School uniforms often bothered me. Never in the sense of having to wear them, because I sometimes found myself enjoying the style on my body. Nor was it in the sense of looking the same as everyone; I found the synonymous nature of them pleasant. Rather, it was how, after being out of school for two years, the sight of a student wearing one made me long to return to those days.
School was always a pleasant experience for me, though I did appreciate the freedom graduating brought. I had a few friends that made living worth it, and I loved learning new subjects, as well as making memories. In a way, school was freer than the real world; there was no pressure aside from keeping good grades. Outside, I had societal pressures that I never experienced within.
I had one friend in school that felt the opposite, and he was, possibly, my closest friend I ever had. Suguru Niragi, a cowering student who often got bullied for his lack of confidence to stand up to the bullies. I had no idea he existed until one day he walked past me with a bloodied nose, and I handed him a tissue. He thanked me and that was that.
But every day after, I made sure I found him after school, usually lingering by the stairs until he walked out. I walked up to him and looped my arm through his, walking him home. He was confused by my politeness, but grateful for it. The bullies eventually left him alone once they saw me with him every day, realizing they'd rarely find us apart. We became inseparable for years.
That was our third to last year of school. For those entire three years, Niragi became my everything. I spent every second of my days with him; either at my house in my room or his house in his room, but sometimes we'd go to a coffee shop.
I currently sat in the coffee shop we had first gone to. It was small, somehow earning a place smack dab in Tokyo a block away from the main area. My feet tapped against the tile below as my noodles cooled off. There was a student up at the register, uniform crisp. From the back, he looked like Niragi, and it made me do a double take.
I missed him. He was my first for a lot of things: first kiss, first boyfriend, first person I slept with.
It happened one day after school. After staying late to speak with a teacher, going over an essay, I exited down the stairs where Niragi was absent. He had told me he'd wait for me there. At first, I assumed maybe something came up — maybe his mom asked him to come home, or he had to run back into school and use the restroom. Either way, I walked down the stairs and began walking towards the sidewalk when I saw him. He was sat by the tree in the front of the yard, a trickle of blood coming down his nose and lip.
"Oh, my god," I said as I rushed towards him, squatting down to his level. "What happened? Did those guys get to you?"
He looked down away from me but made no effort to push my hand away. "Yeah. It's no big deal, though, I'm fine. Did you do okay on your essay?"
"Don't change the subject on me," I reprimanded as I slung my backpack off to grab a tissue. He laughed at me, then tilted his head back to allow me to wipe his nose. "Hold that. We're gonna go to my house real quick." Niragi reluctantly stood and I wrapped my arm around his, slightly pulling him to my apartment.
My parents weren't home; perhaps, that was fate giving us the push we needed. We entered the small living area and I drug him to my bedroom, pushing him to sit on my bed before I left to grab the first aid kit. It didn't have much that could help, but I knew I had something better than a tissue.
Returning, I sat next to him on the bed and grabbed the tissue from his hand. The blood had stopped and crusted over his lips. Undoing an alcohol pad, I grabbed one side of his face with one hand and used the other to wipe his lips off. "There you go, good as new!"
Niragi stared at me as I inspected his face, his typical witty expression subsided. I was the only person he showed his true personality with; to others, he was nothing more than a shy and timid student, but he was the opposite with me. Always laughing or making me laugh, ranting about problems in his life. His eyes were searching mine when I finally looked up at him.
To me, he had always been the most attractive guy I had ever seen. To this day, that remained true. I felt a blush creep up as our eyes remained locked. Had our friendship not been so dire to me, I probably would've made a move sooner than that. But I never wanted to do anything to ruin it, so I allowed him to make the decision.
Thankfully, he did.
His eyes flicked down to my lips before he slowly leaned forward, closing the gap between us. My hand stayed on his face as I pushed myself into him more, tasting the bitter alcohol and rich blood. "Kana," he whispered before he leaned back, pulling me on top of him. "I hope I never lose you." I never wanted to lose him, either, so I gave him a part of my self that day.
But that was two years ago. We separated on good terms as he left for school, and I remained home. We kept in contact nearly every day for months before he told me he was talking to a girl. Our conversations became short, eventually falling apart completely when I got with Haruka, a decision that sort of haunted me. I loved him in some aspects, but I could never love him the way I did with Niragi.
Plus, Haruka was sort of a dick.
The student walked away from the counter, coffee clasped in hand. Those damn uniforms haunt me just like Niragi. Looking away, I looked back at Haruka. He didn't notice me space out; he doesn't notice a lot of things I do unless they're wrong. "Do you ever miss school?"
He raised a brow in annoyance, looking up at me over his phone. "What?"
"School," I repeated, leaning in my seat. "Do you ever miss it? I do sometimes."
He shrugged, then returned his gaze to his phone. "No. Work replaced that for me." I nodded, looking down at my noodles. The steam was dissipating now. "Have you found a place to work yet?"
I hated when he asked me that. It always fell back to finding a better job. Currently, I worked at a small boutique that didn't pay the best, but it was better than nothing. Haruka, though, felt I was minuscule in comparison to his stupid office job at a tech company. Plus, the only other job I found that paid well had my interview cancelled when Haruka accused me a cheating in him with my potential new boss for teaching him the meeting time. He was so worried about me finding a new job yet was the reason I couldn't. "Not yet," I admitted, though I didn't want to. I knew what his reaction would be. His eyes shot up. "I put an application in at this one place—"
"Just one?" I nodded, and he sat up to glare at me better. "You're not going to make it anywhere at that rate, Kana. Seriously." I nodded, feeling that dreaded feeling raise in my chest. I knew better than to stay with someone who constantly belittled me or yelled at me or hit me, but escaping wasn't easy. I hated myself to dealing with it. He looked down at his phone, only calming down because people were around. "You need to grow up."
"Yeah," I mumbled, only agreeing to get out of the conversation. I inhaled. "I have to use the bathroom, then I'm getting a drink. Do you want anything?" His silence indicated no.
Standing, I walked past a few people sitting at the small tables before entering the bathroom, locking the stall behind me. I rested my head against the back of the door, pushing away the urge to cry. I couldn't cry over something I was willingly dealing with, could I?
With a sigh, I pushed off the door to fix my hair when the power shut off. I yelped and immediately ran to the door, pulling the door open, desperately wanting out of the dark. It wasn't much better in the hallway, the power out as well. Sunlight from the half-drawn windows barely lit the shop as I slowly stepped forward. In the darkness, I also noticed the silence.
Haruka was gone from the table, as well as every other customer I had just walked past. Even the attendant at the counter was gone. Maybe they went outside to see why the power went out?
I quickly walked out of the store, only to be more confused. Before I left the table, I could see the tens of dozens of people, cars, heading every which direction. Now, the street sat desolate with cars abandoned in the center of the road, not a single person in sight. The split-second thought of this being a prank was eradicated; it was impossible for everyone in Tokyo to completely disappear in a matter of seconds.
I turned back around to face the coffee shop. What the fuck was going on? The idea of searching for someone sounded stupid after seeing a once packed street go deserted in seconds; where could they all even go? My brows furrowed and I fought back the panic trying to embed in my chest. Panic would do me no good.
Turning back to face the street, I walked across it. Inside the small pet shop, I couldn't find anyone. "Hello?" I called out, walking through the aisles. Nothing. It was utter silence, abandoned. Pursing my lips, I exited the store and went to the clothing shop beside the coffee shop. Again, no one was there. I knew I was wasting my time, but I still went to three more places on the road before giving up.
I was alone.
I spent the next hour roaming the streets, trying to find something. It didn't have to be a person. I'd be fine if I found s flyer explaining why everyone would leave, or even a cellphone that I could call someone on; I left my phone on the table with Haruka, or else he'd be mad.
My phone! I turned back and ran to the coffee shop, pushing the doors open with a new found eagerness. I could finally call someone, get some type of answer. My shoes clicked loudly against the false wooden floor as I approached my table. It was there I noticed two things: one, my phone was completely dead despite having over half battery before I left it, and two, my noodles were rotted into nothing but a mush of mold and maggots. Gagging, I stepped back. How the hell did they mold so fast? It had only been an hour?!
I let out an annoyed huff, rubbing my face. So, everyone was missing, there was no power, my phone was dead, and my food rotted after an hour. What the fuck was going on?
Outside, the sun was setting. Inside, my stomach was growling despite the nausea feeling of dread in my chest. Biting at my cheek, I exited the store and walked to the corner where a convenience store sat. I entered, grabbed a small bag of crackers off the shelf, and stepped back onto the darkening street.
I turned toward my apartment building. There wasn't much else I could do; I didn't feel like standing in the middle of a dark street, alone in the world. Maybe I could go to bed and I'll wake up to find this was all a dream. Everything felt real enough to not be one, though.
I tried forcing myself to keep thinking hopefully.
In a way, it worked. Turning the corner to a typically busy intersection, a bright, white light came from beside me. Wincing, I looked up at a large screen behind glass in an electronics store, the words Welcome Player. The game will commence in a moment displayed across. I blinked at the bright screen. Player? Game? So, maybe it was all a form of prank?
The first sentence was replaced with This way to the game arena with an arrow under it, pointing to the left. My eyes wandered towards the direction it pointed, seeing another screen further ahead flash on and say the same. I didn't know whether to trust it or not, but, with hope of finding other people, I glanced back at the screen once more before heading in its direction.
After walking for a few blocks, I eventually ended up at a gym. Outdoor lights were on and I hesitantly pulled the door open, walking in to the small check in room. Five other people stood in the room: three men, two women. They were all looking down at their phones, and a few of them looked up at me as I entered. Seeing people left me both relieved and confused; none of them seemed eager about meeting more people, so maybe in my search I overlooked someone?
I did my best to hide my reaction. Walking further into the room, I walked up to a small table with three phones sitting untouched, screen black. One per person the sign said behind them, and I grabbed one. A small, loading circle flashed onto the screen, a loading bar beneath it reading Facial Recognition in progress, please wait a moment. In the delirious reality I was suddenly in, I was fairly unconcerned by the random phone using facial recognition.
The load bar filled and the screen went white, reading Welcome Player with a count down timer below it. Looking back up at the people, all of them back to ignoring me, I retreated into a corner. They looked relatively unbothered, seeming to know what was going on. Something told me that asking them wasn't the best idea; they could use my confusion as a weak point in whatever game was about to be played.
The timer on my phone eventually landed on zero, and a dinging chime came from it. Registration has closed. The game will now commence. I gave everyone a quick glare, their eyes returning the gaze. I looked back down at my phone. Game: Floor is Lava. Difficulty: Six of Spades. Rule: Avoid the water below. Time: Five minutes.
I stared at the screen with furrowed brows. Wasn't that some type of kids game? I felt like I had played it in in my earlier years of school. Beside me, two doors opened up and I glanced inside the room, seeing a rock climbing wall vaguely. Shit. If we were expected to avoid the floor by climbing up, there was a possibility I was fucked; I wasn't the type of work out or do anything in that capacity, leaving my arms weaker than I'd like to admit. Of course, I couldn't admit that out loud, and I pushed the worry off of my face. Once again, if the other players saw my worry, it could be an advantage to them.
Though, when I looked back up, looking past two of the guys, who were both clearly athletic, and at the three other players, they weren't doing anything to hide their concern.
Hesitantly, I followed behind the two guys. One had cuts in his khaki shorts while the other had fray marks at the bottom of his swim trunks. I looked down at my jeans and wondered if somehow they'd hinder me in this experience. They walked up to the wall beside the door and grabbed a harness, slipping it over their chests. Following their actions, knowing nothing else on what to do, I grabbed my own harness and pulled it on, the cord smacking me in the back of the head as I walked up to the wall, the grate below me rattling. It was then I noticed the typical matting had been removed.
The two men were to my left, the guy in swim trucks beside me a few feet away. I looked over my shoulder to my right, turning more to watch the remaining three players — two girls in dresses and a boy in a school uniform — grabbing their own harnesses. Pursing my lips, I looked away and back toward the wall. The doors shut with an echoing boom and beside me I watched the boy walk up beside me.
The time limit for this game is five minutes. I felt five minutes would be reasonable; I have a harness in case I do slip, anyway, but even with the fact that I lacked upper arm strength I felt I could make it somewhat far. I looked up at the wall, the height of it seeming endless. "First game?" the guy beside me asked, and I looked over at him.
His dark eyes were staring at me in a nonchalant gaze. He looked rough; dirty face and arms, hair matted with grease and sweat, white t-shirt matching the same frayed marks his shorts had. On his wrist, he had a small bracelet, and he had a gold earring dangling from his right ear. "Yes?" I admitted, not seeing a point in lying. All that talk about not letting the other plays know my weak point, yet I gave out the weakest one of all.
He smiled. "Better get to climbing," was all he said before he grabbed onto two of the fake rocks in front of him and scaled upward. I furrowed my brows as I watched, then saw the other guy beside him doing the same. To my right, the boy and two girls were standing still like I was. Assuming I'd better do what the guy said, I began my ascent.
The rocks were easy to hold on to at first. Every now and then in my climb I would look below me, watching water spill through the grates. A gentle steam blew across the top, as if the water was hot. Looking away, I continued my climb.
The man in the swim trunks was nearly a few feet ahead of me, lips pursed in concentration. I looked away to refocus on my climb when it seemed everyone froze at the sound of someone screaming. One of the girls had slipped, and I looked over to my right to see them fall. Her harness did not catch, and she fell into the water with a sizzling splash. Her agonizing screams filled the air after she resurfaced, the sound bouncing off of the enclosed walls. Her skin on her face and hands as she flailed seemed to be melting away, red muscle exposed and blood pouring out. The ordeal only lasted a few seconds, though it felt longer, before she submerged and did not come back up.
An audible breath fell from me as I stared, nausea heavy in my stomach. Holy shit. Did she just die? She... she couldn't of. Right? Like, logically, we couldn't be killed in these games... right? Right?
Her friend met the same fate, slipping possibly from the shock. I looked away that time, staring at the wall in front of me with shock. Silence filled the room seconds later. I was going to die, wasn't I?
Only one thing drew me out of my worrying thoughts: the sound of a scream to my right. The boy in the uniform, who was a little below me on the climb, had his foot caught in the water. His fight to keep climbing forced me to continue, attempting to ignore the tightness in my chest.
I was going to throw up. Ignoring the burning in my arms, I forced myself to keep climbing. If by some miracle I survived, I was going to throw up everything I had eaten in the past 24-hours. My phone chimed, saying only two minutes remained. Hell, I was probably going to throw up all over the rock wall. By the way my stomach was churning, mind was racing, and arms were refusing, there certainly was no way I'd make it out of this alive.
I went against my arms request, though, because if I was going to die, it certainly wouldn't be by being turned to pasta.
I winced through the pain, using my leg to push off of rock, giving my arms a meager break. My left hand was attempting to cramp, and I tried ignoring it by grabbing another rock. It didn't help; my fingers tightened and my palm felt on fire, and I forced myself to dig my feet into the rocks and tighten the grip of my right hand to shake my left hand out.
I gave it a good few shakes before forcing myself to keep climbing, shaking my left hand every few scales. I knew it would bite me in the ass eventually. As I went to shake my left hand, I felt my right hand slip. By the time I reached out to grab the rock with my left, it was too late. The wall was too far. I was falling, my harness strap limp.
By the grace of god, or whatever higher being ruled this new reality, my harness strap tightened and I was jolted into an upright position. I hadn't realized where the water stood until then, as I looked down at my feet and saw the top of my shoe dip into the boiling water. I gasped and yanked my feet upward as the water slowly drained.
Congratulations.
My eyes shut with defeat. Why did winning feel like losing?
The harnesses of us remaining players slowly dropped us down the floor once the water had gone below the grate. I was thankful the bodies were gone but I didn't want to think about where they could've gone at all; I didn't want to think of those two girls dying at all.
Back on the ground, I quickly undid my harness with trembling hands. My legs were wobbly as I ran out of the room and threw up where I had been standing before the games, the queasy sensation finally getting to me.
Another wave of vomit escaped me as two of players left. "You survived your first game," the man from earlier said after I slouched up, wiping my mouth on my arm. Turning, I gave him a weary look. He smiled. "Congratulations."
I looked down at my feet, the sole of my one shoe ruined. "What the fuck is happening?"
"Not sure, no one is, really. We all just showed up here." I turned to face him better. His trimmed, black hair was shifted slightly with sweat. I fought the nauseous feeling back. "I wanted to make an offer to you. You played pretty well for your first game, and we need players like you. I'm a part of a group, we live at The Beach. It's paradise in this ridden world! We're a strong group of players, and we always make sure our visas never expire."
"Visa?"
He nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Visa. You just earned a six-day one. If you don't play another game in those six days, you're eliminated. We always ensure our groups safety, playing games in groups or pairs. With us, you'll be safer than alone. If you're interested, I'd like you to join us."
I stared at him, debating. At the rate the new reality has been going, I didn't know if I could trust anyone. There were only five people I met so far and two of them were now dead. I didn't know who set up the games or why they were set up, but couldn't it be anyone? Couldn't it be him? But yet again, I was completely alone out — and I didn't know what was out there. If he had a group of people, wouldn't it be safer with them? I looked down at my eroded shoe. "Okay."
I heard the smile on his voice. "Awesome. Let's go." He exited the gym and I followed, walking back to the street. He unlocked a small black car and slid into the drivers seat, myself getting into the passenger. "My names Kyo," he said as he started the car, shifting it to drive before I even had my seatbelt on.
"Kana."
He hummed, nodding gently. The car turned down a small road and then to the left, stopping in front of a building where two guys stood outside. They got into the back and I couldn't help but shrink down in my seat. "Who's this chick?"
"Kana. We played the same game together. It was her first — Six of Spades."
"Damn," the other guy mumbled, voice low. "I barely cleared my Three of Diamonds."
"That's because you're stupid, Jurou." Kyo laughed beside me and I smiled to myself, looking out the window. Maybe I was right. Maybe a group would be better.
Kyo eventually pulled into a parking spot outside of a large building, one that I had seen flyers of before. It was a form of resort. Jurou and the other guy got out of the car before Kyo turned it off, practically dashing inside I noticed through the side mirror. Keys in hand, Kyo exited and I followed, walking behind him into the bustling resort.
Perhaps everyone that disappeared ended up here. Dozens of people, all wearing swim suits and adoring drinks in hands, littered the entry and hallways. I had to weave through the crowd behind Kyo as he led me toward the top floor. "Is everyone who disappeared here?" I asked once we reached the stairs, the sound dying out.
Kyo shrugged, taking two stairs at a time. "That I'm not sure of. I don't know who all disappeared, you know? If it strays out of Tokyo or not." I nodded. What if it was outside of Tokyo? Maybe the whole world was now in these games, someone out there just as confused as myself. It made sense, I supposed — as much sense as it could in this senseless reality, that is. "Hatter and Kuzuryu will be here. Ann and Mira are playing games today." I just nodded, not knowing who any of those four people were.
Kyo pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and lead me down the hall. We stopped at a set of double doors and Kyo rapped his finger against the white wood. A moment passed before a man with shaggy black hair and thin framed glasses opened the door. He had a rather condescending gleam on his long-nosed face. "Yes, Kyo?"
"Brought a new comer." He looked over at me through his glasses, giving me a distasteful once over. Or, rather, an unimpressed one. I couldn't tell. His eyes moved back over to Kyo and he nodded, motioning for me to enter. "I have to get back to Sakiko and Rin. We're in room 211, if you stay and need a group." I offered a small smile and he bowed, parting.
I entered the long room, a dark oak table in the middle, and followed the man through another door. We were back in the hallway, though it was much shorter and hidden from the rest of the resort. He guided me through a set of large, wooden doors and held a hand out towards a chair, indicating me to sit. "Hatter will be here momentarily." I looked up at him after I sat, looking around the closed off room. "Your name?"
"Kana."
"How many games have you won, Kana?"
"Just one." He looked at me through the lenses, arms crossed. It was definitely an unimpressed glare. I wondered how many games he had cleared that made surviving one of the death matches not admirable. "Six of Spades, if that means anything. Are the games based off playing cards?"
"Indeed!" a boastful voice came from beside me, entering through the doors I had just come through. I looked over at a man wearing swim trunks, an open kimono, and sunglasses. His unruly, shoulder-length hair encased his face, and a gentle stubble was visible across his jawline. "Ah, a wise newcomer. Not often we find one of you!"
He walked to the center of the room next to the man with glasses, beaming down at me even through his shades. "Her name is Kana. Cleared one game."
"Six of Spades," the other man said mellifluously. "I think we'll let you stay, since you've brought a card we have yet to collect." He inhaled deeply, then smiled at me. "Today is your first day?" I nodded, and he smiled wider. "Beautiful, isn't it? This place? The Beach! Ah," he walked around lightly, "I am Hatter, and this is Kuzuryu. He's like my right hand, you know.
"There's only three rules here," he continued, walking around the room casually, not allowing me to speak. "First rule: you must always wear beach attire. Swim suits, tank tops, shorts; this world shows everyone's true colors so there's no need to hide our bodies! This is paradise!" He laughed and I saw Kuzuryu look down, the same unimpressed look on his face. "Second rule: you are free to live however you want. Sex, drugs, drinking, whatever! This is your safe haven. All the locks on the doors have been broken, of course, because people like to take that rule in twist it. This leads to the third rule: death to all traitors. Sounds bad, I know, but we can't live a life of freedom with people sneaking behind our back to ruin the place, now can we?"
I guess it made sense. Freedom was never truly free, not with corruption snaking in somewhere or someway. "You haven't told me how the games are based off cards, sir."
"You are correct," he smiled, leaning closer to me. "Each number on a card represents the difficulty. One, you know, super easy. Ten is incredibly difficult. Kuzuryu has faced a Ten of Diamonds, so I suppose it's a good thing he's smart! Diamonds are games of intelligence. Clubs are typically combat games, Spades are physical games, and Hearts... ah, those are the hardest despite the lack of physical challenge. They toy with your emotions, make you do or see things you don't want to." I looked up at him through his shades and wondered how many heart games he'd endured. "That's enough information for tonight. It's late, I'm tired, and I have blood in my hair. Kuzuryu will show you to your room!"
Hatter left and, wordlessly, Kuzuryu, the bored expression heavy on his long face, escorted me to the second floor. Kyo's room was close, something I appreciated; it'd be nice to have a friend near. Kuzuryu opened the door to a small, one bedded room. It looked as if someone had been staying there — the covers were slightly askew on the bed and the dresser had been moved closer to the window. I entered the room and Kuzuryu left wordlessly, myself watching him shit the off-white door behind him. Pursing my lips, I looked around.
I suppose this wasn't a bad place to be. From the looks of Hatter, Kuzuryu, and Kyo, they seemed well off — well as everyone in the entryway. They seemed happy, grateful even, in this reality. I sat on the firm bed, looking down at my shoe. I'd have to get new ones tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
I wondered what it would bring. I kicked my shoes off and laid on the bed. Maybe it would be a dream, like I had suspected at the coffee shop? Maybe those girls I watched die would be alive again, changing into newer dresses. The pillow was flat but I didn't complain. Maybe that guy in the school uniform wouldn't have a burn on his ankle, and I'd wake up back in the coffee shop staring at boy in his school uniform buying coffee. I shut my eyes, the warm light of the lamps glowing against my eyelids.
Maybe school uniforms would stop haunting me. Maybe this was my wake up call to move on.