Was I seeing that right!?
…Rank S was the strongest you could be!
The man continues to walk away from me and right up to a cluster of people. They were most likely discussing partners…
The rank S then tapped one of them on the shoulder. A woman with dyed green hair.
I watched him ask her a question, before looking disappointed at her reply and walking away once again.
"…what's his deal..?" Muttering crossly, I turned away and looked back at the timer in the sky.
[ 5 minutes 12 seconds remaining. ]
I felt sweat gathering on my forehead once again. Half the time was gone, I had to hurry.
Urgently I looked around. Most people were stood in twos by now. I glanced back at the cluster of people, but most of them had already separated into pairs.
Damn! What do I do!?
Then, someone caught my eye. The young girl from before was still sat on the floor.
The rank A.
Should I ask her to pair up…?
But there must be a reason she doesn't have a partner yet, right?
Why would these other people not want to pair with a rank A? There must be a big reason for them not wanting to pair up with someone so high ranked…
Then it dawned on me.
I was the only one who was aware that this girl, was infact, a rank A.
Everyone must have assumed she was just a weak little girl, despite the rankings being pure luck, people must just have assumed by her appearance that she was 'useless', due to her age.
Sighing to myself, I walked over to her.
"…wanna pair up?"
She glanced up at me. Her eyes were puffy and it was clear she had been crying.
"…okay." She replied in a small voice.
I crouched down, holding out my hand for her to shake. She took it, and we shook hands.
[ Congratulations you are the 475th pair. ]
I read the notification…so that meant there was about 25 pairs that still needed to be made in the next few minutes.
It was probably getting increasingly harder for someone without a partner to find someone to pair up with - as the cave was filled with people who already had a partner.
[3 minutes and 44 seconds remaining.]
I sat down beside the girl. What was her name again…? I must have read it before, but I'd forgotten.
Might as well ask… to make conversation.
"So…what's your name..?"
I asked as I sat down next to her and crossed my legs, looking around at all the other people.
"Anabelle, but people usually just call me Ana." She replied.
"Nice name. You can call me Hiro."
Ana nodded her head and we both just sat awkwardly in silence.
I opened my mouth to speak but couldn't think of any words to say, so I shut it again.
"…um. This is real, right?" She put her head in her hands.
I looked over at her, wondering what to say. It was a fair question - after all, it was like something from a book or a dream.
Smack.
My face stung after I had slapped it.
"Yep, definitely real."
She stared at me in horror, before laughing.
"…Alright. I'll believe you." She sat up a bit more.
I felt more comfortable already, maybe this kid was alright.
"Ah- I should probably warn you in advance, I'm a rank F. I probably shoulda told you before so…I'm sorry." I did feel a little bad, as now she was paired up with someone who would hold her back in the tower.
"That's okay. I was too scared to move…so I'm glad you partnered up with me."
I was about to reply but I noticed the rank S guy from before.
He still hadn't found a partner.
But why?
Was he looking for someone who was also rank S…?
I followed him with my eyes, and watched as he approached another person who appeared not to have a partner.
The man he approached also had dyed hair. It was dyed a blue colour.
Why was he only going up to people with dyed hair…? Weirdooo…
Then suddenly the rank S got exited, and looked like he asked another question to the blue haired man.
I wish I could hear what they were saying…
Upon hearing the man's reply to the question , the rank S looked disappointed and began walking away.
[ 1 minute and 10 seconds remaining. ]
I watched as the rank S suddenly turned right back around, clearly weary of time, and out of nowhere shook the blue haired man's hand.
"What's that about…?" I muttered. Ava turned to me, tilting her head in a questioning way.
"Ah, nothing…just talking to myself."
Why was that rank S only going up to people with dyed hair?