The trio of students exited the double doors of the library, Ryoma taking the lead. Despite his small stature, he moved rather swiftly.
"I imagine most of the others have already returned to the food court." He said in his deep baritone. "Come on, let's go."
With a nod, Kaede and Shuichi followed him. As they approached the corridor exit however, Kaede spotted a figure standing over the maintenance panel, running their hands over it.
"Ah, Keebo. Not satisified yet?" Ryoma grunted at the newcomer, who turned their head slightly to look.
Walking closer, Kaede saw that the individual was a boy draped in a long lab coat, with heavy grey gloves that looked comically oversized on his hands. His hair was stark white and very voluminous, a long ahoge trailing off the top much like her own. He had some kind of tattoos on his face, of black lines running down vertically from his eyes. A leather bag sat next to him on the floor, which was overflowing with things like pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches, and all manner of other tools.
"Hm? Oh, it's you Ryoma. And who are these two?" He spoke distractedly, still investigating the panel.
"Hello!" Kaede said before Ryoma could do introductions on their behalf. "I'm Kaede Akamatsu. The uh, amnesiac girl. And you're Keebo, right?"
Keebo frowned at her. "…That is highly illogical. Kokichi mentioned there was a student here with total amnesia, but I assumed it was another one of his childish fantasies."
"Well I can confirm he wasn't lying. Er, about that at least." Kaede added sheepishly. Anxious to change the topic, she pointed at the wall panel. "So, what were you doing with that? Also, what's your name?"
"Oh, I was trying to see if I could get it to open. However, brute forcing it with a tool seems to be ineffective. Whoever designed it certainly knew what they were doing." He explained. He stood rather stiffly at he did so, and spoke in a very stilted, clinical tone.
'Guess he's not very used to talking with others. He's even worse than Shuichi…' Kaede thought with sympathy.
"…if I had some welding equipment or an electric saw, I could open it. However, that might damage whatever is contained inside. Regardless, the warehouse didn't contain anything like that." Keebo continued explaining, putting his chin in his hand with a look of deep concentration. "In short, either we must find the card key, or a manner of constructing our own card key. But that in itself would require me to have a dedicated workstation…"
"You can create card keys?" Shuichi asked in interest, which seemed to startle the scientist.
"But of course!" He protested, sounding rather affronted. "Well…as I said, with the proper equipment and facilities, yes. But something as fundamental as that, I was taught before I even knew how to ride a bike!"
"It took us forever to get him to introduce himself too, so I'll just do it for him." Ryoma said with a dark chuckle. "This guy is Keebo Idabashi, the Ultimate Inventor. I hadn't heard of him, but I had heard of some of his products. You ever use those eyedrop contact lenses?"
"No, but I know of them," Shuichi said, his eyes widening. "Doesn't repeated use actually gradually improve your eyesight even when you aren't wearing them? That was you?"
"Yes, one of my earlier designs." Keebo admitted, looking flushed. "Looking back, it could have been improved in so many ways…it is an embarrassment compared to my current standards."
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. It sounds like it was pretty impressive-" Kaede began to console him, only to see him scowl deeply.
"No, I must be hard on myself!" He said with venom. "Hardship is the mother of invention. Even if perfection is impossible, striving for perfection allows us to achieve greatness. So I must aim for perfection in all things. It's the only way to make a better world."
"A…better world?" Kaede asked in confusion, and a little annoyance at being cut off.
"From an early age, I was tutored by the great Professor Idabashi, my father." Keebo explained as if he was giving a lecture. "The most important lesson I learned is that invention exists because problems in the world exist. If no one ever had no use of their legs, we would not have wheelchairs. If no one ever needed to avoid eating raw food, we would not have ovens. Everything I design, I design because it must contribute to improving society."
"Which is why," He finished his spiel with a huff as he turned back to the panel. "An unintuitive, user-unfriendly device such as this is insulting, no matter the quality of the craftsmanship."
"Hrm. I'd already forgot how much you liked to ramble." Ryoma said pointedly, rubbing at the back of his head.
"Heh. Well, it's admirable in it's own way...sort of." Kaede said with a grin. 'He's eccentric, and kind of preachy, but it's clear he's driven and has his heart in the right place.' She nudged Shuichi with her elbow slightly. "Hey, Shuichi? Do you think we should host a debate match between Angie and Keebo here?"
"Please, don't joke about that." Shuichi said with horror.
"Wait." Keebo said, peering at Shuichi intently. "You wouldn't happen to be Shuichi Saihara, would you? The Ultimate Entomologist?"
"Uh, yes, that's me." Shuichi replied with surprise.
"Splendid!" Keebo said with a laugh, smiling for the first time. "I'm a big fan of your work on genetically engineered spiders. I'm actually using some of their special silk to develop a range of bullet-proof casual clothing."
"R-really? I'm honored…" Shuichi said with a fierce blush, reaching up to grab his hat nervously. "But ah, it wasn't really anything that amazing…"
"You should learn to accept praise when you hear it, kid." Ryoma scolded. "To take pride in your work…" He trailed off and then sighed. "No, never mind. That kind of advice is hypocritical coming from someone like me."
"You're all hopeless." Kaede said, shaking her head and laughing. "Anyways, we still need to check out the dorms."
"Yes, of course." Keebo said with a nod, though he looked a bit puzzled as to what Kaede found so funny. "I'll be in the food court with everyone else shortly."
Waving goodbye to the odd scientist, the three students stepped out into the main plaza once again. This time, there were more people at the tables around the base of the statue than before.
'Tsumugi, Himiko, Tojo…' Kaede began counting them all off in her head. 'Kokichi, Gonta, Rantaro, Miu, Katio, and Angie. They're all there…'
Indeed, the large group was gathered there, split across two tables. Kokichi sat at the head of one, his arms spread wide and an even wider grin on his face as he was telling some story to a captive audience of Gonta, Angie, and Miu. Gonta seemed completely absorbed in it, Angie had a polite smile, and Miu kept scoffing and interjecting with some presumably rude criticism.
On the other table, Kaito had apparently got ahold of some sketch paper and pencils and was doodling away, tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly. Tojo hovered just over his shoulder, looking at his work with interest. Rantaro sat across from them, shuffling a deck of playing cards much like the one in Kaede's backpack. Tsumugi stood at attention in the middle of both tables, looking anxious for something to do. And finally, Himiko was stood far away from the others, leaned up against the food counters with her arms crossed and her head bowed low.
"Hm…" Kaede felt her heart lift at the scene. "Some of us are a bit prickly, but overall everyone seems to getting along well." She placed her hand over her chest and smiled softly. "…I'm glad."
"Yeah. Seems like you got good friends." Ryoma said wistfully. "That's a valuable thing to have."
"They're your friends too, Ryoma." Shuichi insisted, looking at the short piano player with sympathy.
"Hm…maybe." Ryoma said non-committally. "Anyways, I'll see you two later. Hopefully we can figure out how to get some food." And with that, he set off to join the group of Ultimate students.
"Well Kaede, let's go." Shuichi said, still looking at Ryoma's retreating back with a sorrowful expression.
"Oh? Taking the lead this time, Shuichi?" She teased, to which he cracked a smile. The two of them turned right, and headed toward the final corridor available.
Unlike the side corridors, it had no strangely colored walls or lights, using instead the stark white like that of the classroom corridor. There was also no panel on the wall. The lighting was still uncomfortably bright, however.
Walking down the hallway, there were a wide number of doors on either side, each with a plate on the front like the specialist rooms, but instead of a cartoon representation of a talent, there were little pixel art prints of each of the students.
"Oh, that's cute. I guess that's to let us know which room is who's." Kaede said.
"Yeah…but it also means, they definitely plan for us to stay here for a while, which is pretty unnerving." Shuichi added.
"True." Kaede admitted with a frown. Looking closer, she saw that while each door also had a card reader, none of them were currently locked. In fact, each room's door was slightly ajar. Kaede found her own room, which was the fourth one down the hall on the left hand side, and pushed it open to take a peek.
It looked like a fairly comfortable place to stay, but much like the rest of the school, rather plain and lacking in decoration. The walls were a light pink, and most of the furniture was white. There was a queen sized bed, a desk with a lamp, a chest of drawers and wardrobe, and a wastebin.
Stepping into the room fully, she noticed a sliding door to her left. Walking over and opening it, Kaede found herself looking at an en-suite bathroom, with a fancy looking shower, sink and toilet. A shelf filled with various health and beauty products was mounted into the wall next to the sink.
"Well, at the very least we'll be living in comfort, even if it's against our will." Shuichi's voice suddenly said behind her, causing her to jump.
"Jeez, sneak up on a girl why don't you?" She said, turning around. "Though it's rather totalitarian in looks, isn't it? I'd definitely want to be able to put up some posters at least."
"Yeah, I checked in my room as well." Shuichi said, looking away awkwardly. "It's basically identical, except the walls are blue instead of pink."
"Yes, it's very…stereotypical if you ask me. Some of us girls might want blue rooms!" Came a new voice. Startled, the two of them turned to look behind them.
Leaning up against the side of the wardrobe was a tall girl who looked quite toned- in fact her rather impressive abs and arms were on full display thanks to the dusky brown cropped and sleeveless jacket she was wearing. Her black hair was tied back into a ponytail with an odd hair accessory that looked like a green windmill, and her lower half was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and some heavy duty hiking boots. Kaede also noticed there was a long, jagged scar across her stomach.
All in she was a very intimidating girl, arms folded across her chest and eyeing the two of them with a wariness in her eyes that belied her cheerful tone.
Or more specifically, she seemed to be eyeing Shuichi with wariness.
"Um…hello." Kaede said nervously. "Er, how long have you been standing there?"
The stranger's gaze slid over to Kaede upon being addressed, and her eyes went from cool suspicion to sparkles in an instant. "Ahhhhh!" She suddenly yelled at enormous volume, waving a hand in front of herself as if to fight off something.
"Huh?! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Kaede said in concern as she rushed over, stopping just shy of the girls flailing hand.
"…Cute…you are just too cute!" She said with a flushed, goofy grin.
"…Eh?" Whatever Kaede had expected the problem to be, it wasn't that.
"Well, all girls are lovely and cute by default." The newcomer explained happily. "But all the girls here are simply beautiful! Especially Himiko! Don't you think she's just adorable?"
"Er…I guess? She's a bit of a grump, though." Kaede said, thinking back to the detective's standoffish behavior.
'Wait, why are we suddenly comparing the girls here? What is this conversation?!'
"Oh, I'm sure she's just a little shy. But I bet I can get her to open up her heart!" The girl said with bravado, putting her fists together in a bump.
"Um…sorry to interrupt the…girl talk, but who exactly are you?" Shuichi asked, still hovering in the bathroom doorframe.
When Shuichi addressed her, the girl's whole demeanor suddenly changed. Her cocky grin disappeared, and her mouth twisted into…something. Kaede wasn't sure whether it was a scowl of anger, a sneer of disdain, or a frown of sadness. Whatever it was, she was definitely not as pleased to speak to Shuichi as to Kaede.
"…Boys and men must earn my trust or respect." She said flatly. "And so far, you have neither." Despite her harsh comment, her face softened. "Though to be fair, you're probably not as bad as some of the males here…so far. To answer your question, my name is Tenko Chabashira- the Ultimate Adventurer."
Kaede was intrigued by Tenko's talent, but first, she felt a swell of annoyance. "Hey, don't you think that's a bit harsh? How can you just judge all boys like that before you've even met them? Shuichi's nice!"
"Kaede…it's fine. Don't worry about it." Shuichi mumbled, looking away.
"It's not fine! You can't just let her walk all over you!" She yelled in frustration.
Tenko simply watched the exchange with a blank expression before sighing. "Kaede…you're the one who has amnesia, right?"
"What's that got to do with anything?" Kaede responded hotly, to which Tenko only shook her head sadly.
"Everything. It means you have no memories of men. You have no experience of their cruelty. I'm quite jealous, actually." She pointed over at Shuichi. "Perhaps you are correct, and Shuichi is a very nice person. But can you really be sure? It's better to assume the worst of men, not the best…even if you're wrong, it's too big a risk to take until you have a clearer picture."
"But women can be cruel too." Kaede countered. "Women can hide their intentions just as much. Yes, maybe men are more likely to be that way, but by your logic, it's not worth it to trust anybody."
Tenko's face darkened. "And is that wrong?"
"Huh?" Yet again, Kaede felt herself at a loss for words.
"I don't want to distrust men. I don't want to distrust anyone. But when you've been burned once, you learn not to go near fire a second time…" Tenko turned away from them, her ponytail swinging behind her. "…Look, you aren't going to change my mind, so can we stop talking about this please?"
"Um…alright, for now. But don't think that's the end of it!" Kaede huffed. "Moving on…what's your talent all about?"
Tenko grinned again, her sullen expression vanishing in the blink of an eye. "Well, I've travelled all over the world, and seen all sorts of amazing things! Have you ever been to Antartica? Or Peru?"
"Can't say that I have…" Kaede said cautiously. 'Her mood changes as much as Kokichi's…'
"Ohh, you have to! I could take you someday, after we get out of here." Tenko gushed, bouncing back on forth on her feet. "Or the Himalayas!"
"So, you just…travel a lot? And that makes you an Ultimate?" Kaede asked, wincing as she realized how rude that sounded. She didn't want to immediately start another argument.
Tenko hesitated. "Well…I don't know how it happens, but I always kind of end up…accidently getting involved in stuff where ever I go."
"Stuff?" Shuichi spoke up for the first time in a while. "Like what?"
Her eyes flickered to him coolly, but she answered him all the same. "Well…this one time when I was in a remote village near the Bering Strait, there was an outbreak of diphtheria, and the only medicine was all the way over in Anchorage, miles away. So I had to use a sled and huskies to travel across the whole state and back in a blizzard to help the children."
"…What." Kaede deadpanned.
If Tenko noticed her disbelief, she didn't comment on it, instead just nodding. "Mm. And this other time, when I was in Cairo, I stumbled across this human trafficking ring, so I destroyed it."
"…Destroyed it?!" Shuichi said in shock.
"…And this one time, I almost got eaten by sharks while diving at the Great Barrier Reef…or that time I was climbing Everest, and there was an attempted sabotage by a rival team that nearly killed us in an avalanche…or that whole mess with the Kuzuryu clan…"
"That…seems like a lot." Kaede said plainly, not sure what to think.
Tenko just shrugged. "Like I said, I didn't really plan on any of that stuff, so it's not like I intended to be an Ultimate. If anything, it's just a string of bad luck rather than skill."
'So modest after such outrageous claims…Could she actually be telling the truth?'
Tenko sighed again, heading towards the door and gripping the handle. "By the way, these doors were all ajar when we discovered them, but I think they might lock automatically when closed."
"Oh…I see." Kaede said numbly, still reeling from the bizarre flow of conversation. "So until we find that card key, we shouldn't close them all the way?"
"Yeah, seems so." Tenko seemed hesitant to leave, glancing back behind her at the two of them. "…Shuichi?"
'Huh?' Kaede blinked. 'What does she want from him now? Hasn't she bullied him enough?'
"…Yeah, Tenko?" The dark haired boy responded nervously.
Tenko was biting her lower lip, and hovered in the doorframe for a few agonizing seconds. Finally, she spoke. "…The rooms appear to be organized by gender. Girls on the left, and boys on the right. You should remember that."
And with that, she left the room, careful to only partially close the door behind her.
"…What the hell was all that about?" Kaede said in confusion, turning to Shuichi. He seemed to be lost in thought, still staring at the spot Tenko had just been. "….Shuichi? You okay?"
"Hm?" He flinched, then shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "…Yeah, I'm alright. Shall we go?"
"Um…alright, but only if you're sure you're really okay…" She said, walking over and putting her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "She was pretty harsh on-"
"Kaede, really. It's fine." Shuichi said firmly, giving her a smile. "Come on, let's go."
He wriggled out from under her hand, and hurriedly left the room. She watched him go, her heart sinking.
'Why do I feel like there's something I've totally missed here?'
"S-Shuichi, wait-up!" She yelled after him, dashing for the door and into the hallway. "I was just-" Her speech was interrupted as she collided with something in the hallway, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flat on her butt on the cold floor.
"Ouch…" Kaede whined, spots dancing in her vision. "What was that…?"
"You should be more careful. Didn't your parents teach you to look both ways before crossing the street?" Came the voice of an annoyed-sounding girl. Slowly, Kaede's sight returned to her, and she saw a person also knocked to the ground across from her.
Kaede's 'victim' had black hair in a chin length bob cut, framing a very angular face from which a set of blood red eyes were glaring at Kaede. She was wearing a long sleeved baggy shirt with a swirling galaxy print, along with a pleated purple skirt, pale blue tights and a pair of plain black sneakers.
"Ah…sorry! I'm so sorry!" Kaede felt like dirt. It seemed like the past five minutes or so, all she could do was mess up.
The girl sighed, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. "…It's fine. I think you got bruised more than I did." She offered a hand out, which Kaede gladly took, wincing as she was helped to her feet.
"Thanks…" Kaede began sheepishly. "Um-"
"Maki Harukawa. Ultimate Astronaut." The girl said suddenly.
"Huh?"
Maki sighed, sounded bored. "…My name and talent. You were going to ask shortly, so I figured I'd save you the trouble."
"O-oh, right." Kaede glanced around as she kept talking to Maki. 'Where the hell is Shuichi?' "Well, my n-"
"…Kaede Akamatsu. You have amnesia and cannot recall your talent, assuming you have one." Maki said bluntly once again, examining her nails. "…There, we're introduced. Can I go now?"
And without waiting for an answer, Maki turned and walked back the way she came, leaving only a nonplussed amnesiac standing around uselessly in an empty corridor.
'Well, that was…brief. I learned basically nothing about her. Yet another person who isn't exactly a social butterfly…' Kaede thought as she looked around, trying to find Shuichi. It was then that she noticed a seventeeth door at the very end of the dormitory hallway, which was labelled 'Laundry Room'.
'Did he go in here?' She wondered, stepping towards it. As she did so, she could hear his muffled voice from inside.
'I can't quite make out what he's saying, but it seems he's talking to someone. But whoever that person is, they aren't talking back.'
Kaede pushed open the door and stepped inside. It looked fairly standard for a laundry room- one wall was entirely taken up by a row of washing machines, and several clothes lines for drying were strung across the ceiling. A simple table and chairs was placed in the middle of the room, and there was a large stack of magazines for one to occupy their time with while waiting for their laundry. The magazine on top of the pile was some kind of fashion weekly, with a bold splash cover of a pretty blonde girl smirking at the camera.
Shuichi was indeed in here, and he wasn't alone. Sitting in one of the chairs was a tall, oddly dressed person who Kaede would guess to be female, but she wasn't sure. They wore a loose fitting white keikogi over a chest that seemed to be bare other than being tightly wrapped with bandages. Their forearms and legs were heavily bandaged as well, even their feet, which were not covered with shoes. They had long black hair that reached their waist, and oddest of all, their mouth, nose and neck were covered entirely with a black face mask.
Upon her arrival, both Shuichi and this person turned to look at her. "Ah, Kaede!" Shuichi said hurriedly, sounding relieved. "I was wondering where you were."
"Hey." She replied, walking up to him. "I bumped into someone in the hall, so I was…talking to them." She didn't add that it was a brief, embarrassing conversation.
Shuichi chuckled. "I guess I've had a similar experience. This here-" He gestured to the masked individual, who so far had simply sat there and observed her. "Is Korekiyo Shinguchi. He's the Ultimate Aikido Master."
'Oh, guess I was off on his gender. I shouldn't judge by appearance so much…that said, I'm not surprised by his talent, his whole outfit screams 'martial arts'.'
"Nice to meet you, Korekiyo." Kaede said politely, silently praying for a more positive interaction than her last two. However, Korekiyo simply gazed at her silently, before looking at Shuichi and moving his hands in a series of motions. They almost looked like…
"Right, of course. I'll explain it to her." Shuichi said to Korekiyo, then turned to Kaede. "Korekiyo here is mute, so he can only communicate by either written word or sign language. Apparently, he's taken a vow of silence in tandem with training to master his body."
"Oh, I see…that's pretty intense." Kaede replied, then her eyes widened as a thought struck her. "Wait, you know sign language Shuichi?"
"Ah, bits and pieces of it. I'm not an expert." He answered with a blush. "I had a friend in elementary school who was deaf, so I learned it for her."
"Aw, that's sweet. You really are a cool guy, Shuichi." She said with a grin, to which he gave a weak smile in response. She then turned to Korekiyo. "So um, Korekiyo…if it's alright with you, do you mind if I ask you a few questions, with Shuichi as our go-between?"
Korekiyo made a short motion, at which Shuichi nodded.
"Yeah, he says that's fine."
"Okay then. First of all…do you know anything about our situation?" The response to this question took quite some time for Korekiyo to sign, with Shuichi paying close attention and nodding affirmingly several times as Kaede waited patiently.
Eventually, Shuichi gave his translation. "He says that he knows about as much as we do- we are trapped in some unknown building, with accommodations and supplies to last us for a long time, with some facilities mysteriously blocked off." He took a breath. "One thing he did notice however, is that there aren't any windows anywhere except in the classrooms, and even those are blocked with shutters."
"Oh yeah, that's true." Kaede agreed, thinking back to when she first woke up. "That's a pretty weird design choice, isn't it? Like, this place was specifically designed to limit our view of the outside." Shaking her head to clear away that disturbing thought, she moved on. "Okay, next question…what do you make of everyone else here?"
Again, Korekiyo signed his response, and Shuichi relayed the information.
"For the most part, everyone seems friendly, if odd in their own ways. Apparently Tenko and Kokichi also know sign language."
'Tenko and Kokichi? Hm…I wouldn't have guessed, but it makes sense. Tenko travels all over the world, so she must interact with all sorts of people. And Kokichi looks after children, some of which might have disabilities to take into account.'
"Miu however, said some quite rude things about his muteness." Shuichi went on to say. "He says that she is a, ah…'vile, disgusting woman'. His words, not mine."
Kaede shook her head. "Normally, I'd be angry at anyone calling a girl that…but having spoken to her, I can't deny it's not exactly inaccurate." She thought for a moment, then asked another question. "So…how about yourself, Korekiyo? What got you into Aikido? I don't know that much about it, other than it being a martial art."
Korekiyo nodded, explaining with his bandaged hands once more.
"He and his sister grew up in a temple from a young age after their parents passed away. The monks there were their family, and taught them how to fight to protect themselves if necessary. They chose Aikido as it is an ideal self-defense art, relying on using your opponents strength against them. At age 11, they started competing in local tournaments as a way to further their skills…then it was national tournaments, and then international…"
"Wow…that's incredible." Kaede cooed. "Two siblings taking on the world by storm, it's like something from an old legend!"
It was hard to tell under the mask, but by the slight upward creases in the fabric and the crinkling of his eyes, it seemed Korekiyo was smiling.
"Okay, one last question." Kaede said, clasping her hands together excitedly. "…What's with the mask? Is it symbolic of your vow of silence?"
Korekiyo told Shuichi his answer, and Shuichi went white as a sheet, staring at the martial arts master with his jaw hanging open.
"…Well? What did he say?" Kaede pestered him. "I wanna know!"
"He…he says…" Shuichi swallowed audibly. "The mask is for the benefit of other people, so they don't see that his tongue has been cut out."
"…Oh." All of that enthusiasm for knowledge drained out of Kaede like water into a drain. "T-that's…a pretty intense vow…"
*DING DONG DING*
The three of them were saved from the awkward cliffhanger of their conversation as a bell chimed loudly in the room, sounding like it was being played over a PA system.
"What was that? It sounded like…a school bell?" Shuichi said with a frown, looking around for the source. Where-ever the speaker systems were, they were well hidden.
And then, it began.
"Ahem…testing, testing. Mic check, one two, mic check one two. Can everybody hear me?" A playful, high pitched voice like that of a cartoon character spoke up on the announcement system, with a slight hint of static to their voice. "Good, it seems all of you wonderful, talented students can hear me! Now, it's time for the main event. All students, please gather at the food court for the entrance ceremony. I'll be waiting…puhuhuhu…"
With a gleeful chuckle, the voice went silent. A voice that sounded so innocent, so cute…
A voice that dripped with barely restrained malice, to Kaede's ears.
"W-what? Who was that?" She said with alarm. "The person who trapped us here?"
"It would seem like it." Shuichi said grimly, his face stony. "They…they said to go to the food court, right? I don't like this…"
"Me either." Kaede agreed. "But we probably can't afford to anger them by disobeying…at this point, at least. And that's where everyone agreed to meet anyway, so…"
Korekiyo rose from his seat with the gracefulness of a cat, and jerked his head toward the laundry room door.
"…Right. We can't waste time on 'what if's right now." Kaede took a deep breath, clutched at her backpack straps, and stared forward with determination. "We have to move forward and face what's ahead, no matter how scary it is. Right, Shuichi?"
"Right…" Her friend agreed, but he still looked quite pale, gripping one of his bug cages tightly again.
Her eyes softened, and she extended her hand to him. "Hey…do you trust me?"
"Of course I do!" He responded quickly. "I trust you, Kaede. I know we've only know each an hour or two, but…you're probably my best friend right now."
He heart ached at that. Did he not have a best friend before meeting her? "Then trust me when I say that…I think it's all going to be okay. We'll figure out what's going on, and get out here. Together."
He still looked uncertain, but he nodded regardless. "Yeah…I hope so too." He grasped her offered hand, and Kaede politely ignored how clammy it was. She turned to the door once again.
"Let's go."
16 STUDENTS REMAIN
And there we have it, every last student introduced. On an unrelated here, it's been subzero temperatures where I am for like a week PLUS I've had no wifi except when mooching off a friend, so that's fun. As always, likes and comments are appreciated 3