When the Darkest Secrets are all White

Chapter 1 - Taking Heed of Tsukishiro's Creed

Alarms blared. Lights flashed. The once desolate night was illuminated from herein. The colourless lights opened the gates to the shining white labyrinth. There was movement heard from a room off centre to a long straight corridor. From the room, which doors for privacy were unheard of, emerged a boy in his early teens.

Dull eyes, blank expression, but concise and practiced movements. He walked out of his doorless cell and made his way dutifully down the corridor. No movements wasted, not a second to spare. The actions of the labyrinth were the conductor, and he, the orchestra. One must follow all the directives or face retribution. It was the constant in his life that he would adhere to. No point rebelling in the White Room.

However, curiosity can never be satiated. As the boy continued monotonously on the predetermined path, his mind burned. A burning desire to learn of the outside, the unknown. His mutinous thinking was clandestine to all.

As he walked the sterilised walls, he ran his fingers across the cold, porcelain surface. The white grain gave no resistance. Nothing flaked, nothing stained. He couldn't make any single mark on the blank canvas. No flaws to begin and none to create. It was picturesque perfect and flawless. A fact that was mind-numbing to the curious boy.

Arriving at the programmed location, he gazed at the flawless expanse of the room before settling his gaze on the indentation of the one-way mirrors. This was the holy room of the labyrinth – The Observatory. Where he stand – the pews for the subjects. What lay above him – the shrine, the sanctuary's creed.

The boy was aware of his crowd and obediently awaited the forthcoming edicts.

"Subject 4-7, Ayanakouji Kiyotaka."

The voice was monotone, cold and emotionless. There was no essence of humanity. One would think an advanced AI passed down the hierarchy's orders, but nay.

"Objective. Make the opponent surrender through force. Verbal affirmation needed. Parameters. Five minutes allocated. Opponent use of weapons authorised. Firearms excluded. Excessive use of force authorised. Subject. Weapons excluded. Failure results in repetition. Success, move to Nutrition Chamber."

A man in his mid-twenties nonchalantly walked through a sliding door underneath the indentations. Equipped with a baton in his left hand, a knife in his right, and a taser strapped to his hip. A grin accompanied his armoury, thrilled to do damage to his believed prey. A petty criminal he must be, paid for his time. He was blissfully unaware of the peril he was in. The man was offered as bait, a steppingstone for the boy's progress.

The white cage which was constructed to keep Subject 4-7 in and away from harm, ironically worked both ways, as a buffer, to keep others out.

---

It was five minutes to midnight on the closing day of the Uninhabited Island Exam. I was dressed in casual clothes – freed from the stench of my school tracksuit – making my way to the upper levels on our sublime cruise ship. As I strolled the walkways, I admired the walls which accompanied me either side. The gradient of light blue to white was expertly done, a simile to the outside ocean I presume. I ran my fingers along the effervescent illustrated wave and noticed the change. I revered the subtle outline of my fingerprints across the tapestry. My somewhat dirtied fingertips were leaving an input, a stain, a flaw... And I was mesmerised. Shaking my head of my momentary distraction, I continued towards my end destination.

It was a surprising rendezvous with the thorn in my side for the past couple of months, Acting Director Tsukishiro. Of course, I hadn't made any contact with him since he was escorted from the beach by Chabashira-sensei and Mashima-sensei, however he made an unusual request through my allies, to engage in a conversation on hopes of sharing information.