A Life Without Color

Chapter 17

It was a special day. The guards laughed and joked with one another, seeming less stressed overall. Several instructors were missing, and we spent most of the day doing self study in the library. Even our meals were extravagant by comparison. Kei's eyes nearly bulged out when she saw her heaping bowl of gruel.

Things were going so well that we were all on high alert, waiting for the catch. Maybe the staff had all received raises. Or maybe under those grins, hid an almighty terror. Perhaps the professor ordered them to buck up or get lost.

It was even possible that this was all part of some elaborate mind game on his part, trying to lure me into a state of false security so he could.... Oh.

Oh no.

Of course I'd been keeping a mental record of how many days we'd been here. I'm sure that all of us were. When was the last time I'd thought about what that meant in terms of the current date?

Adding the days we'd been trapped to the date we went missing brought me to the reason for today's unique circumstances. Today was December 25th. All around the world, people were dancing around trees, exchanging gifts, and falling in love.

Last Christmas, I went on a date with Satou. I found her bland and uninteresting, but was able to have fun teasing Kei who was still fake dating Hirata at the time.

Things really had come full circle. Only.... There was one key difference from last time I inhabited this cold, white hell.

This time, I wasn't alone.

Christmas spirit aside, the amount of guards stationed around the room was lower than usual. Those that were in attendance were laughing and joking with each other, hardly paying attention to us.

I'd been waiting for an ideal time to carry out the next phase of my plan. Luckily, I was prepared to spring into action at any point.

I winced, considering my upcoming task. It was time to go to war with the most terrifying creature known to man. The human female.

I looked over at Kei, the first girl I ever dated. My field guide into the abyss of dating. She loved me wholeheartedly, even after all the trouble I caused her. More than that, she truly believed that I loved her back.

Kei sat at the edge of the table. Her elbows scraped against the dyed wood as she shoveled gruel into her mouth. Small clumps stuck in her knotted blond hair as she rushed to gobble it down as fast as she could without spewing it back up. A fierce grumble emitted from her stomach as it protested the rapid influx of what it had been denied for so long.

Precedent dictated that anything could be taken away once given. Rushing was the right choice under the circumstances. Her body needed all the nutrition it could get.

Her knees knocked together, shaking the table. Kouenji shot her a vicious glare, pointedly steadying it with his hands. Feeling my eyes on her, Kei looked up at me, her eyes silently questioning. The small hole in my chest that was still capable of emotions felt an echo of guilt panging through me. I mercilessly banished it to the forbidden zone.

"W-What is it, Kiyotaka?" she asked tentatively.

It was almost as if she knew what was coming. Maybe she'd been expecting it for a while.

"Kei..." I began, scratching my head sheepishly.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I'm sorry, but this isn't working out. I'm going to have to break up with you."

That got a reaction. Horikita whipped her head out from the book she was reading.

Is this really the right time to be doing this? Her thoughts were written all over her face.