#isolation chapter 1

Knife making was admittedly not something that Kumiko had been expecting from her first day of school, but she was hardly complaining. A quick rendezvous of the area had revealed little in the way of entertainment besides books, playing pool (both of which were hardly action-packed activities) and the potential of splashing around in the fountain. And so as far as knife making was from her ideal pastime, Kumiko was satisfied until she could find some other way to liven up their time in the facility. Man, if this was a prank then the novelty was wearing off.

Having taken her carving knife, wood and metal and glanced at the blueprints, Kumiko sat cross-legged on one of the tables, equipment around her, ready and raring to go.

She discovered within about ten seconds that this task was not going to be an easy one.

Kawai Kumiko was a champion athlete, a sportswoman who was blazing a trail in the world of Japanese beach volleyball and beyond. Her physical strength was incredible, her speed admirable and versatility a force to be reckoned with. She could punch a ball with more power than one could believe a teenage girl capable of displaying. She could not, however, do certain things. Braiding hair, for instance, or using keys, or picking up eggs without making a gooey mess everywhere - she had learned that one from experience. Even taking letters out of envelopes was a mammoth task for her (she had torn many a message while attempting to open envelopes with her teeth).

And as she tried to whittle a knife, it occurred to her that she should add knife making to the list of impossible tasks. When she tried to hold the wooden stick in her right hand and the carving knife in her left, she almost stabbed herself in the arm. When she tried to hold the stick in her left and the knife in her right, the stick slipped between her prosthetic fingers before she had made so much as a scratch on it. Experiments into various other ways (including wedging the stick between her knees and holding the knife between her teeth) resulted in some very close shaves and a stick covered with small nicks and cuts that resembled a dog’s chew toy more than it did a knife handle.

For the first time since waking up in this completely unfamiliar location and being told that she was expected to murder her peers, Kumiko’s eyebrows furrowed into an annoyed frown. She stared at the stick for a good minute or two before taking on a look of determination.

“Alright knife, PREPARE TO BE MADE! KIIIIIIYYAAAH!”

And thus Kumiko began to smash her triangular piece of metal onto the stick as if her sheer force and willpower would motivate them to merge into one prize-worthy structure.

The result was an explosion of splintered wood and one bent metal triangle.

There were any number of reactions that one could expect from a teenager who had just woken up in a completely unfamiliar location and been told by an animatronic bear that their only method of escape was via murder. Even if those events had been exclusive and not come in quick succession, one could hardly not be blamed for feeling distressed, or frightened. Tears would be rational in this case, and perhaps if the news had been delivered by anything but something that looked like a cheap plush toy from a claw grab machine, Kumiko would have shed a few.

Instead, however, she burst into loud laughter that rang out clearly in the comparative hush.

“Good one! Beary good one!” The original cackle was then supplemented with amused giggling. “Man, that’s one heck of a first impression! Can’t wait to tell my brothers ‘bout this!”

After all, it wasn’t as though it was really possible for their situation to be legitimate, was it? Hope’s Peak wouldn’t be able to maintain its spotless reputation if its class of talented students all murdered each other, and surely nobody else had the resources to kidnap them all. Thus this was either an elaborate prank or an incredibly immersive induction ceremony

As if the tirade of morbid information had simply flown over her head - which, in all honestly, most of it had - she cheerfully bounded over to the nearest student, her voice almost nauseatingly chipper in the midst of all the tension. She failed to notice that none of her fellow classmates were as enthusiastic about their imprisonment as she was (maybe they just weren’t crazy about the whole ‘training regime’ thing?).