Prisoners Of The Sea

Haruto slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred, unable to see anything clearly, he was lying down rubbing his eyes, he slowly pushed himself up, sitting down, his head was spinning with dizziness, he rubbed his eyes, vigorously this time, and when he opened them his vision slowly sharpening, As he glance around the surroundings he realized he was in a small hard steel cell.

His eyes were narrowed in confusion as his gaze fell on the corner of the cell, he saw a young girl sitting there, likely in her twenties, sitting at the corner with her arm tightly wrapped around herself, her breaths were quick and uneven. Her wide anxious eyes were locked on Haruto, a look of both fear and disbelief was etched on her face.

Still dazed, Haruto stared at her with his eyes narrowed in confusion, "Hey," he whispered softly.

The girl's eyes widened, her expressions quickly turning to fury, In a flash she stood up and marched towards Haruto, delivering a sharp resounding slap across his face.

Haruto was left stunned, his cheek stinging and flushed red, slowly he turned to meet her gaze who was staring at him, her expressions a mix of anger and unease.

"How dare you?" she demanded, her voice low and seething with anger.

Haruto's confusion deepend, "What?" he whispered, his voice barely audible

"How dare you lay your hands on me!" she shouted, her anger and boiling over.

Haruto's eyes widened in disbelief, "Whaat?" he exclaimed, utterly stunned. "What are you saying? why would I lay my hands on you?"

"I woke up with my clothes changed!" She shouted, her voice rising with anger, "And you were the only one lying next to me!" her tone was sharp and filled with accusation.

Haruto glanced down at himself and noticed he was also in a different outfit, now wearing an orange and black outfit, giving the vibe of a prisoner.

Haruto expressions shifted to one of annoyance, turning to that girl he said, "My clothes are changed too, did you-"

Before he could finish she struck him again with another sharp slap on his face.

Haruto held his cheek, wincing in pain "Ouch" he muttered, turning to glare at her, now his anger flashing.

She was staring back at him with equal intensity, both staring at each other.

Haruto then took a deep breath, sat up straight, "Look I don't know who changed our clothes, but I can assure we didn't change each other's clothes, at least I'm certain from my side." he said with a hint of irritation in his voice. The girl continued glaring at him, clearly unconvinced.

Haruto then again scanned the surroundings, taking in the harsh steel walls of the cell, with just one steel door with a small open window above, and a small covered slot at the bottom of the door.

Haruto rose to his feet and stepped closer to the gate, observing it closely. The girl was watching him with a mixture of confusion and anger.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her tone filled with annoyance.

Still focused on the door, Haruto replied, "Trying to figure out where we are."

"And how do you plan to do that by just staring at it?" she snapped, clearly irritated.

Haruto remained silent for a moment, then spoke up with certainty, "We are in the middle of the sea." His declaration left the girl visibly shocked.

She came and stood next to Haruto, her gaze fixed on the door, "How can you tell?" she asked, curious.

Haruto turned to her, a faint smile appearing on his face, then looking back at the door he said "I wasn't trying to see through, I was focusing on listening."

The girl narrowed her eyes, then began to concentrate the sound around her.

"Try to listen through the window, not the door," he advised.

She shot him an annoyed look before turning her attention to the small window.

"Listen to the winds" Haruto continued, "Hear the soft lapping of waves" He paused, inhaling deeply, "And there's a slight scent of salt in the air."

As the perspective shifted, coming out from their cell we see a row of steel cells, placed on the dimly lit basement, which had one window. Coming out from that window we see they were in the basement of a massive cruise ship which was sailing in the middle of the sea.

The girl slightly nodded, "Yes maybe you are right" she conceded.

Haruto let out a long sigh before turning around, walking back to the corner of the cell, sinking down against the wall.

The girl followed the suit sitting on the other corner of the cell.

Stealing a glance at Haruto, she noticed he was lost in thoughts, his expressions distant.

"You must be here to play the smiley face game," she asked, breaking the silence.

Without looking at her, he replied "Yeahh, what about you?"

"Same here" she responded quickly, looking hesitant, before asking, "What's your name?"

Haruto turned to her with a brow frowning in confusion, "Haruto Oshima" he replied.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rin Kamizawa," she said with a warm smile breaking through.

Haruto nodded in acknowledgment, "Are you also invited by Haruma?" he asked.

"Yeah," She replied.

A sudden awkward silence fell over the cell, enveloping them both, they exchanged glances not sure what to say next.

"Why did you agree to play this game?" Rin asked, looking at Haruto.

Haruto remained silent, "Personal reason." he replied without looking at her.

Rin seemed taken aback, "Ooh um, yeah, sorry," she said hesitantly, while Haruto continued to sit in silence, lost in his thoughts.

Suddenly a piece of paper slipped through the slot of the bottom of the door, catching both Haruto and Rin's attention, both quickly stood up and walked towards the paper.

Haruto bent down to pick it up, with Rin standing beside him, as they examined the note, which say;

[ PAIRING UP ]

Haruto Oshima (22) — (46)

Rin Kamizawa (78) — (102)

Haruto and Rina exchanged confused glances upon reading the paper.

"Pairing up" Rin whispers "Are we pairing up with each other?"

"I think we are teaming up with those numbers," Haruto replied.

"Seventy eight, twenty two" Rin said, seeming confused "Are those our numbers?"

Haruto lowered the paper and turned to her, "Turn around." he instructed with a serious tone.

Rin's eyes widened in shock, "Whaat?!" she exclaimed, "I'll kill you!" her voice filled with fury.

Haruto shook his head in disappointment and turned his back on her.

Rin's eyes widened further, as she noticed a big twenty two printed on the back of Haruto's shirt.

"Is something written there?" Haruto asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Yeah, a big twenty two" Rin replied.

Turning back to face her, Haruto met her gaze, his expressions still marked with disappointment.

Rin hesitated, glancing over her shoulders, attempting to catch a glimpse of the number herself, Haruto kept watching her intently, his expression serious.

Frustrated by her inability to see the number she sighed and turned around, Haruto saw a big seventy eight printed on her back.

"Hmm, it is seventy eight," Haruto confirmed.

Rin turned to face Haruto asking, "So now we are supposed to pair up with those numbers in front of ours and play games together as a team?"

Haruto turned and began walking towards the corner of the cell sitting back again he said, "Yeah, Maybe"

Rin also settled back to her corner, her eyes drifting to the window, "How much time has passed? How long have we been traveling?" she asked.

Haruto slowly shook his head, "No idea" he replied lost in his thoughts.

An hour later, Haruto and Rin were still sitting on their spots, both appearing tired and lost.

Suddenly a tray of food slid through the slot bottom of the door, drawing Haruto and Rin's attention, they both stared at the tray, before exchanging uncertain glances.

Both of them stood up and approached the tray to see a single piece of bread and a small bowl of gravy, and a single glass of water.

"What, are they serious?" Rin exclaimed, her annoyance clear, "Is this all for two people?"

Haruto picked up the tray carefully observing the food, "This doesn't even look fresh" he remarked.

Suddenly a loud sound of a brawl echoed from the nearby cell, like a fight going on a different cell.

Haruto and Rin exchanged alarmed looks, tense at the noise.

"Looks like our cell is not the only cell here" Rin commented, her voice low

Haruto nodded, "And they are probably fighting over the bread," he said, his tone serious.

"Whatever, let's eat" she said, reaching towards the bread, but Haruto moved the tray out of her reach, leaving her shocked.

Rin was stunned gazing at him with disbelief, Haruto returned her gaze, his expressions firmly serious.