AshuraX: I can't really put out a Love Live story without mentioning some of the most important side characters, can I?
TsundereHeavyCruiser: I'll write one more chapter of life in the bunker from their current POV. After that, the time skips start. :D
Dessert Maniac: Not only Maki. Rin seems to believe that her mom and Hanayo's mom would come back for them too. The interfaces are impersonal on purpose. Their only purpose is to print schedules and answer basic questions. And yes, A-Rise is in Room 4. They make a short appearance in this chapter, but I hope to include them more in the future.
Why it took me three days to write this? Flow problem, mostly. And how to incorporate A-Rise. But it's been resolved now, and more of the bunker has been designed (in my mind, at least.)
Not writing things down has its downsides.
"Hey, it's almost seven now." Honoka said, by which she meant that the short hand seemed really close to the number seven on the clock face. Her position on the top bunk meant that the wall clock was directly across from her face, although she had a bit of trouble trying to make sense of the numbers while upside down. "Should we go get going?"
"I guess." Umi responded. The bluenette walked over to the bunk below Honoka and shook Kotori's shoulder. "Kotori-chan, wake up. We have to get dinner now."
"Mm….okay…" The other child rubbed her eyes and yawned as she sat up. There really wasn't anything that the three five year olds could do to pass the time, so Kotori had taken a nap while Umi attempted to keep Honoka company. "Are we going with everyone?"
"Oh yeah! We should go together as a group!" But before any of the three reached the exit of their room, there was a knock on their door.
"Oi~ You guys in Room Two!" The knocking noise continued even after the other person had called out. Umi, easily frightened, took to her normal hiding position of being behind Kotori. Honoka exchanged looks with Kotori but went to open the door. A group of three girls she hadn't met yet stood in the doorway.
"...who are you?" She asked. The girl closest to her glared at Honoka, startling her a bit.
"It's rude to ask a name without saying your own." Honoka blinked, confused, as the girl huffed in irritation.
"I-I'm sorry?" That didn't seem to be the right response either, as the other girl only got more angry for some reason. Honoka backed up a bit into her room as the other child started snapping at her.
"Why did you phrase it as a question?! Say it like you mean it!" Thankfully, Honoka didn't have to respond as one of the girl's companions stepped forward and gently slapped her on the back of the head. "Ouchi! Jeez, Erena, what was that for?!"
"Just get to the point, Tsubasa." Tsubasa looked like she was going to argue with Erena, but the last girl of the trio tapped on Tsubasa's shoulder, getting the girl's attention.
"Tsu-chan...if you don't hurry up…" The girl's stomach growled. "...I'm going to get very angry…" Her light voice didn't match with the dark expression she bore on her face, and Honoka made a mental note to never get on that girl's bad side if possible. Tsubasa's own expression changed from one of irritation to one of fear, only reinforcing Honoka's impression that the last girl was not to be crossed. Tsubasa coughed awkwardly, turning back to Honoka and her friends.
"A-Anyway…you're Honoka, right?"
"E-Eh? Yeah, that's right…" Honoka frowned, unable to figure out how Tsubasa knew her name. As far as she remembered, she didn't say her name to the three in front of their room yet.
"Cool. Your sister's crying for you."
"What?"
"We stay in Room 4 and we heard crying next to us so we went to take a look." Erena explained, smacking Tsubasa once more for not making it clear even though the other girl had finally got to the reason why they were in front of Room 2. "Yukiho-san told us you were her sister after she calmed down, so we came to find you."
"Erena-chan, I'm hungry…" Anju pouted. To add to her statement, she draped her body over Tsubasa and went limp, forcing her friend to bear her weight.
"H-Heavy…" Tsubasa groaned, but she started down the hallway with Anju's weight on her back regardless.
"We're just passing the message. See you around." Erena followed after her two friends, watching with amusement at Tsubasa attempting to drag Anju more than a few steps. "Anju, you'll get to the food faster if you didn't rely on Tsubasa."
"Honoka, what now?" Umi asked, finally poking her head out from behind her protective shield now that the strangers were gone.
"I'll go check on Yukiho and Arisa-chan. Umi-chan, can you go tell Eri-chan? And Kotori-chan, can you get Maki-chan and the others? We'll meet up in front of Yukiho's room." Her friends nodded and they set out from their bedroom.
Kotori knocked on the door to Room 1, right next to their own, before turning the knob and pushing inwards. "AH! Don't come in!" She heard Rin call out in a startled voice. She didn't move, but stood in the doorway as the door continued to open soundlessly. The layout of their room was much like the one she shared with Umi and Honoka, not very big. Rin was sitting on the top bunk, Hanayo halfway up the ladder, and Maki sat on the other bed, hugging a small bear.
"Why can't I come in?" She asked as Hanayo reached the top of the ladder and Rin applauded her.
"The floor's lava nya! If you're not careful, you'll burn up nya!" So they were playing a game. Though it was close to dinner, and though Honoka wanted her to bring the three of them to Room 2, Kotori decided to let them finish their little game first. The goal seemed to be getting to the top bunk without touching the floor. "Maki-chan, come on!"
"It's not that hard, Maki-chan!" Hanayo shouted some encouragement too. Maki stood up on the single bed, her teddy bear still wrapped protectively under one arm. The redhead leapt across the gap between the single bed and the bottom bunk, turning herself mid-air so that her shoulder would bear the impact of hitting the bed. "Now up the ladder!"
"I know!" Maki readjusted her hold on her bear before climbing the ladder. She almost lost her hold on the structure because of the bear, but managed to get to the top bunk without falling off. "I did it!" The three four year olds sat on the top bunk, laughing and celebrating their success at getting across the lava floor.
"Now you three have to come down for dinner!" Kotori called, getting their attention at the thought of getting something to eat.
"Dinner!" Rin cried out. "But the floor's still lava nya…" She peered over the metal railing that the top bunk had at the floor below. It didn't seem like they wanted to end their game yet, but they also wanted to go eat something. Kotori thought, and came up with a solution.
"Whoosh!" She shouted, making a wave motion with her hands. "There! Now I covered the lava with water so it became rock!"
"Can we walk across the rock?" Hanayo asked, her eyes wide.
"Yep! It's perfectly safe!" She gave the three four year olds a confident smile and a thumbs up. Maki looked like she was going to get down from the bunk but Rin threw her arm in front of the other child, nearly smacking her in the face.
"Hang on nya! It not's lava, but it still could be dangerous! Rin will go first nya!" Rin turned herself around and started down the ladder. Hanayo leaned over and grabbed Rin's hand.
"Be careful, Rin-chan! Don't burn!"
"If Kayo-chin believes in Rin, Rin won't burn!" Rin declared, hopping down from the ladder and forcing Hanayo to let go of her. She landed safely in the space between the two beds. "Rin didn't burn! The floor is safe!" Maki and Hanayo cheered and descended from the top bunk. All three then gathered around Kotori. "Where's dinner nya?! Rin is hungry!"
"...Um…" Umi didn't really know what to make of what was going on inside of Room 3. She had only been told to get Eri, but she couldn't even spot the blonde. Actually, the only occupant she could see was Nico.
"Shh! I'll be able to hear them breathing if I concentrate!" So they were playing hide-and-seek, Umi finally realized. She thought it would take great skill to hide for an extended period of time in such a small room.
"I-If you want, I can help?" She offered, wanting to hurry up and get dinner.
"No! If I let you help, I wouldn't have found either of them on my own! And that sucks!" With nothing to do but watch, Umi peered out into the hallway in the direction of Room 1. It looked like Kotori had just gotten the three girls out. She would have to hurry up and get them to Room 2.
"Eri-san! Your sister is looking for you!" She shouted, ignoring Nico's groan. Almost immediately, the door to the dark room opened and two faces poked out.
"Really?" Eri asked, looking directly at Umi. She nodded. The door opened further and both of the hiding girls stepped out from behind it. "The game's over then. Nico lost."
"You said that room was off-limits!" Nico complained loudly. "No wonder I couldn't find you! That's cheating!"
"It's not cheating. I didn't say how long it was off-limits." Nozomi tutted, somehow calm in the face of Nico's fury. "By the way, it was off-limits until Nico-chan's turn to be it."
"That's not fair! Eri, I thought you were following the rules!"
"I was, but Nozomi didn't say anything about that room being off-limits, right?" Nico would have torn her hair out in anger if Umi didn't choose that moment to interrupt their conversation.
"It's also time for dinner so…if we could get going…" Umi said slowly, not really wanting to face Nico's anger. The black-haired girl was still giving glares to both Eri and Nozomi, the former looking confused and the latter smiling smugly.
"Fine, whatever. Let's get something to eat." Nico stormed off, passing Umi and heading towards where Kotori was waiting with the three four year olds.
"It's really boring here, onee-chan." Yukiho commented. She and Arisa had not been crying, as Honoka had expected when she arrived at the room, but were just sitting around on the ground. "So we made noise. And then some nee-chans came to play with us!"
"Yeah...but don't do it again, okay?" Yukiho pouted, as did Arisa. "Next time, just come find me or Eri-chan. You know where our rooms are."
"I know!" Arisa exclaimed. "Nee-chan is three!"
"Yes, that's right, Arisa-chan. Eri-chan is in room 3." Arisa looked proud of herself. Not wanting to be outdone, Yukiho raised her hand.
"Nee-chan is in two!"
"Yukiho is right too! Both of you are so smart!" The two three year olds smiled and Honoka couldn't help smiling back.
"Oh, Honoka. You're here too?" Eri walked into the room. "Umi said Arisa was looking for me."
"That's what I thought." Honoka told Eri about the girls in Room 4. "I told them that they shouldn't make noise like that anymore."
"But we didn't leave our rooms to check on them either." Eri pointed out, making Honoka wince in guilty pain. "...let's just go eat. I'll thank them later, for looking in on them instead of leaving them alone." The two older sisters took their little sisters by their hands and led them out of the room, where the rest of the gathered group was still waiting in various states of hunger.
"After dinner is the shower, right? That's when the schedule goes away?" Yukiho asked as she stabbed a piece of broccoli with her fork. She put the piece into her mouth, staring at Honoka for an answer.
"Yep." Honoka said, eating her own food. She had a napkin at the ready, however, just in case there was a sudden mess. "But don't forget to get a new schedule in the morning."
"I won't!" The toddler had to stand up on the bench to get a better look of her own plate. She proceeded to stab a sausage with her fork and nibbled on the end of it.
The dining hall was almost as large as the central room, if the central room had been a rectangle. Two rows of ten metal tables made up the left side of the room. The right side was where they picked up their food, prepared for them by mechanical arms. There wasn't much variation between the meals, so they either ate or went hungry. Luckily for Honoka, her little sister wasn't picky with her food. The same couldn't be said of the child on her other side.
"I don't want this…" Maki muttered, shoving the broccoli on her plate to the side furthest away from her. Across from her, Rin was cheerfully eating all that was on her plate and gently convincing Hanayo to do the same.
"Now, now, Maki-chan." Honoka said, taking the redhead's fork from her. Spearing a piece of broccoli, she held her hand under the vegetable to prevent it from falling to the ground and faced Maki. "Here. Say 'ah' for me."
"Don't wanna." Maki turned her head away, pouting. Honoka thought back to when her mom would try to make her eat something she didn't want to. She put down the fork and pretended to cry. The reaction was precisely the one she wanted. "Don't cry! Look, I'm eating it!" Honoka peeked out behind one hand as the girl picked up the fork and ate the broccoli.
"How does it taste?" Maki didn't respond immediately.
"...Not that bad." The four year old conceded, eating another piece of broccoli. Honoka smiled and returned her attention to her meal.
The showers were small, much like most of the things in the shelter. There were only ten stalls, and the water had an auto-turnoff function at ten minutes. So they had to wait their turn and once they were in, they had to shower quickly to make the most of the limited time they had in the shower. But the schedules did wash right off without any scrubbing, leaving their arms bare for the next day's schedule.
The next morning, Honoka received her schedule from the interface as she had done the previous afternoon. "Umi-chan, Kotori-chan, did you get this too?" The three girls stood together in their room as they compared their arm schedules.
7:00 Breakfast
After eating, meet in Central.
9:00 Class
11:00 Recess
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Study
3:00 Up to You
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Shower
"They're all the same. Maybe one of our friends has something different?" Kotori suggested, seeing as their new friends were in different age groups. "Also, what's central?"
"Let's ask the thingy!" Honoka said, pointing at the machine by their door. Nozomi had kindly instructed them how to use the machine the previous night, before she had to return to her own room. She pushed the button on the side.
Ask your questions. The machine intoned. It's voice was very similar to the one they heard from the screen in the large round room.
"What's 'Central'?" She asked, keeping her finger on the button.
Central is the main room of the bunker. Honoka released the pressure on the button and turned to her friends. "I guess it's the big room."
"Sounds like it." Nico said, her gaze flickering between Eri and the button that the blonde was still pressing. "When are you going to let go?"
"Oh, right." Eri removed her finger from the interface and stepped away from it. "I wonder why we have to meet there though?"
"The voice will tell us at that time, maybe. Let's compare schedules to see if they're the same." Nozomi said. The three of them put their arms out and looked back and forth between them to see if there were any differences.
7:00 Breakfast
After eating, meet in Central.
9:00 Class
11:00 Recess
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Class
3:00 Study
4:00 Up to You
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Shower
"No, they're all the same." Nico confirmed, allowing her arm to relax at her side. It was tiring, holding it out so that both of her roommates could see the writing. She looked at the clock. "It's getting close to seven...should we go?"
"Hm...I want to check on Maki-chan. Her mom told me to take care of her." Nozomi said, heading to the doorway.
"And the high jump contest begins now!" Rin announced, her right arm shining brightly with the new ink that had been pushed onto its surface. "First to jump is Kayo-chin!" It was a new game they were doing, jumping from the top bunk to the bed on the other side of the room. Rin had tested the distance and found it doable, so now she was having her two friends compete in a fake contest. They weren't sure what their schedules said, but they were okay with waiting a bit in their room before finding someone who could tell them what to do since the first time on their schedule was seven. And it wasn't seven yet. So with that reasoning, they were playing.
"Here I go!" Hanayo launched herself off the top bunk, grazing the ceiling with her back, before landing with a thud the other bed.
"And the judges say-" Rin put a finger under her nose to resemble a moustache. "Goal!"
"Yay!" Hanayo cheered, getting down from the bed to make room for Maki.
"Now it's Maki-chan's turn!" Maki prepared to jump, maneuvering herself so that her teddy bear wouldn't hinder her movement. She sprung out from the top bunk. At that moment, Nozomi opened the door and walked in. Naturally, the older girl panicked at seeing her charge jumping from the top bunk bed. In an attempt to catch her, Nozomi dove right into the mattress while Maki landed safely on top. "Goal! Nozomi-chan, whatcha doing nya?"
"N-Nothing…" Nozomi said, rubbing her forehead. It hurt quite a bit, but it wouldn't do to cry in front of the younger girls. "Did you get your schedules?"
"Yep!" Maki showed her arm to Nozomi. "We couldn't read most of it."
7:00 Breakfast
After eating, meet in Central.
9:00 Class
11:00 Recess
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Up to You
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Shower
Nozomi explained what each of the time corresponded to, but she didn't know where they were supposed to go for 'class' or 'recess' or 'up to you'. She supposed it would be explained during their 'meet in Central' command. She was a bit envious, though, of the trio's much shorter schedule.
Not sure what to put down here.
Description of the bunker so far:
Top Floor (dispatch room): This floor is connected to the surface by three separate hallways. Each hallway is currently locked by doors to prevent strangers from entering/girls from leaving. The center of the room rise, revealing stairs that descend to the second floor.
Second Floor (living quarters): This floor has most of the utilities for underground living. There are two hallways that lead to bedrooms, two hallways that lead to showers, and one hallway that leads to a dining room. The central room is used for when the main program needs to impart a message to the girls. The center of the room seems to have the same capability of descending as the top floor room does.
Third Floor (?): ?- The girls don't know there is a third floor yet. Find out what this floor holds in the next chapter! :D