The Unnamed Poet : Volume 1

Chapter 11 : Metropolitan Dominion Part 1

4:01 pm – Players Hagatsuma Kumiko, Archive Vinogradov, Shiro Shiro, Kitamura Savanah, Isobe Tamotsu, and Ikeda Kiyomi entered the facilities.

4:38 pm – Patrik Lundqvist, Ishihara Midori entered the facilities.

4:41 pm – Sawa Koji and Hoshino Bunko entered the facilities.

4:56 pm – Hirai Fran entered the facilities.

All players have now entered the facilities. All blessed individuals have now been brought to this location. Thank you for listening…
…
At that moment, unlike the previous games hosted by Kawabata Aoi, these ones searched throughout the whole world. Across the entire globe. All one million, six hundred nine thousand, and forty four ability users were brought to the facilities. Kobashigawa Osamu, having awakened Metropolitan Dominion, caused the facilities themselves to grow vastly in size.
Without the mastermind’s presence of the previous games existing. The games would be held away by a new host resulting in a few of the rules changing as well.
The main difference would be extinguishing the blessed from the normal ones. The awakening of the ability Metropolitan Dominion, aside from making the facilities larger, it also created a few systems to avoid any past mistakes. Unfortunately the blessing lost something through its evolution, that being the control the user has over the space. The facilities would be made to fit the idea of a fair fight and would terminate the ones controlling it if they were to sabotage any games or interfere with them in any sort of way. In other words. It attained awareness. Even Kobashigawa Osamu has lost control over it, his ability does not even treat him differently so it is wise for him to remain hidden when inside it. Which will allow for it since by protecting and isolating the user it protects itself and the players.
Yet the facilities still needed a few people to manage battles and oversee them. It did not want to use blessed ones to make sure it was not discriminating. So it made its existance known to a few humans without a blessing, the facilties knew which ones to choose by specific criteria them being : Their mental state, their overall intellect, their ability to think logically and the possibility of them keeping it a secret.
-???- «I see.. Koji and Bunko entered. I suppose it is about time I get moving too…»
And so having decided on how the games, the players and everything to be set up. Metropolitan Dominion began the games… no. It would be more correct to say that... they did…
Kumiko woke up inside a minimalistic iron room reminding her of a past memory in her head. Weirdly so she could hardly recall it. She thought to herself that she might have hit her head somewhere.
Looking around the room seemed larger than before. On top of that, it opened much sooner than the last time. At least that’s what she felt like since her own memory was cloudy.
After waiting patiently for around thirty minutes. The doors in front of her were unlocked. Hesitantly at first wondering if indeed she wanted to step through them, Kumiko did not want to move forward, it was probably an instinct inside her telling her to avoid it. The feeling was strong. And yet it would not be avoided. There was nowhere else she could go for the time being. If she so decided to stay here. She would have starved to death. Mustering up the courage she walked through these doors. It was for her survival after all… no it was… she did not want to lose him.
As soon as she stepped through she found before her a number of corridors. Some turning some not. It seemed like a maze or a labyrinth of some sort. Kumiko trying to understand the space around her saw a door to her left. She did not feel any sort of traps up front. But would it really be that simple to go towards there? As Kumiko was pondering whether or not she should go to that direction, a voice was heard from around the room.
-MD- «Player Hagatsuma Kumiko. Welcome to the facilities! I’m Metropolitan Dominion but please refer to me as MD. I’m here to answer any questions you may be having!»
Kumiko looked around trying to understand where in the room the sound was coming from but she could not quite find it. The steel walls were suffocating. Feeling an uneasiness she decided to talk to the machine to be able to leave the maze.
-Kumiko H- «This labyrinth. What’s its purpose?»
-MD- «This is the fair system I’ve created to make different teams  in order to survive! First the facilities have split everyone into many locations. There are hundreds of locations and rooms, each one having six people! That means that there a lot of blessed individuals here. Which is why only the survivors will make it to the actual facilities. I do not expect many to die here. Although please pick the hall you’d like to go! Every other fighter has to decide on their path too so be sure to not take too much time! Otherwise some rooms will be full before you can enter them! Good luck miss Hagatsuma and be careful!»
-Kumiko H- «What’s that supposed to mean shitty intercom!»
There was silence. Metropolitan Dominion did not answer a second time. Kumiko annoyed responded with a «tch» before thinking about which path to take through this labyrinth.
The most simple option would have been for Kumiko to go down the short path. And that was where she would go at first. But the moment she placed her foot on the cold floor, the sound echoed through the room and to her ears. Archive would not take that route. She wanted to be on the same team as Archive, that was the best way to survive. To be near him. So she turned forward. Avoiding the straight and easy path, for a more meaningful one.
After a few hours of searching and reaching constant dead ends she finally reached a door. Hoping that it would still allow for her to enter she placed her hand on the doorknob, turning it and entering the room. She saw a few people inside but could not quite tell which ones were there. Stepping inside the room to see everyone better the door behind her closed shut and the intercom spoke.
-MD- «Room seven hundred and eighty seven is full. Greet your team!»
Kumiko ignored the intercom almost immediately and looked around only to not find Archive in the room. She was tense and everyone could tell. It was then that one of the five people in the room approached her.
A man around his twenties with magenta colored hair and silver like eyes.
-???- «Hey you alright? You seem tense. Something wrong?»
Kumiko still uptight did not respond and just turned to the man with a disconcerting look.
-Midori- «Ah I’m sorry. Ishihara Midori is my name. Nice to meet you»
He said waving placing his hand on the back of his neck. Kumiko upset went to throw a backfist towards Midori but another man quickly grabbed her hand. It was the werebeast Toma Shig.
Midori thought to himself how rude she was being. He was older than her too!
-Shig- «Relax. No violence against our teammates»
Kumiko getting a bit calmer since she at least knew the person that was with them in this room. Her fist relaxed and she pulled her hand back from Shig.
-Kumiko H- «Fancy seeing you here Shig»
-Shig- «You could be more kind to your elders Kumiko…»
She remained silent for a bit looking at Midori on the ground. He seems to have fallen out of fear.
-Shig- «That aside you should not attack Ishihara-San. The other guy said he is useful»
-Kumiko H- «… other guy? Can’t you make that call yourself you idiot?»
-Shig- «Nuh uh I’m not smart enough for the thinking»
-Kumiko H- «Yeah fair enough, you are pretty stupid after all»
Kumiko walked around the room ignoring Midori and checking out the other players in the room. Once one of them saw Kumiko she was frightened to death. That girl’s name was Suzushiro Akane. Kumiko was the one that killed her without any sort of difficulty at the very beginning of the first games. She still felt a fear inside her. Therefore she remained quiet for now.
There were two more people in there. A woman who was sitting down and relaxing. She had long blonde hair and teal colored eyes. And a man she felt like she knew. Kikuchi Jurou. One of the ‘gods’ she had fought in their final battle with Aoi. She went up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his neck.
-Kumiko H- «Hey shitbag. You still alive?»
-Jurou- «OH KUMIKO-CHAN. Hello! No need to get so aggressive! We are on the same team here after all! Hehehe»
Kumiko wanted to punch Jurou in the face really badly but due to remembering his ability and the fact that they would probably have to work together stopped her from hitting him.
-???- «No fighting here! Be careful with your teammates aggressive lady. Oh by the way!»
She got up all excited and looked at all of them.
-Yukiko- «My name is Oishi Yukiko! Glad to get to meet you all!»
-Midori- «Nice to meet you!»
Kumiko felt a bit weirded out. Some of them were a bit… too cheerful for the state they were in. What’s wrong with them. Is what she asked herself. And whilst she felt bummed out from these people, a sound was heard from one of the walls. It was painted face of a robot from a children’s cartoon, it had an intercom at its mouth. Everyone looking and listening to what was going to be told through it. It finally spoke
-MD- «Let’s go everyone! Let the games. Begin»