???:

Around three dead and more than fifteen severely injured ^^

Incredulous at first, you reread the text several times as if it would somehow change the contents before the severity of the situation finally registered in your mind. A foreboding feeling sunk in your stomach and a feeling of dread clung onto you. Just how in the world was this possible? Is someone going to bring in a freaking bomb?!

"Ah..."

I am so fucked.

(L/n) (Y/n):

And how exactly am I supposed to not fail within the first second? At least in Utari's chapter there was only one victim. How am I supposed to know exactly who will be targeted this round?

???:

Well, I recommended the additional feature for a reason. I think I'm being pretty generous by giving you some advice. But, of course, the choice is yours. Nothing happens to me if you fail anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Your eyes sharped in annoyance at the screen, obviously displeased at how carefree the texter seemed to be behaving despite the dire situation. Did they get some sort of enjoyment out of this? Was it entertaining watching you participate in such a sick game?

???:

So, what're you choosing?

(L/n) (Y/n):

After seeing all that, isn't it obvious?

(L/n) (Y/n):

Fine. I'll take the new feature as my reward

???:

A smart choice

All of a sudden, your phone had automatically deleted the mysterious texter from your contact list and forced you out of your messenger app. Both panic and confusion struck you at that, what was going on? Why did they delete your only means of communication with them?

Then, a bright light momentarily blinded you. You instinctively shut your eyes tight, but even then you could feel the luminosity penetrating through the darkness. When the brightness settled down, you hesitantly opened your eyes; anticipation and curiosity brewing within you about what had just transpired.

A twinge of dizziness momentarily clouded your mind. However, when you realised what was in front of you, your dazed state was instantly shattered by both astonishment and bewilderment. In front of you displayed a blue pixelated holographic screen that was as wide and tall as around two laptops screens.

Then, white text began typing across the screen.

[ Alright! This is a much better way to communicate rather than using that phone. Much more stylish and convenient. And, don't worry. The real feature has yet to be given. Think of this as a bonus for listening to me ]

You took a step back, pressing yourself against a wall as your eyes remained fixated on the virtual screen in front of you. A mixture of caution and intrigue swayed your actions when you slowly reached out to it. You jolted in surprise when your hand went directly through and a peculiar cold feeling enveloped around your arm. It was like you had plunged your hand straight through a body of cool water.

"Dude, what," you gasped. "Should I be impressed or terrified?" You hated to admit it, but was pretty freaking cool.

[ Aw, glad to see you enjoying it. But, you should probably put your hand back. In everyone else's eyes, you're raising it into nothingness. You can imagine how awkward it'll be if someone were to walk by now. Well, it's not like I mind the entertainment if that were to happen ]

You quickly pulled your hand back and checked around for any students. When you were welcomed with the same old empty hallway, you turned back to the virtual screen. "Okay, so. What's the new feature––"

"(L/n)-san?"

A voice suddenly interjected, prompting you to look over to the side in confusion. When you located the owner of the voice, your eyes widened in realisation. Oh my god, you had totally forgotten about Shichirou. You pushed yourself off the wall, turned over to the male, and stared at him wordlessly; wondering if he could see the bright blue holographic screen.

"Where were you? I thought you had left me for a moment there," he asked. Though you had no clue how to answer his question, at least you can confirm that you really were the only one who could see the virtual screen.

"...Uhm." You struggled to think of a reasonable excuse and your contemplation created a prolonged awkward silence. However, despite your current dilemma of thinking up a response, your main issue was––

How do I get rid of this floating screen

You had just made the connection that whenever your whole body turned around, the screen would follow you and block your vision upfront. It normally shouldn't be a problem as it was semi transparent, however the presence of the white text made it so that your vision was obscured. "Oh, I was helping a few students out with moving things to their clubrooms."

"How kind of you," Shichirou said. "Well, should we get going then?"

You were grateful that the male doesn't question you often, he simply moves on and doesn't pry into things too much. It gave off a sense of distance in your relationship, that you were just another student to him. Which was honestly completely fine by you.

You gave Shichirou a nod before cautiously following him, it was hard to navigate your way alongside the male without accidentally bumping into him, but you managed pretty well.

Well, that was until you crashed right into a wall after turning a corner.

A very unladylike grunt parted from your lips as you stumbled back, a sharp pain lingering on your forehead. From your peripheral vision, you noticed Shichirou's surprised expression and you gave him a sheepish smile. "Uhm, for both our sakes, let's just ignore that."

It was only silence that followed after. Now, usually, your thoughts would be cluttered with concerns on how awkward the atmosphere was due to the lack of conversation. But, you were too preoccupied with figuring out how to get rid of the screen in front of you to worry.

You knitted your eyebrows together, a pensive look settled in your expression. Does it work by telepathy? You gazed at it with more intensity. Uh, remove the text?

Nothing happened.

Remove the text...please?

Again, nothing happened.

You inhaled sharply. Remove the fucking text you piece of––

"(L/n)-san? Is everything alright?"

You awkwardly coughed into your hand before showing Shichirou an okay sign. "Yup." You were getting nowhere with this, you'll just tolerate it and focus on Shichirou instead. "What are you going to do when you get home?" you asked, hoping to get a conversation going.

"I'm going to work on my student council speech," he answered.

"Student council speech?" Right, he did mention on your first day of school something along the lines of being a member of the student council in his second year of high school. "Good luck with that."

"Thank you."

In a weak attempt to keep the flow of the conversation going, you asked, "So, how does that work?"

"Well, I assume it works in the same way as all the other schools," he replied. "Potential candidates present a speech in front of the school and the student body votes on the most preferable one. However, sometimes it does become more of a popularity contest rather than students judging the quality of the speech."

"Maybe I should give it a try," you joked. Yeah, there was no way you were going to try out. You already had enough on your plate as it is.

"Oh? That's unexpected of you," the male replied. "What do you plan to include in your speech?"

Wait, hold on. That was meant to be a joke. "I wasn't actually serious––"

"Since you're new, it might be a little difficult. However, your parent's do have a well established reputation. If you use that efficiently, you have a good chance." Shichirou gave you a friendly smile, one glowing with cheerful encouragement that highlighted his attractive features.

You severely doubted the fact that Shichirou was that dense to not catch onto your sarcasm, but if that was the case, then why was he pretending to be insistent on you trying out?

"Dude, I was totally joking when I said I'll give it a shot," you quickly clarified. "I don't need the public embarrassment, thanks. Plus the thought of standing in front of a crowd already makes me want to crawl into a ball and throw myself across the stage."

"Oh, sorry." The male chuckled. "I guess I was a little too excited. Though, I guess you have a point. You'd probably publicly embarrass yourself."

Wait, what––

"Oh, we've made it by the gates," the male pointed out. "I had fun talking to you, (L/n)-san. I hope you'll consider texting me soon. Maybe we can walk together again."

And with that, he sent you a friendly wave goodbye and left the school before you had a chance to say anything. You stood there baffled and speechless. The guy literally just insulted you in the nicest tone you've ever heard in your life.

What was behind that sudden hostility? Didn't he want to work with you the other day? Did he change his mind? But, if so, then why did he act like everything was fine even after saying that insult?

Why do people have to be so confusing?

You let out a much needed sigh while you stared up at the sky listlessly for a few minutes. It took a substantial amount of willpower to suppress the urge to collapse on the spot due to the exhaustion that was finally catching up to you. It has only been a few days and so much has happened already.

[ Hello, hello! D'ya miss me? ]

You snapped out of your dazed state when the text suddenly changed. You immediately responded with, "How do I get rid of you."

[ Ack, that's not nice to say. This relationship feels toxic ]

Unamused, you tapped your foot against the concrete impatiently. "Seriously, how does this work? It's beginning to feel like more of a penalty than a bonus feature."

[ Wow. Not a single thanks for giving you something so cool? Literally anyone else would be grinning ear to ear from excitement. It's like a video game in real life! ]

Video game? Now that you thought about it, you have no idea what that's like. You wondered if you've played them in your past life. Did you enjoy them? Were you any good?

"Guess you chose the wrong person then," you replied. Your sentence then evoked a small sense of realisation within you. "Wait, why did you choose me in the first place? Why, out of all people, was I reincarnated?"

[ Don't really feel like explaining right now. Let's just say that I chose randomly and happen to select you. Yeah, that sounds good enough. Anyways, do you want me to tell you how this works or not? ]

A stubborn part of you urged for you to continue pestering them for an explanation, however, you refrained yourself from doing so. You doubted that you'd be given an answer. "Okay, okay. Tell me how it works."

[ Alright, so, this feature really isn't all that complicated. Just think of it as another function of your body? ]

"What."

[ Uh, okay. So, basically, it's like moving an arm or leg. You do it naturally without much thought. Before, what you did was directly address it. It won't work like that. You don't think in your mind 'move left arm' when you reach over to pick something up, right? This is the same case. ]

"Like moving an arm?" You looked at your own hands and then back up at the screen. Honestly, thinking about how you have to do it naturally only makes it feel all the more unnatural. However, you did as they said and, just like that, the holographic screen disappeared. You were surprised at how easy it was and chuckled at yourself at how much you struggled earlier. Now, you can finally get some needed rest––

[ Yo, I'm back ]

"What the fuck."

[ >:0 That wasn't very welcoming. I was about to give you the new feature ]

"Oh." You blinked. "Continue."

[ Hmph. Anyways, I'll add it in now ]

The screen then displayed a rectangular bar with the word installing imprinted above it. You had a feeling that they were more than capable of giving it to you immediately but decided to do it in a roundabout way just for a prolonged suspense.

Then, a faint ping was heard when the bar was fully loaded.

[ A new feature has been installed! ]



===



[ New feature: Analysis ]

[ Description ]

Upon usage, the player is granted the ability to temporarily enter a new field of vision where they are able to identify who will be involved as a victim during the chapter. When a person has a red outline on them, it means death whilst the white means that they'll sustain potential injuries. The duration for this function is only for a total of two minutes. The player may try and attempt to exceed that limit, but the consequences that derive from it will severely burden them.

It was the next day during lunch and you were sitting alone on a table, contemplating on how to utilise the new feature. You scanned the cafeteria, bouncing back between whether to or whether to not try it out now. After all, you had a time limit on it. You didn't want to waste any second.

The mysterious texter wasn't lying when they said that the next feature will be useful. However, there was a slight issue in your current predicament. The issue was how to get the most out of this new feature. Anyone can be a victim, especially with the large amount of victims that are headed your way this chapter. You needed to figure out a way to check everyone.

Now, that's the issue. Not everyone in the school ate their lunch in the cafeteria. Believe it or not, but the minority of the school ate at the cafeteria. Many students prefer to eat in their homerooms instead. Meaning, if you used your ability here, it's not guaranteed that you'll be able to get all the information you needed.

Should I try checking each homeroom one by one? No, that wouldn't work. Not only will that make you stand out way too much and cause unnecessary rumours to float around, there was also no way you could properly execute that plan with the time limit strung to the feature.

You let out a long sigh. "What should I do—"

"Oh! (L/n)-san!"

Upon hearing your name being called out, you were forced to abandon your thoughts and redirect your attention to the source of the sound. Your eyes widened in surprise when you realised that Shichirou was headed your way.

The male stood in front of your table with a friendly air around him. "May I sit with you?"

You briefly narrowed your eyes at him, clearly remembering his words from yesterday and how he slipped in a masked insult in one of his sentences. Rather than mad, you were more curious as to why he suddenly said something like that only to show up now and act like the perfect friendly student in front of you.

"Sure," you replied. Well, you won't be able to get any answers from avoiding the male. From your speculation, he was most likely the one responsible for this chapter's casualties with how often you were running into him.

Wait, doesn't that mean that he alone would be responsible for three deaths and more than fifteen injuries?

A striking realisation overwhelmed you and you swallowed nervously at the thought. You looked up and watched as Shichirou took a seat across from you. The male noticed your stare and returned your look with a gentle smile; a gentle smile that only furthered the feeling of apprehension surging within you.

How can a single highschooler be the cause for such destruction?

"Is everything alright?" Shichirou suddenly asked, concern reflecting in his pink-purple eyes. "You seem a little distracted."

"...Just lost in some thoughts," you replied.

You could feel his eyes observing you, the feeling of his gaze was oppressive and incredibly uncomfortable. It was like a camera watching you, able to instantly capture any mistakes you make and remember every little thing you do. However, what makes this device different was that it also had a scarily intelligent human mind.

You distracted yourself from the male by looking around the cafeteria while you tried coming up with a conversation starter. In the midst of doing that, your sights happened to stop at a particular female.

The girl's fiery orange hair and matching orange eyes that greatly contrasted the impassive expression on her face were the first features that captured your attention. Her appearance held an ordinary yet loosely put together feel to it with her properly worn blazer and loosely done tie and buttons. It was like she simply gave up on wearing her uniform correctly and decided to hide the mess with a blazer.

She was surrounded by a couple of friends, disconnected from the conversation as she listlessly looked around the cafeteria searching for something. During her search, her eyes locked with yours. And, out of common courtesy, you smiled at her.

However, your kind gesture was ignored when she looked over to Shichirou instead. Her expression subtly lit up at the sight of him and she made her way over to your table, ignoring the friends she was with and leaving them behind without a word.

"Yusei-san?" she asked. "I was looking for you."

Yusei? Wasn't that Shichirou's first name? Your curiosity in the female grew and you attentively observed her interactions with the male. She must be awfully close to him if she was on a first name basis. You wondered what kind of relationship they have and how she was going to be involved in this chapter.

Shichirou presented his usual amiable smile and sociable demeanour as he faced the female who had already opted to take a seat next to him. "Ah, Chiasa-san. I was just talking to (L/n)-san."

You waved at the female student awkwardly at the mention of your name. Honestly, you felt like a freaking clown when she had ignored your gesture again. She simply glanced over you, unwilling to spare you even a second of her time as she turned back to Shichirou.

"I haven't seen her around before," she said.

"She's a new student, the daughter of the well known bakery company," Shichirou explained. "She's been quite a conversation topic, I'm surprised you're unaware. You were even like that with Utari-san."

"I don't pay attention to things that don't interest me," she said, voice apathetic. It was like she wouldn't even bat an eye if someone were to literally burn right in front of her.

Crossing your legs, you leaned forward towards your desk and placed your elbows on the table. "Well, how about we start our introductions now?" you interjected. A friendly smile was presented on your face to shroud the faint annoyance that was beginning to develop into visible anger at the female's attitude. "My names (L/n) (Y/n), what's yours?"

It was like she was purposefully ignoring you to maintain her cool and apathetic image. You weren't forcing her to like you or to pretend to be extremely joyous in your presence, but showing basic human respect would be appreciated. She could at least try to acknowledge your presence a little.

As if talking with you was a burdening chore, she tiredly replied, "Hayami Chiasa."

You nodded. "Look, I know social interaction isn't the greatest thing in the world and showing basic courtesy can be taxing, but let's do our best to be on good terms, okay?"

Your words prompted a confused stare from Hayami and she responded with a slow nod. You weren't sure if she caught onto the implications behind your words, but you knew Shichirou sure did as a ghost of an amused smile played on his lips.

"Hm? Hayami-san, why'd you leave without us?"

"Oh! Shichirou-kun's here! I see why you left us."

"Hey, hey. Let's sit on that table over there! I wanna talk to Shichirou-san!"

You heard a series of unfamiliar voices. And, seemingly out of nowhere, students began crowding around your table. Taken aback by the sudden company, you watched as students went out of their way to connect tables and bring extra chairs in order to fit everyone in.

It was like a chain reaction; a handful of people came for Shichirou, and that handful of people happened to attract others which in turn attracted even more students. And, before you knew it, your once lonely table quickly became the most populated one in the cafeteria.

You looked over to Shichirou with a baffled expression. "What the heck is up with your influence?" you mouthed.

He shrugged at your question as a hint of a prideful smirk settled on his lips. "A good reputation does that to you," he mouthed back.

"Oh! Aimi-san, Utari-san! Come over here!" a student called out.

Your body instinctively froze at the two names called out, especially to the second one. Hesitantly, you glanced over and saw a familiar male student with bright blue hair with enthralling silvery blue eyes. Immediately, you averted your gaze away to avoid making accidental eye contact.

You weren't even close to being mentally prepared to face Utari so soon. It was easier to avoid him during class as he was always surrounded by students and you usually just sat quietly at the back. However, here was a different case. There was a greater chance of him sitting nearby you.

Please, please. Just sit somewhere far away. Unwanted and uncomfortable emotions were already starting to weigh down your conscious and you even considered on straight up leaving the table.

Aimi ended up sitting somewhere on the end of the table, not too far away that she was out of sight, but definitely not close enough to hold a proper conversation with. Her light blue eyes timidly glanced over to you and she gave you a shy wave and mouthed a petite 'hello' under her breath. Your discomfort due to Utari's presence eased a little as your heart warmed at the student's actions. Smiling, you returned her actions.

"Utari-san, there's space over here," Shichirou pointed out.

Your heart dropped when you noticed Shichirou was pointing at the empty seat next to you. As fast as a flick of a switch, your mind instantly decided to take on a tsunami of panic all at once. Your eyes darted around the table, eyes searching for any other empty seats before realisation dawned onto you that they were all occupied.

Well, you weren't the only one that realised that fact. All the students immediately caught on and frantically tried to make space for the idol; it involved a lot of intense shuffling and students telling others to 'take one for the team' and leave the table so Utari has a spot.

The idol chuckled at the eager attempts from the students, his mellifluous and dulcet voice almost freezing them instantly at how euphonious it was to the ear. Seriously, this guy can do the simplest things and everyone would be charmed by it.

"Thanks for your efforts everyone, but it's okay. I wouldn't want to trouble you guys. I'll just sit next to (L/n)-san."

You shot the male a look of disbelief before quickly concealing it with the best neutral expression you could muster. However, the grip you had on your school uniform under the table tightened in substitution.

Wasn't Utari also uncomfortable in your presence? Especially after what happened yesterday, you were so sure that the sight of you alone was painful to him. Why would he choose to sit next to you if you supposedly caused him so much despondency?

Your breath hitched when you felt a new presence sit beside you. You were adamant on keeping your gaze fixated up ahead, not wanting to look over to your right where Utari was.

Now this was an uncomfortable situation.