Chapter 3

Day One: RPG Maze

As soon as the sun rose from the east, the Class B went out of their dorm and gathered in the front door.

"So, where is our first stop?" Anna asked.

"Based on the map, our starting point is in the Elementary School Building so I guess, we should go now." Iinchou replied while analyzing the map that was given to them.

The Class B then proceeded towards the Elementary School Building.

"Whoooaaaa...I missed this place. This is where we all met right? This elementary building witnessed all the happy and sad moments of our lives." Nonoko commented.

"You're being sentimental, Nonoko" Sumire jeered

"I can't help it, Sumire-chan" Nonoko replied with a smile.

Suddenly, Narumi emerged from the Elementary School's front door and greeted his precious students.

"Ohayou, my precious kids! You're so early today!" he greeted

"Whatever" Hotaru remarked.

"Anyway, I'm here to give you some last instructions before you begin this treasure hunt. So I want you to listen to me carefully okay?"

The group just nodded their heads.

"First, SHORTCUT is strictly prohibited meaning, no one is allowed to skip some destinations. If you do, you will be automatically eliminated. Hidden cameras were installed all around the place and I will be in the broadcasting room to monitor all of your actions. Second, you will spend your night to your current destination, but don't worry you will find all the necessary supplies in there. And last but not the least; enjoy this fun-filled event! Adieu...!" and Narumi dashed off.

"Great." Mochu said.

The group then looked on their respective maps and searched for their first stop and soon enough they found the place which has a number 1 written on it...

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The Special Abilities RPG Maze Hall

Mikan's eyes went as wide as saucers "Our first destination is the hall where we held our RPG maze?" she thought. She looked on her surroundings and saw her classmates with a worried look on their faces.

"What's the matter with you guys?" Mikan asked.

"Eto~ You see, I forgot the way to the maze hall Mikan-chan" Nonoko confessed.

"You forgot? How could you?!" Anna retorted.

"I can't help it you know...I have no sense of direction after all." Nonoko sighed.

Mikan plastered a smile on her face "Going to the maze hall is as easy as pie for me! Being the only member of special ability class in our group gives me the advantage!" she thought to herself.

"Whatever Nonoko. Just follow us okay?" Sumire exclaimed.

Nonoko nodded her head.

And so the group proceeded to their destination...

The group was almost halfway when Mikan suddenly took a detour unbeknownst to them.

"Since I'm a member of the special abilities class, I guess I'm the only one who knows the shortcut towards the maze hall! I'll be there in a short span of time!" Mikan thought happily while walking her way towards the said shortcut.

An hour passed...

"We're *pant* finally...*pant*...here*pant*" Iinchou said between breaths upon reaching their first destination.

"You're out of breath Iinchou" Koko remarked.

"Well, I am not as healthy as you Koko-kun" Iinchou replied back.

"Hey guys, where's Mikan?" Sumire asked out of the blue.

The group then looked on their surroundings "She is not here. Don't tell me she got lost?" Iinchou inquired.

And then, as if on cue Mikan appeared out of nowhere "Hey guys!" she jeered "I've been waiting for all of you!"

The rest of the gang had their jaws dropped, well aside from Hotaru.

"You mean, you've been here before us? For how long?" Kitsuneme asked

Mikan grinned "Yeah, I've been here for around an hour you know! How can you be such a slowpoke guys!"

Kitsuneme and Koko blinked their eyes rapidly as if they do not believe every Mikan's words. Seeing this, Mikan said "If you are wondering how did I got here in a jiffy then I will remind all of you guys that I am the only member of Special Abilities class way back our school days so naturally, I am the only one who knows the quickest way to get here in our Maze hall!"

"If you know a shortcut, why didn't you even tell us, you sly fox!" Sumire ranted.

"Well, it's no fun if we will do this hunt altogether besides it is an INDIVIDUAL task right?" Mikan winked at Sumire but the latter just ignored it.

"No more ranting, both of you are too noisy. Let's get inside" Hotaru stoically said.

Mikan's POV

As soon as we entered the maze hall, I was flabbergasted. The Maze hall has drastically changed! I can't even recognize it at all! Is this the same hall where we held our annual RPG maze back then? To confirm my thoughts, I decided to pinch my cheeks.

"Itai!" I said out loud. Loud enough for my friends to see.

"What the hell are you doing to yourself Mikan? What's the pinching for?" Hotaru asked.

"Just doing some reality check!" I replied with an uneasy smile.

Hotaru just shrugged her shoulders and then her attention landed on a poster posted on one of the marble walls of the hall. She pointed her index finger at it.

"Let's take a look on that poster" Hotaru mentioned.

All of us gathered around the poster and read its contents carefully:

"This is your first destination! As you all know, Special Abilities' forte is this RPG maze and it has been their tradition for more than five years. And, so this is your task my little hunters!

All of you need to enter the maze just like the old times and those who will be able to reach the goal will proceed to their next destination. Each one of you must take a different pathway and it is all connected to the goal. But then again, remember that this is not just a maze game. Certain traps were installed around the maze so be extremely cautious. If you were caught in a trap, then you'll say goodbye to your friends and head back to the dorm for you are eliminated.

PS:

Don't be surprised on what you will see inside! And in this round, one will be eliminated

Break a leg!"

"Break a leg? Narumi wants our legs to break? Is he out of his mind?!" Kitsuneme wailed.

"You are the one who's out of his mind, Koko. Narumi didn't mean it literally, idiot. It means good luck" Hotaru stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, we need no time to waste! Let's begin!" I said, with my clenched fist raised in mid-air.

End of POV

Normal POV

Class B then entered the RPG maze. Each of them took different pathways and started their little journey towards the end of the maze.

"It really does change a lot." Mikan sighed "I guess all the secret tips I learned way back will not be of any use since this maze is much more complicated than what we had before. But then again, since this is our class' pride, I must accomplish this task."

A lot of screams, shrieks, laughter and cries were heard during the game. Nonoko tripped, Koko bumped onto the wall, but it's not a trap...It's just a result of their clumsiness.

After 45 minutes...

"Tsk...Whoever conceptualizes this maze is such an airhead with no sense of creativity. Stupid humanoid" Hotaru hissed as soon as she reached the goal.

Yeah, Hotaru was the first to reach the goal. Thanks to her vast amount of brain cells that is functioning normally.

The next one who reached the goal was no other than Iinchou...

"Hi there" Hotaru said.

"Hotaru-chan! You reached the goal first, as expected of you!" Iinchou remarked "That thing is a hell of a maze. I'm not going in there anymore! It is creepy!"

Hotaru raised an eyebrow "Creepy? How the hell did that become creepy to you?"

Iinchou sweat dropped "A maze filled with life sized mannequins with blood oozing from their bodies is not creepy to you? It's like I'm having a nightmare!"

Hotaru's eyes widened and then thought for a while. "Are you sure? But that maze is filled with vintage and rusty machines. I almost got tripped from an old vacuum cleaner that was scattered on the ground. But thanks to my quick reflexes, I am able to prevent that embarrassing thing to happen."

Now it's Iinchou who has extra wide eyes "Now I get it, though we entered the same maze, the path that we took was different!"

"You're stating the obvious, Iinchou" Hotaru replied sheepishly.

"Well, let's just wait for the others and ask what does the path they took looks like."

After 2 hours...

Nonoko arrived... "That maze is like heaven! It is filled with luscious foods...I mean, as soon as I am halfway through, a saw a platter filled with elegant strawberry and blueberry shortcakes...though I am not that fond of desserts like Anna-chan, but the trip was really overwhelming!"

Hotaru and Yuu sweat dropped...

Nonoko was followed by Sumire who's got scratches all over her fancy outfit "damn that maze! How come Narumi filled it with fluffy evil members of the animal kingdom! How dare those cats scratch my dress! I'll rip off their furs and turn it to a coat I swear!" she cursed.

"I feel bad for her" Nonoko whispered to Hotaru.

Just then, Anna arrived with tears on her innocent face.

"Why are you crying Anna-chan?" Iinchou asked.

"Oh, you see, that maze is quit intoxicating. I thought I'm gonna die because of hypoxia. As soon as I stepped into the maze, I smelled different strong scents and it is making me dizzy that I find it hard to move! Nonoko-chan's perfumes were way too elegant compared to those strong scents I've smelled. My head is still spinning right now" Anna replied

"But that path of yours is way too better compared to the path I've taken! Look what those stray cats have done to me!" Sumire ranted.

Anna looked at Sumire's worn out dress "Oh my gosh, Sumire-chan, you look awful!"

"Thanks for the compliment" Sumire replied, filled with tons and tons of sarcasm.

Then one by one, the rest of the group arrived at the goal...

Koko, who's complaining that the maze is filled with posters of Narumi in different poses and outfits that it made his nose to literally bleed.

Kitsuneme, who's got a bump on his head because he stepped on a trampoline whose base is buried onto the ground so as soon as he stepped on it, he bounces and hits the ceiling (A/N: The maze is an enclosed one, with walls and ceilings around)

Ruka, who seems in rage because the path he took was filled with pictures of him during the most embarrassing moments of his life during his school days.

"Hotaru! You're the only one responsible for the pictures! You'll pay for it big time!" Ruka yelled.

"Oh. But I am not the one responsible for putting it here on the maze. I didn't even know that it exist here. Don't blame me" Hotaru stoically retorted back.

"Only Mochu-kun and Mikan-chan were left. Only one of them will remain and the other one will be eliminated." Iinchou said

Twenty more minutes passed and...

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Mikan arrived.

"That trip was heaven! It is filled with sweet treats like my all time favorite Howalons, some strawberries and tangerines! Though the design reminds me of how humiliating my school life could be!" she jeered.

"What design?" Anna asked.

"It is filled with...polka dots...of different sizes and colors" Mikan sighed.

"Reminds you of Natsume" Hotaru bluntly said.

"Hotaru! How dare you speak of his name in front of Mikan, she'll be sad again!" Koko hissed.

"Oh, no worries Koko, I'm over him so I don't mind it at all, besides what Hotaru said is true. Polka dots really remind me of Natsume" Mikan replied and deliberately changes the topic "So, where's Mochu-kun?"

And as if on cue, a loud scream was heard "I'M TRAAAAAPPPPEEEDDDD!"

"That will answer your question" Iinchou said.

"I guess, he'll head back any time now" Nonoko butts in.

What happened to Mochu anyway?

Well, so much for his luck, the pathway he took was smooth sailing, meaning it's just an ordinary maze just like the RPG maze before. Being confident about it, he took a turn and as soon as he stepped his foot on the floor, it opened and swallowed him whole.

He's trapped.

End of Chapter 3 !

It's a bit longer compared to the first two chapters but I hope you'll like it.

As I said on the summary, it is a Non-Alice story so how come there is a special abilities class? Well I just like to include it in the story.

Thanks to all those who reviewed my first chapters!

To those asking where Natsume is, well sorry to burst your bubble but he is NOT APPEARING any moment now. You'll find out if you will read this story til the end.

Grammatical errors will be revised if you spotted any.

R&R!