~Preface~

Is this all we're meant to do? Was this the purpose of our existence; to participate in The Program? This isn't…this can't be…

I glanced over as Daisuke stood up, ignoring the gunshot wound in his right shoulder. He screamed something inaudible at me and pointed his own gun at where I lay on the grass. I already had a wound in my left leg from my last scuffle, and I really didn't want another one.

As he looked as if he were about to kill me, I rolled ninety-degrees, ending up on my stomach, pointed my handgun at him, and pulled the trigger.

…

~Chapter 1~

I sighed as I stopped in front of the gate to Shiroiwa Junior High School, the school I will attend for just one more year before I move on to High School. The day was gloomy; there was a chill in the air, and it was drizzling. I hadn't grabbed my umbrella – I had seen no need to since it didn't look like the weather would be bad, even later on – so instead of waiting for my best friend by the gate, I went inside to the shoe lockers to wait.

I hadn't been in there but two minutes, long enough to change my shoes, when my best friend, Yasuhiro Watsuki, (Male Student Number 20), ran into the school with his pale blue umbrella.

As the other girls inspected him – mainly Kairi Kawai, (Female Student Number 10), our class president – I calmly walked over to him and said, "Morning Yasuhiro."

Yasuhiro flashed me a perfect smile as he closed and shook out his umbrella. "Morning Kirie." I returned the smile happily, almost melting at the sight of it.

Just because I said I wasn't inspecting him didn't mean I hadn't noticed before. Yasuhiro was five-foot, three-inches high with a pale, perfectly rounded face that complemented the only slight slant of his blue eyes and the brown tint in his otherwise short black hair. Though from a distance, he looked like a complete full-blooded Japanese male, even more so with his uniform on, this close up, one could see the little variations that made him half American.

Oh, yeah, I guess I should tell a little more about myself. My name is Kirie Nanahara, (Female Student Number 12), I am thirteen years old, and attend the same Junior High my parents attended; Shiroiwa Junior High. I'm four-foot, nine-inches high with long black hair set into a single braid at the back of my head. I have a rounded face with only slightly paled skin, and dark green eyes that Yasuhiro told me "works well with my complexion".

As we walked the familiar stairs to the second floor of the building to our class, Yasuhiro stretched his arms over his head and yawned. "Man, I can't wait to get home."

I chuckled a bit. "We just got here."

"Yeah, but tomorrow's Sunday. The faster we get out of here, the sooner the weekend comes." He winked at me and reached in his pocket. Before we entered the classroom, he grabbed my hand and pressed something into it. "And with any luck, we'll both be going here tomorrow."

As soon as I sat down at my desk, I looked at the piece of paper that he had put into my hand. At first I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the concert ticket, but after a moment, my brain processed it. The band name Tohoshinki was typed at the top of the ticket with the band members lined up under the name. He got tickets to go see Tohoshinki tomorrow! I looked back at Yasuhiro with my mouth hanging to the ground.

His only reply was to smile widely with pride and achievement. He mouthed, "Can you go?"

I nodded zombie-like to his question with my mouth still wide open. I only turned around and stuffed the ticket into the pocket of my skirt when the teacher, Ichigo Higurashi walked into the room. He looked tired and a little sick from what I could see, his skin was chalk white and there were dark spots under his eyes.

Regardless of him looking like that, he smiled like nothing was wrong. "Well, class, today we're going to be going on a study trip to Tokyo University."

Everyone started mumbling to each other that this was unexpected, and that it didn't make any sense. Honestly, it didn't; that was the first time a trip was ever announced to us so suddenly. And what's more, we're going all the way to Tokyo! There's no way that we're supposed to just go there on a study trip without expecting to have a change of clothes…or even a warning to our parents. Well, everyone else's parents, I'm an orphan living at a nearby orphanage – the same one my father stayed at when he was my age, as Ms. Anno has pointed out on several occasions.

"Um, Mr. Higurashi," Sakura Izanagi, (Female Student Number 6), raised her hand, "why are we suddenly going to Tokyo?"

"…Like I said, a study trip." He tried to continue smiling, but it was slightly failing.

"Last second?"

"Y-Yes." He chuckled half-heartedly. "Why are you worried?"

"Because," this time Kairi spoke up, "this is so…odd. It's not normal to spring things on us like this."

"W-Well—" Mr. Higurashi was interrupted by the door opening to another man poking his head in.

"Mr. Higurashi, please hurry. The bus is ready outside."

"Y-Yes." The man left. Mr. Higurashi turned back to us. "Well, let's go. The bus is waiting outside to take us to Tokyo."

"But, Mr. Higurashi," Kairi spoke again, "what about clothing? None of us have any spare clothes."

"We contacted your parents a short while ago, and they packed your bags for you." There were a few groans from the class. Of course I didn't groan, Ms. Anno would know exactly what to pack for me. "Let's go."

Slowly, we all rose from our seats and gathered our school bags. I waited for Yasuhiro, who then groaned once we were down the stairs and putting our other shoes back on. "Man, I hope we can sneak away long enough to get to that concert tomorrow…"

As I slipped my white and pink Nike's back on, I looked at him questioningly. "Where is the concert anyway?"

"I'm not entirely sure, I just know it's near Tokyo University. With any luck, we can get away unnoticed." He flashed me a smile again. "Hey, wanna sit together on the bus?"

I nodded twice. "Uh-huh!"

We walked out of Shiroiwa Junior High and towards the bus waiting to take us to Tokyo. As we were standing in a short line waiting to get on the bus, I looked back and saw multiple windows from classrooms lined with students, a few teachers even stood among them. Though I couldn't tell from if it was the same for the students on the second and third floors, I could see some of the first year girls crying as they watched us load the bus.

40 Students Remaining