Killer's Game (2)

Tic. Tok. Tic. Tok. Tic. Tok. Tic. Tok.

"Hurry up so you could read today's passage." Mr. Gotoge said.

Akira looked at his homeroom teacher. Whose eyes were two dark chasms of nothingness.

Tic.

Akira's classmates had paled faces with the same abyssal pairs of eyes.

Tok.

Even if they were all facing him, even if he couldn't see for sure if they were all staring only at him—

Tic.

Their gazes pierced through Akira's whole being that he couldn't move.

Tok.

He inhaled, then exhaled. Faster and faster he kept gasping for air.

Tic.

Wind rustled through the trees outside.

Tok.

"Ayanami Asuka." the girl in front of him said.

Tic.

He looked around and the sun brightened the room. His classmates were facing in front. Some writing notes, others passing notes.

Tok.

Their demeanors were human as some of the classmates mouthed and gestured cheers to "Ayanami Asuka".

Tic. Tic. Tok. Tok.

Akira turned to Yokohama, who had the same dumb face and tired brown eyes.

"Asuka," Yokohama whispered to the girl in front of Akira. "You can do this!"

Tic.

Akira contorted his face to confusion. This girl in front of him stood up straight with arms folded to her back.

"Ayanami is much shorter," Akira thought, "pretentiously shy, and has shorter brown hair with a higher-pitched voice."

Tok.

"16th of May, 2021," "Ayanami" said while looking out the window. "2:28 PM. Sunday."

Tic.

Akira looked to his desk and saw the Black Book widespread there instead.

Tok.

"It's the end of the school year in my end at the Philippines," Akira's eyes followed the appearing dark texts. "I finally have more time to achieve my intellectual and creative dreams."

"But," she heaved a sigh. "I'm getting quite impatient."

She turned to Akira, another hand covering his eyes from behind his seat.

"28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds," a low, whispery voice said right beside him.

"Nagsisinungaling lang ako." she smirked behind him. "Mamaya mo nalang malalaman ang katotohanan, Question Club Member."

Akira blinked his eyes open and saw his watch.

8:40 AM.

"What's the matter, Miss Ayanami?" groused Mr. Gotoge, the textbook on his hands light green.

"Ah!" a brown haired girl in front of Akira squeaked. "I'm s-S-s-sorry!"

"Where is that imposter . . . " Akira thought to himself with a bead of sweat. Looking out the window, he searched the school grounds, trees, and the sky.

"Mr. Park!" the teacher exclaimed.

Akira faced to his desk and saw his textbook widespread there instead.

Ayanami blushed and tweaked herself to look over her shoulder thinking, "Was Akira dearest watching me?"

"Stop looking out the window and pay attention to class." Mr. Gotoge huffed.

"My apologies, sir." Akira said.

Ayanami reddened and tweaked herself back.

"Why am I even standing all of a sudden . . . ?" Ayanami thought to herself, taking her open textbook in hand.

"Asuka, you can do this!" Yokohama whispered behind her.

Ayanami mustered a smile and took a deep breath.

The school bell chimed.

Akira stares off.

"'Question Club Member' . . . " Akira thought. "Why can't I recall the Tagalog she said?"

Akira takes out lunch.

Girl classmates whisper amongst themselves, giggling at Ayanami's and Akira's direction.

Nobuhiko Yokohama and Asuka Ayanami arrange their desks and seats near Akira Park, Ayanami checking to see Akira's face between movements.

"Too bad Hiroko and Katsuragi can't join right now." Yokohama said, watching his phone while taking a piece of rice.

Ayanami gasped, "Ehhh? How come?"

"A friend of mine from Class 2-B texted "Hiroko forgot to do her homework due this afternoon"," Yokohama said.

"What about Katsuragi?"

Yokohama showed a picture of Hiroko Kusanagi hunched on her desk chewing from a sushi bento next to a notebook page she was scribbling on. Mouth tightly shut while covering her focused eyes from the solemn faced glasses-guy beside, showcasing a musclebound fish drawing that aggressively cried pointing at her.

"Katsuragi said he doesn't have lunch today and is shaming her for not giving him some," Yokohama chuckled.

Ayanami giggled and glanced at Akira who was intensively staring at blank space with furrowed brows.

"I wish they'd have come, though. Maybe I could see Akira smile sometime," Ayanami simpered.

Yokohama hummed, studying Ayanami as he drank from a water bottle.

Ayanami gulped and let out, "Akira?"

"For the last time, it's Park," Akira said.

"After Q-Question Club, I want t-t-to tell you s-something." Ayanami blushed, but her eyes were duller.

Yokohama watched Ayanami's face turn pink, then turned to Akira.

Akira didn't look at Ayanami. "Sure. Just make it quick."

Lunch time ends.

Afternoon classes begin.

The school day ends.

After-school Club time begins.

In Class 2-A, Akira remains in his seat as other students went out of the classroom. Looking off through the window, imagining the breeze passing by Akira thought to himself, "That girl appeared when the wind passed like this as well. What the hell is going on?"

Tearing his gaze away from the outside world, Akira scanned the classroom. Only him, another girl and a boy she was tutoring, were left on their desks besides the obnoxious chatter of a small friend group making their way out like tortoises to a not-anymore-existent hare. Akira didn't look at them but thought, "Like the ones giggling to themselves when Yokohama and Ayanami joined me for lunch. Don't they have their own lives to laugh at?"

"Are you going to the club, Mr. P-Park?"

Akira shivered at the sound of a voice behind him before saying, "Don't sneak up on me like that, Ayanami Asuka. That's creepy."

He politely stood away from her without meeting her gaze.

Ayanami thought his last words piercing through her heart, with the refusal to look at her in the face turning her into stone.

"Hard to get, eh?" Ayanami thought with a forced cute smile. "Just how I like it."

"You can go ahead first, Ayanami Asuka." Akira closed his eyes while plugging in earphones, carrying his lunch and school bag. "I'll get there by myself."

"That's okay, Mr. Park." Ayanami simpered. "I'll go with you hihi."

Akira silently clenched his fists.

"Sorry, Ayanami Asuka." Akira said. "Did you say anything? Please go away now."

Ayanami saw his earphones and plodded towards Akira, who was scuttling away thinking of belligerent curses.

"H-Heyy~!!!! Mr. Parkkk!!!! LET'S WALK TOGETHERRR!!" Ayanami kawaii chased, Akira sprinting for his dear life with a bead of sweat.

"I still don't get this timer thingy from Killer's Game—"

Akira heard Yokohama's voice and thought, "My savior!" he turned to a corner. Yokohama's tall figure besides a shorter boy with eyeglasses and a smart phone.

"YOKOHAMA NOBUHIKO!" Akira bellowed, lunging towards them with a small eep from hearing Ayanami's running noises nearby. Akira clutched onto Yokohama's shirt and hid himself behind him, pointing at Ayanami, "Please save me from this persistent coquette!"

"Don't—Don't say that to a friend, Park." Yokohama simpered, patting Akira Park's uneasy face on the head.

Ayanami panted in front of them, hands on her knees. "I just wanted to . . . hah . . . walk . . . hah . . . together . . . !"

"And he clearly did not want to," the boy next to Yokohama said.

Ayanami saw his landscape-tilted phone with its case saying in plain black text and white box stickers, "Property of Wu Katsuragi", "Steal and I will kill you". Ayanami leaned back. Akira tiptoed against Yokohama to see Katsuragi Wu fighting humanlike creatures big and small, young and mature going after a robed boy character throwing punches and kicks, with the occasional heart-grabbing, stun inducing hand jabs tearing through flesh. Ripping enemy limbs apart, stabbing and bashing their heads and torsos with two wooden sticks unfazed from stains of blood, being manipulated by Katsuragi's tapping, sliding on virtual controllers with his thumbs and fingers against his phone. The boy character stood relaxed on the mass of still bodies.

Katsuragi tapped Menu and faced Akira, raising his glasses saying, "Shall we get going?"

Akira flattened his soles against the floor with a neutral face and put back fallen earphones, "Let's go."

Ayanami stood there dumbfounded.

"Just . . . join us, Asuka. We'll welcome you." Yokohama awkwardly smiled with beckoning hands, while Akira pulled and clutched hard onto his shirt as the three of them walked passed her.

Ayanami approached closer behind Akira's side. Akira lagged behind and went to Katsuragi's side.

Internally crying to herself, Yokohama patted her in the back while Katsuragi and Akira silently walked next to each other.

Katsuragi smirked a bit to himself. Looking at Akira for a brief moment then back to his game.

"What a legend." Katsuragi thought in subconscious reminiscence.