Isogai carries me through the next door to the sound of a crowd's applause. It's hard to tell if it's genuine or not, blasting through the speakers above.
"Congratulations! The nine of you will move on to the next challenge." The host claps from a projection on the wall in front of us. His face is calm and sinister, but he seems bored.
I look down again, the tracker unrelenting.
"Your things have been transferred over to your new rooms. Might I ask, why are you carrying Nagisa on your back?" The host interlocks his hands in front of himself, looking over us gently.
"You said there was no rule about helping each other out." Isogai responds.
"And even though you recommended against it, it's still our choice." Kayano adds.
The host stares a moment longer and I notice these nearly imperceptible movements on his face.
Someone's telling him how to respond.
"I've just been informed that they were expecting one less of you to make it. Your next challenge demands that there be four to a team. You see, one of you may have to be alone if you keep him, making the next challenge impossible."
And whoever it is doesn't like that I'm still in the contest.
"Does it have to be four or can it be three?" Nakamura steps forward. "We could just as easily do three teams of three."
"The challenge simply requires a team of four to complete." the host counters.
"Then we'll have a team of five." Yada approaches the projection confidently. "With Nagisa's handicap, it requires one of us to carry him. If anything, whichever team Nagisa is on is technically only three players strong. It's not an advantage to have a five person team in this case."
The host's fake smile falters and he looks towards the side I assume has the earpiece in it. "Understood." He turns back to us, a more serious expression on his face. "And you accept this handicap willingly? It will not do you good to sacrifice for each other in the challenges to come."
"What would you have done if we had six or eleven people? We wouldn't have been able to have formed equal teams of four then either." Yada retorts.
"You've been given an exception because of Nagisa's curse. If you had an odd number of people left, it would have been up to you to decide who would've been disqualified." He smiles, slightly entertained. "You were lucky, this time."
He's just a watcher.
"Lucky? Maybe you should tell us what happened to the rest of our class!" Nakamura demands.
"That is actually above me. The judges may have more answers for you and you'll get the chance to ask them yourselves the challenge after next. You'll be staying at one of their resorts, if you can make it there." He grins menacingly again, a hint of blood lust in his eyes. I narrow mine.
He enjoys it.
I stare at him a moment, searching around for the camera afterwards. A tiny reflective surface shines in the corner and I turn my gaze to it, willing my intentions through.
"Are all of the challenges going to be dangerous?" Isogai asks.
"Will we be able to save them after this contest is over?" Kayano adds.
"I'm not at liberty to say." the host responds nonchalantly.
You will die.
"Then what can you tell us?" Nakamura pushes.
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...
