The first thing Shizu notices is some kind of high-pitched noise. It's loud and ear-grating, even more so due to her sleep addled mind. Deciding to ignore whatever it is, she snuggles deeper into her fluffy sheets, preparing to fall back into her slumber.
Wait. Fluffy sheets?
This time, her eyes shoot open like they do almost every other morning. Since when have her prison sheets been this comfortable? She sits up suddenly. She props herself up on her left hand and is shocked to feel it sink a little into the mattress. Her mattress isn't made out of rock anymore. It's an actual mattress! Looking down, she's notes that she was resting underneath a colorful patchwork quilt. The material is soft to the touch. She grips it tighter and holds it closer to her chest in disbelief.
Shizu would love to sink back down, but there's something sticking in the back of her mind. Surely this isn't the prison she was being transported to. They wouldn't give her a cell with such a nice bed, even if she was an Ultimate.
Actually, now that she's looking around, the entire room seems much nicer than any prison cell. For starters, it's fairly large, much larger than even her room back at home. The floor is made out of a blue, shag carpet. As her eyes run along the line where the floor meets the wall, her eyes eventually land upon an actual piece of furniture in the far right corner of the room. There's what appears to be a large closet made out of wood. It looks new, shiny, and expensive. She then notices the large, ornate mirror hanging on the wall next to the closet and to the left of the door. The door! There aren't even any cell bars in sight. She's still in disbelief as her eyes roam across from the closet where she finds another door. As it is propped open, Shizu can see something that looks like a shower. The floor there looks to be made of cool, blue tile. Does she have a full bathroom her too? There must be some sort of catch.
Then, Shizu finds it as she finishes scanning the room. A wooden desk stands up against the leftmost wall. It has a swivel chair and several drawers, but her eyes dart to the monitor propped on top of it. That monitor is the source of the noise that had roused her from her slumber. A red exclamation point flashed every few seconds, with each flash signaled by an ear-piercing beep.
There's no way that she's going to put up with that for any longer. She pushes herself off of her bed, stumbling slightly while trying to stand up. As quickly as her sluggish, aching limbs allow, she moves over to the desk. There doesn't appear to be any mouse of keyboard. Is the screen a touch pad? Seeing no other logical option, she pokes the exclamation point.
The beeping instantly ceases, as the exclamation point vanishes. For a few moments, there's silence. The screen is pitch black. Then, someone begins talking.
"Ahem… Greetings, Shizu Saneyoshi, the Ultimate Strategist. I'd like to be the first to welcome you to your new home."
There's only sound, no picture. The voice is squeaky and irritating but at least it isn't as bad as what preceded it. Shizu flinches at the mention of her title. What's this "new home" business about?
"You might be wondering where exactly this new home is." Here, the voice pauses for dramatic effect. "However, I'm afraid that's on a need to know basis only. So figure it out yourself if you're that curious, you brat!"
Whoever this is sounds unstable. Only a few sentences into their speech and they've already changed emotions several times.
"I hope everything's comfy, cause you're gonna be living here for quite some time. It'd be such a shame if you hated living here. I've already gone through the trouble inviting all sixteen of you Ultimates here to play a little game, after all."
Shizu can hear the speaker's tone dripping with sadistic glee. "Game?" she mutters under her breath, almost instinctively.
It must be a recording, since the person speaking doesn't appear to take any note of her accidental interjection. They continue on, "Well, I shouldn't give too many spoilers right off the bat, but this game is gonna rock your world! Isn't that thrilling? Well, don't get your hopes up just yet. There's still a lot more we need to go through before all of the heart pounding excitement. I bet you haven't even met anyone else yet. So, please try to contain your excitement for now, OK?"
"What on Earth?" There's still so much that Shizu doesn't understand. There's simply too much for her to process.
"For now," the voice concludes cheerfully, "Please come to the briefing room on the 2nd floor. I think we should all meet face to face. Until then, toodles!"
The monitor clicks, and then…. silence. Shizu has no idea what to think. There are fifteen other people in here? And she's supposed to play some kind of game with them? She grips her head in vain, as if to halt her brain from running a mile a minute. For a few minutes, she simply sits at the desk in silence, unable to hold on to any of her thoughts.
As if her mind rebooted, she suddenly stands up. The voice told her that she had to go to the briefing room, wherever that was. It would be wise to follow the instructions for now. Before that, however, she should change out of her clothes. She hadn't thought much about what she was wearing, as it had the familiar blue and white stripes of her prison uniform. Given time to focus on it has made her realize that the material is much softer. If she didn't look like an inmate, she might just continue wearing it.
With no other options, Shizu walks towards the wardrobe and immediately frowns. The clothes on offer aren't much better. The shirt is just a variation on what she's already wearing, albeit with shorter stripes. At least she has a pair of blue jeans to wear to shake things up. What's most alarming is that this appears to be the only outfit available. Sure, there are multiple shirts and pants, but they're all exactly the same. Well, she also has copies of those prison pajamas she's currently wearing, but that's definitely out of the question.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spots two black blazers hanging on the inside of both wardrobe doors. They aren't quite her usual style, but they would probably cover up most of the stripes or at least divert attention away from them. She sees no better options and starts changing. However, when she grabs the leftmost blazer and starts to put it on, she notices a hard spot in the left pocket. She scowls as she fishes out the offending object.
It's a notepad! Shizu's face visibly lights up. She flips it open eagerly, and, to her delight, all of the pages are blank. There is a black pen attached as well. She loses herself in her thoughts once more. This time, however, she can capture them. Her scribbles fill the void of the once silent room. Despite herself, she feels herself smile.
Satisfied for now, she moves to tuck the notepad back into her pocket while turning towards the mirror. She stops once she looks at her reflection, noticing some things she didn't before. First, she's already wearing her glasses. In her sleepy haze, she hadn't realized that they were already on her face when she woke up. Apparently, she somehow got her shirt on without noticing them as well. How out of it was she? Next, her hair isn't tangled up any more. The waves are nice and smooth, even after changing her outfit. She runs a hand through it experimentally and finds that it's no longer oily either. Finally, and most curiously, there's a small cut on her face. When did she get that?
An image of the van rolling over pops into her head, and she flinches back. …That might explain things. Although, thinking it through, it's strange that she isn't more injured. As far as she can tell, all of her bones are intact, and her head isn't bruised. Sure, her body is a little sore, but she feels fine. Something is clearly wrong. But there isn't any time to dwell on that.
It's high time that Shizu got some answers. She tugs a bit on her blazer before pushing open the door and heading out into the unknown.
Shizu's Notes
Room
- Oddly comfortable, probably not prison?
- Includes bathroom
- Nice furniture, well maintained, recently cleaned
- How did I get here?
- Whoever is behind this styled my hair, why?
Strange Message
- Don't recognize the voice, possibly modified pitch to sound higher to hide identity?
- Have to play a game, voice is possible game master
- Somehow captured 16 Ultimates, clearly has some kind of power
- Why Ultimates for this game? Necessary for some reason?
- "Game" sounds menacing
- Unsure of game type, but 16 people implies possible tournament bracket setup?
Missing Time?
- Cannot remember getting cut on my face
- Should be injured more after car crash
- In coma for a long time? Super medicine? Incredibly lucky to not get hurt?
A/N: Hello, it's me again. Sorry this second part is also pretty short, but I didn't want to stretch things out too much, and I'm also still not a good writer, oops. Whatever the case, I hope this gives an interesting first look at what situation the characters will find themselves in. The deadline's still a ways away, so, if you're making a character, there's no need to feel rushed. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and ask. I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible. And thank you so much to everyone who already submitted a character. The fact you were interested enough in the story to do so means a lot to mean. I hope you all have a fantastic day. Unless you don't want to. In that case, have a mediocre day.
