Clever || S. Chishiya

.01

Tokyo has not and never will be a quiet place to live. Being one of the businesses places in all of Japan, there was always some sort of noise.

Which is why it was strangely odd to wake up to pure silence.

Sora wasn't one to not notice the little things. She saw and remembered things she didn't even remember knowing until the right moment. It was convenient really, with her job as a programmer. But it also came with a side of uneasiness and anxiety when something was out of place.

Like quiet in Tokyo.

And complete emptiness.

Everything was still there, but there was no people. The whole town looked like everyone got up and left without a trace. Even the electricity was down, which was a large inconvenience to her. It seemed she was the only one left.

Being the calm and collected person she was, she decided to not panic. If there was something dangerous out there and the city had to evacuate then they would probably come back looking for stragglers, right? The option wasn't likely but she choose to go with that.

Strangely, the silence and aloneness was comforting. Of course Sora never liked not knowing things and it was killing her inside not to know where everyone went. She was determined to find out.

Every little noise made her turn, hoping to find another human. Instead she found small animals or something blowing in the wind. By the time the sun was setting, she was growing hungry and tired from wondering around all day. She decided it was time to find a place to rest for the night, she could figure out more tomorrow.

The streets were growing increasingly dark when she found a small connivence store. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind but it would work for one night. Because the electricity is out, the streetlights won't work. If it got dark, she wouldn't be able to see.

The loneliness was starting to catch up as Sora lit a few tea lights. She began to grow bored as she sat in the corner of the store, some snack wrappers around her and a sleeping bag she found in the back underneath her butt. The girl was itching to go out and explore and figure out what was happening, but it was probably pitch dark outside and she wouldn't be able to find anything in the dark, so she would wait here for now until the sun rose again.

Her eyelids were growing heavy when she was smacked in the face with a blinding white light. So bright, she was forced to squint her eyes and cover herself. Once her eyes adjusted, she stood up to see what was going on.

A TV screen at the front of the store was the source of the blinding light, and she had to squint to see what it read.

Gaming Arena this way
<—

It was pointing to the door. Was this a game? A sick game to mess with someone's head by leaving them alone? Disgust flooded her veins at the thought.

Sora wasn't one to pass up the opportunity. So she grabbed a fairly sized flashlight and a few extra batteries before heading for the door. On the way, she paused upon the sight of a few pocket knives.

Who knew what this game was going to bring her?

So she broke the glass case it was in and took a few, stuffing them in her pocket for later use. Then it was the journey of following the bright white signs to find the "gaming arena". So far, Sora didn't see any other people. She hoped she wasn't the only player.

Sora didn't know what she expected out of the gaming arena. Maybe she expected an actual circle arena with an audience that watches you. Instead she got an apartment building, a tall one at that with about 7 floors and too many doors. Who knew what this stupid game would be.