Chapter Three
Heavy Tensions
Once everyone had left, I checked the map on my device. Apparently, there were personal quarters for every student, including me. I headed to my own; might as well check it out while everyone else was off doing other things.
The map lead me down a hallway lined with doors. On each door was a name tag, along with some video game-esque character -supposedly of us-. I pushed open my door, finding it unlocked a little to my surprise. It was quite clean inside, though the camera in the corner unnerved me. Did that mean that someone would be watching me sleep...? Creepy. And there were steel panels on the walls as well. If I wasn't disturbed enough from the whole murder idea, I was definitely not liking the additions to this room.
Tentatively, I slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. It was quite comfy... I found myself beginning to drift off, and would've slept had it not been for a great welcome from the dear headmaster.
"Hellooooo Hana-chan!" The voice said brightly, and I looked up to see Teddie's face on a nearby screen. Yeesh, so he was watching us!
"Aw, you don't seem beary happy to see me. Is it bearcause you're in school forever? Boo hoo hoo. Beartter get killing! Oh, if it makes you feel any beartter, I put a little present in your drawers bearside your bed. Ku-ku-kuma!" With that, his image faded from the screen.
I decided to slide open the drawer beside my bed. Inside sat a deluxe set of kitchen knives... A professional chef brand of some sort. Back at my father's store, it would've been pretty expensive. I picked up one of the knives and ran my finger down the blade... It looked deadly sharp. One hit from this and...
No.
I couldn't allow myself to think this way. That was what Teddie wanted from us; to collapse and lose control of ourselves... To kill. I couldn't do that. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't possibly bring myself to do such a thing. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I took someone else's life.
I place the knife back into the drawer and lay back on the bed. Uneasily, I fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
"Don't you dare get any closer you creep!"
I awoke to yelling in the hallway and quickly ran out of my room to check it out. When I arrived, Yukiko was shouting at Mitsuo.
"Yuki, are you sure you don't -"
"No!"
I stepped between the two before Mitsuo could reach out and grab her.
"Hey, hands off." I glared at him. He scowled at me before going off, presumably to his own room. Yukiko looked at me for a few moments before briefly nodding in appreciation. She scurried off as well.
Now woken, I decided to go explore more of the school. Everyone else seemed to be in their rooms or in the cafeteria area, so it was more quiet. I stayed cautious, in case someone was crazy enough to pull something afterwords.
My evening -was it evening? My watch and phone weren't working- stroll didn't find me very much besides discovering many gates, locked doors and a very large kitchen filled with food and utensils. Fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as baked goods. As I ventured further into the room, I heard a boiling noise, and someone chopping. A flash of silver caught my eye; it appeared Yu was cooking something, and it smelled delicious. I entertained the idea of his talent being a chef, but I was fairly certain he'd be all over the news and internet, especially for being so young.
Yu briefly turned around and took notice of me, but only gave me a brief nod of acknowledgement before continuing with whatever he was cooking. Obviously I wasn't going to get much out of him, so I left the kitchen.
When I entered the cafeteria, there was a heated discussion awaiting me. It was a small group of four - Naoki, Naoto, Chie and Yumi.
"This isn't fair! We're gonna be stuck in here forever!" Yumi was pacing back and forth anxiously. Naoto sighed quietly, although her concerned gaze betrayed her calm facade.
"There is no use in panicking. Surely authorities have knowledge of this ordeal by now. If not, we can find clues to escaping, and the origins of the academy. That bear... it mentioned that the rules didn't work well for the class before us, which may mean they were able to escape. It appeared disappointed when it said that, so it would be a logical assumption." The detective said. It was definitely reassuring that someone was sane and intelligent...
"Or one of us can just kill. I mean, that's what the bear wants, am I right?" Naoki retorted coolly. Before I could interrupt, Chie angrily leapt in.
"How can you say that?! Taking another human life - that's just ridiculous!" She shouted at him, her hands balled into fists.
"...I woke up one day to discover my sister's body, hanging. Death doesn't scare me." Naoki turned away, walking out of the room. That was one less person on our little hope team, it appeared. And someone to watch out for... He could easily come up as a suspect.
"Not everyone can be understood at first sight." A voice behind quietly stated. It was Yu, and he brought with him a large platter of stir-fry. Aika arrived from the kitchen with plates; it seemed like dinner -or lunch?- was ready. I wasn't sure whether or not I'd be able to eat with an uneasy stomach, but I sat down nonetheless... I hadn't eaten for a while, and it seemed I would be needing energy sooner or later.
While the meal was quite tasty, the atmosphere remained grim. No one said a word. Not until everyone was done.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked as I pushed my plate away, some vegetables still on the edge. "I mean, besides not killing each other. Taking the assumption that bear won't do anything past telling us to do stuff, we should be pretty okay otherwise."
"Investigating this academy and the origins of 'Teddie' are still priorities." Naoto responded. "Does anyone have any information on that?"
"I looked around, but all I found were a lot of locked doors and gates closing off stair cases." Chie spoke up. "I tried kicking some open, but none of them budged!"
"They could be reenforced with steel, like how the walls are." Yu suggested.
"Ku-ku-kuma!"
A familiar and not-so-welcome figure bounced onto the table. Teddie spun around a couple of times before facing us.
"If you wanna explore the rest of the bearcademy, you gotta go through class trials and uncover some murderers! And if you're not gonna do that, I may have to make some motives!"
The bear spun again before disappearing.
"We have to have people die in order for us to see the rest of the school?!" Chie looked startled by the idea.
"It seems very determined to make us do what it wants." Naoto mused. "If we're not careful, we might succumb to these 'motives' it mentioned."
"Who can we trust?" Yumi asked worriedly.
"...depends... Anyone can be a killer or a victim here. To be honest, we will only be able to trust ourselves." Naoto replied darkly. "Even if we make a pact, there's no telling whenever someone will turn on us. Plus, there are individuals who may not want to team up."
Leaving that thought with us, she stood up and left the cafeteria.
• Author's Notes •
At the end of the third chapter! I'm trying my best to actually work on this, now that I've gotten more free time. Free time for plotting about teenagers locked in a school... Usual stuff, neh?
...references all over the place... Congrats if you pick 'em up. As for the "hope team".. Well, not everything can last forever. And especially not when you're stuck in a school with a pun-filled bear as your headmaster. Those puns almost physically hurt...
Anyway! Until next chapter, readers~ It's always a pleasure.
~Magic Toad
