I made my way to the Dining Hall, and met everyone else inside. Everyone was standing at the near side of the table, somewhat in a line, with Monorakun standing on the table at the other side, near the Kitchen.
"Alright, everybody, this announcement is mostly for Chihiro and Bera, but I figured I may as well drag all your asses in here. I've got you two's profile glitches fixed on your accounts, so both of your genders should show up properly now. I sent the update overnight, and manually rebooted both of your E-Handbooks, so it wouldn't interfere with your daily activities. Also, the Pool should be open to the both of you, so long as you enter the Locker Room associated with the gender listed in your E-Handbook."
A cold chill went through me as I opened my E-Handbook and checked my profile.
"Bera Haikiko. Ultimate Tailor. Height: 5'3". Weight: 125 lbs. Gender: Male."
Curious, I then went to Chihiro's profile.
"Chihiro Fujisaki. Ultimate Programmer. Height: 4'10". Weight: 90 lbs. Gender: Female."
Alright, so our genders are no longer gibberish, and I'm listed as Male. I silently hoped Monorakun wouldn't bring up anything about my past again, not in front of all these people.
Looking over at Chihiro, she seemed calmer, too, but still somewhat nervous. I decided to leave her alone, and went into the Kitchen to get some breakfast.
I ended up making some pancakes with maple syrup, sprinkled with powdered sugar, along with some orange juice. I sat in between Sayaka and Sonia, and across from Kaede.
Sonia spoke to me while I ate. "It is good to see everyone enjoying breakfast together. I am also happy that you and Chihiro have your profiles fixed now. This way, you both can now access the Swimming Pool! Sayaka, Kaede and I were planning on swimming after breakfast. Would you like to join us?"
My eyes went wide, and I felt cold inside for a moment. I avoided taking my shirt off in front of other people as much as possible, due to the scarring under my pectoral muscles from the Subcutaneous Mastectomy (aka Chest Masculinization Surgery), and I was always nervous about people noticing and asking questions, or worse, making fun of me.
However, Sonia (being the Ultimate Princess) did not seem like the type of girl to ridicule another. As for Kaede and Sayaka, I didn't know them well enough yet to really know.
Kaede, however, lowered her eyes. "I'm going to have to pass on meeting up at the pool. I want to practice on the piano in my room. Maybe I can meet up with the two of you later?"
Sayaka eagerly nodded. "Yeah! We can catch up another time, Kaede!"
After we all finished eating breakfast, the four of us left together, with Kaede heading to her dorm as the other three of us headed towards the Gym, where the Pool could be accessed.
When we arrived at the Gym, Sayaka and Sonia headed towards the Girls Locker Room, while I headed to the Boys Locker Room. Noticing a scanner, I put my E-Handbook up to it, and a green light came on, along with a click.
As I opened the Boys Locker Room door, I noticed a large gun sweeping side-to-side, between the door I came through and another door, likely leading to the pool! Quickly, I darted outside and shut the door, not wanting to be shot!
...Nothing. No gunfire. Not a sound from inside.
Curious, I scanned my E-Handbook again, and reentered the Boys Locker Room. The large gun on the ceiling was now slowly sweeping away from me, towards the door on the other side.
I heard a knock behind me, from within the Gym. Opening it up, Monorakun was standing there, looking up at me.
"Worried about that chaingun, are ya? Meh, as long as you're a boy in a boy's locker room, or a girl in a girl's locker room, you've got nothing to worry about. It'll only open fire if an unauthorized gendered person enters the room with both feet, in which case it will swiftly swing over and pepper them with lead!"
While that was unsettling, at least it was good to know this gun wasn't going to just start shooting at me randomly.
Monorakun continued. "Anyway, everyone's assigned a locker. Your E-Handbook will only open your locker. Inside will be your swim trunks, beach towels, and swim shoes, if you choose to use them. Remember, the Pool closes at 10pm, and there's a message that plays in here at 9:45, to alert everyone inside that there are 15 minutes until the Pool closes. The Locker Rooms have no time restrictions, however.
"So, any other questions, Carrot Top?" Monorakun finally finished.
I felt a little insulted that he just made fun of my red hair, but I brushed it off. "No, nothing else." I then shut the door in his face.
"Ruuude!" Monorakun intoned at me. "Eh, never mind, I probably had that one coming."
Disregarding Monorakun's comment this time, I headed over towards the lockers. There were a few closed-off stalls, likely to shower or change in. The lockers were in alphabetical order by last name. I found my locker between Yasuhiro's and Leon's, and opened it up.
Inside was a one-piece men's swimsuit, like a wetsuit with no arms or legs attached. It was blue, with red trim around the head, arm, and leg holes, and three wavy red lines going down the back. There was a zipper concealed within the middle red line, going about two thirds of the way down, which would be enough to let me get into it and zip it back up.
Also within the locker was my beach towel, blue and red with a sewing needle, white thread, and a pair of green scissors together in the middle of it.
Nodding to myself, I took a very quick shower and changed into the wetsuit. It fit surprisingly well, allowing for flexible movement while staying tight to my body. Grabbing my towel, I headed to the Pool.
Sayaka and Sonia were already in the pool itself, with Sayaka emerging from underwater and Sonia relaxing on a flotation raft. Sonia had on a two-piece pink bikini swimsuit, with lighter pink ruffles along the upper edge of her top. There was what appeared to be a white string tying her top together in the front. Sayaka, meanwhile, had a navy blue two-piece bikini, with a cute white bow tie appearing to tie the left and right halves of her top together. However, this could also just be decoration; I was unsure at first, and didn't want to stare too long. Sayaka's top also had white ruffles along the upper edge, similar to Sonia's.
"Come on in, Bera! This pool is most satisfactory!" Sonia called out from her floatie.
Sayaka brushed the water from her face. "Yeah! The temperature is just right, and the depth is just right at the deep end!"
The pool had a lifeguard chair up high, but it was empty. On one end of the pool, the words "3 Feet" was spelled out in tile, and on the other side, "10 Feet" was written in a similar tiling. The pool floor appeared to angle down at a uniform level, as opposed to other pools that have a steeper dropoff. The pool floor was its usual blue color.
There was a short ladder going into the three-foot side, and a longer ladder going into the ten-foot side. I decided to enter via the three-foot side. The water was pleasantly warm, not chilly like most pools tended to be. I took a few strokes, and then went underwater.
Emerging from the water, I shook the water from my face, and found Sayaka swimming towards me.
"Enjoying the pool?" Sayaka asked.
I nodded in response.
Sayaka smiled. "I do, too. Swimming is a great way to help keep your body in shape, too. It's great exercise, and I try to swim as much as I can."
I nodded in agreement. Sonia, meanwhile, started floating towards us.
"This pool may not be like the ones at my home in Novoselic, but I still appreciate this amenity. This addition is most...rad!" Sonia cheerily chipped in.
Sayaka smiled at Sonia. "Your way of speaking is so cute, Sonia!"
Sonia glanced at Sayaka. "Is there something wrong with my speech?"
Sayaka shook her head. "No, not at all. I just think it suits you well, Sonia!"
Sonia still looked confused, but less apprehensive. "Oh, ok. then I accept your praise!"
Sonia slid off of the floatie and joined the both of us in the pool water. We swam around and chatted amongst ourselves, mostly discussing Sonia's home country, Sayaka's live concerts, and my ability to create outfits.
After about 45 minutes, Sonia started heading towards the shallow end. "I must take my leave of you two. I am curious about the Laundry Room, and how it functions. In Novoselic, my attendants always tended to my laundry, so I have never had to do this myself."
Sayaka cheerfully waved. "Alright! I'll see you later, Sonia!"
I said goodbye to Sonia, as well, and resumed swimming with Sayaka for a good hour or so, chatting occasionally about this or that.
"So Bera, you're the Ultimate Tailor, right? Do you think you could make me an outfit sometime to perform in?"
Sayaka...THE Sayaka Maizono...asking ME...to make an outfit for HER?
"Of course! How could I pass up an opportunity like this?" I was absolutely beaming inside. "Just let me know what you want it to look like. We can go over the details in my dorm sometime, ok?"
"Sure! But don't forget, Bera. I may be a famous pop star, but I'm still a student in here, same as you. Don't be afraid to approach me or ask me questions, ok?"
I nodded. "Of course!" I went underwater again and swam a few strokes, then emerged.
Sayaka started swimming on her back, her long dark blue hair splaying out around her. I confess, I took a few moments to admire her beauty.
Sayaka then spun around and started swimming towards the deeper end. I made my way towards the side of the pool, so I could prop myself against the edge.
Suddenly, an announcement came in over the monitor in the Pool Room, and Monorakun's face appeared.
"Alright everyone, I've got three sets of eyes on a dead body. Everyone make your way to the Laundry Room, now!"
My eyes went wide open, and a cold chill went through my entire body. Someone died?
I glanced at Sayaka, who had a look of pure fear in her eyes, but was silent.
Without a word, we both left the pool, headed towards our respective Locker Rooms. I quickly showered the chlorine off me, dried off, got dressed, and made my way to the Laundry Room with Sayaka, who still looked pale with fear.
When we both arrived at the the Laundry Room, I glanced at the others who had already arrived. Hifumi, Timmy, Kenchikka, Kaito, Leon, Celeste, and Kaede. They were all staring at one particular dryer, but Leon and Celeste were blocking my view. As I moved around them, I finally saw who they were looking at. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Sonia was partially inside one of the dryers, with one arm dangling out. She looked bruised and bloodied, and her skin looked reddish in spots. "High Heat (Normal/Cotton)" was lit up, which usually means the inside of the dryer would have been around 135*F. It looked like someone had stuffed her inside the dryer, then turned it on with her inside it.
But who could have done this to Sonia? And why?