro

“I wouldn’t make that leap just yet…” - [Yamada Tarō] Yasei Kaze

“He’s got a point. Why would they introduce two random people all of a sudden? Suspicious.” - [Gonbei] Oki Kurasu

“How’s the lock picking going, Kaze—? Hello…?” - [Nanimonai] Kibo Hira

“Is something wrong—?“ - [Hanako Yamada] Fukusu Hi

How many times are we going to do this song and dance? New people, and they’re surprised to see us. Is it an understandable reaction? Fine, I’ll admit it, yeah. But it doesn’t mean I want to be gawked at like some freak show.

What? “Something, something” new people? “Something, something” landyards? How could I forget… Just wait a little bit—

“I feel like I’m missing out on something right now— Oh, yes I am…!” - [Dare Mo] Yufukuna Kojika

“I was just told that door finally got unlocked—?“ - [Demonai] Happi Owari

I hope that’s the last of them, but yes, landyards now. The first one who came along, his dark gray landyard stated he was “Kibo Hira,” the “Ultimate Apothecary”.

Next was a lady with a dark cyan landyard, the person who basically came walking in with the apothecary. She’s “Fukusu Hi,” the “Ultimate Taxidermist”.

Then we have “Yufukuna Kojika,” the “Ultimate Customer Service Worker” according to his light cyan landyard. What a saint, because I honestly could never do it.

Then, finally, hopefully, the last person with an off-centered ultimate, “Happi Owari,” the “Ultimate Gem Tester”. Whoever the greedy imp who kidnapped us is, I want to ask if they really needed twenty of us.

“I’m delighted that everyone is now awake and here! I apologize for the severe delay, and I apologize for our mistake, Ms. Shin and Sir. Xing. We will try to be more careful next time.” - Dev

“Ohhh! Like Kano Shin? I was forced to read one of your books in school… I-It was good—!?” - Xing Xing

“Relax, relax…! Hey, how old are you?” - Kano Shin “Nineteen!” - Xing Xing “Oh, so you’ve read my early work, we’re the same age, sugar~” - Kano Shin

We continued to engage in small talk, somehow. It’s truly the little things that help keep your mind off worse things. Our conspiring about the situation died down as I got to know a little more about my fellow captive, and vice versa.

We chatted about our high schools, colleges, ultimates, jobs, all of the boring adult stuff, plus why I was swelling up, and why he was vomiting. It was surface-level small talk, but it was better than panic and distrust.

“Why did they choose pink?” - Xing Xing

“What? Are you too manly for pink~?” - Kano Shin

“No! It’s just not my color of choice… Plus, I have more of a cool palette; this pink is too warm.” - Xing Xing

While my guard was still up, it was slowly slipping. I did tell him my allergy to anesthetics. Even if it’s mostly calmed down now, that was vital information. Xing reminded me of some of my friends back home- maybe it’s best not to think about that.

Xing was easy to talk to and rile up, and I always loved teasing others. But I hoped he practiced the same caution I did.

I didn’t fully trust him yet. He was growing on me, but I wouldn’t turn my back on him. Hopefully, he didn’t take my stiffness to heart, and hopefully, I didn’t have his full trust either.

“They didn’t put my card in right, it’s kinda tilted-“ - Xing Xing

It came out. You can remove the card from the landyard. Isn’t that useful? Thanks, Xing.

While trying to adjust the card in its pocket, he accidentally pulled some of the card out, then the whole thing.

He ogled at the card for a bit, finding a black strip on the back of it. I followed suit, removing my card from its pouch, finding a black strip on the back as well, bingo.

“You ready to leave?” - Kano Shin

“Wha—? Hold on!” - Xing Xing

Ding! Sound effect provided by me! But seriously, when I swiped my card through the slot, a small buzz sound followed soon after, and a small light went from red to green.

With little hesitation, I grabbed the doorknob again, causing Xing to flinch, but nothing happened this time. No shock, and the handle turned completely.

I opened up the door a little, leaving it slightly ajar, but still in my grasp. I looked back at Xing, who was still covering his eyes, like his mask didn’t do that already. I waited for him to realize that nothing had happened, that I didn’t get shocked again.

But, just my luck, as soon as Xing lowered his hands and gazed at my ‘unscaved’ form—

“Nineteen, twenty! We finally got this door open!” - [Sempronio]

Some loud woman with a Jersey accent slammed the door open and in my face. I hurriedly clutched my nose in pain and took some steps away from the door.

I felt someone’s hand on my back, and another hand hovering over mine. I already knew who it was, but opening my eyes to see Xing was still nice to confirm.

“Oh, does she get nosebleeds, too? Just jam a tampon right up in there and she’ll be good!” - [Fulana]

A second woman commented, peeking into the room, eventually settling by the door frame. 

I found neither woman amusing; both ericked me. One hit me in the face with a heavy door without even attempting to apologize, and the other made a tasteless joke about it, but they wouldn’t get to me; I wouldn’t let them.

I silently gestured for Xing to back off, slowly lifting my face up to look at the new intruders. I patted just under my nose to make sure there was no blood; luckily, my hands were clean.

The woman who came roaring in was wearing a light green landyard that read: “Tsuyoi Utsukushi; Ultimate Trainer”. That was pretty fitting considering her appearance and loud voice.

The woman who followed her in was wearing a light purple landyard that read: “Maria Teresa; Ultimate Stage Performer”. Also pretty fitting considering her appearance, assuming she’s the Broadway type.

She wore a large, fluffy fur coat that I hope a real tiger didn’t die for. I also couldn’t help but notice a bit of blood on the collar of it; her nose-bleed comment started to make a bit more sense. It still wasn’t funny, though.

“Do you have manners?” - Kano Shin

“Huh?” - [Sempronio] Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“Do you have manners? You don’t just burst into people’s rooms unannounced, injure them, and act like everything is sweet. You learn that in kindergarten.” - Kano Shin

“Oh, you’ll be fine, you’re a big girl! Plus, I wouldn’t have to come in and rangle you if you and your boytoy here weren’t messing around in here, sugar tits.” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

Patience is truly a virtue, and I’m an angel, well… Of course, I’m exaggerating, I still wanted to stomp this girl out, but I couldn’t let that show. 

All the anger that was festering inside me would stay inside me; I wouldn’t let even a tiny bit leak out. I couldn’t, unless you count some comments I couldn’t help but let slip.

“Excuse me? Boytoy? Ma’ma, I think you’re mistaken-“ - Xing Xing

“I know what I’m talking about, sweetheart, you’re just embarrassed, I get it, it’s okay~” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“No, Tsuyoi, no… You’re embarrassing us-“ - [Fulana] Maria Teresa

“Listen, I don’t just train muscles, I train minds, hearts, I know-“ - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“God, this whole situation is already giving me a brain tumor; there’s no need to make it malignant.” - Kano Shin

That line sounded cooler in my head, but oh well, it was true! She was giving me a headache.

Her genuine pride was something I thought only existed in Greek and Christian Mythology, but if people like her can exist, then hopefully fates like those in those tales also exist.

“Geez, point taken, uh… Kano!” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“It’s Ms. Shin to you, all of you actually.” - Kano Shin

“But we all look around the same age, don’t you think that’s too formal? You’re not above us.” - Maria Teresa

“Quote at least one time I’ve ever said that-“ - Kano Shin

“Whoa! What’s going on in here?” - [Takoy-To]

God, did they all have to be this loud? Silence is a wonderful sound, my favorite one at that, so all of this energy was killing me. It’s not even like they’re eccentric, yet know when to calm down; they’re just toddlers all of the damn time, and I have to act like an underpaid teacher and remain calm throughout it all. No wonder people do drugs.

As my luck would have it, there are now four uninvited guests crammed into my room, counting the new one that just ran in. If there are still more people on this boat, I pray it’s not just me and Xing who know how to behave.

“Tuan! I’m not done looking at your hand yet!” - [Blackacre]

“Liberty, Liberty, I’m the Ultimate Daredevil, a little shock never hurt me!” - [Takoy-To] Tuan Thao

“You got shocked too?” - Kano Shin

“Both of your dumbass got tazed?” - Tsuyoi Utsukushi

“There’s no need for that.” - Xing Xing

My exact words, just nicer. My only silver lining right now was that she was the worst. I don’t throw around the word hate without reason, and I still won’t. My word for her would be dislike, but that’s better than indifference, I guess.

Speaking of guess, we quite literally have Lady Luck here with us. It would’ve been perfect if the woman named “Liberty Luck” had been the Ultimate Lucky Student, but I guess the “Ultimate Guesser” would still do, and I’ll admit, the pun is still there.

And as for the Ultimate Daredevil? He’s loud, but the rest are too. But context clues would’ve figured that one out. Chiché as it is, I didn’t expect Thao to be the quiet type; I just hope he’s not annoying as well.

“You guys finally got that mysterious door open!” - [Folan]

“Ooo~ Move! Move! Let me see what’s inside-!” - [Hong Gildong]

“More people? But it’s already been two days…” - [John Doe]

Excuse me? Two days? Two whole days, forty-eight hours!? That’s the amount of time we’ve spent in this room, on this ship, and we remember none of it?

I turned my head to look at Xing; he was thinking the same thing as me; I could see it on his face, especially when we locked eyes. Were we really passed out for that long? And how did we wake up two days after the others?

“Oh my god, so that’s what was going on in here. Remember, Munashe?” - [Hong Gildong] Su-Ji Ji-Su

What…?

“Yeah, Su-Ji. I remember the people in uniform who were coming in and out of here. They were sent by… god, what was that thing’s name again, Ruth?” - [Folan] Munashe Sipho

What?

“Dev, that weird little puppet thing. But what were they doing with you guys in here?” - [John Doe] Ruth Sinclair

What!?

How was I supposed to answer that? How were we supposed to answer that? What do you mean there were random people in and out of this room? Doing what!?

To my knowledge, we were both passed out for god knows how long, and Xing woke up before me, got sea sick, and went to check up on me when I woke up. The only people we met were ourselves, and I doubt Xing is holding out information on me, considering he never brought any of this up.

“I don’t know. Neither of us were awake when that happened.” - Kano Shin

“So, you’re trying to tell us that you two were just asleep for two days straight? Uh-hu…” - [Blackacre] Liberty Luck

“You ever heard of a thing called a coma?” - Kano Shin

“But you both so happened to be in one, and no one else did? I think you’re holding out on us.” - Maria Teresa

“I know Ms. Shin was out cold, but I was slipping in and out of consciousness. But still, we saw nothing.” - Xing Xing

That was news to me, but not bad news. I know from their perspective, us being passed out for two extra days was suspicious. For all they knew, while everybody else was getting to know each other, we were conversing with the enemy. But I knew the truth, and I knew their accusations weren’t true, so that was good enough for me.

Xing, on the other hand, seemed to scramble to explain and defend, yet the others’ stares never budged. I get it. In a court, it doesn’t matter if you know the truth; it matters if the others know the truth. Still, I couldn’t help but think about why he cared about it this much; it’s not like our lives depended on our persuasion abilities.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, landyards, landyards, I’m getting to it! Ahem… Thao wore a dark red landyard, while Luck wore a light gray one. Su-Ji Ji-Su’s dark yellow landyard claimed she was the “Ultimate Parade Performer”,

Munashe Sipho’s light orange one claimed he was the “Ultimate Pyrotechnician”,

And Ruth Sinclair’s dark blue one claimed he was the “Ultimate Advisor”, but there was an awkward space after his ultimate, like it wasn’t centered correctly, weird…

The one thing I relied on the most failed me, well, the two things I relied on the most. I did everything right, yet the thanks I get is waking up in some cabin room, itchy and gasping for air.

“Hey, hey, are you alright?” - [Zhang San]

A man asked me; he must’ve heard me, embarrassing. If I weren’t so out of it, I would’ve questioned why his breath smelled like vomit.

“I-I’m fine, I’ll be fine, sugar.” - [Miss Jones]

I didn’t mean for my voice to be that harsh, but I didn’t linger on any guilt. How could I? Who wouldn’t be irritated in my case? I’m sure this guy would understand that as well.

“Are you sure? I’m no doctor, but—“ - [Zhang San]

“Don’t make me say it a second time.” - [Miss Jones]

There was an awkward silence after that. Sure, that was my fault, but I don’t want some stranger trying to coddle me when my reality was now, me, trapped in a room, now dorming with a stranger, and whoever kidnapped me didn’t even have the decency to run a background check on my allergies. Still, though, he was kind of in the same situation as me, so maybe I was being a little too hard on him.

“Alright, alright, if you’re really that worried, then tell me if you see an EpiPen.” - [Miss Jones] “Oh my… are you going into anaphylaxis!?” - [Zhang San] “Inside voice, sugar… I’m not fully dying yet, just short of breath.” - [Miss Jones]

“And covered in hives!” - [Zhang San]

I sighed as I got up from the bed, much to this guy’s protest. Maybe him bugging me wasn’t too bad, considering I felt like I was gonna go crashing right back down when I stood up. Luckily, two hands gripping my shoulders prevented that from happening. I felt those same two hands trying to push me back down onto the bed, wanting me to lie back down. Despite the silent request being more than reasonable, I rejected it, choosing to gently push past him.

It was subconscious, but I started to soothe the itch on my arm. Unfortunately, I liked to keep my nails long, meaning I eventually created some micro cuts on my skin, which was a later problem; my goal now was to find some medication.

“Why does it smell like vomit in here…?” - [Miss Jones]

“I get sea sick, okay!?” - [Zhang San]

And my high tolerance wasn’t even rewarded. I pushed forward and searched the bathroom for something, anything, even Benadryl, but it just looked like a hotel in here. It had all the essentials, but it was bare bones; nothing even slightly specific or personalized was in here. Wait…

“Sea sick…? Are you implying that we’re out at sea, sugar…?” - [Miss Jones]

I tried to keep my voice low and calm, but it took so much force to keep it all down. I knew the importance of staying calm in stressful situations, so I had to stay calm, but two things were running through my mind now. One, we’re apparently out at sea, heading to god knows where, and two, how big is this boat? Because if it’s the size of a yacht, we might not be alone.

“Yeah…? Unless I have food poisoning, I’m probably seasick. Plus, I’ve been on a yacht before, and this reminds me of it.” - [Zhang San]

I could see the concern in his eyes when he said that, like it hit him too, like he realized the same two things I realized not too long ago.  The only silver lining in this scenario was that this stranger didn’t want to hurt me, at least it seemed that way. It was still too early to tell, but I need all the help I can get, whether I like it or not. Damn it… my throat’s swelling still hasn’t gone down.

“Do you think it’s safe out there?” - [Zhang San]

“Stay put, I’ll go and see.” - [Miss Jones]

I could see it in his eyes; he didn’t want me to do that, but if he really didn’t want me to do it, he would’ve stopped me, not stayed quiet. Even though I practiced basic caution, standing parallel to the door instead of perpendicular, and planning on opening the door slowly. I even motioned for the other guy to go to the corner of the room.

I cautiously reached for the doorknob, wanting to gently wrap my hand around it. But as soon as my hand made enough contact with the doorknob, it felt like thousands of needles shot right through my hand and traveled all the way up my arm. I quickly jolted my hand back, grabbing myself by the wrist and craddling my red palm. I just got shocked, the doorknob just shocked me…

“What was that about? Are you okay!?” - [Zhang San]

“Just a little sting, sugar, I’m fine.” - [Miss Jones]

I mean, I was fine, but that was far from a little sting, and that was evident with my hand twitching slightly after the shock. I blew on my palm lightly to soothe the stinging.

When I looked up to see what went wrong and what clues I had missed, I noticed a slot next to the door, one where you would scan or swipe a card. I see…

Even after telling him I was alright, he still came over to check on me, his gaze landing on my hand.

“God, you keep getting hurt. Are you okay-?“ - [Zhang San] He stopped. Why did he stop mid-sentence!? Yeah, sure, I probably looked like a mess right now. Swollen, hurt, yet I looked calmer than I should be. I couldn’t help but glance to the side, catching my reflection on the black mirror of the old TV. I didn’t look as swollen as I felt, just a few hives, but my throat was almost swollen shut. He was probably ignoring the wheeze in my voice and the gasps of air I had to take for basically every syllable, and I know my itching didn’t go unnoticed either.

“You seriously need to sit down; you just keep getting hurt.” - [Zhang San]

“Your worry is appropriate, sugar, but-“ - [Miss Jones]

“No. Go sit down.” - [Zhang San]

“Excuse me?” - [Miss Jones]

I honestly expected him to be harder to convince than that, but at least my life is easier. As soon as I had some push back, he just gave me a stern look, but it didn’t move me.

I slowly pulled away from his gaze, taking some steps back before turning around, going towards the nightstand. There was an old TV centered on it. I crouched down to look at myself once more and steal a glance at the man behind me. My gaze soon fell on the drawers. What if they were electrified as well?

I let the back of my hand hover over each handle, nothing. I touched each handle with the back of my hand, nothing. I grabbed the handle of the top drawer and pulled, still, nothing, no tricks.

“What’s that?”  - [Zhang San]

Luckily, the only sign of my surprise was my eyes widening, but that did warrant a flinch. One second, he’s by the door, and now he’s over my shoulder, peeking at the contents of the drawer with me.

“Landyards, with our names on them…?” - [Miss Jones]

“Like the ones teachers have? Are we being trafficked!?” - [Zhang San]

Listen, I understood his concern; that was very plausible considering all the clues we’ve gathered, but he was so eccentric, so the way he said it felt more like a joke than an actual concern.

“That’s actually a very sound theory, sugar…” - [Miss Jones]

“Why are you so calm about it!?” - [Zhang San]

“Why are you wasting your energy on this? We’re technically not in imminent danger right now. Use that energy for a later date.” - [Miss Jones]

I can admit when I sound like an idiot, but only in my head. I still believe that we both should be keeping our cool in a situation like this, but I’ll admit that my word choice could’ve been better.

Hold on… It took me until picking up both landyards to realize I never asked this guy what his name was. The ID card in the pouch of the landyerd said “Xing Xing” and it had his ultimate as well, the “Ultimate Ringmaster”.

Both of our landyards were pink, but his was a light pink, like flango pink, while mine was a darker shade of his pink.

I noticed that he was still over my shoulder, looking at the cards with me; now he knew my name and, ultimate, the “Ultimate Storyteller” as well. But I felt like something was missing on my card.

“Kano?” - [Zhang San] Xing Xing

“Yes, but please call me Ms. Shin, sugar.” - [Miss Jones] Kano Shin