#o:pen

As the wine pooled around the subject’s knees on the screen, he put his hands over his eyes and kept them there until the very end. His chest felt tight, his breathing hitched. What was he getting so anxious about? It’s not as if he took his place-- Oh. Just imagining that had him on his knees, shaking, and the scream only made it worse.

He bolted out of there as soon as it was over.

A mad dash to his room later, Ikura flopped onto his bed and lied still. Was he... dead!? No, but he was dead tired which is pretty close. While half-listening to the announcement, the boy rolled over, almost squishing something in the process. Oops. He sat up and held it out above him. Oh, what a cute package!, he thought. He peeked into the bag and a smile took place on his face. A kazoo! He’ll have to learn how to play it later.

First, the new area was waiting to be explored! And just like that, he was back to his usual self or he at least seemed to be. He chose a room at random and stuck with it, peeking his head in first.

“Uwah...!”

A snack room! Something children would dream of! Ikura excitedly made his way through, picking up random treats, half of them he’s never heard of before. He sets all his snacks down at a table and looks embarrassingly proud of himself. Ikura’s eyes practically sparkle (despite being closed... uhh...) at the sight of the microphone at the counter. He’s normally not allowed to order by himself but this was his chance!

“H-Hello! Could I please have some green tea? No, hibiscus-- No, both! And one serving of green tea mizu yōkan and two warabimochi-- Ah! <Two purin and yukimi daifuku - each! And two yuzu fruit jellies and four imagawayaki!> Thank you!”

His words came out in Japanese as he continued. He’s not as chill as others make him out to be. He was fascinated by the orders coming out so quickly. Talk about service! Ikura giggled to himself as he took each plate to his table.

Someone else had entered the room - how rude of him to not greet them! He waved at his company, then patted the chair next to him.

Eleven in the morning and everything so far had gone all ways but the right one. First, she overslept, coming in at work an hour later than usual, something that wasn’t typically Jiwon, although she did get the most loving speech she’d ever received. One that went a little like... ‘If you don’t clean up your act and get here on time, you’ll be kicked out. No second chances.’ -- Of course, that turned her mood sour and ever since she heard those words, the frown on her face almost seemed permanent. She loved her job more than anything or anyone else in the world, even if it wasn’t a high-figure, many-zeroes type and she knew for sure that she worked harder than any other in the company. Seemed like it wasn’t enough. Going home with the gloomiest look on her facial features, thinking it couldn’t get any worse - it always can - she couldn’t find her phone nor could she remember her apartment’s code because god damn it, stress was taking over and she was about to rip the red strands of hair right out of her head. 

This definitely wasn’t going well for any of them at all. The announcer - Leroy, was it? - told them that they were going to experience some... alterations. That was... very vague. And, well, there was also the other thing. The thing about killing each other. He didn’t want to believe him but there was no reason not to, right? The mysterious changes were definitely happening whether he’d like it or not. Was that angry yelling he could hear? Eep, better not go anywhere near them!

Ikura returned to his room earlier, deciding on a nap when he saw his roommate wasn’t in. He spent no more than five minutes in there before bolting out all the way down the hall and slamming the door behind him. It wasn’t the subtlest escape, as he was panicky wailing along the whole way, but he was safe! For now. That was a super impulsive move, now that he thought about it. He even felt guilty for possibly disturbing anyone, that’d be terrible.

That wasn’t the end of all the noise-making though. After catching his breath, the boy made a beeline for the large shelf and inspected the wide range of board games on display, shaking a few of the boxes or passing them completely. Despite the number of games, there weren’t very many he could see, being as short as he was.

Having to drag a chair to stand on, Ikura finally obtained the exact board game he wanted. Victory! Just as he was about to get down, there was a knock at the door. So, obviously, he emptied the contents of the box on the floor and put it on his head.

“Uwah! H-Hello, friend! Um. Sorry about this! About... everything.”

He hopped off the seat before bowing politely, then rearranged the chairs to properly fit around the table. Oh, what a mess.

Darkness was the last thing he wanted to wake up to. There was a reason the blinds were always slightly drawn in the morning. To avoid a panic attack, of course. His breath hitched up in his throat and he could feel his body freeze in fear. All he could hear was the loud drumming beat of his heart. He immediately went to escape, only to fall off the bed with a dull thump. Ikura instinctively hugged his knees to his chest. Trying to breath steadily just made it worse.

Finally, what felt like ages of shaky breathing, the lights flood the room. Before he could even acknowledge the other person in the room, Ikura bolted right out the door. He almost missed the announcement, his mind was all over the place. Where were his friends? Actually, where was he anyway? No, were they alright? Who were the other people? Who was talking on the intercom? Why did he sign up for this, whatever it was?

He leaned against the wall, holding onto himself for a moment. Deep breaths... With his head uncharacteristically down, the fisher skittered around, following the arrows, then bumping head-first into someone’s back. He let out a yelp and stumbled backwards before bowing exactly three times. At first, he apologized repeatedly in Japanese,

“<S... S-Sorry, I’m sorry s-so sorry...!>”

Ikura looked up and gulped nervously, braving a smile. In English this time, he spoke again, miles more calmer now,