Mikan

I was practically gaping at the table on the far side corner of the cafeteria. I wasn't the only one though. Almost all of the students, who was currently eating or ordering their meals, were also gawking.

The girl didn't seem to notice the weird stares that were being thrown at her or maybe she's just purposely ignoring us.

"Who's that?" Natsume asked as he wrapped his muscular arms around my waist and placed his chin on my right shoulder (he was hugging me from behind).

"Hotaru Imai." Nonoko answered in my stead and looked at the odd girl who had an aura of being lost in her own world. "Where did she even get all of those crabs?"

"She's rich, right? What a glutton." Luna rolled her eyes.

"Hotaru Imai?" Natsume raised a brow and glanced at the guy who was standing beside him. "Isn't that the girl you're –" Before he could even finish what he was about to say, Ruka immediately grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him away to who-knows-here. Natsume protested, of course (he was only starting to bond with me).

"What's with Ruka?" Nonoko whispered to me but I just shrugged as I too have no idea what's wrong with him.

"She even has a crab ice cream." Luna said as she raised a delicate brow. "Is that even possible?"

"Well, if you think about your ever famous ice cream with a condom on top, anything's possible." Sumire replied as we all cracked up. We proceeded in ordering our lunch and were on our way to our usual table when Imai called out to me unexpectedly.

"I'll catch up with you guys." I said to my friends and handed my tray to Sumire and they left. I stood in front of the glutton, who was still busy stuffing her mouth with all the crabs laid on the table (the crabs were cooked differently. Some were intently made for lunch and some were for dessert. The rice had even sliced crabs mixed with it). "Have it ever crossed your mind that you'll have a stomach cramps with all this?" I gestured at all the crab dishes. She glanced up at me – only seeming to notice my presence just now.

"I never had stomach cramps." She replied and continued eating.

"Well then, you'll get stomach crabs."

She looked up at me and said, "Nice try."

"Whatever. Why did you call me?"

"Have you ever played the game before?"

"What game?" I asked though I already knew what she was pertaining to. She rolled her eyes – she also knew that I was only feigning innocence, but still answered. "Mirrors."

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Do you happen to know anyone who's won the game and had the contract as a prize?"

I raised a skeptical brow at her question. "No, why?"

"Do you think it's possible? The devil, I mean." She asked again, ignoring my question.

"Personally, I don't." I answered honestly. "Why'd you even ask?"

"Nothing." We stayed quiet for a few minutes until she spoke. "You should go back now. The looks your friends are giving are spoiling my meal." Then she proceeded back to her eating while I started to head towards our table.

"Did she ask you out?"

"Oh-my-gosh! She threatened you to go out with her?"

I rolled my eyes at them. "No and no."

"Oh, so it's that. Honestly though, I thought that you'd do it with Natsume or at least, a guy. Not a girl pretending to be a guy or is it a guy pretending to be a girl?" Luna snickered.

"Couldn't you get any more perverted?" I said exasperatedly then shook my head – Luna and her dirty thoughts. "We just talked about the game, you know, Mirrors."

"What about it?" Nonoko asked.

"Oh, it's nothing really. She just asked me if I knew someone who won the game and had the contract prize thing."

"I bet she's aiming to get that." Sumire interrupted. I just shrugged and proceeded to eat my lunch.

"No."

I rolled my eyes at the crab-glutton sitting beside me. We were at the teacher's desk in our classroom checking the riddles our classmates searched or made. Nonoko, together with Yura Otonashi – who was also stinking rich – were the two who were assigned to buy the mirrors. They had already ordered twelve tall ones (Imai decided to double the number because each player will be given half an hour to arrange and solve the riddle, which will take time in case there will be a lot who wants to play).

"You've been rejecting them for the past ten minutes!" I complained, not even making an effort to hide my irritation. I just wanted to get this over with – fast. There are still a lot to do. I mentally cursed her for choosing me as her assistant and mentally smacked myself for not even refusing – not that I think she will accept no as an answer.

"They're too easy to solve."

"They're easy for you." I snapped. I just learned recently – due to the gossip girls, who never stopped prying into other people's lives – that Imai was an out-of-this-world species. According to the rumors circulating the school, she had competed at least seven international quiz bees and won all of them spectacularly. She's a beast who took form of a body of a high school girl or maybe she just possessed one.

Another classmate of ours approached us and presented a sheet of paper, containing another yet-to-be-rejected-riddle. Before Imai could take hold of the note, I immediately snatched it from the hands of Yoshioka Futaba, who was a bit surprised by my sudden action.

"This will do." I said and placed the paper on the desk. Futaba happily skipped back to her group.

"You know that I will have the final say, right?" Imai was obviously annoyed and I smirked inwardly – feeling proud of myself that I got on her nerves. At least, I'm not the only one who's distressed right now.

"Well, you picked me as your assistant so I also have the right to approve." The corner of my lips curled upward triumphantly. Imai rolled her eyes and I chuckled internally.

"Okay, then. If you insist, I'll leave all the checking to you." The triumphant grin that I was sporting only seconds ago was immediately replaced with a scowl. Imai laughed silently – taking pleasure of having me cornered. I was about to argue when a rather haggard Nobara Ibaragi came crashing into the room. She was trying to say something but ended up panting heavily instead. A girl offered her a bottle of water which she gratefully took and emptied it within a heartbeat. She seemed to calm down now as she cleared her throat, though she was still breathless.

"Trouble. At the northern forest." She heaved. "Yuu lying on the ground. Lots of blood. Nonoko, Luna–"

The moment she mentioned my friends' names, I immediately ran out of the room and without a second thought, sprinted towards the grounds. My heart was hammering uncontrollably against my chest. If it's because I was running extremely fast or worried like hell, I didn't know. All I could think of right now was the bodies of my friends sprawled on the ground covered in blood.

No. It can't possibly be. I thought and immediately shook the thought away. I should focus on making sure that they're okay.

By the time I got to the grounds, there were already a number of students gathered. The school's doctor, together with some nurses (who were carrying two stretchers), were running frantically towards the crowd. I caught a glimpse of Imai running with them. Despite the situation, I had a weird thought that the doctor and Imai somehow looked similar. I shook my head. This isn't the time to be thinking about that.

I dashed towards the thickening group of people. The doctor and the nurses were shouting to give way to them. I pushed through the mass of students until I was finally in front. The sight wasn't pleasing. I almost vomited. Yuu Tobita, our class representative, was lying on the dirty ground – his face facing the sky. His eyes, mouth and arms were wide open. His stomach was split open showing his intestines. Two triangles – one was inverted – were fitted inside a large circle and Tobita's body was on the center. The symbol was painted with his blood. I knew the drawing, of course. Almost all the people knew. It wasn't an unfamiliar symbol anyway. It could be seen in horror movies, tv shows, or occult stuffs.

"Do you think it's possible? The devil, I mean."

I didn't know why Imai's question from before suddenly came into my mind.

I noticed Imai getting into the circle but she was held back by a teacher. Her face had its usual nonchalance. Suddenly, I felt both anger and admiration boiled inside me. I was angry at the fact that she didn't seem affected at all. At the same time, I admire her calmness or maybe her ability to collect herself in any given situation.

Luna and Nonoko were placed into the stretchers and were being dragged to the clinic. I followed them – half worried and half wanting to leave the horrible scene.

It's been almost an hour ever since my friends were put in the clinic. Thankfully, there weren't any major injuries except for a few bruises and scrapes on the knees and elbows which they probably got from falling on the rocky ground. The school's doctor, who was actually Imai's cousin, informed us that they might be suffering mental fatigue because they haven't woken up yet. The teachers already called their parents and were currently inside the clinic. Sumire and I, on the other hand, decided to wait outside until our friends finally gained consciousness.

"You think they're going to be okay?" Sumire spoke for the first time since she found out what had happened. Her eyes were puffy because of crying. It was the first time I saw her cry. Sumire's a tough woman (yes, I actually consider her as a woman). Among us four – as unconvincing as it seems – she's the most mature (although Luna's the oldest and the epitome of a spoiled brat). We are usually the ones who ran to Sumire and bawl our hearts out whenever we have problems.

"Nonoko's fine but Luna isn't exactly okay from the start." She chuckled and I smiled. I feel relieved that I got to get her laugh again. Seeing her cry almost broke my heart. I could literally feel her misery. I never want to see her cry again.

"Tobita, that nerd."

"He didn't deserve it." I said as she nodded. Tobita was kind and helpful to the point that it's infuriating. He was like a living saint – seriously. His actions make me and the others look like we're the most evil beings that walked on earth. He always let others – the ones who's always bullying him – copy his assignments. It would've been nice if I smacked him on the head. I didn't know if he's afraid of them or just plain stupid. I suddenly felt sympathy for his family. Losing a family member was terrible; having his intestines pried out was horrendous.

I felt my phone vibrate inside my jacket pocket. I fished it out only to receive a message from an unregistered number.

Gates 3. DON'T BE LATE!

- Imai

There was only one thought that crossed my mind that moment: How the hell did she get my number?!