Survival Game, Book 1: The Fool

Act One: Chapter Three

"Juvenile delinquents?" Mitsuki repeated as if she couldn't believe what Ryou had told her at dinner the next night. He had never got to tell her the news the previous night after she'd worked late hours. "Are you sure? That's just crazy!" Her dark brown eyes were widened in shock and her brows furrowed. "I don't know who this woman thinks she is, but does she truly believe that she can put children through hell and back, force them to take those weird drugs over a baseless rumor, and train them to fight a threat we barely know of?! The Survival Game! I'd say so! She's treating this damn program as nothing but a silly game!" She didn't even seem concerned that Hideo had paused from eating to stare at her with huge eyes, shocked at his mother's sudden fury.
Ryou himself was unsure about it as well, but a part of him was relieved. If this program meant people like Kouji Kawakami would be away from causing trouble for others, then maybe it wasn't so bad. Though I don't think giving delinquents AX is a good idea... He could only imagine what would happen if his school got powers like the Grandmasters claimed. Kamiyama would be destroyed in days...
"I think it's unfair." Hideo recovered from the surprise of Mitsuki's outburst and declared once everyone had finished speaking. "If high schoolers get to do it, why can't we? I want to get cool powers and fight villains too! I want something like awesome fire powers or flying, just like the heroes on TV! Oh, or super strength! Can you imagine how powerful my kicks would be at soccer? I'd win every game!" He complained, not seeming to care about the risks of this new program. "Wait!" He suddenly got an idea and turned his gleaming gaze onto Ryou. "Maybe you could enter the program, Ryou! Then you can teach me how to use your powers!"
"I, uh, don't think I can..." Ryou muttered in response. Why would I...? He added inwardly, returning his focus back onto the bowl of miso soup that laid on his tray of food. For the first time that week, his mother had actually been home to cook dinner for them and they were served a more proper meal than Ryou's usual cooking of random convience store ingredients. Not like he was bad at cooking or anything, but he never got the time to stop at the market and had to suffice with what his store sold or whatever ingredients he had in the refrigerator. Maybe I should go shopping one day... He remembered the bentou he'd prepared his brother for lunch the previous morning. It wasn't his best work, he knew, and he wished he had used better ingredients to make it more presentable, though his brother didn't seem to care as much as he did about it.
"Let's just return to dinner, okay?" Mitsuki requested with a sigh. "Ryou won't ever be in such a program, and neither will you, Hideo. I just pray for the children's safety and hope that this Azumi Kimura knows what she's doing. That drug isn't sold or approved by any pharmacy, it's not at all safe. But, I'm hoping it'll give some people reassurance knowing something is being done." With the last sentence she spoke, the conversation ended there. The rest of their dinner went in almost silence, minus a few trivial things like Hideo's latest game and how work was going for Ryou, along with some warnings to not forget about school. Ryou agreed, though he never did forget to begin with, spending his whole Sunday cleaning and studying until his head began to ache, just in case he had to miss any days. His attendance had picked up recently, thanks to both his mother and the announcement of Survival Game, as of yesterday, but he still could never devote his whole time to school like he once had when he first started high school and middle school before that. His mother began working more in the recent years and he didn't want to force such hardships on Hideo, even when his brother had started to help out often since he got older and more responsible.
Once the three had finished dinner, Mitsuki picked up her own tray first, prepared to clean up afterwards. Ryou quickly intervened, placing his hand onto her own mangled one. "I can do that, Mom." He offered. Neither of them had worked that day, but Ryou knew her days off were rare in comparison to his usual three day work schedule. Even when he was able to pick up extra days, it still wasn't as much as his mother's.
"No, it's alright. I can do things myself, you know." She declined, an almost irritated edge to her voice. "I told you I don't need you to help me like this. Take some time off yourself, okay?" She seemed not to take "no" for an answer, placing each tray in the sink before putting her long, reddish brown hair into a rushed ponytail and rolling up the sleeves of her peach colored blouse. Ryou lingered for a few seconds, waiting for her to change her mind and decided to take a break from all the work, but she never did. Perhaps he was also waiting for when the terrible nightmares he had at night to come to life that instant and his mother would collapse and begin coughing like she had back then. His father had experienced something similar, collapsing suddenly at the door before he could head out for work, gripping his chest and gasping for air. Ryou was the one who had to call 110, his mother bedridden with morning sickness that day. Even now, he winced at the sight of their landline phone and the entrance door, the memory of his father writhing in pain while a 7 year old Ryou sobbed into the phone for someone to come save him burning into his brain each time he looked at either of them. He forced the memory away with a disturbed shudder.
Ryou found himself watching TV that night, though he wasn't really looking for any specific program. There were the usual cooking shows and game shows and a action/drama series that breifly caught his eye, but he decided not to watch it. In the end, he settled with the news, hoping to check the weather for the upcoming week. He knew it wasn't the most ideal way for a teenage boy to spend time, checking for signs of rain on the news, but he never did anything people considered "ideal" anyway. Or at least, not since his first year of high school when he still knew Yu Matsunaga, his friend of 4 years at the time, though Ryou wasn't sure he could still call the boy his friend. They never had a fight or any conflict like that, but after Yu joined the high school band their second year, he had gotten new friends and by the third year, the two rarely spoke more than one passing word to each other. Maybe it was for the best, with Ryou's current situation and Yu's newfound popularity.
A news alert flashed onto the screen as soon as he turned on the channel. A man and a woman dressed in finely pressed uniforms appeared on the screen, seated at a table with several papers and two microphones laid onto it. "Good evening." The woman began, her lips frowned into a permanently stern expression. The man to her right had a more glazed look in his eyes, his expression more somber in comparison. "We have a special news report tonight on the occasion of the recently announced "Survival Game," a government approved program that intends to use juveniles as a way to counter the recent threats related to the strange group, Grandmasters. The program plans to use the AX drug against its creators, though there has been considerable backlash over the thought of using minors to accomplish this task, despite the reassurance that the children will not be harmed and they only intend to use students that are aged 15-18 years old as well as take in careful consideration of what crimes they have committed. It appears the juvenile law shall have some part in this as well, and the court will approve whichever students are placed during their trial appearance." She read one of the papers in front of her with such professionalism, rarely even pausing to breathe or check the paper to make sure she was saying the right things. She must've practiced her report beforehand. Ryou guessed, though the man reporter seemed equally prepared as he continued where his colleague left off.
"Thank you, Ooue-san." The man gave a polite glance towards her before continuing. "Adding onto that statement, it seems there has been some new information in the recent hours. This morning, we have gotten more information from the program's founder. As in consideration for the privacy of the minors, none of the students chosen for the previous trials and the future students of the program will have their names or faces revealed. However, we have gotten permission to release the school that'd been selected and an update stating only one person was chosen for the program thus far. Not only that, but this person, referred to as Girl A for privacy reasons per request, has taken the AX drug and is showing signs of recovery from its effects. Though Girl A is not a minor, this fact hopes to help give reassurance to those who are worried. With that said, we shall now announced the school name. Like the test runs before, the program intends to choose local schools for the official trial. The school that was chosen is a local school known as Kamiyama High School... agreed to the program... the school..." The man's words faded in an out, inaudible to Ryou.
Ryou didn't know why his heart seemed to skip a beat at the mention of the school he attended. He knew he wouldn't be chosen, even with his poor attendance. It was for serious crimes that required court appearances only, right? He'd never dare commit such crimes, no matter what circumstances he faced. He'd be fine. He wouldn't be chosen. He was sure he knew that, even if it was his school that got selected. And yet... why did he keep wanting to reassure himself otherwise? Why did he keep feeling this peculiar sense of dread at the mention of Kamiyama High School? He couldn't figure out the answer of either of those questions. All he knew right now, was that this mere second of apprehension felt like an eternity.