Chapter Text
Cold.
The first thing Kanade thought as her eyes fluttered open was that it was very, very cold.
The surface beneath her felt unusually comfortable. It looked like a white bed.
...That was odd.
Her bed wasn't white. The blanket was blue and nearly unrecognizable under dozens of music sheets scattered on it.
She hadn't slept in her bed for a while, anyway. She preferred the chair. This wasn't the chair.
Her eyes scanned around what seemed to be a strange room lacking any color.
The bed was white, the walls were white, the floor was white, the door was white, the counters were white, the light was white, the camera on the wall was white, the strange screen overhead was...
black, but its frame was white.
Wherever it was, it wasn't her room, and that was odd considering she didn't have any reason to leave it, and hadn't for weeks.
Kanade felt her head throb as she sat up, anxiously glancing around the room. The screen overhead turned on, catching her attention. Black text began to appear on it.
Welcome, Kanade Yoisaki.
...What?
Where is this?
I know you're confused right now. That's okay. But for now, please choose one of two options.
Kanade furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, trying to process not only where she was, but how the tv in front of her seemed to be miraculously interacting with her and knew her name.
If you had to choose, would you prefer a skirt or pants?
Kanade didn't know how to answer that. Even if she did have an answer, she didn't know how she would let the screen know.
Was this a dream? Why was a tv asking her if she wanted a skirt or a pair of pants?
She stared at the tiled floor beneath her, trying to make sense of just what was happening.
She couldn't connect any dots in her head. She opted to simply stare back at the screen, clueless.
Just tell me.
Anxiously, she said her answer out loud, her voice barely audible. "Um... a skirt?"
Thank you. 017, Kanade Yoisaki, please change into your uniform, and leave whenever you'd like.
Before she could reply, the screen had already shut itself off and something slid under the door.
It looked like white fabric. That must have been the supposed 'uniform'?
Kanade slowly slid her legs off the bed, trying to support her weight as she stood up, one hand on the bed to maintain her balance.
She carefully walked over to the clothing that had mysteriously been delivered to her, picked it up, and set it on the bed.
Kanade looked down at her own attire. She had no way of knowing what she looked like, but she at least knew she was in a pair of shorts and a black tank top, a blue zip-up layered over it.
Apprehensively, she began to take them off one by one, setting them on the white tiled floor and picking up the clothing that was delivered to her.
She spun the shirt around, trying to find its front. It didn't have a tag, so there was no telling which side was the front and which side was the back.
Regardless, she put it on, hoping her presumption was correct.
The long sleeved white shirt fit her oddly well. It was soft and velvety, and she wasn't used to the feeling of shirts fitting her nicely. All of her clothing felt too big since the beginning of high school.
She slid the skirt on after it, pulling it down further than its intended length, since she had never really enjoyed short skirts.
Perplexed, she looked around the room once again, observing her unfamiliar surroundings.
The overhead light was cool-toned, it hurt her eyes a little to look at. The lighting felt awfully familiar to the lighting in her father's hospital room, bright and uncomfortable.
The countertop was neat and had nothing on it. The light reflected off its surface.
There were no windows. It felt odd, but she didn't question it.
The camera in the corner of the room stared at her. She stared back. She didn't know what to make of it. It was strange that it had watched her change, but that wasn't her biggest concern.
The room was very blank and unoccupied. Kanade seemed to be the only source of color in it. There wasn't much to see at all, it was modern and unrealistically tidy.
Gazing around the room was getting a bit tiring. She turned towards the door, slowly walking over to it and twisting its handle.
It slowly opened, and she was greeted by almost the same exact sight; a white hallway with bright lights and no windows. White doors were on each side, similar to the one she had just came out of.
Kanade could hear her footsteps echo as she walked barefoot through the almost intimidating white facility. She couldn't see or hear anyone else, appearing to be the only one there.
There wasn't any color, any personality, any decorations, just a long white hallway with white doors and white lights.
Not only that, it was still very cold, like walking outside on a cloudy, rainy day.
Kanade was puzzled, and she figured the only thing she could do was see what the doors around her contained.
Anxiously, she shuffled over to the nearest door and grabbed its handle.
It was locked.
Kanade could hear herself sigh as she backed up and turned to continued walking, before she heard the door unlock and open.
She swiftly shifted back around to see who had opened the door, greeted by a familiar person with short brown hair.
"Kanade? What are you doing here?" They asked, a bewildered expression on their face.
Ena.
She was a girl in the same music circle as Kanade. She was in the same outfit as Kanade, a white long sleeve paired with a white skirt, pulled noticeably higher than her own. Her brown hair had a small braid on the right side, preserved with a white bow.
"Ah, Ena..." She tried to find the words, but she couldn't quite make sense of anything enough to phrase it in a way that made it sound like she knew what was happening.
"I'm not sure. Do you know where this is?"
Ena stepped out of her room, shutting the door behind her. "No, I don't... ugh, my head hurts and I couldn't find my phone anywhere!" She complained, running a hand through her hair.
Kanade hadn't thought about her phone. She wondered if it was in her pocket before she changed, but figured she would have noticed the weight in her pocket if it was there.
"How do you think we got here? What were you doing beforehand?" Kanade inquired, continuing to walk. Ena followed suit.
She squinted and looked at the ground as she walked. "Um... I remember drawing. That's all I really remember. I didn't have anywhere I was supposed to be, class wasn't until evening, so I don't know how I got here."
"Huh..." Kanade gripped the fabric of her shirt, continuing to walk across the unfamiliar hallway with Ena.
Nene was perched against the wall of a hallway she'd never been in before. She tried navigating the vicinity, but she'd find herself endlessly in the same hallway like a perpetual loop of some sort.
The only way of distinguishing each hallway was the descending numbers next to each door and how some halls had some weird looking incomprehensible posters, but some didn't. Nene couldn't understand what they said. It was grammatical, but it didn't make sense.
So instead of wandering further, she chose to simply sit against the wall with her knees tucked to her chest, waiting for anything, absolutely anything, as long as it meant this continuous cycle of pacing blank white hallways would end at some point.
The fabric of her much too short skirt was getting annoying, and she wished she could go back in time to choose pants over a skirt from that weird screen's request.
Burying her face into her knees, Nene groaned and waited for something to finally happen.
It took a few minutes of sitting like that for her to finally hear something that wasn't her own breathing.
Footsteps.
Nene immediately perked up, looking around for wherever the noise had come from.
A girl with mid-length wavy brown hair in a low side ponytail met her gaze, appearing to have just rounded the corner. Her outfit was the same as Nene's, a white long sleeve shirt and a skirt.
For once in her life actually looking forward to human interaction, Nene immediately tried to initiate conversation with a simple,
"Hi."
The girl idly looked at her for a few long seconds before replying back with, "Hello."
"How did you get here?" Nene asked.
"I don't know. How did you?" The girl replied.
"I don't know either."
...
Nene got tired of the silence. She hated small talk, but small talk would stop her from going senile, hopefully.
Nene lifted her head up to look back at the girl. "What's your name?"
"Oh, um... Honami. Honami Mochizuki." The girl answered, anxiously twirling her finger through her hair.
"That's a pretty name. I'm Nene Kusanagi. It's nice to meet you?"
"Yeah. Nice to meet you." Honami smiled before silently taking a seat next to Nene.
She didn't bother to talk any more. Just hearing Honami breathe as she sat next to her was enough to keep Nene sane.
Saki laid her head against a cold white floor, listening to the people in the same room as her bicker.
One had black hair that faded into an ombre blue, the other had orange hair and a bleached highlight on his bangs.
"How the hell do you think I'm supposed to know how we got here? That's not my business." The boy grumbled to the girl beside him.
The girl scowled and complained back, "Well, I just want to know why! Or how! You know, I should be at school right now. Imagine all the work I'm gonna have to make up when I get back! Imagine all the people with untucked shirts in the halls that I can't tell off."
"That's your biggest concern?"
The girl barked back, "Of course not, Akito! Where do you think Kohane is? She's probably worrying her poor head off because I haven't texted her since 7:00!"
The boy, presumably Akito, and the girl continued arguing. Saki tuned it all out as she stared idly at the knocked over chairs in the room, noting whenever the light would flicker, typically every 30 seconds.
She didn't know how she ended up in this blindingly white facility, but she just wanted to go home. It felt like sitting at the hospital, where the lights were excruciatingly bright and minutes felt like hours.
While it wasn't good that the people in the room with her were arguing, she was glad there was some noise. She never liked hearing the lights buzzing as she sat in a room by herself. The understimulation would have killed her before her illness could.
The people with her seemed familiar with each other and had talked about some sort of musical group they were in together. Saki didn't understand, but it was interesting to hear about. It made her think of her own band, who she currently missed very much.
Saki recognized the name 'Kohane', thinking of one of the girls who goes to her school, a sweet girl with blonde hair and pigtails. She couldn't remember her last name.
"Okay, seriously, just shut up, Akito! Have some manners around the girl in here that you don't even know."
Saki lifted her head up to look at the two people, who were gazing back at her.
"God... Sorry. An right here is a real handful." Akito teased, pointing to the girl with his thumb.
The girl, An, immediately tensed up, but before she could yell at Akito any more, Saki interjected, "It's okay. If I wanted to leave, I would have left."
An's expression immediately softened, as did her tone. "Oh! Uh- well, sorry anyway. He's just got some... strong feelings. What's your name, by the way?"
"I'm Saki." Her reply was short and abrupt, but she'd answered An's question. "You're An, he's Akito?"
"Yeah! Must have heard them from us, huh? It's nice to meet you, Saki-chan!" An chirped, a smile on her face.
"Yup. Nice to meet you." Akito chimed in, his elbows on the white table at the side of the room. An sat across from him.
Saki chose to lay on the floor. She was tired from staying up late reading comics last night, and the chairs weren't really that comfortable.
Before she could reply, the speaker by the door turned on, a strange noise coming from it. Someone began to announce something, their voice monotone and robotic.
"Good afternoon. You've all woken up and have received your uniforms. Please make your way to room 50 in hall 5. You have 30 minutes to find it. Maintenance will install maps of the building later today in each hall."
...
"What the hell was that?" Akito carped, sitting up from his seat at the table.
"I'm not sure. Maybe it's from whoever gathered us in this place? But I don't know who that would be, or why they put us here." Saki suggested, getting up from her spot on the tiled floor.
An sat up after them, walking over to the door and opening it. "Yeah, weird. I guess we just have to go, though. With how these hallways look, it might just take us the entire 30 minutes." She chuckled, propping it open for Saki and Akito to leave as well.
"Us?" Akito questioned, leaving without thanking her.
"Duh, me and Saki-chan! Of course, you can come too, if you want." An joked, nodding as Saki thanked her on the way out.
"You're such an ass..." He groaned.
Saki couldn't help but giggle. An smiled at her as they began the search to room 50.
Haruka walked alone down a hallway she'd never seen before in her life. It was quiet, but it wasn't silent or lonely. She could see the figures of people who walked in the same hallway as her, but it was typically the back of their heads, and nobody she recognized.
Haruka was glad she chose pants instead of a skirt, for she might have cryopreserved before the announcement occurred. She was awfully cold, but tried not to mind it as she continued walking.
Counting the doors was keeping her motivated, slowly descending as she walked. The closest door was 63, meaning she was progressively getting closer to 50.
She wasn't sure just how many rooms there were in this facility, but it definitely was a lot, and she just wanted to leave. It was horrifying how a tv screen knew her name and replied to her voice, but she tried not to assume anything too absurd of it.
Cameras everywhere stared at Haruka, studying her every move. They seemed to be in every corner of the facility. She silently hoped they weren't in any of the bathrooms.
63 became 62, 62 became 61, and so forth. She almost missed door 50, too busy thinking about what her fellow idols would think about her ditching the stream planned for today.
Sighing, she opened the door, walking into yet another white room, akin to a school auditorium minus the colors. There was a white stage at the edge of the room, its curtains closed, while the rest of the room was just white tiles and chairs. It was eerily vacuous.
Several people were grouped up at small tables, none appearing to be full just yet. Haruka scanned the room for any faces she could put names to, just to see if there was anyone familiar around.
Fortunately, she happened to recognize the back of one person's head, half-up, half-down pink hair in pigtails.
Airi, her groupmate who went to the same school as her.
While Haruka wasn't sure why or how they were both in a pallid building together, she didn't want to dwell on it, simply going up to her and greeting her.
"Airi, hello."
The girl in question quickly looked back at the mention of her name, seeming somewhat astounded to see Haruka with her. "Oh, Haruka, hey!"
"Can I sit with you?" She asked, smiling politely.
"Of course! No need to ask." Airi beamed, patting the seat beside her.
Haruka sighed as she sat down, crossing her arms on the table. "Fancy seeing you here. I certainly don't remember coming to such a place."
"Yeah, me neither. This shirt is way too tight, and this whole place just smells like bleach." Airi stressed, her hand cupped around her cheek.
Neither of them knew what to say next. Haruka didn't mind the silence, taking it as an opportunity to space out and overthink.
The next thing to catch her attention was someone squealing as they ran in, shouting Haruka and Airi's names.
Haruka was met by the sight of another one of her fellow idols at the table, immediately babbling apologies at them.
"Haruka-chan! Airi-chan! H-how on earth are you guys here too?! Ah, I'm so sorry I couldn't come to the rooftop after school! I don't know why, I just- woke up here! What even is this place?!" She stammered.
The girl in front of her was Minori Hanasato, a bubbly girl with brown hair and a small braid. Haruka had just met her a few months prior, immediately enjoying her presence, which seemed to brighten every moment.
"Minori, it's fine. We're all in the same boat here. Just sit down, okay? It's nice to see you, at least." Airi told her, patting the seat beside her opposite to Haruka's side.
"Okay... ah, where's Shizuku-chan? Is she here too?" Minori inquired, plopping down on the seat beside Airi.
"I don't know, but I guess we'll find out. How many minutes are left? What time was 30 minutes from the announcement?" Haruka replied.
Airi stopped to look at the analog clock on the wall closest to her, attempting to analyze it. "I think the announcement was made around 1:14? It's 1:32 right now."
"I see... hm." Haruka watched as more people entered, some faces she knew better than others. They all wore white uniforms alike to hers.
Minori wailed, flopping on the table. "Waah... I wanna go home, I don't have my phone, I don't have my keys, I don't have anything! How will the fans know our stream was cancelled?"
"That's... I'm not sure. But it's gonna work out, okay?" Haruka consoled Minori, putting a hand on her back.
"Mhm... I hope so."
Toya sat next to his singing partner, Akito, in an unfamiliar room. It was quiet, save for Akito trying to make small conversation. Toya didn't have any answers for his questions, and all he could do was nod when Akito complained about wanting to leave in his own colorful language.
An and Kohane sat at the other end of the table, talking about a variety of topics from how they're confused on how they got here to what they would be doing this weekend.
Occasionally, people would go up to either of them, saying it was nice to see them or how they're surprised they're here too.
Toya saw a few familiar people himself, like Tsukasa, Saki, Kamishiro, Kusanagi, and a few others. He didn't get the chance to talk to them, most already being caught up in conversation by other people.
He at least hoped Tsukasa and Saki had seen him on their way in.
He watched silently as the last few people entered, most of the tables were full, some having more chairs at them than others.
Akito was slouched on the table, irritated and picking at the skin around his nails. "When's this shit gonna start already? I just want to get out of here."
"It should be soon. It has felt like a while." Toya agreed, catching An and Kohane's attention.
"I heard someone say 1:44? I'm not sure, though." An added, smiling solely because she was with her partner.
"I think that's right," Kohane said, her eyes on the clock. "It's 1:43. That means it's only a minute from-"
Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of curtains opening and a microphone turning on caught everyone's attention.
A light on the ceiling flickered on, illuminating a figure who stood on the stage. They wore a white button up, a long white skirt, and they had ribbons wrapped around two high ponytails in their teal hair. One of their eyes was blue, the other a light brown.
It looked like...
Miku?
That couldn't be true, though. He knew Miku, and she didn't look like this.
Sure, there's plenty of different Mikus, but he's only met one, and her hair was much lighter and longer than whoever was standing on stage.
"Hello. Your 30 minutes are over. It looks like everyone has made it, so I'll introduce myself." They began, tilting their head up.
"Um- my name is Miku, and I'm your overseer. It's nice to finally meet you all. Please don't panic; this is a SEKAI, everyone here has their own. This is nothing new to any of you, and you're all here to share it together."
Commotion between all of the tables began. Miku didn't seem to mind, patiently waiting for it to quiet down, a blank expression on her face.
An immediately jolted up. "Holy shit, everyone here? Even Haruka? Even Mizuki? What the hell!" She blurted, her eyes darting back and forth around the other tables.
"Guess we aren't special." Akito replied, nonplussed.
Kohane looked bemused. Toya didn't know how to react himself.
Saki had a SEKAI. As did Tsukasa. As did everyone in the room. He wasn't sure what to make of it, instead opting to just stare at the table lethargically.
When the room fell silent again for a moment, Miku continued.
"This is, indeed, a SEKAI. None of you have your phones or any of your personal belongings. Don't fret, though, you won't miss anything big. An hour here is equal to about a nanosecond in your own world."
Toya watched as An's expression fell, appearing both baffled and anxious at the same time.
"A nanosecond? How many hours is she implying we're going to be here?! I can't just go hours without anything I own!" An stressed, a hand on her head.
"React as you may, I've gathered the twenty of you here for an observation of the human mind and behaviors."
"Each day, you'll have either an experiment to undergo or a game to play, all beginning at 2:00 PM, though the amount of time they last for may vary. There are only 9 of these, meaning there are 10 days total including today, then you will be released."
"That's 240 hours, converted to 240 nanoseconds, which is two tenths and four hundredths of a microsecond. You won't miss dinner when you are released."
Miku watched her audience all seem confused for a moment, then seem more stressed than confused by the complexity of it all.
"I'll continue with the basics of this SEKAI. There are 10 halls total, each containing 10 rooms. This adds up to 100. You are all in hall 5, room 50. Hall 6 contains rooms 51 to 60."
"The dormitories are in halls 1 and 2. The number on your wristband correlates to the room you'll be staying in, numbered 1 through 20. This is your official order in the observation, but it doesn't mean anything outside of your wristbands and rooms."
Miku paused before pursuing, "Please don't try removing the wristband. It's made out of metal, so you physically can't, and it isn't mailicious. It is solely your identifier."
All three of Toya's teammates looked uncomfortable, and he imagined the other tables did as well, but nobody said anything.
"Moving on, there are some important rooms in the facility, similar to this one. Room 25 contains your keys to your dormitories, each one identical in color to your wristband with the same number on it. You will be excused there after this."
"Room 55 is the cafeteria, where you will eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at every day. Breakfast begins at 7:00 AM, lunch begins at 12:00 PM, dinner begins at 5:00 PM. All of them end an hour after their start time, and while you are not obligated to show up on time, it is recommended."
"There are bathrooms in rooms 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, and 91. Each of your dormitories have their own private bathrooms, but I understand the importance of having a variety of options. None of the bathrooms have cameras in them, and the cameras in the rooms you woke up in were not recording."
"The staff consists of 6 members including myself; I am your overseer, meaning I am in charge of you and the other five staff members."
"Rin and Len are janitors. Luka is a nurse, the infirmary is located in room 45. Meiko is the chef in the cafeteria, Kaito is the maintenance worker, who is currently putting up maps in every hallway. Hallways already have posters with the rules on them, and I would highly encourage reading them."
"If you haven't noticed, we are all vocaloids. That is because this is a SEKAI. You're also free to ask any of the staff members questions you may have about the SEKAI." Miku added.
"My brain hurts..." An whispered to Kohane.
"Night time is from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. You may not enter this room, the cafeteria, room 25, or any of the extra rooms. Bathrooms and dormitories are excluded from this rule, as well as the infirmary."
"That is all of the important information I can think of. The rest of the rooms are simply rooms. You're allowed to explore them as you please, but please don't damage them. Some of them will be very important in the future."
Miku sighed, lowering her microphone. "That's all I have to tell you right now. Are there any questions?"
Several hands immediately sprung up.
Miku scanned each one before pointing to a girl with short brown hair.
"Okay, where are our devices? What happened to them? Are we not allowed to leave at all? What the hell do I do for 10 days?!" She complained.
Miku was silent for a few seconds before answering, "They are safe and protected and you may obtain them again when your 10 days are up, which you cannot leave during. Some rooms contain board games and have puzzle books for entertainment." Her tone was monotonous and apathetic.
The girl sighed and slouched in her chair.
"How the fuck is Ena here?" Akito muttered under his breath. Toya shrugged.
Miku pointed to another hand, a girl with long blue hair. Some hands seemed to have fallen after the first person was called on, implying most of them had the same question.
"What do the colors on our wristbands mean?" She asked, and some people pulled their sleeves down to check their own. Toya could see An and Kohane looking at theirs.
"They have no meaning. They are identifiers. I tried to pick colors that may resonate with you all, but I don't know any of you personally." Miku replied.
She pointed to another hand, Tsukasa's.
"How do you know all of our names?" He asked.
"The vocaloids in your SEKAIs all knew yours, and I do too. It is simply because of you existing here that I have internalized your name."
"Ah, I see..."
Another hand was pointed to, a girl with long blue-black hair.
"What are the uniforms for? Why did we have to change out of our clothes? Are there changes of clothing?" She inquired.
"The uniforms have no special meaning besides making you look similar, and some of your old clothing may get in the way of games. There are uniform changes in each of your dormitories, all identical to what you are currently wearing."
"Are those all of the questions?" Miku concluded, taking a step back.
When nobody replied, Miku continued, "You may be excused now. Enjoy your time."
...
Everyone immediately scrambled to leave, Toya's table included.
"Come on, let's get the fuck out of here." Akito grabbed his hand and helped him up, An and Kohane trailing closely behind.
To say the least, Toya was perplexed.
Ichika walked with her three friends to the supposed "room 25" that contained the keys to their rooms.
They tried to look at the maps, but Ichika wasn't sure how thoroughly she understood them. She had faith that her friends knew where they were going.
Saki was ranting about the absurdity of their situation, Honami was trying to make it sound sensible, Shiho just stared at the floor in exasperation. Ichika was simply watching, commenting occasionally.
"I mean, at least you guys are all here too, but what the hell?! That Miku just talked to us like we're lab rats! Experiments? Identifiers? I didn't sign up for this!" Saki barked, stomping through the hallway.
"Maybe it's more beneficial than it sounds? I would hope the experiments aren't harmful at all. Saying that out loud... does feel a bit eerie." Honami replied.
"I just want to go home... do we even have our instruments here?" Saki sighed, gazing around at the closed doors. The nearest was 31, meaning they were getting closer.
"I don't think so. Nothing here seems very personalized. Our rooms might just be blank and white as well." Ichika commented.
Saki had a displeased expression on her face. "Ugh, I'm seriously gonna lose it! How do I tell other people I was trapped in some laboratory for 240 nanoseconds?!"
"It'll be okay, Saki-chan. Hopefully it'll go faster than it might seem at first." Honami consoled her, but it sounded like she was just trying to convince herself.
Saki groaned and continued walking in silence. Ichika sincerely hoped Honami would be right.
Roughly another minute passed by before they reached room 25, watching other people before them exit. The door was held open by a small white door stopper.
"This should be it." Ichika stated. She followed her friends inside.
The room was in complete disarray, clutter, papers, shelves, chairs, and keys were scattered everywhere. Ichika didn't think strongly of it, but she was a little disappointed by the unprofessionalism.
"This won't be easy, will it?" Shiho complained, pulling down her sleeve and beginning to search the room for keys.
"It'll be okay. I don't think it will take too long." Honami reassured them. "After all, our colors are all quite vibrant, which should stand out in a white room."
"That's smart, Hona-chan!" Saki agreed.
Ichika began to pace around the room, trying to find a key as blue as her own.
She could hear her friends talking about other keys they'd found that didn't belong to them, but Ichika didn't pay any mind to it, for she just wanted to find all of their keys and leave.
She looked under chairs and tossed aside papers, but all she found were a variety of lighter blue keys, pink keys, a purple key, and an orange key. She moved them all to easily visible spots for whoever they belonged to's convenience.
"Oh, Ichika-chan, is this yours?" Honami held up a sky blue key, and Ichika checked her wristband to see if they matched.
"Yes, I think so! Thank you, Honami." Ichika walked over to Honami and grabbed it, gripping the key tightly in her right hand.
Honami hummed in reply and continued searching. Ichika walked to the wall near the door besides Shiho, waiting for Honami and Saki to find their keys.
Spacing out, Ichika stared at her own wristband. The numbers 01 was etched into it, and it was hugging her wrist tightly. Simply looking at the piece of metal made Ichika uneasy.
She was in an experiment, and this was her "identifier". It was almost like an ear tag.
What was going to happen here? What were the experiments like? Would they hurt her or her friends? Every thought made Ichika's head spin, and she, too, wanted to leave.
The sound of her friend's voice snapped her out of trance.
"Ichika, you okay?" Shiho asked her calmly, a hand on her shoulder.
"Um- I don't- I'm not sure... I don't think so." She stammered in reply.
"Don't think too hard about it, alright? We're all here to protect each other. I won't let Miku hurt you." Shiho told Ichika, her tone soft and comforting.
"Alright..." She tried to smile at Shiho, but it probably looked unnatural.
"Guys! I finally found mine!" Saki exclaimed, running up to her three friends at the other side of the room. Other people had entered the room, some turning their heads at her voice.
"Great job, Saki-chan! Let's get going now, shall we?" Honami congratulated her, smiling warmly.
"Yup! Honestly, I really need to lay down." Saki said, exiting the room as her friends followed.
"What are all of your numbers?" Shiho asked. "Mine's 04. That should be hall 1."
"Ah, mine is 03! We're next to each other, that's good."
"02! I'm with you guys! Icchan, what's yours?" Saki bubbled.
"Oh, um... it's 01. That means we're all beside each other in hall 1, then?" Ichika suggested.
Saki looked overjoyed. "Yes! I'm so glad! Whenever I have something I want to say to you guys, I can just knock on the walls!"
"That won't work with me, though, will it?" Shiho said.
"I'll get Hona-chan to knock for me!"
Honami giggled, and Ichika could see Shiho smiling as well. She couldn't say the same for herself.
She remained silent, watching the doors pass her by.
Rui placed his key down at the desk in his assigned room, observing the space he'd spend the next 10 days in.
Oddly, it actually contained some color, contrasting nearly every other room he’d seen so far. The walls were white, but the floor was light brown carpet and the bedsheets were a pastel purple.
There wasn't anything too interesting about the room and for the most part, it just looked like he'd gone to a motel. It was enough, though.
His friends had all gone into their own rooms. He'd peeked at each one, all looking similar to his aside from the color of the beds.
He believed that Nene had fallen asleep and Tsukasa had gone to visit his siblings individually.
"Rui-kun! I wanna see your room!" Emu barged in, analyzing every inch of it.
"Be my guest, Emu-kun." He smiled, allowing her to look around.
She happily ran around. "Hmm... it isn't much different from mine or Nene-chan's or Tsukasa-kun's. I like it, though! The bed looks super-duper cozy!"
"Why, thank you. Perhaps Miku would be flattered as well." Emu seemed to recoil at the mention of their overseer's name.
"Emu-kun, is something wrong?"
Emu's smile dropped slightly, but she still spoke in a jovial tone. "I dunno, I just don't really like her. She was kind of all like... "grr, you're all my subjects!"y, wasn't she?"
Rui tilted his head. Emu was completely and absolutely correct. "I guess she was. I do get a somewhat bad feeling about all of this."
Noticing Rui's pessimism, Emu immediately sprung up. "It's okay, Rui-kun! We're gonna have loottss of fun here, okay? Turn that frown upside down!"
Rui smiled at her. "I will. Thank you, Emu-kun."
"Mhm! Okay, see ya later, Rui-kun! I gotta go explore!" Emu waved and excitedly ran out.
He'd always admired her optimism. Even if she wasn't feeling good about something herself, Emu would always put in her best effort to make others smile.
Quietly chuckling to himself, Rui left his room as well to look around the hallway.
Mizuki, who wore a skirt with her uniform and had her hair up in a high side ponytail, caught his attention, standing a few doors away talking to someone with long purple hair. He caught their attention.
"Oh, hey, Rui! Weird seeing you here too, huh?" She greeted, waving to him. Her friend simply looked at him, offering an unenthusiastic wave of their own.
"Indeed. It's quite a fun concept though, huh?" He grinned.
"What, the experiments? You're on your own for that one. I think they're crazy. Right, Mafuyu?" She teased.
"You're both entitled to your own opinions. I don't really care." Her friend, Mafuyu, replied coldly.
Mizuki laughed in reply. "Pfft, okay! I think that means she doesn't really like them either."
Mafuyu responded, "You could say that."
"Oh, hey, Rui, you wanna see my room?" Mizuki asked as Mafuyu waved her out and closed her door.
"I don't see why not." He said, following her to room 20.
She waved her hand around as they walked in together, "Ta-da!"
The room was similar to every room he'd seen before. Carpeted floor, pink bed, white desk, white walls, white drawers, a large mirror on the wall, and a ceiling fan. It looked nice, it just wasn't anything new to Rui.
"It's wonderful. Miku sure has an eye for interior design." Rui commented, smiling.
"I could do way better." Mizuki joked, sitting on the bed. "So, how are you? We haven't talked in a while. Things been okay with your friends and stuff?"
"Sure, I believe they have. Getting to know them all better has been a pleasant experience. Would you say the same for yourself?" He answered.
"Uhh, yeah, I guess so. I'm just... worried. About silly stuff." Mizuki said, placing her hand on the back of her neck.
Rui knew what that implied. "It'll be okay. They are your friends, Mizuki. I'm sure it won't change anything."
Mizuki nodded, but he could see her expression slightly falter. "Yeah... maybe."
She quickly stood up, eager to change the topic, "Okay, what do you say we go explore those weird rooms everywhere? I want some puzzle books!" She exclaimed.
"That would be delightful." Rui agreed, following Mizuki outside.
Mizuki quickly ran over to a poster on the wall containing the “rules” Miku had told everyone about. “Hey, let’s read this crap! I bet it’s a bunch of nonsense.”
They both stopped to read it. The poster wasn’t decorative in any way, just a simple list of expectations.
It read:
“RULES FOR MIKU’S OBSERVATION:
- Be kind and respectful to one another.
- Do not disobey or taunt the staff. This will earn you a warning. Two warnings will result in further punishment.
- All subjects must participate in games and experiments regardless of their physical condition. There will be no exceptions.
- Vandalization of the facility is strictly prohibited. This will earn you a warning.
- Please clean up after yourself, even if we have janitors. Have etiquette in a space that isn’t yours.
- Do not enter room 100. It is off limits to all subjects.
THANK YOU FOR READING THE RULES!”
Rui didn’t know what to think. Most of the rules were common sense, but rule 6 was extremely ominous.
“Yup, just as I thought.” Mizuki said. “Let’s go look at something else, kay? Can’t be room 100, I guess.”
“That’s almost tempting.” Rui replied, earning a chortle from Mizuki.
Whatever would happen next, he was unsure about, but Rui believed it would be okay. He was surrounded by people who lifted any burden he carried.
