My name is Mahiru Koizumi, I'm the Ultimate Photographer. And one of the 16 students forced to play this "killing game"
That night, we were told to kill one another in this sick game. The stress and anxiety started to creep up on me. That feeling of paranoia and worry.
A killing game? They can't be serious... It has to be some sort of joke...
Oh, how I wished it was a joke.
Looking at the people around me, each of their faces were filled with dread, anxiety, confusion and mostly, fear.
And from that one night, my determination solidified.
I'll use my talent to save everyone.
So they can forget the pain, live life happily with no worries at all.
Live their lives with a smile...
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
*knock knock knock*
Hearing a sound on my door, I walked towards it expecting Hiyoko on the other side, but I was proven otherwise. I open the door to see-
"Oh, Hajime?" I said in surprise. "I didn't expect you here..."
"I wonder why he called me?" I thought to myself.
"Oh um, I was going to ask if we could hang out." He said as he scratched his head.
"Hang out? I can't believe he would ask me."
"Sure. Why not?" I agreed.
Thinking to myself, "What's the harm in hanging out with him?"
Besides, I never made any plans that day. Though, why would Hajime ask me out of all people? I'm just an ordinary girl who loves photography, the others have unique personalities, so why pick me?
I stepped outside my cottage, and the both of us started walking. Well, we didn't know where we were headed to, but eventually, we made our way to the Hotel Restaurant.
Hajime scanned the room and turned back to me. "Are you hungry?" He asked me.
"Not really, but I'm kind of thirsty actually" I said taking a seat on one of the chairs. Hajime nodded and went inside the kitchen.
5 minutes have passed, and he's still in the kitchen. I wondered why he's taking so long.
"Is he trying to find something? He could've at least asked me..." I asked myself.
And after 2 more minutes, he still hasn't come out of the kitchen.
"Why is he taking so long? He better not be planning to kill me" I thought.
And that's when I started to worry, my hands gripping my camera harder than usual. But I was taken aback when I felt a hand on my right shoulder.
"You okay? You look a bit... um... stressed." Hajime asked me while holding some orange juice.
"Y-Yeah... I'm fine." I said as I gave him a nod. He sighed and handed me bottle with a label 'Milk Tea'.
"Sorry it took me a while... They only had orange juice and a few other stuff in there." He said.
"Oh, okay..." I said before taking a sip of the drink. We drank our drinks in silence, it was slightly awkward for the both of us so I decided to break the ice.
"Hajime, what's that?" I asked as I pointed my finger towards it. There was a piece of his hair sticking up and I always wondered what that was.
"Honestly, I don't know. It's probably natural or something." He said while touching it.
"Hmm... I see." I said with my face looking down on the floor. And then, I recalled a thought all of a sudden.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you!" I said.
"What is it?" Hajime asked, with his attention paid.
"Why did you call me here?" I asked him, feeling a bit shy. "I mean, why did you decide to hang out with me?"
Hajime put his hand on his chin, and contemplated for a while. "Uh, I think it's because I want to know you better." He said with a slight blush on his face.
"Know me better...?"
"You want to know me better... huh?" I repeated.
"I guess so. If I didn't want to know you better, why did I bother on asking you to hang out?" He stated.
"You have a point there..." "But hey! You better not have any ulterior motives, got that?" I yelled.
"I don't! I swear!" He said as he shook his head. "I really just wanted to know you better!"
I stared at him with a look of surprise. I wasn't used to talking with boys, and that's probably why I'm so harsh towards them. But this will be the only chance to talk properly to one.
"S-Sorry... I'm just... not that comfortable around boys." I said with an apologetic look on my face.
"It's fine. But I have a question." He said.
Tilting my head to the side I asked "Hm? What is it?"
"What type of pictures do you take? I don't know much about photography so I might as well ask." He asked me.
"Oh, so he just wanted to learn photography?" I thought.
"I take different kinds of pictures. Y-You can t-take a look here..." I stuttered as I handed him my camera.
He looked at the shots with surprise. Staring at them with awe and amazement on his face.
"All of these are... people." He said skimming through the pictures.
"Yeah. Most of the photos I take are people." I said.
"And why is that?" He asked me as he handed back the camera.
"I take pictures of their smiles." I said as I looked at one of the pictures in the camera.
"Smiles?" He repeated.
"I... I want my pictures to make people smile. Especially in our situation..." I said. "This killing game gives us a sense of fear and sadness. So I want to capture all of the happy moments we have while we're here."
After that short speech of mine, I noticed Hajime staring at me with a smile on his face.
"So you're taking pictures to help us?" He clarified.
"Yeah... I want all of us to smile and feel... safe." I said. "That's all I'm good for, I guess."
Hajime smiled and giggled a bit. I wanted to join in on the laughter, but then it hit me.
"That's it! A photo opportunity!"
I quickly grabbed my camera, focused on the subject and pressed the shutter.
*click!*
Caught off guard, Hajime turned to me with surprise, and started to panic.
"D-Did you just take a picture of me?" He questioned.
"Haha! Yeah." I laughed.
"You should've told me first. I was taken off guard..." He said, turning his head away.
"S-Sorry it was a great opportunity." I said. "Anyways, I had fun. Thanks Hajime..." I smiled.
"You're thanking... me?" He said.
"Y-Yeah, you were the one to a-ask me, r-right?" I stuttered.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." He said with embarrassment. "Anyways, see you later."
Hajime stood up, and waved back at me while exiting the restaurant.
I never realized I was just standing there, staring at him...
"Oh, y-yeah see you later!" I shouted back, hoping he heard me.
I gripped my camera and headed back to my cottage with a smile on my face.
I laid down on my bed, and sighed loudly. And then, I remembered that photo I took while we were at the restaurant.
"Oh yeah! The picture!" I said to myself.
I took the camera and skimmed through the shots to find it. Eventually, I found the photo.
I take a look at it and let out a slight giggle.
"There it is..."
"His smile..."
=================
Hiya! Author-chan here!
So to those new readers who are reading this, thank you for giving your time to read this! This is a newer, and updated version of the story. The overall story, and ending hasn't changed. So I bet you're wondering, "why call it the updated version?"
Simple, this version just corrected some spelling and grammatical errors. I also added some additional details, but everything remains the same from the last update.
(As of November 30 2020) Part 2 and Part 3 will not be re written. I'm wasn't satisfied with Part 1, so I just left it at that.
Anyways, feel free to continue reading!
- Author-chan