Survival Game, Book 1: The Fool

Act Four: Chapter Twenty Six

Azumi had called the four for a meeting an hour later, gathering them up in the same lobby as before. Three others accompanied her, which could only be the other mentors. Tatsuya was still confined to the infirmary, unable to attend under the nurse's orders. That much was explained at the beginning of the meeting. The other mentors, an oddly attired woman and man who were undoubtedly siblings and a woman dressed in a yukata with a silver snake wrapped around one arm, were stood in a row behind Azumi.
"I see you've all passed your tests." Azumi addressed them with her usual seriousness. "You have my congratulations." She gave a polite bow to the group, maintaining her professional status. There was some sort of ulterior emotion behind her strict demeanor, but Yuriko could only tell it was a positive one and nothing more. Is she proud of us too? She wondered, gazing deeply at her supervisor in an effort to read her. It eventually failed when Azumi met her gaze, and quickly hardened her expression. I wonder how old she is. As impolite as the thought was, Azumi reminded Yuriko of her senior class representative, a small girl who would always make herself stern to express her authority. Azumi was much taller than the class representative, but her nature was almost the same. Maybe this is her first time in power.
"With that said, I want to begin your missions as soon as possible. As we are now, the Grandmasters only see us as mere pests, not worth their time. They have basis for it, I'll admit. Your mentors were declined to do these missions other than training you four, and that was only because they'd taken the drug before my program was approved. Legally, they are only allowed to accompany you guys and ensure your success in missions, and fight when it's needed. As for the rest of you, three of you are high schoolers and one of you is a criminal. They have no need to be afraid. And that's why we're going to make them fear us." Azumi sounded almost cocky with her last words, but she didn't let it show. "We'll begin with the Pawns first. Like the real game, there are eight of them. I have already chosen your opponents for next week, but we'll get to take once I assure you all survive the effects first. Now, I'm sure some of you didn't intend to spend your summer break fighting psychopaths, but I assure you it won't control your whole life. Besides, I personally prefer spring. If it was April, we could take the whole month off and go view sakura trees!" She quickly got carried away in the suggestion.
"I think it's a wonderful suggestion. Aramaki-san, let's go together next year, shall we? If they're not already destroyed by then, May would be a more fitting time to go." The woman with the snake wrapped around her added onto Azumi's comment, turning her focus on the girl standing at Yuriko's left. Kouji, the dark haired boy who arrived shortly after Yuriko, turned to Kris in confusion. "What is she talking about? Are you two going to go burn down trees or something?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.
"That's... not what she's meaning." Kris replied, sounding just as confused as Kouji despite seeming to know exactly what her supposed mentor was meaning.
Ryou intervened before they could drift further off topic. "Um... aren't we supposed to be discussing the Grandmasters?" He asked, his eyes darting from Azumi to the man behind her for backup. His mentor seemed in a whole different discussion of his own between him and his sister, but Azumi quickly regained her seriousness in a brief second. "Yes, my apologies, Nakahara-san." She quickly cleared her throat. "Moving on, this program is public knowledge for the most part. However, I must request you try to keep your family and friends out of this. You don't want the more classified information disclosed, or you'll only make them a target to the Grandmasters. Unlike you, they don't have the powers to fight the Grandmasters off and if they die, their blood will be on your hands."
A cold chill ran through the air at her words and no one seemed to speak. Even Kouji, who clearly wanted to say something, kept his mouth closed. "Not to be so blunt, of course," Azumi added. "But that's the way these things work. Right now, you'll be fine. The Queen won't care enough to bother killing us or anyone around us. Though it seems a more logical route to kill us now then later, she is too focused on her own people. She won't act until the time comes when she's more at risk. The upper class won't come out either, unless it's required. Some of them might, but only to recruit and form their own army of Pawns or to pose as one in order to spy. I have no doubt she'll have eyes on us, but nothing more. Remember, all they see this as is one big chess game where everything goes by strategy." Azumi turned away from them afterwards. "That'll be all for now. You can dismiss. Report back here next week and we will begin the program for real. But, remember, failure will not be an option. We are the opponents in this twisted game, and we will be the ones to bring down their empire one by one."