The soft hum of the drone filled the corridor as Sakura stood by the vending machine, collecting packets of food paste. The early morning light filtered through the cracks in the windows, casting an eerie glow on the makeshift barricades outside the nurse's office. The world felt quiet, compared to yesterday, but almost all knew that it could shatter at any moment.
“Looks like someone’s getting ready for a big day!,” the vending machine voice chimed, an overly excited tone that grated on Sakura’s nerves.
“Shut up,” Sakura muttered, her eyes focused on the machine as it dispensed more packets. “We just pooled everyone’s points.” She didn’t want to think about the way they took points from the dead students.
She carried the food back into the nurse's office, where Yuma was tidying up while the nurse was cleaning a student’s wound. The room was filled with the soft sounds of moaning and quiet conversation as the injured students adjusted to another day.
“Breakfast!” Sakura called, her voice attempting to sound upbeat despite the weight of worry that sat heavily on her chest. She glanced at Yuma, who gave her a tired smile.
The nurse nodded, wiping her hands clean. “Thank you, Sakura. Can you hand them out?”
As the paste packets were distributed, the students’ reactions were immediate. “Ugh, what is this?” one student grimaced, poking at the packet as if it might bite back.
Sakura sighed as she passed another packet to a student unable to feed himself. Yuma knelt beside him, carefully spooning the paste into his mouth. “Please eat up,” Yuma said gently. “You need your strength.”
Sakura glanced at the meagre rations in her hands, the sight of the grey paste turning her stomach. She and Yuma sat down to eat as well, the nurse working silently in the background. “We need real food,” the nurse muttered. “Good food helps with recovery.”
Sakura pushed the paste around in its packet, her appetite non-existent. Her eyes were shadowed, dark circles beneath them betraying her sleepless night. Yuma noticed immediately.
“You didn’t get any sleep, did you?” Yuma asked softly, her voice filled with concern.
Sakura shook her head, her voice barely a whisper. “How could I? Reo’s still missing.”
After breakfast, Sakura and Yuma tidied up the empty paste packets, the quiet chore giving them a brief respite from the chaos that loomed outside.
“Once we finish here, we’ll start looking for him,” Yuma said, her tone determined. “We can start in the English department. Ms. Akasuki might have sent him there.”
Sakura nodded, though her heart felt heavy. “Yeah, we’ll find him.” She needed to believe that.
The nurse wiped down the last of the surfaces, her hands moving methodically. “Okay,” she said with a sigh, glancing around the now-clean office. “Everyone is stable, and the place is cleaned up.”
Just as the quiet settled in, the intercom crackled to life.
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Bing-bong
“Please attend the soccer field if you’re willing to play the opening game,” the mechanical voice announced, cutting through the room like a knife.
Sakura stiffened, her heart sinking. Yuma glanced over at her, both of them knowing what that meant. “Maybe Reo will head there,” Sakura said, her voice hollow.
The nurse offered them a tight smile. “Be careful, girls. I’ll hold down the fort.”
The soccer pitch was nothing like the one Sakura remembered from last term. The walls lined either goal side were massive and fortified, with large holo displays blinking ominously. The Demondice logo flickered above the field, its presence looming over the hundreds of students who had gathered to see the spectacle, or hoped they could win a decent meal as the principal promised.
Sakura and Yuma joined the crowd, the morning sun casting long shadows across the field. About 450 students milled around, their voices filled with nervous energy.
“How did they build this?” one student asked, wide-eyed.
“I need some points,” another muttered. “I’m not having that paste crap again.”
A group of older students laughed darkly, nudging each other. “Hey, you maggots, let us win or we’ll kill you for your points,” one joked, though the threat wasn’t entirely absent from his tone.
Sakura felt the tension building. The students were restless, the uncertainty of the situation gnawing at them. She turned to Yuma, who was scanning the sea of faces. “There’s a lot of people here,” Yuma said quietly.
Sakura nodded, her eyes sweeping the crowd. “I’ll check this side. Can you look for Reo over there?”
Yuma gave her a firm nod. “Let’s split up.”
As they separated, a speaker drone flew overhead, the Demondice logo glowing brightly on its surface. The drone’s speakers crackled to life.
“Who’s ready to play ball?” the voice boomed.
Sakura wove through the crowd, her heart racing. The drone hovered above them, its mechanical eye trained on the mass of students below.
“Welcome to Cuju soccer,” the drone announced, its voice cold and detached. “The rules are simple.”
Sakura’s stomach tightened as the drone outlined the game’s instructions. Yuma, on the other side of the crowd, turned a first-year student around, desperately scanning the faces for any sign of Reo.
“Two teams, either side” the drone continued. “The walls are your goals. Everyone thats not called outfield is a goalkeeper. When you’re pinged, you’ll become an outfield player. Scoring by hitting the opponent's wall will eliminate them and pooling their points into the jackpot to be divided evenly among the winning team”
Sakura barely heard the rest of the explanation. Her mind was racing, this wasn’t just a game. This was a robbery for some of these students. The stakes were painfully clear or so they thought.
As the drone hovered lowered, it called out, “as well as the eliminated opponents points, we’ll add 100 Points per eliminated opponent, which will be split between the winning team.”
Yuma made her way back to Sakura, her face pale. “I don’t see him,” she said, her voice trembling. “Reo’s not here.”
Sakura’s heart sank further. “It’s okay,” she lied. “The rules seem simple enough. Let’s just try it, and bring some points back for the nurse.”, with a scoff chuckle “I don’t have many points left after breakfast anyway”
Yuma reached out grasping at Sakura's arm, comforting reassurance that she was not alone, “if we each take a side we can win something regardless” Yuma couldn’t hide a whine of pain, bandages still tighten to her arm.
Students began filling into lines, as the pair joined the rest of the students, each team taking their position on either side of the field. The blue LED lights marked one side, the red the other. Sakura and Yuma stood together for a brief moment, “You shouldn’t play with your arm like that,” Sakura said softly. “Wait on the sidelines for me.”
Yuma nodded reluctantly. “Ok, I’ll join the others who aren't playing either. I’ll ask around about Reo while I wait.”
Splitting up, Yuma stayed on the sidelines, while Sakura joined the group on the blue team’s goal line.
Sakura took her place on the field, her heart hammering in her chest. The air was thick with tension as the drone counted down.
“Three…”
Sakura glanced around, taking in the faces of the students on her team. Some looked terrified, others determined. She steeled herself, trying to focus.
“Two…”
The red team across from them stared back, their expressions just as anxious. Some whispered to each other, exchanging quick strategies.
“One!”
The game had begun.