As we continue forth, there are black spots everywhere. Some platforms seem to be almost floating above the black sea, but we all stay on our ziplines, gliding through the air without a word.
Isogai's right. We've trained for this, even if it wasn't for this specifically.
Sugaya yells out, falling towards one of the black areas out of nowhere.
"Sugaya!" Yada and Kayano call out.
"It was fake!" he screams, pointing up towards a bar just before the black ooze swallows him whole and we hear a painful wail afterwards.
"Oh no!" Fuwa cries. "This one toooooo—" The blackness cuts her off, the scream following shortly after.
"I don't understand what's happening to them!" Nakamura flusters, shaking a fist in anger. "This is not the kind of contest we thought this would be!!"
"Whaaahh! They're holograms!" Mimura calls out, falling towards his own end.
"He's right. If you look closely, some of them flicker." Kataoka glances back, a worried stare in her eyes. "Keep moving!"
Mimura's scream is quiet, but haunting, our new reality slowly dawning on the rest of class 3-E.
"Change it up!" Karma orders, dropping down to one of raised platforms and then ziplining back up.
A few follow suit and I spot an opening in the ceiling. It looks like a long way across and I lower myself down the line while flying forward, noticing a thin shadow on one of the platforms below. I quickly glance at the two bars just before the opening and one of them is fake. I shoot for the real one on the right, the hook catching, and swing all the way up into open space. Another set of bars are on top and the one in line with me flickers once. Just as I start to descend, I shoot for the real one on the left. It catches just barely and I reel myself in, willing my heart to slow down.
This is all real.
Hazama swings into the space with me, apparently following my lead, but she shoots for the fake bar.
"No! Shoot it again!!" I cry out.
The hook clangs against the ceiling above and she starts to fall, quickly aiming for the tether I'm attached to. It misses.
"NO!" I reach out for her even though it's useless and watch as she falls into the darkness below. She smiles once, just before it eats her up too. "HAZAMA!!"
I wonder for a second if that actually happened or not because there isn't a scream. Then I remember it's Hazama. Another person cries out, followed by the cry that normally follows someone falling into the abyss.
"No, Chiba! Damn it!" Hayami shouts.
I'm about to lower myself down a bit when the glint of something catches my eye. I look over to see a gold coin hanging from a string.
"Nagisa, you okay?" Isogai calls out as he passes the large expanse of black stuff beneath me.
"Yeah." I grab the coin and stuff it into my pocket with the other one, lowering myself down and readying to shoot out another line.
The goal is finally in sight, just beyond where Kataoka is. She lands, turning around and immediately coaching everyone else as they reach the goal. Another loud rumble fills the air.
"Move it!" Nakamura commands, landing right next to Kataoka and assisting others to safety.
Karma lands on a platform and glances back, a hateful glare in his eyes. He spots me and nods, continuing on towards the finish line. A few others make it, urging the rest of us to hurry. Kurahashi shoots out at the last hold she needs in order to make it to the goal and the bar detaches from the ceiling.
YOU ARE READING
Assassin Skills Required - Round One
Fanfiction**Complete** Class 3-E is enlisted in a brand new contest that no one knows anything about, except that it has a large cash prize. Since Principle Asano signed off on it, they can't say no. It's an exciting reprieve from Kunugigaoka's usual discrimi...
