A Life Without Color

Chapter 11

The blonde-haired guard popped up with a smile that should haunt Horikita's nightmares. Like a tiger hunting his prey, he slowly stalked over to us as we finished up our gruel. Sudou looked forlornly at his empty bowl as his stomach let out a fierce rumble. He scraped his meaty finger against the walls, hoping he'd find an overlooked morsel. His previous diet would have consisted of consistent carbs and proteins due to his athletic lifestyle. Now he was receiving the bare minimum to keep his brain and body at a functional level.

We all were.

"Little brats," The guard sneered, his usually inexpressive face was alight with sadistic glee. "I want you all to stand up in front of the table with your hands crossed behind your back. We will then proceed in a single file line to the library."

There was no practical reason for him to order us to walk in this awkward position. It degraded us and reminded us where the power resided.

I hobbled over to the rest of the group who were already standing like a bunch of ducks in line to be shot. Kei stood inches away from me. Her crossed hands trembled like blades of grass in the wind.

As we walked towards the library, the guard seemed distracted by taunting Horikita so I took the chance to steady Kei's hands by encompassing them in my own. The warmth of another human should not be underestimated. I could feel from the way Kei clenched her fists that her resolve had been restored.

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The library was the coziest space the white room had to offer. Straight-backed wooden chairs adorned crystal clear tables, one chair per table to dissuade the students from fraternizing. In the center of the room stood at least 20 bookshelves stretching up to the ceiling. Every shelf was packed with instructional manuals, scientific texts, and philosophical memoirs.

Horikita lowered herself into one of the chairs with a groan and stared blankly into the distance. Kouenji perused the shelves for a moment, picking up a few books and scanning through their descriptions before putting them back in a slightly different location from where he found them.

He eventually settled on a well-worn copy of The Art of War and began to flip through it at his own table. Kei, who had been hovering near the entrance, took the opportunity to tentatively approach him.

"Umm, Kouenji-Kun, may I please have a moment of your time?"

Kouenji glared up from the book he'd escaped into, his face twisted in a sneer.

"What is it that you want from me, puppet girl? I have no interest in conversing with those whose strings are held in an iron grip."

Kei's hand came up to claw at the tangles in her hair. Her teeth gnashed at her already tattered bottom lip, but she loyally continued to plow forward.

"I was just wondering if we could talk about everything that's happened. You see, we've all had such a hard time and I need some support."

The book was slammed shut with a thud that could have woken the dead as Kouenji turned the full force of his ire on the one who was insistent on gaining his attention.

"And you've decided that the best person to approach for said meaningless affirmation is I, is that so? What a foolish choice on your part."

He shot a side glance toward me but didn't push it any further.

"Remove yourself from my sight, girl. I have nothing further to say to you."

A single tear dropped from Kei's eye. This wasn't part of her act to fool Kouenji. There was a balloon full of negative emotions buried inside of her and it had been consistently inflating since we arrived. After Kouenji's outburst, she was ripe to burst.