The Hostage Crisis

The harsh fluorescent lights of the gym illuminated a scene of stark terror. Hundreds of students, rounded up from various corners of the campus, were forced to sit on the polished wooden floor, their faces pale with fear. Heavily armed individuals, their faces obscured by black balaclavas, patrolled the perimeter, their weapons held ready. A chilling silence hung in the air, broken only by the occasional sniffle or muffled sob.

One boy, emboldened by youthful arrogance and perhaps a desperate hope, suddenly shouted, "Let me go! My parents are rich! They'll pay any price you demand!"

The only response he received was a swift, brutal strike. An armed man stepped forward, the butt of his rifle slamming into the boy's stomach. The air rushed out of him in a pained gasp, and he crumpled back to the floor, clutching his midsection, effectively silenced. The other students grimaced, fear solidifying into a palpable dread.

Meanwhile, in a classroom on the second floor, Kaito, Maria, and most of their classmates were also being held. A single armed individual, less disciplined than those in the gym, stood guard. He paced restlessly, his eyes scanning the terrified faces with satisfaction. His gaze lingered on Maria, who stood near the front of the room, her composure unnervingly calms amidst the panic.

He stopped, a crude smile escapes his lips as he took a step closer, a predatory glint in his eyes. "Well, well, what do we have here? A pretty little foreigner, aren't you?" he sneered, raising his hand, seemingly ready to grab her.

But before he could even complete the gesture, he was already on the floor. The transition was so swift, so fluid, it was almost imperceptible. One moment he was standing, the next he was sprawled, disarmed. Maria stood over him, the man's own gun now clutched in her hand, her expression utterly cold. A single foot, clad in a school loafer, approached his face, then slammed down onto his neck. The man's body went slack, his eyes rolling back as he was rendered instantly unconscious.

Maria turned her gaze to her stunned classmates, her voice clear and authoritative, cutting through the terrified silence. "Find something to tie him up. Use rope, belts, anything you can find."

The students, momentarily forgetting the dire situation they were in, stared in silent awe. The sheer speed and brutality of Maria's action were beyond anything they could have imagined. This was no ordinary high school girl.

Kaito, realizing he needed to offer some kind of explanation, any explanation, for what they had just witnessed, stumbled over his words. He didn't even know what to say himself. "Maria is... uh... American," he managed, the words sounding hollow and utterly unconvincing even to his own ears. He winced, regretting speaking instantly. "She's experienced in this kind of situation."

He saw the blank stares, the disbelief. He knew he'd only made it worse. Maria, for her part, simply watched the other students begin to stir, her gaze unwavering as they fumbled for anything to bind their unconscious captor.

Kaito glanced at his phone, his eyes quickly scanning a message that flickered across the screen. He then turned to Maria, his voice dropping to a low whisper. "Yumi's currently safe," he murmured, "the police are also alerted to the situation and approaching with a hostage negotiator."

Maria gave a short nod. Without another word, the two moved towards the classroom door.

Their classmates watched them in confusion. One of the more vocal boys, who had only moments ago been paralyzed with fear, found his voice. "W-where are you going, Satou-kun? Maria-san?" he stammered.

Kaito paused at the doorway, looking back at the bewildered faces. "We're going to look for someone," he said, his voice firm despite the underlying tension. "Please stay in the classroom and hide. Do not leave, no matter what you hear." With that stark instruction, he and Maria slipped out, the door swinging shut behind them.

As the door clicked shut, Maria's hand extended towards it. A faint, almost invisible shimmer rippled outward from her fingertips, encompassing the entire classroom. Inside, the lingering fear in the students' eyes seemed to soften, replaced by a strange sense of calm. A collective, unspoken understanding settled over them, a quiet conviction that their safest course of action was to simply stay put and remain hidden. Maria had established a psychic ward, a subtle veil over the room, making it both less noticeable to external threats and instilling a powerful, tranquil suggestion for the students to remain in place, safe from the chaos outside.

_______________________________________________________________

Ren huddled in a corner of the vast library, the towering bookshelves providing a fragile shield. Around him, other students from various grades were similarly crammed into hidden nooks, their breathing shallow and uneven. Unexpectedly, Yumi Fujiwara was also there, a stark contrast to the terrified huddle as she calmly scrolled through her phone, an island of detachment in a sea of fear.

A soft thud of footsteps echoed from the main hall. One brave, or perhaps foolish, student cautiously peeked around a bookshelf. He recoiled instantly, his eyes wide with terror. "It's one of them!" he whispered, alerting the rest.

The other students, desperate and fueled by adrenaline, prepared an ambush. They positioned themselves in the blind spots of the bookshelves, ready to spring out if the gunman approached their hiding place. The footsteps grew louder, closer. The gunman entered the library, his heavy boots echoing on the polished floor. He scanned the room, his gaze sweeping over the rows of books. He approached their blind spot, his silhouette growing larger, more menacing. Ren's heart hammered against his ribs, convinced this was it. But then, to their collective, silent relief, the gunman suddenly turned around and began to leave.

A collective sigh of relief rippled through the hidden group. They held their breath, waiting for the distinct sound of him leaving the library entirely.

However, just as he reached the door, a piercing, cheerful melody shattered the fragile calm. One student's phone, forgotten in the panic, had suddenly begun to ring. The ringtone, jarringly loud and out of place, sounded through the vast space. The student fumbled frantically, hastening to silence it, but it was too late.

The gunman froze. His head snapped around, and he roared, his voice filled with primal fury. "Come on out! I know you're there!"

But no one revealed themselves. They weren't stupid. The armed individual, growing impatient, raised his gun and fired a shot into the ceiling. Plaster dust rained down, and some students screamed. Yet, they still remained hidden.

"If you don't come out," the gunman snarled, his voice dropping to a menacing growl, "I will shoot. I don't give a damn who your parents are, or how much money you can be ransomed off. We have more than enough cash cows already; killing a few makes no difference."

Hearing that chilling declaration, some students visibly hesitated, their resolve wavering. The gunman started counting down, his voice slow and deliberate. "Nine... eight... eight and a half..." A student, trembling, briefly stood up, a desperate plea forming on his lips, but another student's hand clamped down on his arm, forcing him back down into hiding.

As the gunman counted to "four," a sudden, deafening shot ran out. It wasn't from the gunman's weapon. His gun, still raised, exploded in his hand, shattering into countless pieces of metal and plastic. It was a precise, almost surgical strike, the kind of impact no normal bullet could ever achieve. Before the man could even register the shock, a fist came flying out of nowhere, an impossibly fast uppercut that briefly sent the gunman soaring into the air before gravity reclaimed him, dropping him onto the floor, utterly unconscious.

"Kaito?" a student whispered, staring at the figure now standing over the fallen terrorist.

Maria entered the room just then, a gun was held loosely in her hand. Yumi Fujiwara, having finally emerged from her serene hiding spot, calmly approached Kaito and Maria. They exchanged brief, silent glances, then Kaito and Maria began to usher Yumi towards the library door, clearly intending to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?" another student called out, his voice a mix of confusion and fear. "It's not safe!"

Kaito and Maria didn't reply. They simply exited the library, taking Yumi with them, leaving behind a group of bewildered students and an unconscious gunman. Ren, who had witnessed the entire scene from his hiding spot, stared at the now empty doorway.

'What's going on?'' He recalled the few fragmented words he had overheard from their hushed discussion near the staircase. Could Kaito and Maria have known about this ahead of time? It was no longer just a suspicion; it was a terrifying, undeniable reality.