1: Friend/Wanted.

*I will be reformatting this soon! It won't be ass!

Students would arrive at the dock. Idle chatter filled the area.

Haruka: "Annoying." I'd put on my headphones.

There must've been around 600 people there. Though disorganized, as soon as one of the staff stood up to the podium, everyone stopped talking.

Haruka: "Mmrph." My voice was muffled. I'd look up, giving the staff member a look of confusion. I was unable to speak. It was like my mouth had been sewn shut.

The teacher would clear her throat before speaking. Her voice was commanding, showing a strong sense of authority. She looked interesting. She had a single large horn on the side of her. Was it built in? Anyway, the horn was glowing a slight yellow at the tip of it. Maybe that is what made us stop talking. She had a different suit than the rest of the teachers and even had a rose in her hair.

Kawashiro: "My name is Takara Kawashiro. Please call me Mrs. Kawashiro. I am one of the head advisors of Shinurai. I specifically manage the entrance exams and student profiles. It is time for everyone to get to the island. You will go on boats alphabetically by last name. 30 people per boat."

The dock was clouded with noise now that people were able to talk. After a while of groups being called, the noise of others started shrinking again. Eventually my group was called. As we got to the boat, I was amazed at the details on it. It was a luxury boat, though small, but it was clearly designed specifically for this school and the dock that awaits. I stepped onto the boat. Everything had an aura of richness and power. So much effort for a luxury transport boat... The ship starts moving after a while. People were very stressed, some saying their stress out loud.

...

"I'm gonna fail"...

...

"This is too scary"...

"What am I gonna do..."

...

"I hope this boat sinks..."

...

"I don't want to go..."

...

Minutes pass and I already feel like I'm gonna lose it. Everyone was so negative. I turned to the person next to me. He seemed like a nervous wreck even though we were the same age. The kid kept talking to himself. Sure he was quiet, but it was still getting on my nerves. He had blueish black hair, glasses, and tired blue eyes. His nails were clearly chewed from the stress.

Haruka: "Hey uh... are you ok? You keep talking to yourself."

???: "O-oh yeah- I'm fine. It's just a new school with all new people and there's all those rumors and I don't know what to do... Sorry if I'm bothering you... I should just leave..."

Haruka: "You are being too dramatic. I feel like you haven't had many friends huh." I read him like a book. He looked down and turned a bit away from me. "Wanna be friends? Might help you be less nervous." The student turned to me once I said that.

???: "Sure... I-I guess..."

Haruka: "I'm Haruka. You?"

???: "T-Takahiro...!" He said this a bit loud, drawing a few glances. This made him more nervous.

Haruka: "Alright. Taka it is then."

Takahiro: "Taka?"

Haruka: "I've heard having a positive nickname helps with stress." Saying all 4 syllables would be a drag.

Takahiro: "I see..." This definitely calmed him down.

Haruka: "Do you know anyone going here? I haven't seen a single person I recognize from my old school."

Takahiro: "I've only seen a few people who used to bully me..."

Haruka: "Well I'll stop them if they try to do that so come to me if you need help..."

Takahiro: "T-thank you."

Haruka: "You stutter a lot huh."

Takahiro: "It's not intentional..."

Haruka: "Ah...Alright then."

There was now an awkward silence between us. It's sorta hard to continue the conversation when you pull something like that. I tried to bring things back. I didn't want him to start talking to himself again.

Haruka: "Y'know I was wondering something. Is this school only power users? What's your power?"

Takahiro: "My power is not very special... I... I have infinite memory. I can't forget anything of what I see, hear, or smell."

Haruka: "That sounds awesome. What the hell? I wish my power was anything like that."

Takahiro: "W-What's yours then?"

Haruka: "That's a secret..." Takahiro was annoyed by this but respected my privacy.

The conversation continued for a while until we reached the dock of the island.

PA System: "We have arrived at Shinurai Island. Follow where the supervisors tell you to go. They will direct you to the school itself for our opening ceremony."

We exited the boat. The island was massive. Tall buildings were on both sides of us. I assume those are the dorms. As we went farther into the artificial island, We saw a big marketplace to our right. There were many older students and teachers there getting stuff.

Eventually we were nearing the school.

Haruka: "This seems to be the school itself."

Takahiro: "I'm a little nervous."

Haruka: "You will be fine. Think of it as a game or something."

Suddenly, an arm reached out and pulled me out of the line.

Haruka: "What-"

???: "You are coming with me. Don't fight back."

Takahiro: "I don't know if thinking of it as a game will help... It'll just make me feel like I have to try harder..." He looked around. Haruka was gone. "Haruka?"

|———————————————————|

Haruka: "Where the hell are you taking me? Who even are you?"

Hiragi: "Hiragi Akisake. I'm the student council secretary. The student council needs you right now for an important part."

Haruka: "I just got into this school and the student council wants to talk with me already? Are you sure you got the right person? What part am I even playing?"

Hiragi: "How about you stop asking questions and do what I say."

Haruka: "Alright, fine." I could tell messing with her was a bad idea, especially not knowing what she was fully capable of. Her grip was strong too. She could probably break my arm.

We go into a room. We were clearly in the backstage of an auditorium of sorts. Orchestral music was playing on the stage. This must be the opening ceremony I should've been at!

Hiragi pulled a cart towards me. On it were clothes. Dress pants, a suit, the whole fancy attire. I wonder why I needed to put on these clothes and why they were so fancy. Before I had much time to think, Hiragi started talking again.

Hiragi: "Put these on."

Haruka: I'd sigh. "Alright..."

I walk into the changing room and put on the clothes. Several thoughts cross my mind. 'They must really need me', 'I wonder how good the food is', 'How do I tie a tie'.

Wait. How do I

Haruka: "Fuck." I rush and finish putting the clothes on. I glance out of the changing room for a second. Hiragi was sitting down, staring at me. Looking at the tie, I get out my phone quickly.

Phone: "So the first step to tying a tie is..."

The curtains of the changing room open. I turn. Hiragi gives me a disappointed look.

Hiragi: "You can't be serious... Come here."

Hiragi starts putting the tie on me. I blush slightly from how close she is. The orchestral music comes to an end.

Haruka: "What's with all the fancy clothes?" Hiragi finishes tying the tie.

Hiragi: "You'll hear it. I'll tell you when to get on stage."

Haruka: "What the fuck... why am I being put on stage? Am I supposed to perform?"

Hiragi: "Just get on there and stand there when I tell you to." Stand next to the president."

Haruka: "Well who's the-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, the crowd starts cheering. After a few moments, a woman starts speaking.

???: "Hello new students of Shinurai High School. My name is Megumi Kamiyama. First off I'd like to congratulate you all for making it into this school. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world try to get in each year and you all succeeded. You should be proud of yourself."

The crowd cheered loudly. Rightfully so, I can tell she is no stranger to this sort of thing.

Hiragi: "That's her."

Megumi: "There are many clubs available so feel free to join one. Personally I recommend the Judo club. Definitely no bias here." She winked. Applause covered the auditorium. "There's gonna be guides all around the school in case you need to find something specific."

Haruka: "I can see why she's student council president. She seems much more charismatic than you." I'd turn to Hiragi as I made this joke. She looked tired of my shit. "Alright sorry that was... that was uncalled for... I guess."

Hiragi: She turned towards me with an annoyed look on her face. "I guess? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Megumi: "Now this next segment is gonna need a bit of explaining. The main game of our school is our bounty system." Confused murmurs could be heard from some of the audience.

'A bounty system?'

'Is this school safe?'

'What bounties?'

Questions like these filled the minds of the students who were uninformed previously.

Haruka: "What the hell... is that even allowed?" I take a step back.

Megumi: "A student will have a bounty placed on them for a week. You kill them, you get their possessions and $20,000. These are called Week Bounties. You have to kill them in the school part of the island, and can't kill them if their bounty is over. Furthermore, all kills must be done with a pencil. We will supply these pencils. The Week Bounty also has to use a pencil to defend themself, but they can use their powers to fight back as long as they don't kill with them."

The audience was more nervous, however most of them knew this was coming.

Megumi: "Of course if a Week Bounty does survive, they get $50,000. They must attend school as well. There is a second type of bounty as well. One lucky person will be selected to be the Year Bounty. Their bounty spans the entire year if that wasn't clear already. Same rules apply from the week bounty. If the Year Bounty survives they get $10,000,000 and if they die the killer gets $1,000,000. The Year Bounty can use their powers as much as they want. They can even kill the week bounties with their powers or kill others in self defense. This of course is heavily watched, so don't abuse the self defense card. Now that I've explained that snoozefest, can our Year Bounty please show himself?"

Haruka: "Wait..." Hiragi then pushed me through the curtain into view. I look around. All eyes looking at me with the intent to kill. "You've gotta be kidding me..."

Megumi: "Your Year Bounty is Haruka Fukushima! Hopefully he lasts more than a few months this time. Last year wasn't so lucky. Over this tradition's 109 year history, only 3 people have survived being the Year Bounty. I know I might be the only one saying this but let's hope we can make it 4!"

I look at Megumi as she says this. She smiles at me. I blush and look away.

Haruka: "This is horrible..."

Megumi: "The bounty system starts... now.."

For a second or two, there was a pause, as if all 600 people were processing what she said. After that pause almost everyone started pushing each other to get to the stage. I dash through the curtain and out of the door, almost slipping as I turn 90 degrees and down the hall.

Haruka: "What the hell just happened? Everyone's chasing me!"

END OF CHAPTER