Chapter I: Wait, Why is This Happening Again?

Day 1

10:27 AM

Time insists on standing still. I find it hard to believe this clock isn't broken. Not that I'm eager for the next class—far from it. However, this break must also end soon for the time to go home to arrive.

As I wait, bored, for the break to end, I glance out the classroom window and see the same thing as always. Smiling girls and noisy boys exuding that scandalous aura of youth.

Nothing changes. Day after day, I experience this, and consequently, it's the umpteenth time I analyze my life this way.

Wait.

What is this familiar feeling I'm having? It's strange, yet at the same time, it feels like I've gone through this several times. Déjà vu? No, it's completely different—almost agonizing. A sense of helplessness engulfs my body as if my chest were being suffocated.

Just as I'm about to lose my balance, I hear a classmate's voice.

"Johann-kun, are you okay?"

"What is it?" I reply.

Before she can respond, another element intrudes into my space with light pats on my back.

"What were you thinking about, man? From the way you were so focused, it could only be a girl. Am I right?"

"Not everyone is like you, Shoucchi. Johann, like me, prefers 2D girls," chimes in the last member of this madhouse.

Why did he include me in this? In any case, these three pests are already gathered to torment me.

"Shimizu-kun, Manabu-kun, please stop!"

"Hey Miyu-chan, I've told you to call me 'Shou-kun.' Why do you only call Manabu by his name?" protests Shou.

"Geez, that doesn't matter now."

After their conversation calms down, their gazes return to me.

"What happened, Johann-kun? You didn't seem well. Your face was quite pale," Miyu asks.

"I was just a bit dizzy, but it's passed. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the nurse's office?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Hey, Johann. I heard the new nurse is pretty, you know. If I were you, I'd skip class just to hang out with her," says Shou, patting my back. "Speaking of which... the nurse's office was quite busy earlier."

"Yeah... some of our classmates were feeling a bit queasy," Manabu muses, touching his chin thoughtfully.

"I'll pass. What would I gain by being there?" I respond.

"You'd be in the company of a woman," he stares at me, surprised. "Wait, do you have a preference for girls?"

To be honest, not really. There are traits I find more interesting, but it's not like I'd get involved with them anyway.

"I think the only one who could interest him is Yukihara-senpai. Ah... I wish I could be like her when I grow up; she's so amazing."

"Miyucchi, the Kaichou is just a year older than you," replies Manabu.

"I know... Unfortunately, I know I'll never be like her. At least I'd like to try being her friend," she sits on one of the desks and lets out a sigh.

"Despite being popular, she doesn't seem like someone with many friends, you know? I think she only talks to the other student council members for academic reasons," Manabu says.

"Miyu-chan, don't compare yourself to her. You're adorable just as you are," Shou says enthusiastically.

"That's easy for you to say, Shimizu-kun. I imagine how hard it must be to stand next to her and be constantly compared to her. Kobayashi-san must put in her utmost effort for that," she says, resting her face in her hands.

"By the way, Johann-kun, have you ever thought about joining the council? I think it could be a rewarding activity for you."

"Interacting with others has never been my strong point. Joining the student council would literally be the last thing I'd do in a school setting."

"Miyucchi, Shoucchi, give up. Johann is team NEET," Manabu declares beside me.

"True, I've never seen him go out socially," Shou comments pensively before suddenly becoming scandalized. "No, Johann, I can't let you fall under this club's curse. Manabu is a bad influence on you!"

"Manabu is just my neighbor; it's not like he influences me."

"How did the conversation even end up here?" Miyu questions, her hand covering her face.

You, who hang out with these lunatics, should know better than anyone.

Despite all the jokes and laughter I witnessed from them, the atmosphere hasn't changed for me. Something's not right here. No matter how much I search, everything seems in its proper place. There's nothing to contradict the generic school day I'm used to, but this environment as a whole feels wrong.

My insides scream with all their might that this can't be happening again. How could it not? It would be strange if it were otherwise; statistically speaking, this is what naturally occurs.

12:31 PM

I notice a commotion while we're serving ourselves. Or rather, a lack of movement. The line simply stopped. I realize that the girls ahead in the queue stopped to chat with someone.

"Hey, Manabu. Can you see what the hell is going on from there?" I ask.

From his better vantage point, Manabu spots what's drawing attention.

"Hmm, it looks like it's the popular kids from the council," he replies.

Ah. At times like these, I'd like to criticize the girls for acting so irrationally, but I can't. The boys are at least a thousand times worse. And having such a beautiful council president makes this proportion quadratic.

The line begins moving again as some uninterested students manage to "cut" ahead. Then I can see more clearly what was going on.

"We can continue the conversation later. Asahi-kun and I need to go; otherwise, we'll get a good scolding from Kaichou, hahaha," says Haruki.

"Oh, what a shame! But I'd be scared of Kaichou too," one of the girls replies.

"Relax, girls. I think I can have lunch with you. Haruki will cover for me, right?!" Asahi declares, full of swagger.

"Please, Haruki-senpai! We'll return Asahi-kun shortly!" another girl chimes in, thrilled by Asahi's proposal.

"Hmm. I'm not sure if this will-" Haruki tries to reply but is interrupted.

"This wouldn't be a problem for our future president, would it?!"

Haruki resigns himself and simply responds with a smile as he watches the charming young man leave the scene surrounded by girls.

We finish serving ourselves and head to one of the more isolated tables in the cafeteria.

"Johann! You won't believe what I just found out! It's extraordinary, exceptional, stupendous, fabulous!"

I sigh and look at him, implying he should just get on with it.

"An exchange student! There's going to be an exchange student at our school," he exclaims, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"And what does that have to do with me?" I ask.

"Didn't I tell you, Shoucchi? Jocchi is on the team of 2D girl lovers," Manabu notes my disinterest and comments.

"I'm not. Please, leave me out of your idiotic quarrel. I have nothing to do with it."

In the blink of an eye, Shou is staring at me frantically. And once again, he insists I say something.

"I beg you, Johan, tell me everything you know about foreign girls. I must stay one step ahead of everyone else in this game."

"They're... normal, I think."

What does he expect me to say?

Shou sulks and doesn't seem satisfied with my answer at all.

"Why don't you try becoming her friend? She probably doesn't speak Japanese very well," Miyu suggests.

"That would just be another hassle in my routine."

"You're such a grump, but let's change the subject. I want to talk about something else. There's going to be a board game competition, and the prize is amazing!" he beams at me and continues, "Johann-kun, what do you think? Do you want to join?!"

"I'm not interested," I reply.

"What?! I thought you liked board games," Miyu says, surprised.

"I don't like games in general; they're boring. Not to mention useless."

"I thought you'd be good at board games because you're smart."

"My grades have little to do with that. In fact, they have no relation at all. Games, to me, are boring."

"Wow, Jocchi. You're really weird," Manabu comments.

You're the last person who should be saying that.

1:07 PM

Right now, I'm hoping the teacher shows up soon. Whenever he's late, he extends the class time at the end.

Kobayashi Keiko, the class representative and first student council secretary, enters the classroom with her head down. It's evident from her body language that she's defeated.

Miyu approaches her to strike up a conversation. It's natural to want to be close to someone of high status in the school's social hierarchy.

"Kobayashi-san, is something wrong?" she asks, smiling.

"Ah... man. I feel like I just got a serious lecture," Keiko awkwardly scratches her head.

"From Kaichou?" Miyu asks, surprised.

"Yeah... I told her I'd need to attend the math remedial class. It was terrible," she pauses her story while sitting down, takes a deep breath, and concludes, "She didn't criticize me verbally even once, but her 'Hmm. I see.' was enough to bring me down."

Miyu keeps smiling, albeit worriedly.

...

The teacher begins the class with the easy math exercises that were on the test.

After some time, the speakers crackle to life at 2:17 PM. Everyone looks at them as if they're a refuge from boredom. They're probably expecting some unexpected announcement from the principal or the president—anything to break the monotony of this dull class.

To my classmates' disappointment, the expected voice doesn't appear, causing a slight collective anxiety.

"Could it be broken?" a student whispers.

Shortly after, the static stops. Finally, an announcement is made.

"Hello, everyone! From now on, we're going to play a game!"

This was doubly unexpected. Aside from the nonsensical content, it's the voice of a child. It managed to grab everyone's attention, including the teacher's.

"Hey, onee-chan, we should announce it together this time," another voice appears.

Another child? What the hell is going on?

"You're right. Sorry, go ahead."

I look around and see everyone murmuring to each other. The teacher remains fixated on the speaker, his expression irritated at the interruption to his class.

"All right, here's how the game will work. There are only three players, but don't worry—everyone can participate!" the second voice continues enthusiastically.

No students are matching the age of these voices. Probably, some staff member brought their kids to work, and the mischievous children snuck into the audio room to play a prank.

"And the rules are straightforward: the game ends immediately with the death of one of the three players," the explanation continues.

The class stirs uncomfortably upon hearing the word "death." What are these kids watching to come up with an idea like this? Maybe an older person is behind the prank and made them do it.

"However, the one responsible for the player's death—whether they are another player or not—will face the same fate as their victim. The game lasts 150 hours starting now," the animated voice gradually shifts into something more serious and lifeless.

Everyone is frozen in place, utterly confused. This is becoming disturbingly unsettling. Obviously, there's no chance this could be real.

But why? Why does this joke disturb me so profoundly? I feel a crushing anxiety with every word, a suffocating pressure, as if I'm at the deepest point of an ocean, being crushed by a massive column of water.

"And most importantly, no one is forced to participate!" The excitement in the voice briefly returns but then shifts back to the somber tone for the following sentence. "You can simply forfeit by leaving through the main gate. In that case, your soul will be consumed, and you will vanish. Remember: the price for leaving the game is a life. The three players will soon realize they are the chosen ones."

2:19 PM

The children's voices stop, and the speakers shut off abruptly. I look around and see everyone in shock.

This static is then broken by a comment from the teacher.

"Pay attention to the class!" he turns back to the board, muttering about what happened, "Kids these days... They even break into a school to pull a prank."

"As if something like that could be real," Keiko says, scratching her head.

"Their story was well thought out. Hahaha," another student comments, laughing.

And so, gradually, the focus of the other students returns to the blackboard and the sound of the chalk hitting it as the teacher writes.

"In this problem, the dimension is easily found using the law of cosines," he continues writing on the board.

The calm doesn't last long. This time, an external scream brings the tense atmosphere back.

"What was that?!" a student exclaims while rushing to the window.

Approximately seventy percent of the class abruptly gets up and goes to the window to see what just happened. They squeeze together to satisfy their curiosity as the teacher tries to get them to sit down again.

"Everyone, focus on the class! I don't have all day!" the teacher complains.

"Oh my God! It looks like someone died!" a classmate shouts.

Died? What do you mean?

"Stay here. I'm going to check what happened," the teacher says.

They completely ignore the teacher's words and rush out the door towards the courtyard.

"Oh heavens. I'm not paid enough for this job," he mutters as he follows them.

Taking advantage of the now clear view, I go to the window. I see a crowd of students gathered around the main gate, apparently from all the other classes as well. Shortly after, I also spot my classmates adding to the crowd.

I feel like I should look for something hidden in this scene. The absence of something I can't even explain is bothering me. My eyes scan the entire area, yet I find no positive answer to this instinct hammering in my mind.

I leave the classroom and head to one of the corridor windows for a better view of the situation. Maybe from another angle, I can identify what's causing me so much discomfort.

2:29 PM

I don't feel like going down to the courtyard, so I walk down the hallway until I find a good angle to see what's causing such a commotion.

Once again, I come across a well-known figure in the school, Hasegawa Haruki. He had the same idea as me and is observing the commotion from one of the corridor windows.

"Ah, Johann-san. How are you?" he notices my presence and greets me.

"Surprise. You know my name?" I reply.

"Shouldn't I? You stand out for your academic performance and for being a foreigner," he smiles amicably.

He fulfills the role of a good guy impeccably.

I stop beside him and lean against the window to try to understand why the commotion occurred.

"Well, whatever. Do you know what's going on?"

He shakes his head and points to the school's main gate.

"I just got here, so I don't know the details. But see that curious thing at the school entrance."

I see many staff and teachers' clothes, but a student's outfit grabs everyone's attention.

"Arai-kun vanished right in front of my eyes!" exclaims a girl, tears streaming down her face.

"Alright, enough chaos. Everyone, go back inside the school!" our teacher decides to restore order.

"But we're in danger!" another protests.

The teacher walks towards the school's exit, carefully observing the staff and Asahi's supposed student uniforms. He turns to the crowd of students and speaks as he crosses the gate.

"Nonsense! This is completely unrealistic. Look, I can leave freely-"

The moment the teacher finishes his sentence, he disappears, leaving only his clothes as proof he was there a moment ago.

The girls closest to the scene scream in terror.

"The teacher disappeared too!" another student exclaims.

Well, judging by everyone else's reaction, that's what they apparently saw. What I saw shook me heavily, so much so that I'm hardly in a condition to scream or run away. I'm simply paralyzed.

Standing just outside the gate is the culprit for the teacher's "disappearance."

Death.

It was Death who reaped the teacher.