What's Her Name Again?

POV: Ikeda Akihiko

I am born with no childhood memories. The moment I open my eyes in this shallow world, I saw my 'dad' holding my hand tightly as I lie down in a bed and a room glowing in white. I was six back then, and as I realize that I'm already ten years far apart from my real self, I opened my eyes to my past delusion.

Everything is black. I thought I woke up from reality to my dream, but it's late until I realize that there are walls surrounding me. My chest drummed a lot while my hand trembled uncontrollably. With my breaths in and out, I lost my composure when I started banging the box I'm in… and shouting.

"HELP! ANYONE!? HELP ME!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!! PLEASE!! I'M STUCK HERE!! ANYONE!!

"I'M BEGGING YOU!! PLEASE!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!! IF ANYONE CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE!! OPEN THIS BOX!!"

I tried my loudest in repeating my shouts but no one answered. My face turned pale with cold sweats falling around my head. My lungs tightened the more I breathe. My eyes started watering.

This anxiety lasted for a few minutes before I realize that I need to calm down and analyze the situation. Every breath here counts. I started minimizing and holding the breaths I take.

Even if I punch through the wall, there's a little to no shake at all. Usually, if I punch a box, there should be a vibration that can indicate how strong wood can be.

I can feel that this is wood because of the sound it produces, but it feels like I'm punching a concrete wall. Did anyone just put me in a small space with no way out, or maybe I'm just overthinking things? Better, but still the worst, possible case, I'm buried underground.

I don't know how I got here. I went to the library previously, but my memory became hazy before reaching it. I am delivered to some betrayal game in which some mysterious murderer was involved. I was directly sent here after making me sleep.

Still, in panic, I tried my hardest to punch what was in front of me, and yet I made no progress. There's nothing I can see, but I felt something below me. It's lighter based on the shape and the gear on its top. I quickly lit my surroundings and saw a pocket knife below me.

Like I've said, "It is made of wood. If somehow I can break it, can I use this dull knife? I bet it will break when I stab through the wood."

There's also a paper that contains the rules of this new game. They really buried us here and called us the dead. What a shady mechanic. If there's a weak person out there, they're probably dead.

I tried the simplest method that I could think of… but that contradicts my simple-mindedness. I used the knife that is given to me and stab through the middle of the coffin.

What!? Somehow it works, but I don't know why. The portion of the wood I stabbed created a partial crack in it. I wouldn't expect the knife to be durable. I'm curious how they created a knife like this.

It's like the previous game where the stash is somewhat magical because of its durability. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover. I repeated the process until I created a hole that spits dirt.

I continue to stab the middle until I can fit my hand in it. Suddenly, the wood collapsed from the hole while filling the box with dirt.

I'm filled with both happiness and anxiety as I saw my possible way out. I didn't expect it to break early. I'm not ready yet!

In this narrow box, while the dirt continues filling itself, I bent my body so that I could remove my cloth and cover my head with it. This will help me breathe while climbing up the ground.

The dirt is still dry. Lucky it didn't rain, else I will be suffocated early. After the quick preparation, I crawled up through the collapsed wood with my eyes closed.

My quick heartbeat pumps my chest while I'm showered with dirt. The uncertainty of my success bothers me. This is the riskiest attempt I've done so far, and both my hands are still shaking from fear of not being able to live.

My time slowed down. It felt like I'd been alone for ages and climbing an endless ladder. Suddenly, I choked which lead me to stop my attempt. I've completely used the free air that I'm trying to hold.

My head is already spinning. My mind is only thinking of one thing, and it's to escape. I'm already desperate that I hasted my movements even my chest tightens while craving for air. I thought this suffering would be endless and I will die by being buried alive.

Suddenly, my hand reached the outside air. I quickly pulled myself up and removed my head cover without hesitation. At last, I've inhaled air like it's a scarce resource that wouldn't go back.

Like a champion with a war cry, I cried after seeing the rising sun in orange hiding behind the mountains and the leaves of the trees near me. My deafened ears were filled with the rustling of leaves. The floral scent of nature runs together with the air that I breathe and it's delicious.

I climbed up into this forest as a zombie, and now, I need to find my fellow teammates. We only have one day to settle. Time is too short for us, and I don't know if we can win this game. All it takes for us to lose is just a shot of a gun.

After filling my lungs with air, I set to move, but a sudden shaking of the ground caught my attention… No… This isn't just a shake… It's an explosion. I can also hear the loud banging coming from the south.

I quickly rushed towards it. After a few minutes of running, I saw a crater and a high-tech type of coffin, completely different from mine. If I'm going to die, I should have my coffin like that. It's just so cool!

But if there's a coffin here, then that means the person here is still near. I wandered my eyes and saw footsteps heading towards the east. A minute after walking, I saw a clear lake surrounded by trees, and beside me is a tree with a hanging towel on its branch and… lingeries? This set of clothes is Nishigawa's girl uniform…

And the person that I'm chasing is a young woman completely the same age as mine. She's fully naked with the lower part of her body diving into the water and her back is facing me.

I quickly turned red as I avert my eyes away from her. She's undeniably pretty but how can I look at her in this state? But that's not the only part of her appearance that caught me.

In fact, her hair kinda reminds me of that shy Sakura girl that Mayumi always commands with superiority. But without her glasses, she's a newborn beauty. If I remember, is her name… Saori?

And just as I said her name, she suddenly left waves of water around her and vanished.