Cabin Fever

Prologue 2/2

Juro turns to the source of the sound, only to see a monochrome teddy bear suddenly sitting on a desk. Had it been there before or is he just noticing it now? He hasn't seen it earlier, which is quite strange. On the other hand, most of his attention was occupied by the other fifteen ultimates in this room and their very curious predicament.

Minoru, who had been spinning his flashlight around in his hand, points said object in random directions, turning it on as a bundle of green light replaces the warm tone that had been there earlier "What was that? Show yourself, ghost!"

"Asada-kun, I don't think there's a ghost here. Quit it with your superstition, it's annoying." Eri states bluntly with a blank expression.

"Then where did that sound come from?" Mana wonders, fidgeting with a strand of her hair that's hanging over her shoulder, her eyes are slightly wider than usual as she looks around.

"Wait, wait! Yuuma-chan is trying to tell us something!" Kaori announces, holding her hands in front of her with her arms stretched as she gestures at everyone to draw their attention "And I have something to say too."

Ryoko glances at the group, before moving her hands to form a sentence *I could feel vibrations in my feet. A nearby physical object made the sound you guys apperantly heard, and it must be connected with the floor.*

Kaori nods and translates the sentence for the rest of the group before adding "I told her there was a weird sound." She folds her hands behind her back while shifting her weight from one leg to the other, seemingly unable to stand still "And the sound came from my left, so over there!" Kaori points in the direction.

The only thing there is the odd plushie.

"Zayasu-san, the only object that stands out to me is the teddy bear." Daichi says, adjusting his tie a little, straightening the garment.

"Are you sure that's where the sound came from?" Youta asks, pulling his mask up a bit further while holding his other hand up in the air.

Kaori narrows her blue eyes at the natural healer while placing her hands on her hips. Even with her colourful clothing, the otologist's height still makes her come across as a threat "Are you doubting me?"

"G-guys, don't fight please..." Chinami squeaks, holding her hands close to her chest as she seems to shrink on spot.

"Yeah, please don't." Hachiro adds, holding his upper arm while glancing at the two from behind his bangs "I don't like it when people fight..."

"Shut it, all of you." Arisa hisses, drawing a knife and pointing it forward, at Kaori and Youta, narrowing her purple eyes at them "You're wasting my time."

"How about we just check if the plushie has a speaker function?" Kenji suggests, holding his necklace with one hand as he speaks "That way we can confirm whether or not it was the source of the sound. Otherwise we could just look for something else that could have produced it." He sighs, closing his eyes briefly "Yuuma-san is deaf, which means that, unlike us, she won't be distracted by other sounds and would just have felt vibrations."

Juro nods in agreement "And Zayasu-san's talent as the Ultimate Otologist might make her better at localizing sounds than us."

Kenji nods "You've caught on quickly, Sasaki-kun."

"Yay, I believe in Zayasu-chan and Yuuma-chan!" Jihun cheers, putting his hands in the air while a bright smile is firmly in place.

"Shall we check the bear then?" Kaya offers with a smile.

"Good luck, I'll be cheering you on..." Mai mutters, already sitting on a couch again. She had her thumbs up for only a second before yawning.

"Okay, let's do it!" Hikaru grins as he clenches a fist in front of his chest.