"Great. Considering that you want to see the whole playing field be used, let's see it happen." Doctor Shiro began to smile as he thought of an enjoyable plan to see Hiroto struggle for his life, along with the other kids.
.....
As Hiroto crumpled to his knees, the group of emotionless kids came to a standstill, their faces frozen in shock. Despite their supposed lack of emotions, they were transfixed by the spectacle before them. They stood motionless, like statues, as if trying to comprehend the gravity of the situation unfolding before them. The silence was deafening, broken only by Hiroto's ragged breaths as he struggled to breathe.
After several moments of silence, the kids started to glance at each other, unsure of what to do next. Then, suddenly, a scrawny kid caught Hiroto's attention. He was smaller than the rest of the group, with thin arms and legs that appeared almost fragile. His dark hair was cropped short, and his face was covered in dirt and sweat. Yet, despite his small stature, his fierce energy about him made it clear he was not to be underestimated.
The scrawny kid charged at Hiroto, his face devoid of emotion, but his eyes betrayed his true intentions. It's often said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and at this moment, Hiroto could see a mix of confusion and determination in them.
As Hiroto observed the scrawny kid, he noticed the boy held his knives before him, poised to strike with deadly precision. Despite the boy's small size, a fierce intensity emanated from him made it clear he was not to be underestimated.
Hiroto just stared at Sho as he brought his hand toward his eye, "fluffy" whispered in an undertone, which no one heard but Hiroto.
A teardrop came down from Hiroto's cheek, and the clarity of the tear quickly turned red. Perhaps the teardrop mimics the hallway, even if subtle. Both are turning in nature, just like when water hits stone.
Hiroto quickly assessed the kid's movements and saw that his attack lacked proper form and technique. However, he also saw the ferocity and determination in the kid's eyes, which made up for his lack of skill. Without a doubt, this kid was going for the killing blow, and Hiroto's body felt increasingly warm.
Hiroto's eyes watched the arch of the skinny kid's arm reach in the air with the knife firmly held, ready to strike down. Hiroto body felt an inching sensation to move; however, he fought against his natural reaction by closing his eyes.
'What's the point of going if nothing is there for me?' So then, with nothing to impair his thinking, he was left alone to his thoughts to keep him company, waiting for the final strike.
Hiroto's stomach felt twisted, his face felt hot, and his throat felt sharp pains. 'Why do I keep feeling like this? At one point, I thought surviving was good enough, yet here I am.'
"STOP" Doctor Shiro's voice came blurring out from the speakers within the room.
The scrawny kid halted his knife a foot from Hiroto's neck, conflicted about whether to betray the command. On the other hand, this could perhaps be the only time he could kill Hiroto, a monster created from this...this atrocity of an experiment. However, this thought quickly dissipated as he lowered the knife to his side.
He looked toward Hiroto only to see that his eyes were still closed.
"Good, I'm glad you stopped; if not..." A red circler light began to shine on the skinny kid's chest. He looked down to see it but did not react.
Sho gradually opened his eyes, feeling a surge of pain coursing through his arms and hands. As he shifted, he sensed a warm liquid trickling down his neck, reminding him of his current situation. His head throbbed with agony, and his vision began to focus slowly. He didn't have much room to look around, but he saw Kiyoshi, Michio, Ken, and Shijo all standing around him ready, with their weapons ready to kill.
"Now to the main event, we don't want to keep our audience waiting, do we, kids? Everyone get in line. I'll give the countdown to 10...9....8..." Doctor Shiro's voice didn't give much time for the children together their breaths or think. He went straight to the point, wasting no time at all.
Everyone stopped what they did as if their previous actions never happened. Ken looked toward Hiroto as he slowly approached him, as everyone followed. It wasn't till Ken started walking toward Hiroto did Sho notice him.
"7"
"Hiroto, what are you doing?" Sho slowly got up; his walking was unsteady, but what had they been through? This little bit of inconvenience was nothing to Sho. Sure, it hurt like hell, but that was something Sho had to manage.
"5"
Hiroto's eyes opened slowly, and he felt disoriented as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He shut out everything around him, but then he heard a familiar voice, Sho. He slowly approached Hiroto, but while doing so, Hiroto could fully notice how badly hurt Sho was. A fresh stream of blood dripped down his fingers as a sharp pain came to Hiroto's heart.
Hiroto started walking towards Sho to meet him halfway, hoping to ease the pain and discomfort that Sho was feeling by getting to him faster. However, as Hiroto walked, so did the rest of the class, following in a single-file line.
"2"
Sho finally managed to get close to Hiroto as they stood briefly at each other. Hiroto looked there dazed, not sure what to do, while Sho went into a hug.
"Listen to me, Hiroto. I had it all wrong. Our dream wrongs this whole time," Sho said, struggling to catch his breath, feeling dizzy. The pain felt throbbing, coursing through his body.
"1"
Sho put his hands on Hiroto shoulder, staring him directly in the eyes. "You have to make friends, more than just me!"
The image of Hiroto on his knees felt vivid in Sho's mind. Sho felt an indescribable sense of shame toward Hiroto as if he was the cause of Hiroto's pain.
Hiroto tried to process Sho's words but found concentrating difficult due to the shock of seeing his friend's injuries. He could feel the pain radiating from Sho's body and the dizziness that came with it.
"What do you mean?" Hiroto asked, trying to focus his thoughts. However, Sho smiled more vividly than he had ever done so before in a long time.
"Listen, it turns out that I couldn't fully erase all your emotions. This is a failure on my part, as we mainly focused on the modification of the human body, exploring new possibilities. We still have some weaknesses within Blue class strip 10, even if that is not physical but mental. As you all know, I'm very reasonable, and with that in mind. Hiroto, you will fight for your life against everyone else in this room, and for the first time, Sho, you shall receive medical attention." Doctor Shiro's didn't contain any sorrow or apologist; instead, it seemed excited. Almost as if he had found a new secret about his toy that he didn't know before.
However, Doctor Shiro's voice briefly paused before continuing. In the meantime, Hiroto and Sho talked, "Hiroto, I found out something after today. But, unfortunately, I have to be almost dead for you to talk to me."
Sho smirked while saying that, but Hiroto didn't seem to respond in any way. "Yeahhhh, perhaps we should save jokes for later. I was never really good at them, to begin with." Shoo took a big breath and looked severe.
"Hiroto, my dream can't be met. No matter what happens, I don't think I'll be able to stay around throughout your life. That's why I want you to make new friends. Someone that feels important to you. Something that will make you happy and able to talk freely. However, I also learned a valuable listen, and since I'm slower than the rest of the class, it took longer for me to learn until it was in my face." Sho wanted to continue as...
"SCREECCHHH"
The metal door leading to this room opened, alerting everyone to the loud presence, as five people emerged holding a cloth stretcher that seemed to have never been used.
They came running towards Sho.
...
"I thought you said it was the last person standing would be victorious. So what's this new rule that Sho can live?" The fat man's spite came out with each sentence that came out of his mouth.
"If you allow me to continue, we can continue the show. I didn't just allow Sho to live, of course. There will be..." Before Doctor Shiro could continue talking, the fat man spoke again, not allowing Shiro to finish talking.
"I thought they were supposed to fight to the death until only one person is standing. That's why I came here, and I would say that's what most people came here for. However, Doctor, what's this? Did you get cold feet and show us an unfinished product? You remarked how perfect they were, yet your best product gives up? What type of experiment were you running that's supposed to make only the logical moves, and here we are, the doctor." The fat man's face is colored red while he speaks. His hands looked like he was composing a song while he swung them wildly, showing a fit of rage.
'You dare make me look like a fool; how dare you! I'll ruin you; I'll take everything you worked hard on and slowly pick at it.' The fat man was happy that such events had happened. This could be his way of getting back at the Doctor.'
"Do you know that pigs are suppose to be clean creatures? They roll in the mud, a bath to them as a shower would be to us. However, do you know what I think of them?" An old man's voice came behind that fat man making his face lose all shade it previously had.
"HAHA, I can't say I do. The only thing I know about pigs is that they taste great." The fat man held his head down while talking, not daring to make eye contact with the old man. He even tries to lighten the mood by joking about food. The old man, however, didn't seem to be amused.
"That their disgusting creatures; they eat anything you give them. They eat the trash of society and could even eat their species, completely oblivious to such a lifestyle. So here I'm looking at a pig that's once again oblivious. Now shut your mouth and get out of my sight before I want to make pork chops." The old man stood up and stepped into more of the light showing his mask.
The mask worn by the old man resembled that of a rat's face. It was made of a soft gray-brown material, possibly leather, with intricate stitching around the edges. The snout of the mask protruded slightly and was adorned with tiny black beads for the eyes, giving it a sense of life-like quality. The whiskers of the rat's mask were thin and spindly, extending outwards and adding to the overall appearance of the mask. The mask had two ear flaps on either side; each lined with a patch of black faux fur that added texture to the otherwise smooth surface of the mask. As the old man spoke, the mask remained fixed in place, accentuating his wrinkled features and adding to his overall aura of contempt.
The fat man hurried and started to do a speed walk/jog out of the room. He was not even daring enough to go to the opposite side of the room.
"Now, if you would, Doctor." The old man sat back down as the room stayed silent.
"Thank you, now I'll explain the rest to the kids while you all listen." Doctor Shiro grabbed the mic and once more began talking.
.....
They came running towards Sho.