December 14th, 2022, 6.56 am. I died.
I attended an insignificant university in Chiba's north, and always used the train to commute to and from. But for some reason, that morning, I decided to walk. Despite the distance from my apartment to the university being two and a half miles, I walked. Despite having no reason to, I walked. Despite it leading to my death… I walked.
I died saving a child. The man driving the white van speeding towards an elementary school-girl had likely passed out. Maybe he was drinking on the job, maybe he fell asleep due to tiredness and stress, or maybe he had a heart attack. I don't know. I never had the chance to find out. I moved towards the girl and pushed her out of harm's way, and that was the last thing I ever did with my measly, pathetic life. At the very least… I died in service of something greater. I'm sure my actions will scar that child for the rest of their life, but they now have the chance to do better. I wasted that chance.
Konsako Akihi: "...I see. So you died saving that girl, then."
Konsako Akihi: "You're a good person, Kobayashi-san. Thank you for telling me."
Kobayashi Amano: "...No, not really."
Everyone in the apartment was listening in, closed-mouthed.
Konsako Akihi: "December fourteenth, huh?"
Kobayashi Amano: "Mm?"
Konsako Akihi: "I died in May, I think the third. And yet… we're both here at the same time, with no filler in between."
Michifuku: "That's cus' this place is the in between. We're not on earth, and we're certainly not in the afterlife. Though I don't really understand it."
Kobayashi Amano: "Why did you need to know, Konsako-san?"
Konsako Akihi: "I'm trying to gather clues. Our information is annoyingly limited, and that Rabbit didn't give us much to chew on."
Konsako Akihi: "At the very least, all of us participants have something in common; we died before coming here."
Konsako Akihi: "If you're curious, I was pushed onto train tracks."
Kobayashi Amano: "Ah? P-Pushed? You mean murdered?"
Konsako Akihi: "O-Oh, no - nothing that serious. It was an accident - an accident."
Konsako Akihi: "I lived in the heart of Tokyo, and the shinkansen was always packed in the afternoon. I got pushed in by accident. I don't even know who did it, since I didn't even have time to look up after falling in."
Konsako Akihi: "A-Ah, don't worry though! It didn't hurt. I think the fear killed me before the train even touched me, haha."
It's not really something to laugh about, but…
Konsako Akihi: "Anyway, we've all been handed our cards. We're here to deal with them, now."
Konsako Akihi: "The good thing is, we have something in common, Kobayashi-san."
Kobayashi Amano: "Being dead?"
Konsako Akihi: "We were both hit by speeding vehicles. That, and we're the same age."
Kobayashi Amano: "What age are you?"
Konsako Akihi: "Twenty-one."
Kobayashi Amano: "You're a bit off, then. I'm twenty-two."
Konsako Akihi: "Ah, seriously?"
Kobayashi Amano: "I appreciate the thought, though. I never realized I looked a year younger."
Kobayashi Amano: "Why did you think I was twenty-one anyway?"
Konsako Akihi: "Oh, that's another clue I discovered."
Konsako-san smirked, clearly proud of his discovery.
Konsako Akihi: "Everyone in this room is a dragon."
Kobayashi Amano: "...A dragon?"
Konsako Akihi: "You were born in the year 2000, right? So were the rest of us, except Daikubara-san. He's an old man. But even then, he was born in 1988. The previous year of the dragon."
Kobayashi Amano: "I see… so we were all born in the year of the dragon."
Konsako Akihi: "Which means I might be older than you!"
Kobayashi Amano: "March 30th, 2000."
Konsako Akihi: "G-Geh… nevermind."
Michifuku: "It can't be a coincidence. Each of us being born in the year of the dragon, not to mention those dragon tokens we all got from our rooms."
Kobayashi Amano: "I got one of those too."
Michifuku: "Do you have it with you?"
Kobayashi Amano: "Mm. I'm not sure what it's for, though."
Michifuku: "Neither. But all of us are carrying one."
Michifuku: "As for the ones that died and the ones that aren't here, I can't be sure."
Daikubara: "Those things might come in handy later, so don't damn-well lose them. We might have to grab them from the corpses, too."
Michifuku: "...Sounds like fun."
Kobayashi Amano: "Well it's clear everything is linked to the Chinese Zodiac in one way or another, right? With that rabbit and us."
Michifuku: "Let's be thankful it isn't a dragon chasing us…"
Konsako Akihi: "Mhm. I can't be sure if everyone with us is also a dragon - I don't even know if the guy over there is."
Konsako-san was referring to the boy dressed in a gakuran, who was fiddling around with the empty kitchen drawers.
Michifuku: "Kuro-kun."
Konsako Akihi: "Oh? You learned his name?"
Michifuku: "No, but I think that name suits him the best."
Kobayashi Amano: "You're not wrong…"
Daikubara: "Putting that aside, we've got a goal, right? Gettin' that keycard, then gettin' the hell outta' here."
Kobayashi Amano: "Any idea where it could be?"
Daikubara: "Like we said, we searched top to bottom and never came across it. Which means…"
Michifuku: "It's gotta be there, right? The room the rabbit came from."
Michifuku: "The twelfth floor."
Kobayashi Amano: "But you can't be completely sure, can you?"
Michifuku: "Nope."
Konsako Akihi: "As long as there's a possibility…"
Konsako Akihi: "Okay. We've gotta go for it."
Konsako-san's eyes were lit with determination.
Daikubara: "Don't get ahead of yourself, dumbass. We've still gotta figure out that rabbit. If you waltz out there without a clue, you'll get yourself killed and put the rest of us in a shittier position."
Konsako Akihi: "Right… that's the problem, though. There's only so much we know about it."
Konsako Akihi: "Once it left that room, it immediately set its eyes on Sakakibara-san. And once finishing with him, it moved onto the closest person; Shiroito-san."
Konsako Akihi: "But, when Michifuku-san and myself were out of its line of sight, it stopped chasing after us…"
Michifuku: "Can we be sure about that? It was probably still searching for us, but we were lucky enough to get away."
Daikubara: "The group I was with too, when that fucker appeared, we split up."
Daikubara: "It went after the two that left me and that kid."
Michifuku: "Kuro–"
Daikubara: "We don't got nearly enough info on this bastard. We don't know how it works, where it is right now, and–"
Kobayashi Amano: "It attacked Konsako-san's group on the twelfth floor, right?"
Daikubara: "Eh? Yeah?"
Kobayashi Amano: "And you, Daikubara-san?"
Daikubara: "...The fourth floor."
Kobayashi Amano: "I first saw it on the seventh, and then the fifth."
Michifuku: "What's your point?"
Kobayashi Amano: "The rabbit started on the twelfth floor, made its way to the fourth, and then back up to seventh, and then the fifth."
Kobayashi Amano: "But if it was that specific, it'd mean the rabbit knows exactly where we are, at all times."
Konsako Akihi: "...Which shouldn't be possible, considering he likely just passed our floor."
Kobayashi Amano: "Exactly. I think its most obvious route is going from top, to bottom, to bottom, to top. It's just going in a clear route, zig-zagging through each hall and staircase until it spots someone."
Kobayashi Amano: "And if you're unlucky enough to get spotted by it, it locks onto you and chases you until it kills you."
Michifuku: "That should be obvious from the fact it chased Shiroito-san into an apartment…"
Daikubara: "Which means the fucker won't come in here unless he knows we're inside."
Konsako Akihi: "So we should be able to sneak around, if this route is correct, right?"
Kobayashi Amano: "I think so… it makes the most sense, at least."
Kobayashi Amano: "It wouldn't be fair if it knew our exact location, so with that handicap, its best strategy is to just continuously search each floor, from left to right. When it reaches the top floor, it continues until it reaches the bottom. And vice versa."
Kobayashi Amano: "If we can time its route, we should be able to find the keycard, then make our way to the exit, right?"
Konsako Akihi: "It's not a bad idea, but… we need to make sure we know where the keycard is, first."
Michifuku: "...Then, how about this?"
My footsteps echoed quietly through the hall, along with Konsako-san's. We had reached the closest staircase from the apartment. At this point in time, the rabbit was likely on an upper floor, but it didn't matter exactly where he was. No matter his location, we would have the chance to react to his appearance, as he would either ascend or descend from the staircase opposite ours.
Taking into account his last noted appearance descending to the fifth floor, thirty-minutes ago, we would be able to determine how long it takes for him to traverse each floor, albeit it didn't encounter any participants.
Konsako Akihi: "How long did it take for you to go from the seventh floor to the fifth, Kobayashi-san?"
Kobayashi Amano: "Only a few minutes."
Konsako Akihi: "Adding in the time it took for you to reach our apartment…"
Kobayashi Amano: "Four minutes, maybe?"
Konsako Akihi: "And you used the closest staircase, didn't you?"
Kobayashi Amano: "...I did."
Konsako Akihi: "Then the rabbit has to be going the same speed as us, if not faster than us."
Konsako Akihi: "...Actually, considering he was already on top of someone at that point…"
Konsako-san's expression grew in concern. It was a foreign look for him, I'd suppose. It really didn't suit him.
Kobayashi Amano: "We've already went over this, Konsako-san…"
Konsako Akihi: "Mm. Sorry."
Our eyes were locked on the staircase opposite ours. It wouldn't be too difficult to spot the rabbit, and when we did, we'd be able to move immediately. We only had to hope that the rabbit wouldn't change its theorized route.
Thirty more minutes had passed.
Konsako Akihi: "...It's taking a while, isn't it?"
Kobayashi Amano: "...It most likely found prey."
Konsako Akihi: "...Damnit!"
Kobayashi Amano: "Konsako-san?"
His concerned expression had shifted to that of hopeless pain. It was clear that Konsako-san was the type of person to care for those who he didn't even know the names of. I pitied him for this, since it seemed like a heavy burden.
Kobayashi Amano: "We can only do what we can, right?"
Konsako Akihi: "...Right."
Though those words didn't seem to satisfy him, there wasn't much else I could do for him.
Kobayashi Amano: "...Konsako-san, what did you do before all of this?"
Konsako Akihi: "Ah? Before I died?"
Konsako Akihi: "I worked in a corner store."
Kobayashi Amano: "..."
Konsako Akihi: "P-Please don't look so disappointed…"
Kobayashi Amano: "Oh, sorry… I just kinda expected something more exciting, given your unique appearance."
Konsako Akihi: "I was in track and field club in high-school, though."
Kobayashi Amano: "You're a fast runner?"
Konsako Akihi: "A bit. I haven't had the chance to practice in a while, though. Not to mention being dead."
Konsako Akihi: "What about you?"
Kobayashi Amano: "College, like I mentioned earlier."
Konsako Akihi: "What'd you study?"
Kobayashi Amano: "Art."
Konsako Akihi: "Ahh, an artist, then? Were you good at it?"
Kobayashi Amano: "Considering it was my line of education, I'd like to think so…"
Konsako Akihi: "Did you have any friends?"
Kobayashi Amano: "...Eh?"
Konsako Akihi: "Oh, sorry if that was a bit intrusive. It's just, college is a bit boring without friends."
Kobayashi Amano: "Did you go to college too?"
Konsako Akihi: "For a few months, but I ended up dropping out."
Kobayashi Amano: "...I see."
Kobayashi Amano: "Friends, huh? I… wouldn't say I–"
Konsako Akihi: "It's here."
A second passed before I realized what exactly Konsako-san was referring to. Turning to my right, I peered down the endless hallway. And without a doubt, that familiar shadow was descending the stairs.
Konsako Akihi: "It's descending, so that means it's spent the last, what, hour up there?"
Konsako Akihi: "Why's it taking it so much longer than earlier–"
Kobayashi Amano: "K-Konsako-san–"
Konsako Akihi: "Eh?"
I bet if I were to bleed at this moment, the blood would freeze against my skin before reaching the floor below. I was cold.
Knock, knock. A moment's pause, and then… knock, knock, once again.
Konsako Akihi: "...I-Is… is it–"
Kobayashi Amano: "..."
The rabbit knocked on the door, then forced it open. Half a minute passed before it returned. And onto the next door, it repeated its action. Knocking, entering, searching, leaving. All in the span of less than a minute.
Six doors from our apartment. Five doors from our apartment. Four doors from our apartment.
Daikubara: "When you guys get back, knock three times quickly. If we don't answer, do it again once more. If we don't answer again, assume the worst and leave."
Konsako Akihi: "Right, but, what are you going to do if someone else is at the door? There's no lock and no keyhole, so–"
Daikubara: "We'll be able to hear. And if it ain't a person, then…"
Michifuku: "You two have enough to worry about. We'll deal with our end, so you deal with your own, okay?"
Kobayashi Amano: "...Mm, alright."
Michifuku: "Be careful, please."
Konsako Akihi: "Don't worry. We're planning on returning."
Konsako Akihi: "We need to distract it, but…"
Kobayashi Amano: "...Mm."
We can't outrun the rabbit. If it spots us, we'll die. In this type of situation, you don't need to outrun the predator - you need to outrun the prey. But…
Konsako Akihi: "Kobayashi-san, I'll distract it."
Kobayashi Amano: "E-Eh?"
Konsako Akihi: "I'll keep it on the lower floors, but you need to go around the sixth floor and route back to the apartment. Take everyone to the eleventh floor, in the same apartment."
Kobayashi Amano: "...What are you going to do?"
Konsako Akihi: "I just need enough time to grab its attention away from this floor. If it's focused on me, then you'll have enough time to move."
The rabbit was a door away. Konsako-san left the staircase and entered the hallway.
Kobayashi Amano: "...We'll meet up again. On the eleventh floor, in the same apartment."
Kobayashi Amano: "...Make sure you come back."
Konsako Akihi: "...Mm."
Konsako-san gifted me with a warm, yet nervous smile, before stepping further into the hall.
Konsako Akihi: "H-Hey!"
The rabbit stopped in its tracks, inches from our apartment door. Its hand was raised towards it, but it pulled back once catching eye of Konsako-san.
Konsako Akihi: "..."
The rabbit wasn't interested, and continued to reach for the door handle. It didn't take a genius to see through Konsako-san's plan, but he was far too stubborn to let the rabbit through.
Konsako Akihi: "E-Excuse me, are you hurt? We've got a group a few floors below, so do you wanna hide there for a while?"
The rabbit perked its head, curious.
Konsako Akihi: "..."
It then brought its hand back, gripping the bat tighter than before. It allowed the bat to glide across the tiled floor as it began its sprint towards Konsako-san.