Chapter 2

The sun got right in Hiroshi's eyes. The gray-haired sat up in his bed and spotted Kazuya still sleeping next to him. Since the sun had decided that Hiroshi wouldn't sleep any longer, he got up, being careful to not wake his brother up. It was eight in the morning, too early for him. He took his cell phone, put on his glasses and got out of his room, knowing complaining wouldn't change anything. He sat on a chair of the dining room and stayed there a moment, not making a sound. He was used to be the last one to wake up; it was pretty rare for him to be in the house while it was silent like that.

A sound from his cell phone caught his attention. Shun just texted him. He wasn't surprised though. Shun was the early-type as much as Shura was the late-type. He was asleep at ten maximum and awaken at half-past-seven while Shura was still on her laptop at three in the morning and asleep at eleven o'clock. Hiroshi picked his phone and looked at the text.

Hey, could you call Rin? She's not answering to me.

The gray-haired pressed on "answer".

Sure, but I don't think it'll be any different with me.

Wow. Never thought you'd be up that early.

The sun got in my face.

It's sure Rin picks up if you call her.

What? Why?

If she could only use her tongue to answer one of your texts, she'd answer with a perfect grammar, it's more than sure she'll answer a call!

Uh... Okay...

Man, you're so blind. Even Shura noticed it.

Noticed what?

It took a while for Shun to answer.

You're joking, right?

No...

You should think about using your brain out of school too...

?

Since he didn't get any answer, he put down his phone on the table and took out the book he read in math class yesterday. He sat back on the chair and started reading, he'd call Rin around ten, when she'd be awake.


Hiroshi got back in his room with his cell phone. Kazuya was eating with their mom. It was half past ten. The teen browsed throughout his contact list until his eyes met with the letters forming the name Rin. He selected the contact and the phone started calling on her cell phone. Five seconds later, he could hear Rin's voice.

"Hey, Hiroshi!" She said.

"Hey! Shun, Shura and I thought about going to the movies Saturday. You're coming?"

"Well of course! Do you know what we'll watch?"

"No, but knowing Shun, he's looking at movie trailers to find one!"

The girl giggled.

"You weren't at school yesterday?" Said Hiroshi.

"No, I was shaking so much that my legs didn't support me anymore!" She answered in a half-humoristic tone.

"You shouldn't worry about that. I'm more than sure you won't be chosen!" He said. "I mean, you're nice, respectful, hardworking, smart and you're in a gang! It's pretty much everything to put you on a "don't choose" list!"

Rin stayed silent for a moment.

"...Thanks..." She finally let out.

Even though he couldn't see her face, the teen could bet she was smiling.

"Did I miss anything?" Asked the girl.

"No, we just saw more homothetic transformations. Mr. Murakami was really down too. His daughter can be chosen now."

"I doubt she did anything bad, he shouldn't worry. She's the giant's daughter after all!"

Hiroshi chuckled but soon turned back serious.

"There is still a very slight chance though. If they don't find enough bad kids, they just take a name randomly."

"Yeah, but it is really rare."

Hiroshi heard another voice in his phone. Probably Rin's dad.

"Sorry, I have to help my mom with the cooking..." She said after a couple of seconds.

"Oh, okay! I'll see you tomorrow then!"

"Yeah! Bye, Hiroshi!"

"Bye!"

He hung up and put the phone on his desk. He lay down on his bed. He didn't notice anything special about Rin. Maybe Shun and Shura jumped to conclusions too fast. Or maybe he was blind after all... He closed his eyes for a moment and fell asleep.


A rather loud knock on his door woke him up. Kazuya opened the door and poked his head in.

"Mom said it started!" Said the child.

Hiroshi opened an eye.

"Ok, I'm there in a second..." He answered before closing his eye again.

The silver-haired nodded and closed the door. The teen didn't move for a second but rapidly got up, knowing he might fall asleep again. He stood up and stretched. He grabbed a jacket that he put on top of his shirt and exited his room to join Kazuya and Etsuko in the living room. He sat down on the couch and looked at the television in front of them.

A man approached the microphone, tapped on it to be sure it was working and began talking. Hiroshi didn't listen at all. It was an introduction, a boring part. Well, nothing of this was exciting anyway. The man looked really wealthy. He was wearing a tuxedo with a golden-colored tie. His curly hair looked like it had just been arranged by a professional haircutter. It probably did.

"And now, allow me to tell you the name of the fifteen chosen ones!" The man said which caught Hiroshi's attention.

The man took out a sheet from his pocket and read the first name.

"Megumi Okada!"

The screen switched to two guards opening a door. Cameras were usually waiting for the kid to be named before entering and recording the reaction. Well, it was probably to show who the chosen one precisely was but the reaction was also filmed in the process anyway. The girl the camera showed was a girl Hiroshi saw a couple of times in the street. She was said to be a little "I'm sooo rebel" kind of girl. Looks like it pissed off too much people this time. Of course, she refused to go. She tried to get away but the guards were used to reactions like those, she didn't stand a chance. The screen switched back to the man.

"Hokona Fujii!"

The television showed a girl with a very surprised expression. She was probably from another city, he never saw her. Her parents got really mad, they tried to take their daughter back but it was no use. The man was shown again.

"Takashi Kudo!"

The screen switched to a spiky haired boy. He looked terrified. He didn't try to fight but it was obvious that he wanted to push away the guards and run away. Hiroshi never saw him too. The man reappeared on the screen.

"Yuuko Ota!"

As soon as the camera entered the girl's house, she started sobbing. A little boy behind, probably her brother, asked his mom why his sister was crying and why men were taking her away. The screen switched to the man again.

"Kenta Hotaru!"

A blue-haired boy appeared on the screen. He had the common reaction. He didn't seem to realize what was going on, like if he thought he was still asleep, that his nightmare would stop soon. Hiroshi knew him a little bit. He was always drawing alone; he didn't seem to like crowds. Kazuya grabbed the teen's arm, obviously starting to feel uneasy about this. The man appeared again.

"Mika Haru!"

Hiroshi immediately recognized the girl. She was often with that other girl: Megumi. They were both the same, trying to act rebellious for no reason. Probably due to her nervosity, she screamed when the guards came in the house. She even ran to her room and closed the door, yelling she wouldn't go at the mansion. Before the image of the guards getting her out would appear, they switched for the man.

"Myo Iwasaki"

They saw a brown-haired girl crying and clutching to her dad. Hiroshi looked away, feeling particularly uneasy with this reaction. She was maybe ten. Kazuya looked at his brother with a scared expression.

"Is it that horrible to be taken there?" He asked with a shaky voice.

The teen didn't answer and looked away which didn't reassure his brother at all.

"Naoki Miura!" Said the man at the screen.

A black-haired boy was seen. He didn't seem shocked at all, but he did look sad. By the look on his face, Hiroshi could bet that he was repeating himself why he had been chosen. The gray-haired didn't recall seeing him though.

"Takuro Hayashi!"

This one had been involved in a bank robbery last year. Nobody really knew if it was by will or not except the police. Looks like it wasn't against his will. Aside from that, Hiroshi didn't know him. There was Takuro's older brother behind, complaining. It wouldn't change anything though since he was eighteen now, he was considered as an adult, he couldn't do anything for his younger brother. It touched a sensitive chord. He didn't want to know what it was like to see a loved one taken away. It was like if Kazuya was chosen.

"Kaori Sano!"

The girl shown didn't hesitate to swear and insult the guards. She was at the gray-haired's school. She was known to be a really mean girl, especially with teachers and very young students. When she began to look at Kazuya with a hungry beast's look, Hiroshi stopped her in the hallway and warned her to never look at his brother like that. The teen could be really intimidating and convincing while using words. Maybe because he was really tall... Well, at least she immediately stopped looking at his brother like if he was a meal.

"Takeshi Shimizu!"

The blonde boy that the screen showed didn't look surprised at all. He had a sad gaze but not a grieving one, more like if he'd been waiting for this moment for years. A bit like someone that was about to commit suicide after a long reflexion. He stood there, not fighting at all. He had already accepted his fate.

"Riku Arai!"

The girl shown panicked when the camera entered her house. She screamed, cried and begged to let go. She fought back, she looked more than terrified to go there. Kazuya closed his eyes; he didn't want to look anymore. Hiroshi wrapped an arm around the child's shoulders to try to comfort him even if he knew it wouldn't be enough for now.

"Takero Kujima!"

Just by the name, Hiroshi recognized the red-haired. He was a bully at school, a real jerk that made fun of the others. He already took Kazuya as a target. It was the first time and the last time that the gray-haired got into a fight. Nobody made fun of his brother! Takero looked really mad but he didn't try to fight.

"Ryota Aoki!"

This one got a really rare reaction. He was smiling. Not a nervous smile, a satisfied one, like if he really wanted to go. Well, it wasn't surprising at all from this one. He was really violent. He was often getting in brawls, insulted others and he was also rumored to have killed someone in a fight six month ago. He looked really intimidating, Hiroshi had to admit it. Plus, he was Takero's friend so he was part of the bullying. The screen switched back to the man that read out loud the name of the last chosen one.

"And Kazuya Ryuuzu!"


Sorry, the chapter was short!
I couldn't help but imagine Dr. Sweets from Bones as the man on the T.V. X)

So, please leave a review and see you next chapter!