The arena, which consists of a spacious lobby to receive and serve visitors, two hallways adjacent to the traditional Japanese style on the left and right wings, and a giant-sized main room with an amphitheater design, seems to have its own magical power that makes visitors sucked into its charm. The interior of the building, which is dominated by white, makes it sparkling as if the main lighting does not come from sunlight or lamps decorating the ceiling, but from the building itself.
Ken felt the same way most visitors felt, but that was a few years ago when he came with his parents on Suzume's inauguration day. Now, Ken no longer feels the same way. Instead of being lulled by the eye-pleasing architecture of the building, Ken actually felt his chest being squeezed strongly by many invisible hands that seemed to want to crush him on the spot.
Sweat was visible in almost all corners of Ken's face. Its flow ran become the river to make Ken's back feel cold. If possible, Ken wants to vomit right now, releasing all the unpleasant feelings that were clustered and now centered in his stomach. However, Ken held back as hard as he could.
Behind his friends, Ken walked slowly with his hands tightly clenched. Fortunately, no one was focusing their eyes on Ken, who was still clenching his hands and frowning, like describing the expression of someone who would not hesitate to punch anyone in the face who dare to nudged him.
His slow pace made Ken almost lag far behind his friends. Not before Kazuhiko suddenly put his arm around Ken's shoulders and chattered noisily which Ken didn't really pay attention to due to the dizziness that suddenly hit his head. Kazuhiko's chirping was still vaguely audible to Ken even though the pain in his head makes his sensory system decrease so much that he feels like he is no longer given the right to control his own body.
"Ken!"
Ken opened his eyes slowly. The pain that had been attacking his head had now disappeared. Lost to nowhere. In front of him, Kazuhiko stared at him with a worried look that radiated clearly from behind his pair of dark brown irises. Ken still trying to adapt to the blinding light of the lobby room that makes his eyes glare. After a few blinks, Ken turned his head in all directions.
Where are his other friends going?
"I wanted you to accompany me to buy a drink just now, but I didn't expect you to suddenly almost collapsed," Kazuhiko said, answering a question that could be clearly read from Ken's face. The young man in his striped jacket handed Ken a bottle of water. "I've told Yasuhiro and Chikara to add our names in the participant list. So relax. When it's done, they'll definitely catch up with us here."
Ken drinks the water Kazuhiko gave him. The fresh and cold flow of water makes his chest which had been tight now feels relieved. A long gasp came from Ken's mouth.
"So what's happened? Do you have a phobia with crowds? Or what?"
A shake of his head became a short answer. "If I have that kind of phobia, why am I okay on the train?"
"Well ... then what? What if, without our knowledge, you had something like chronic headaches?"
From the tail of his eyes, Ken saw Chikara and Yasuhiro with Sano and friends walking up to them from the lobby. Ken raised his hands at head height so that his friends could immediately find his face among the many people passing by.
"That's not it. You're to much, Kazu." Ken stood up from his seat while brushing his hair back. "I just lack sleep."
Ken turned his back to Kazuhiko and walked over to the small group of his friends. Kazuhiko followed behind, watching Ken's back with a big question mark on his head.
The event will start at nine. The girls suggested that they immediately go to the arena so they wouldn't have to bother jostling in and choosing a seat. Unfortunately, they still late.
The queue to enter the arena for participants seemed to stop halfway. The guards on duty outside looked busy for a moment with their tiny communication device attached to their ear, then they walked in, breaking through the line at a brisk pace. Not long after that, the line was running smoothly again.
In the arena, the participant seating room is made separately from the spectator seats. The space is technically on the ground floor of the arena, in an enclosed space, intended to make it easier for participants to easily enter the arena immediately when their turn comes. Because of the location, it is not surprising that the boisterous voices of the audience who were directly above the participants' heads were heard all the way down. Although a few years ago the room was updated and equipped with soundproofing facilities and so on, the excitement of the audience still could not be held back.
The waiting room for participants is indeed inside an enclosed space that does not give them access to see the atmosphere of the arena outside. Even so, the room which is half the size of the lobby, is equipped with eight large-size LCDs that directly highlight the situation in the arena. The first two screens highlight the overall atmosphere of the arena. The other six screens focus on six different points each with a titanium partitions.
In the arena, a spacious field that is almost the size of the stadium field is divided into six sections. The six areas that look like slices of pizza from above will later be used by six participants in the same time duration. An average of three to five minutes for each turn. It could be faster than that, or it could be longer.
Five minutes before nine o'clock, several well-dressed adult people walked into the participant lounge. Adults in their shining suit and laboratory robes walked in front, followed by adults dressed in all black with communication devices on their ears and wrists.
Representatives of the team in suits and laboratory robes gave opening remarks to all participants in the room. Ken didn't listen. Anything. His eyes stared blankly at the eight giant LCDs that were behind the backs of the adults who were still talking. Ken's mind was blank, unlike before. His chest also no longer feels cramped. It's just that, the emptiness he felt actually made Ken even more stricken with bad feelings.
It's like the calm before the storm.
After finishing their 'short' speech, the adults passed leaving the participants, entering into the room that was just behind the wall where the eight LCDs were installed. Meanwhile, the security guards dressed in all black went outside through the door where they had entered before.
At nine o'clock, the sound of sirens which became a sign that the event would begin resonated loudly. Vaguely, a boisterous voice above the participants lounge was heard. The participants focused their gaze towards the screens. Prime Minister's face appears on the first two LCD screens. He stood up from his VVIP seat, waved briefly towards the audience seats, then began to give a brief welcome speech while inaugurating the opening of Ketteibi this year. The siren sounded again for a minute before the six participants in the first turn entered the arena accompanied by one adult in their laboratory robes.
Ken glanced to the side when the tail of his eyes noticed something. Sano, who was sitting next to him, seemed busy rubbing both her hands. Her eyes focused forward, but her hands kept moving constantly as if she would get hypothermia if her hands stopped moving.
"Here."
Sano turned to the side. A small towel—not a handkerchief—slung over her lap. Beside her, Ken twitched his chin for Sano to immediately take the towel he proffered. She hesitated for a moment. Then with trembling hands, she picked up the plain red small towel while saying, "Thank you." Her low voice was barely audible to Ken's ears.
"I—I'm worried."
From her voice and actions, Ken could have guessed. Sano wrapped her cold hands under Ken's towel. Sano didn't know if she could express her nervous feelings to Ken who had kindly lent her his towel. Her head immediately lowered deeply because she felt that she had become a burden for Ken.
"Me too. Since yesterday. Or maybe since yesterday before yesterday."
Sano blinked her eyes. Her head looked up slowly, then turned to look at Ken who now refocusing his gaze forward. He was silent for a few moments, then turned his head again to the side with a slight smile.
"Geez, don't be so quiet. I feel like I've said something very strange."
Sano chuckled softly. "... I'm sorry. I don't know what should I say. I just ... don't expect if Imai-kun also feel like that."
Both of them looked back at the front with smiles engrave on each other's faces. Sano is relieved that Ken doesn't think of her as a weak and unreliable person who can only be a burden. On the other hand, Ken was also relieved that not only him was being hit by extreme levels of anxiety.
Actually, Ken had no intention to make a joke and just wanted to tell Sano that his condition was also the same as her. It's just that when Sano heard his confession, she suddenly silenced and made the atmosphere awkward. Impulsively, words came out that in Sano's ears sounded like a joke.
Ken took a deep breath. For some reason, even though it wasn't much, talking to Sano made his anxious feelings a little calmer. He remembered Morita Abe's advice reminding him not to lie to himself. Only now did Ken really understand the meaning of that man's words.
"Dude, that's Morita, isn't it?!"
Ken's eyes suddenly widened. Ken's sensitive ears move in search of the sources of the sound, as his eyes look around the LCD and try to find someone's face there. Ken's head turned slightly back, staring at a group of boys sitting directly behind him pointing at the screen on the far right. Ken looked back at the front, following the direction of their finger.
"Ken!"
Ken who was looking around for someone's face on the LCD was suddenly startled by Kazuhiko's pat on his shoulder. To his surprise, Ken jumped out of his seat. His eyes instantly turned towards Kazuhiko who was already standing up from his seat. He twitched his chin, asking Ken to move. Ken was confused.
"It's our turn."