A/N: GUESS WHO'S BACK. AGAIN.

Gosh, I say that after every update. I'm really sorry. ;v; But hey, like I promised, I got the next update out! Hopefully from now, they'll come quicker! (I say that every time too. orz I'm sorry, once again.) I mean it this time, though. My writing ability is back in full-force, and so are my ideas. :)

Enjoy the chapter.

EDIT: I'M THE BIGGEST MORON IN THE WORLD WHO SHOULD NOT WRITE AT MIDNIGHT. XDD; If you read this before the edit, ignore the ghost suzu please she's not supposed to be there. very sorry for the confusion or false hope i gave anyone hopefully you can forgive me ;-;

Chapter 10: Stupid

Haruki POV

Just as we had taken a pause in our conversation, regarding the explosion that occurred earlier that day, a familiar ringing resounded in the background - faint, but still audible, nonetheless. Having naturally adjusted to a human earshot well before coming outdoors, I assumed everyone else heard the noise as well. The chattering of our class dulled, and from the quiet speakers inside the school, we listened. An announcement.

"All Class Black students, please assemble in classroom 1901 in the school building's tower. That is, all Class Black students, to classroom 1901 immediately."

To the tower, huh...? Having little practical classes, and no need to go in there, I couldn't say I was familiar with the place. Still, it wasn't like I was going alone, I didn't need to worry - everyone else had already begun standing from their seats, and walking back into the school grounds.

The only thing on my mind was the reason we were suddenly called to move. Temporary classroom, maybe? We might be returning to class? I doubted it. It had been too short a time for them to organise something like that, and there was no need to send us all the way inside the tower. Gritting my teeth, I sighed, following everyone else. I had no choice but to go along with them, waiting for what was in store for us.

It was late-morning by the time we all gathered in the classroom, scattered about the large area. The place was too big to call a classroom, but too small to call a hall. It was about half the size of the school's gymnasium, with the far wall being completely lined with window panes. The ceiling was high above our heads, and the floor was made out of the same, metallic substance as the walls - both white and unsettling. There wasn't a single beam of colour besides that in the room.

This was definitely the first time I'd been in such a room, and I knew, straight away - I hated it. It looked like a scientist's playground, a home for lab rats. What was this classroom supposed to be used for, anyway...?

Before my line of thoughts could continue, a crackling resounded from the room's speakers. Sounded like someone was turning the microphone on, or something. The noise of the room lowered, as we waited for the voice to come through.

"Aah, thank you very much for cooperating and assembling as soon as possible. We are humbly pleased you did so." The voice was strange, squeaking while still holding a rough tone. Whether it was male or female was impossible to tell. I could only assume they were using some kind of voice alternation device. 'Why would someone need something like that, inside a school...?'

"However, only one student will be required to be inside this classroom at a time. Right now, you'll all be required to undergo a deformity exam, similar to the entrance one you were exposed to, upon entering this school." And with those words, my heart sunk. Another stupid exam. It wasn't like the first one was bad enough, or anything. Still, I had been told of it beforehand by Nio, that week or so ago - I'd just forgotten about it completely.

"You will be assessed in attendance number order. While a student is undergoing their exam, everyone else is required to wait patiently outside the room. This room is sound-proof, so there is no need to worry. Exams will be taken in the form of a simulation, where each of you will be required to complete a set number of tasks and tests, unique to your abilities. Let me remind you, this is for the safety of you, and other students at this school.

"Several specialised staff members and experts will be monitoring your progress and results from a set of cameras placed inside the room. However, due to regulations, the images and results shown by said cameras will be transferred anonymously; in such a way that does not reveal your individual identities."

I wasn't even going to question how something like that would work, but I went with it. The other's explanation was finally over, with that last piece of information, and I could tell everything was just getting ready to begin. 'It's only one test.' I reminded myself. 'Only one, stupid test... just follow their orders, give them the results they want, and you'll be done. Easy as that.'

"Without further ado, the examination process will now begin." they announced. "Attendance Number 1: Azuma Tokaku. Please wait behind. Everyone else, please make your way outside, and wait patiently. Thank you."

Sighing, I turned heel and walked right out the door, following everybody else. This was going to be a long, boring process. I could just tell.

Even while I made idle chat with a few of the other girls, it seemed like forever had passed before Azuma came out of the room, stone-faced as ever. "Inukai, they're asking for you."

. . .

"Haruki?"

"Huh?" Caught off-guard, in the middle of conversation with Haru, I blinked, turning to face the familiar voice. My heart sunk a little at the sight, worry beginning to grow inside of me. It was Shiena, having just exited the exam. However, the blank look she gave was unsettling. She looked almost... exhausted in a way, although she forced a smile onto her face. Pointing over her shoulder, she motioned towards the room.

"Your turn." And just to make me feel even worse, I heard those words, sighing. I couldn't run from it any longer, I had to go through with this, just like everyone else. Returning the smile, I nodded my head.

"Alright." Glancing over my shoulder at the other girl, I gave a small laugh. "Guess I'll be back in a little while, then." And with that, I gathered up all the courage inside of me - pushing open that metal door, to step back inside the white-walled room.

'A simulation, huh...? That shouldn't be too bad. No one's in the room, anyway. No one watching over me... at least, not directly... it'll be fine.' Repeating words of encouragement to myself, I stepped into the centre of the rectangular room, looking around. Hands finding their way behind my head, I waited, tapping the floor out of habit.

Silence. There was nothing to greet me inside, and especially not anyone else to greet me, either. "...hello?" Weakly, I called out into the room. For a solid minute or two, there was nothing. Just... nothing.

There was nothing, right before the sound of crackling static reached me, and I flinched. Someone needed to get those speakers fixed, and fast. Eye twitching from annoyance, I took a deep breath. At least I wasn't standing around awkwardly any more. The exam was going to begin, everything was going to get over and done with. Over and done with, it was going to pass by quickly, there was nothing to worry about... right?

"...filter ...b, enhanced ...aring. Simulation 1, task 1..." The words that came through were muffled, and they sounded like they were whispering. Was I not supposed to hear that? I had no idea what was going on, until they spoke up again, this time, more clearly.

"Thank you for your patience. The exam will now begin." The more I heard it, the more I came to dislike that voice. Oh well. Brushing off their words with another deep breath, I closed my eyes. Time to focus, time to get this done.

As if on cue, when I opened my eyes, the scenery around me pixelated and altered. Suddenly, I find myself standing in the middle of a crowd of people. They filled the entire room, walking around, and all talking at the same time to produce a loud, background noise. Although they look real and I can feel when they bump past me or brush my shoulders, their figures fizzle and sway every few seconds - definitely part of a simulation.

Over the top of all the noise, I hear the person from the speakers, relaying messages. "Now, this is your first simulation. You will go through two of them, and are required to complete two tasks per simulation. Understand?" I nodded my head.

"Got it." I yelled over the top of everyone else.

"Good. Now then, your first task is this." they began. Turning down the volume of everyone else to hear them clearly, I listened. "Identify your teacher, Mizorogi-sensei and relay what he's talking about. Describe everything you pick up... what he's talking about, who he's talking about, what he sounds like."

Giving another okay, I looked around. I wasn't going to get anywhere just by standing in place. Straightening up, I took a step - or rather, I tried to. My body resisted, merely flinching in place. "H-Huh?" Something was holding my whole body in place. I couldn't move.

"Limitations of this task include immobility, background noise, and a crowded space. Please do your best."

"Only now you tell me...?" I grumbled under my breath. Helpful. I had to deal with it, though. Calming down my nerves, while my body stayed in place, I glanced around the entire area. There were all sorts of strangers flooding into my field of vision, it was impossible to make out everyone's faces. I didn't recognise any of them - where the hell could that teacher be?

Frowning, I turned to the right side of the room, silencing the left half completely. Half the noise fizzled out, and I concentrated on all the voices I could hear. If I couldn't see him, maybe I could make out his voice...?

As I stared on, I kept reducing my field of hearing. Nothing. I didn't pick up on any recognisable voice, which only continued to annoy me. Turning to the other side of the room, I repeated the same process, hoping I could find him sometime soon. Or any time, really. Finding him would be the hardest part - eavesdropping would be a piece of cake.

"Seriously...?" I sighed. What was the point in these exams, again...?

There was nothing to the sides of me, nor was there a recognisable face in front of me. I turned to glance over at my shoulder to look behind me, body aching with the unnatural motion, when I stopped.

"Yeah... It was really..." For a moment, that male voice stood out above the rest, for one reason - I knew who it belonged to. Although I couldn't see him from the awkward position I stood in, I knew that Mizorogi-sensei was behind me. Walking off the my left, talking to himself. Immediately, I tuned my hearing, silencing everything around me. The only thing I could hear were his words.

"...strange, huh? I never thought the chairperson would actually think that. It's my first time taking a class like this, so I really hope it goes well. I know I'm the only person who can handle it, considering I'm the only one with knowledge on such deformities, but... ah, I've really gotta stop worrying about these things. It'll be okay, right? It'll all be okay. As long as I trust the chairperson..."

The things he said didn't really make any sense, but the longer I stood there listening to them, the more they began to fade out. He was getting further away, and his voice was growing a little more hazy with each step. Time to relay the message.

"Eh, I found him." I spoke to the air, not knowing who would be listening. Just in case the person from the speakers decided to respond, I widened my range to hear everything in the room again - save for the annoying background noise of the simulation. "He's mentioned the chairperson twice now. He seems really disappointed, or worried about Class Black, or something. He's trying to cheer himself up now. He's walking over to the left, just talking to himself."

"Task 1 has been completed. Moving on to the next task." I never thought hearing that voice would sweep me with relief, but at that moment, it did. Sighing to myself, naturally, I tried to turn around and face the voice. My body resisted - still immobilised, huh? "Next. Identify and describe the voices of the four people standing in the corners of the room. Limitations are identical. Continue doing your best."

"Alright." 'Whatever.' Keeping most of my words to myself, I glanced straight to the front-left corner of the room. Simple enough. From what I could see, there was a teenage girl just standing there. I wandered for a moment how I missed the fact that the people in the corners weren't moving, like everyone else, but dismissed it. I had to focus on my hearing, not my sight - because that's all that mattered to these guys. They just want the results...

Muting the rest of the room, I waited.

But I heard nothing.

'...eh?' Confusion was quick to settle in my head, as I blinked. I couldn't hear anything coming from her. That meant, she wasn't speaking, then...? That realisation only made my job twice as hard. They really were out to annoy me.

Grumbling, I sighed. Looking over to my right, I switched targets, focusing on the adult male in the right corner. I barely managed to see him from where I stood, typing away on his cell-phone. He wasn't speaking either, mouth shut in a deep frown. This wasn't going to be easy at all. Widening my range so that I could hear just the man and the girl in the corner, I glanced over my shoulder.

Just as I prepared myself to add the little girl in the corner to my hearing list, whispering reached my ears, and I stopped. "A-Ah, oh no... I think I'm lost." It was definitely a female voice. Though unrecognisable, I turned towards the teen girl from before, shoulders easing once I saw her lips moving. "This isn't good, I thought I trusted... her..."

"Alright, the girl in the back-left corner," I began, describing exactly what I could hear. "has a soft, weak voice. It sounds quite childish. It's high-pitched, and smooth... that's about all I can say, I guess."

Knowing that I had to monitor three other people in the room, I immediately shut off my hearing from the teen girl. Listening out for the man in the corner, and the child in the back left, I waited. Maybe this wasn't so hard or stressful after all. It's like a game of hide-and-seek for blind people - except, I wasn't blind.

As I waited for the next person I speak, I went to tap my foot out of impatience, but was held back again. My muscles tensed, but no movement came. I'd forgotten that I'd been immobilized, from the neck down. "Great. Okay."

Finding boredom in this task, I glanced over my shoulder at the last person. I wasn't expecting much of the simple movement, but my eyes widened as soon as they directly met their's. Looking right at me with a fitting, cold glare, and moving their mouth constantly was... Isuke?

I hadn't recognised a single person in this entire simulation, save for my teacher. Why was Isuke here all of a sudden? And why didn't I notice earlier? Questions ran through my head, and despite my desire for answers, I had to push it all aside. There wasn't going to be any answers, no matter how curious I was. And plus - it didn't matter, anyway. My focus here was to complete the tasks at hand, moving forward, whether I understood them or not.

And with that, I was reminded of my current task. I was to describe their voices, but... if that was Isuke, did I really need to hear her voice? I knew exactly what it sounded like, and how to describe it. Was there really a point, or was this just some trick they pulled on purpose...?

I couldn't trust the scientists behind any experiment I went through, no matter what. That also meant I couldn't trust the ones behind this exam. I had to make sure - there was no doubt about it. Shifting my gaze away for a split second, I sighed. Adjusting my hearing with a small buzz, I focused on what my roommate was saying.

"Oh, Haruki-san, you finally looked this way. About time. I was getting bored here, you know. Being part of your silly simulation isn't very interesting at all. Your ability doesn't even give me anything to look at, how sad."

"...h... huh?" Without thinking, the word slipped from my mouth. That was definitely Isuke's voice, alright... but... why was she talking to me? Was that supposed to happen? Wasn't this just a simulation? Things were making less and less sense.

"Don't give me that." Rolling her eyes, the girl continued. "Just... come here. You look like a lost puppy, standing all the way over there."

"Wait, but I... you're just..." I didn't know why I was talking back. That was probably what confused me the most. I couldn't stop myself, really. It felt wrong to ignore her - she seemed so... real. "I can't... move, Isuke-sama. It's a part of the simulation... just like you are."

I felt an ache in my chest as I cut off Isuke's sound from my hearing, now only listening to the other two people, standing in the corners. I had to finish this task, as quickly as possible. Now wasn't the time for talking - it was for listening.

"Isuk- I mean, the... girl in the front right corner's voice is breathy, and feminine. She uses a harsh tone when she speaks, and her pitch fluctuates. She has a mature voice, that... well, yeah. You get the point." Stopping myself there, I concentrated on the other two people. This was going smoothly, I was progressing well. Just a little further.

I hadn't noticed when it started, but once I started paying attention to them again, the sound of sniffling reached me. Quiet, muffled, and barely audible, but I wasn't about to miss it. Startled by the sharp breaths and quiet sobs, out of habit I muted everything but it. The noise sounded like it was coming from behind me - the girl, obviously.

If my body wasn't already, those quiet cries would have paralysed my entire body. A child crying, all on her own... it reminded me of my own family. The daily occurrence, the smiles I would try to bring, the-

'Stop. You already got distracted once, hurry up... and finish this damn exam.' Scolding myself. That's how I stopped my thoughts from going any further, that's how I stopped the frustration from boiling in my chest. Focus, Haruki. Focus.

I only had to listen to the girl's crying for a few moments longer. Though she hadn't spoken any words, it was enough to make out her voice, thankfully enough. As soon as I needed to, I shut off her noise as well. When I heard silence, I tuned my hearing again. I forgot to allow the man's voice into my hearing. Whoops.

Now that it was all cleared up, I opened my mouth to speak, only to be cut off by the stranger's voice. On top of mine, he ranted on under his breath, staring at his phone. "Oi, oi, oi! Don't cut off on me, don't you dare... I need you, I need you, come on...! Just hold up a little longer. Just a little... just...!"

Sick of him already, I muted everything except for my own voice. I took a deep breath. "The little girl in the back left corner is crying. She's probably about 5 or 6 years old, and her voice is immature and high-pitched to match. It has a rough quality to it, though... the man sounds like an ordinary guy, I guess. Deep, low, I can hear the bass in his voice, or whatever. Smooth and clear."

Once I was done speaking, I slowly opened up my hearing range again. Taking in the background noise of the simulated people, and the buzzing of the speakers, I waited. The voice was back again. "Task 2 has been completed. Moving on to the next simulation. Preparing landscape. Please wait a moment."

"Okay, got it..." Frowning, I waited patiently as the world around me glitched and faded out. The noise was suddenly cut off too, leaving me standing back in the plain, white room I entered moments ago. Feeling a tight force suddenly release my body, I swayed on the spot. I nearly lost my balance.

Looking down at my feet, I blinked. I tapped my foot against the ground. I stared at my opening and closing palms. "Hm. I'm free again, huh...?" I couldn't help smiling from relief at those words. "Perfect." And with that, I stretched my arms above my head. Having no clock inside the room and no way to check my phone, I had no idea how long I'd been in the room so far. Considering how much my legs were aching and how long I'd waited outside the room previously, I could only assume it was a long time.

And I was only half way. Hooray.

Hearing a digital, ringing sound effect and the crackling of the speakers, I flinched, looking around as everything pixelated once more. I didn't have time to think about what scene was next, before it was presented right in front of me.

Nothing much changed about the room at all, actually. Nothing did, except for the blank, glass wall. Instead of revealing the sky outside, in front of it sat a large set of speakers, much taller than any human, that covered the entire wall.

"Oh... god..." Why would they need such large speakers? And why would they need so many of them? My mind could only come to one conclusion.

For large sound, they needed large speakers.

This simulation was going to involve some real loud noises. At least I had time to prepare myself. Sort of.

"Landscape preparation complete. Simulation 2, ready." The voice sounded like a robot by now, repeating words as if programmed to do so. "Alright. Now, this is your second simulation. You will go through two more tasks. Understand?"

"Uh. Yeah!" They really did sound like a robot. They said same kind of thing earlier, before the other simulation. Was there really a person behind that speaker, or were the staff behind this exam just messing with us...?

"Good. Now, your first task is this." Again, with the repeating sentences. "Music will play through the speakers. It will loop until you identify which speaker the vocal harmonies are coming from. Once you have an answer, stand in front of or indicate which speaker your answer is. Limitations include: multiple speakers, overlapping sounds. Please do your best."

"Alright." Keeping my speaking to a minimal, I exhaled through my nose. This one wasn't going to take as long - at least, hopefully. I was fully prepared and ready, thoughts running wild with ways I could speed up this process. I was going to get this done with, like I'd been repeating to myself the entire exam.

The first thing that blared through the speakers was the deafening sound of an electric guitar, followed by crashing drum cymbals, and the rest of the instruments. Wincing at the loudness, I tuned down my ear's sensitivity. Rock music? These guys really were going full-out with these tests. 'Is this place seriously sound-proofed? No on out there can hear this at all?'

Waiting in place, I put a hand to my hip. There wasn't any use in doing anything or using my power if there weren't any harmonies to locate. I was pretty much looking for background vocals, after all. There wasn't a point in doing anything if there weren't vocals to begin with.

After half a minute or so - I wasn't keeping track - a female voice finally begun to sing. Though it's mature, deep tone sounded familiar I dismissed it, trying to listen in the background for any other vocalists or notes. 'Alright... easy, now. This is gonna be real easy. No problem at all... just one more to go after this.'

A second voice in the background of the song - as soon as I heard it, my eyes snapped open. 'Pinpoint where it's coming from.' My mind wasted no time shouting orders, that my body immediately obeyed. Head looking left and right, my eyes narrowed in concentration. 'Block out everything else, focus on the voice you're hearing.'

On command, my ears adjusted. There were no more drums, guitars, bass, vocals - well, not entirely. I could hear the harmony vocals still singing, coming from one certain direction. Eyes quickly scanning over to my right, where the sound was coming from, I ran towards it without hesitation. The voice was guiding me, I just had to find it.

Eventually, I ended up running over to the right wall, faced with three large speakers in front of me. Two stood side by side, while one sat horizontal across them both, like a beam. 'Which one...' I repeated. 'I just have to find which one it is...'

Wasting no time, I looked to the speaker to my left. Shutting off everything else except for the noise produced by it, I waited.

Silence. Definitely wasn't the speaker.

Repeating the process for the other two, I came to a conclusion. Widening my range again, to hear the music at full-blast, I pointed at the horizontal speaker. "Oi, I found it. It's coming from that speaker, and only that one."

The music stopped. Well, more like it faded out into silence. There was a moment pause, before that familiar crackling resounded again. "Task 1 has been completed. Moving onto the final task." Final. That word released a weight off my chest as I breathed in the air, clenching and un-clenching my fists. One more. Just one more to go, then I'm done. "Next. This task will be completed in a different manner. Rather than having to complete the task, rather, your reaction will be recorded."

My reaction? What was that supposed to mean? Though reluctantly, I gave a nod of my head, allowing the other to continue. "Good. Please bare with us, as we prepare the next task." And then, I was left waiting again. Again. If they were the good scientists they claimed to be, couldn't they at least have shortened the preparation time for these things?

Hands sitting on the back of my neck, I stood in silence. What else was there to do? I was quite bored really, stuck doing nothing for half the exam, but I couldn't complain. I could only roll with it, and hope this task wouldn't take nearly as long as everything else.

'What's taking so looong...? Man. I know we're dealing with high-tech science here, but this is near ridiculous, guys.' As I sighed to myself, I looked around the room. 'Aaany moment now. Come on. I can only wait for so-'

BOOM!

Interrupting my thoughts was the sound of a deafening explosion; blasting from the speakers loud enough to shake the walls of the room. Hands flying to cup my ears, my instant reaction was to mute the sound, drowning everything out into silence except for the buzzing in my ears. Body twitching as my mouth and eyes slammed shut, I groaned. "W-What the hell...!?"

I waited in that state for a few moments, buzzing eventually fading out into complete silence. By then, I figured it was safe enough for me to slowly listen to the room again. Opening my eyes as I did so, my hands slowly fell from my ears. There was nothing, now. The noise had been turned off.

Slowly straightening my back and looking around, my hearing returned to normal. My brain was still a little cluttered from the sudden events, but besides that, I was feeling fine. "W-Why would you... what..."

My words lost me, and my muttering was overwritten by the crackling of those speakers. "Task 2 complete. Simulation has successfully been completed." 'That was part of the damn task...!? That was the task? What kind of messed up-' "Your results have been recorded. Thank you for your time. You may exit the facility. Next attendance number: 8, Takechi Otoya."

Grumbling from my left over emotions, I shook my head as I began walking towards the door. It was over now. No more exam, no more tests - at least, not for another week. I tried to let my relief consume me, but my body was still unsettled.

Stupid exam.

Putting on my best grin to hide all that as soon as I came out of the door, I approached the tall, purple-haired girl. "Takechi, looks like you're next." And, I laughed.

I really do hate those exams.

I thought that, once I walked out that door again, things would be over and back to normal. We would go back to class or whatever once everyone was finished, and I wouldn't have to worry. Tomorrow would be normal too, and things would carry on as if we were regular humans.

I didn't expect for something to happen overnight. Something that would tip that vision of tomorrow upside-down.

. . .

It was late, in the middle of the night. The sun had long been set, and the moon had taken it's place in the now darkened sky outside. Light wasn't pouring in through every window any more, as darkness had taken over - which meant that it was time...

Time for Shin'ya to show up.

Having escaped from her dorm room, unnoticed by her sleeping roommate, Shin'ya was now prowling the dark corridors of the dorms. She had been for a little while now, patrolling, in search of a few certain people. She had a plan; one that she would definitely follow through, both for herself and Mahiru's sake.

Hammer dragging along the floor, the deformity tried to make as little noise as she could as she roamed around. Half of her plan - the investigation half - had been completed. Now, the fun part.

Approaching Room 7's door, she gave a hard knock, standing outside impatiently. It was like she was oblivious to the fact that people were supposed to be asleep at this hour, as she crossed an arm against her chest. "Just how long can you possibly take to answer your damn door...?"

Just as she rose her hand to give another knock, the door swung open, revealing a half-drowsy figure inside. "Who is knocking at this hour... oh, it's you." Nio muttered, as she met Shin'ya's eyes. "What do you need me for?"

Grinning with all signs of insanity showing, the other laughed. "I need you to clean up for me. I'm gonna take a shot at someone today."

Frozen by the other's words, and by her fatigue, Nio blinked. "Oh. Oh. It's time for that already, huh...?" Soon, she found a grin plastered on her own face. "Who's it gonna be, huh~?"

Vacant hand finding her hip, Shin'ya looked around the corridors before responding. "It's~ A~ Secret!" she teased. The other clearly wasn't amused, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmph. Well, where's your location then, huh?" she pressed, hoping to get some information out of the other. But instead, Shin'ya's grin widened.

"Dunno. Looks like you'll just have to watch, and see." And with those mysterious words, the white-haired other turned from the door, dragging her hammer along as she laughed down the corridors. That left Nio alone. Again.

"O-Oi! I can't clean up for you if I don't know where you are...! Gah, she's already gone..." With that, the blonde felt defeat, sighing as her shoulders fell. "Well. It's not like I can do anything about it." she continued. "I was going to watch anyway, but now, I guess it's inevitable." Closing the door, she turned and laid down onto her bed, pulling out her tablet. Ready to monitor Shin'ya's moves, she waited.

Meanwhile, outside, Shin'ya made her way to the entrance of the public bath. There, she knew her target would be waiting outside, unmistakeably alone. Hammer slowly following behind her, the girl neared the other. Slowly, step by step, she grew closer and closer. Hidden by the darkness, she would make her move.

All while Hitsugi waited patiently, not suspecting a thing. She knew Chitaru was still in the bath, and was coming back out soon - that's why she found herself alone in the corridors. However, by the time she heard the footsteps from behind her, Shin'ya's hammer was already held above her head - ready for a strike.

"Looooks like I found you!" Roaring at the top of her lungs, Shin'ya swung down the end of her hammer, thrill rising through her. Barely turning around in time, Hitsugi took a sharp breath, clutching her bear to her chest. She didn't have much time to react at all - if any, before the hammer came crashing down.

...however, the end of the heavy weapon passed right through Hitsugi's body. As if she was a ghost, or never stood there to begin with, the head crashed into the ground.

"W-What the hell...?" Caught off-guard by the misjudgement of the swing, Shin'ya took a moment to recover, swaying on the spot. By the time she understood what had happened, the figure of the other girl had disappeared completely. Gritting her teeth, she growled, eyes searching for her - but by the time she spotted Hitsugi, she was already off in the distance, fleeing the scene.

"Oi, stupid brat! You're not gonna get away, you hear me...?" Yelling at the other to make it impossible not to hear her, Shin'ya lifted her hammer out of the ground, ignoring the large cracked surface it felt behind. She was going to go after Hitsugi, no matter what.

The other continued running, sprinting away from the insane other. She was carrying poison on her, as per usual, but this was no situation to use it in. No, this was no time to be drawing further suspicion on herself. If any one else found out that she poisoned someone, surely, that would throw suspicion onto her...

Shaking her head, she continued running. That was the only thing she could do, despite how much she hated it. Despite how cowardly it seemed to her - she had to make it back to her room, and wait for Chitaru there.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw no sight of Shin'ya around, and she didn't know whether to freak out or be glad. She was supposed to be further behind her, somewhere, not completely hidden. Where was she...?

Reminding herself that it didn't matter, Hitsugi finally approached her door. Feeling a weight in her chest lift, she smiled, reaching for the handle. Keep calm, get inside, and stay safe - that was her plan, as she opened up the door.

"Foooooound you." Hearing that bone-chilling whisper from behind her, her heart stopped. Turning around, she breath caught in her chest. When did Shin'ya get there? She had absolutely no time for preparation this time. No luck allowed her to activate her power.

"Hey, Kirigaya. Let me tell you something, okay...?"

"Okay. What is it, Chitaru-san?"

"Regarding this elimination game... I can't say I'm not worried, but... it's pointless. We'll get out of this alive, okay? We'll make it through. Together. I promise."

Remembering the promise she made with her beloved Chitaru, and the proud smile she wore, Hitsugi's eyes closed.

And Shin'ya's hammer smashed right into her skull.

A/N: And that's a wrap! ;) What a terrible cliffhanger to leave it at lol. I'm not sorry. XP

Anyway, feel free to leave your thoughts in reviews or whatever! I do read all of them, and I love every one of you who reads this. So please don't hesitate to say anything you like. Catch you in the next one~! :)