Hope Always Dies Last | Chishiya [English]

When the apple blossom wilts...

"You would be dead, Shiraishi-san."

My professor's voice rang through the room as I gasped in pain.

Despite the protective vest, the air cartridges still hurt like hell.

Of course, the murmurs of my fellow students could not be ignored, some made fun of me, others pitied me.

That's how it always was: There were those who thought they were better and there were those who could identify with those who often felt the professor's disapproval.

How a simple training room could reflect humanity... It was eerily accurate.

I straightened up from my crouched position, trying to hide my pained face a little. I didn't seem to be particularly successful, because my professor just shook his head reprimandingly.

"This is the second time in a row, Shiraishi-san. If you keep doing this, you will eventually fail the technical exam," he looked at me admonishingly, "How many times have I told you now that you have to concentrate on everything! You only focus on one point at a time and that will be your downfall!"

I hated him.

He always seemed to only criticize me, he didn't offer any praise, he only ever saw my weak points - and slowly it became noticeably uncomfortable.

"Take Inuoe-san as an example, Shiraishi," he pointed to a classmate who grinned proudly, "She holds the weapon at a precise 90° angle and is therefore significantly more agile."

Comparisons, comparisons and more comparisons... He played the same game with me over and over again.

I lowered my gaze and bit my lip. It wouldn't be good if I opened my mouth now. Takumi-san got words down the wrong throat very quickly and I just couldn't afford to make him even more angry now.

"Well..." he looked at the clock after giving his little lecture, "The lesson is over, we'll see each other again tomorrow for self-defense." He hadn't quite finished speaking when I was already on my way to the changing room.

If I had to endure this man one more second, I would go crazy.

"Hey! Neiru-chan!", my attempt to escape was unfortunately thwarted by my best friend, who was hot on my heels. I sighed quietly and then turned to her.

"Nanami," I greeted her as we walked side by side. She smiled happily at me and I felt like I was blinded by her happiness.

"Don't worry," she finally told me, "Your position and your shot were good. No one could have guessed that the bullet would be deflected by Sumari-san." She was telling the truth, but it still annoyed me.

"I know - you don't have to tell me," I replied and she grinned, "I still hate it."

She put her hand on my shoulder as I pushed open the locker room door. "He just has it out for you, Neiru," she let go of me, "We all know that. But at some point the day will come when he can no longer criticize you!"

If she knew...

He would always find a reason. No matter what I did, he always had something to complain about. Because he knew what was hidden from others.

"Mmh," I simply said as I squeezed myself out of the heavy protective vest and hung it in my locker. The locker room slowly filled up and the pleasant silence was replaced by excited chatter.

Why did people always have to chatter so much?

I wanted to reach for my water bottle, but when my hand grabbed the air, I groaned. Damn, I had forgotten it in the training room - now I had to face the grim sports professor again.

"I'll be right back," I murmured to Nanami, who gave me a thumbs up before I disappeared back into the other room. The door closed with a loud bang.

I was a little scared because normally a shock absorber was installed to prevent this from happening. Then why did it still close so loudly? I looked at the wooden door again before starting to move.

Only now did I notice two things at the same time:

1. It was completely silent.

Sure, the room was well insulated so that the traffic noise from outside wasn't too loud. But there was still a slight background noise that suddenly seemed to be missing.

2. It was somehow a little dark.

Had Takumi-san already turned off the light? Actually, he didn't do that, as a second group was about to arrive, but you never knew with him...

I padded over to the light switch on the wall and pressed it.

Nothing happened.

Strange. Was there a power outage? Was that why there was no one left in the practice room? I just shrugged and got my bottle in the semi-darkness before heading back to the locker room. Maybe Nanami knew what was happening.

I carefully pushed the door open again, just to...

...stand in complete darkness? What was going on now?

"Hey!" I called into the cabin, but got no answer.

I started to get the feeling that something was wrong. Was it all just a stupid joke to annoy me?

"You can come out of your hiding places now!" I exclaimed, "It's not funny!" But again nothing moved in the darkness.

Yes, something just went terribly wrong.

I let the door close and rushed to the other locker room where the males had their lockers. I carefully knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. But again nothing happened.

With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I opened the door here too, only to be surrounded by a gaping emptiness again.

They were really all gone.

What the hell just happened here?

I felt my heart rate increase and panic slowly creeping into my limbs.

If I stayed here any longer, I wouldn't remain sane.

I turned on my heel, hurried through my own cabin, grabbed my shoes, and then made my way out of the police academy.

But I never dared to dream of what awaited me there.

Tokyo was deserted. No people, no sounds... Everything was gone. From one moment to the next.

"Wha-" my voice trailed off as I stared at the Shibuya intersection in disbelief. The once liveliest intersection lay silent and inconspicuous in front of me.

That couldn't be true.

It was definitely just my imagination. Sarumi-san had probably only hit me in the head with the training pistol.

It couldn't be reality, Tokyo wouldn't be deserted any time soon. Also, no evacuation drill had been announced, so it wasn't possible!

I pinched my hand. The brief pain made me flinch briefly, but the hoped-for effect didn't take place, I was still in the same place.

The panic came back, my hands started shaking.

Where the hell was I?!