Blades of Despair

-Chapter Three-

A Fruitless Search

I woke up after a short nap in my room. I blinked slowly as my eyes accustomed to the light. I took in my surroundings; I had entered my room and made a beeline for the bed, not taking the time to look around. Now that I'd rested, I took the opportunity to observe where I was. The bed was certainly comfortable; it was queen-sized, with a soft mattress and a red quilt with gold lining. It was a little ostentatious for my taste, but no doubt it suited the wants of students like Miyagawa who were probably used to luxury furnishings. The room was quite spacious, but it felt that way because I hadn't brought much with me; I was very surprised to see that the luggage I had packed had been deposited at the far wall. I remembered how excited I had been when my parents had sent those bags to the academy a few days ago. Did they really agree to this killing game? Was this life what they really wanted for me, and why did they want it? I just couldn't understand it, so I instead tried to move my focus back to the room's interior. The walls were cream, as was the ceiling. To my left, a monitor and a security camera hung on the wall. The camera felt very invasive, and to test if it was working, I got off my bed and moved to the wall opposite, and the camera lens followed me. I shivered. So Monoworth and Monomenon were watching our every move, I thought. I supposed that made sense; if someone did murder someone, at least they would know who the killer was from the beginning. I shook my head. There was no point thinking like that, it only welcomed more doubt into my mind, and that wasn't going to be helpful in this situation.

My Seiko-pad beeped and I retrieved it from the wooden bedside table – the chatroom had seen some activity while I was napping. Nishi had called us all into the cafeteria to discuss exploring the academy, and nearly everyone had agreed to take part. The agreed meeting time was two o'clock; I looked at the clock that hung next to the monitor – I had twenty minutes. I decided to use the time to have a look around the bathroom. Whoever was behind this killing game was obviously very wealthy, if they were able to provide all sixteen students with the same luxuries. The bathroom was predominantly a milky porcelain color, with splatters of blue tiles around the walls and floor. One wall was almost completely covered in a mirror, and upon seeing my reflection I noticed my very disheveled appearance. I spent the next fifteen or minutes fixing my unkempt hair, attempting to press the creases out of my clothes and washing my face. Somewhat satisfied with my my appearance, I took a deep breath and made my way to the cafeteria.

---

When I arrived at the cafeteria, most of the others had already gathered and were discussing various things among themselves.

"Hi, Ori!" cheered Mina, running up to me and hugging me tightly.

"Urk! Hello, Mina," I wheezed as the wind was knocked out of me. Mina was deceptively strong for someone so small.

"Were you napping? I had a nap, my bed was so comfy! I didn't want to get out but Nishi made us," she hummed.

"Yes, I had a short nap," I replied, letting her go as she went back to her seat. I looked around at the group, noticing a few faces were missing.

"Morino, Mitsumi and Nishi haven't arrived yet," stated Sanda, noticing my glances, "typical boys."

"But didn't Nishi suggest we all meet here?"

"Yeah, but I imagine he's still looking after Mitsumi," piped up Saza, "big bro can very protective and caring. He probably even napped with him Mitsumi's room. Nothing happened, Ouji, before you ask."

"I wasn't going to suggest anything," retorted Ouji defensively, failing to hide the disappointment on her face.

"Poor Mitsumi," pondered Saza, "this situation has affected him especially badly."