Location: MID UCTF (Urban Combat Training Facility), Group Four Headquarters

Time: 9:51 AM; February 14th, 2108

[Alert. Participant Henry Henderson has been eliminated. No life signs detected. Immediate medical attention is necessary.]

Henry fell to his knees and clutched his chest.

“Curse this lifeless body! I knew she was giving me a bad deal. I want a refund! That week off of class should have been mine. Think about how many extra shifts I could have worked!”

“Ahaha! Ignore that. I forgot about Henry’s, you know, medical condition. Let me remove his elimination parameters. Alright, Henry, you’re good to go until you can’t anymore. And I guess that means you guys can go wild on him. No need to hold back.”

Before anyone had a chance to address his melancholy Karen cleared up the situation. Henry’s bracelet went completely dull as it stopped flashing red.

“Yes! Wait, doesn’t that mean I can’t be eliminated? The only way we’ll lose is if I give up, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose that’s right.” I decided to answer Henry’s question.

“Perfect! We’ve got a guaranteed win! Hold on. Isn’t this a trap? Should I really be putting myself in the spotlight like that? If I win something will definitely happen. No, don’t think about that. The reward is worth the risk.”

“Wow, you’re really getting into this, huh? Up until now I’ve only heard you complain.”

Henry walked over and put his hand on Kazuko’s shoulder.

“Man, what are you talking about? Of course I was complaining. I had to take off work for this trip. But didn’t you hear? There’s a reward now. A week out of classes. That might not mean much to a fake student like you, but that’s a big deal to me.”

“Eh? Couldn’t you just skip classes if you really didn’t want to go? This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I have looked into your past. With the backing you’ve got no one would say a word if you skipped a month or two.”

Henry let go of Kazuko and put some distance back between them.

“First off, that woman isn’t backing me. If anything, she’s trying to push me off a cliff. And ease up on the ninja work Donatello; I’m not someone you need to factor into your plans. Keep that up and master Splinter will kick you off the squad. Second off, there’s no way I’d do something as abnormal as skipping class. That would definitely lead to a bunch of crazy developments. I’m just a normal student doing normal student things. That’s all I’m asking for.”

Was my heart always beating this fast? Didn’t it seem like Henry just got incredibly attractive? What’s this about? He never tried to hide the fact that he was an aberration, so I always kept my distance. If a standard augmented was abnormal, an aberration was even beyond that. There was no point in even paying attention to someone that far away from normal.

But was I wrong? Was he actually one of my people?

“And third off, you’re the one who organized the teams. Shouldn’t you have a bigger stake in winning?”

“You noticed? Or did one of them tell you?”

“I noticed, of course. You’re sneaky for sure, but my senses are pretty good. Not to mention I’m used to dealing with someone far beyond the both of us.”

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“The Sanguine Princess. Is she really as strong as they say?”

“Who knows, I don’t listen to what they’re saying. But I do know that she can sneak up on anyone. At first, it wasn’t so bad, but now she’s always bringing that table and chair with her. She’s even started bringing a tea set, so whenever you turn around she’ll be there enjoying a nice cup of tea.”

[Alert. Participant Acht has been eliminated. Bodily stress has surpassed training parameters. Medical attention is unnecessary.]

[Alert. Participant Nuen has been eliminated. Bodily stress has surpassed training parameters. Medical attention is unnecessary.]

Our team hadn’t even started developing a strategy and yet someone already eliminated two Numbers?

“Hey, it’s me again. This time, with those two, it wasn’t a technical issue like it was for Henry. Saying anything else would probably ruin the integrity of the game, I just wanted you all to know that the bracelets are functioning properly. Alright, back to it.”

Karen’s message didn’t clear up the situation for me.

“Ah, those two? They probably took each other out.”

Kazuko must have noticed my confusion, because he explained things before I even asked.

“I could see that happening.” Emelia spoke for the first time in a while.

“Alright, we should probably get started as well.”

Henry stood in front of us, naturally taking the role of leader. I wasn’t bothered by him taking that position. Him being the leader seemed normal enough. He was the oldest, the most charismatic, the most attractive, and from what I’d seen, the strongest as well.

Besides, there’s no way any of the rest of us could have been in charge. Kazuko probably has a lot of experience, but by his own admission he’s better suited to sneaking around. Emelia wouldn’t stand in front of a group and give orders in a million years. And for me, well, I’m just an unremarkable normal girl.

“But before we plan anything, I just need to make something clear. The other students in this training course are up to something. Or at least, most of them are. I don’t know what it is, or who is on what side, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to know. I’m sure throughout this day I’ll have plenty of chances to get involved in whatever they’ve got going on, but I’m going to ignore it. You guys should do the same. We’re going to make it through today as the normal team winning a normal victory. Alright?”

Oh. There it was again. Henry made an amazing speech.

“Yes! I agree. Normal is best! Let’s strive for a normal victory.”

Why was my face getting so hot? Stay calm Allison. Stay normal Allison.

“Mmh, well, I don’t have anything against staying out of their mess for once, but you know, I don’t think someone like me is suited for victory, normal or otherwise.” Emelia backed off as she spoke.

“But do you think you can really win? One of the more threatening teams has already crippled itself, but you’ve still got the team with Hana and Kathrin to worry about.”

Rather than agree like a normal person, Kazuko decided to question Henry’s declaration.

“How abnormal. Doubting your own team. Well, let me clear something up. Hana’s team isn’t a threat. We’ll be able to capture their flag without issue.”

“Oh? What makes you so confident? This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I read the report on what happened a month ago. An already exhausted Hana managed to chase off an opponent that had proven himself as too much for you and Emelia.”

It didn’t come as a surprise, but why did he look so proud of himself for constantly admitting to his stalkerish ways?

“That was a bad matchup for Emelia and me. And yes, I’m fully aware that Hana is stronger than me. But it doesn’t matter. This isn’t a death match. This is a game, and Hana isn’t playing. The fact that she hasn’t shown up here yet means she’s decided to guard Oakley. As long as we leave Oakley alone she won’t stop us from taking either teams’ flags.”

That’s my self proclaimed best friend, you know? Of course I’d be able to predict how she’d react.

“Allison is right. At first I was worried she’d suddenly show up and take me out in some kind of murder suicide, but since we’ve said her name more than three times and she hasn’t appeared in my shadow yet means it’s safe to assume she’s focusing on Oakley.”

I’m glad she agreed with me, but what kind of creature did Emelia see Hana as?

“There you have it. Victory is ours! Now let’s recite our team motto. A normal victory!”

“For a normal team!”

I found myself cheering alongside Henry.

At the time that seemed like the normal thing to do, but the more I think about it the more abnormal I seem.