VIII (Aoi Kurashiki x Reader)

II

No! She grabbed her hair pulling at it violently. Remember Goddammit! "Hey, asshole! What the hell is this?!" His voice pulled at her heart, unintentionally pulling (Y/N) out of her stupor. "C'mon out here! I want to get a good look at you!"

The big man with graying hair raised his brows, clearly panicked. "What do you plan on doing to us?!"

The speaker crackled again and the voice echoed off the walls. "All of you will participate in a game. Some of you, I know, are familiar with this game. The Nonary Game, a game where you put your life on the line."

"The Nonary...Game?" (Y/N) breathed, her voice shaky. Putting their life on the line? The dull ache in the back of her skull reminded her of the oncoming headache.

The huge man in the beanie clenched his fists and stepped threateningly towards the speaker. "What the hell's that?!"

"The rules of the Nonary Game can be found on your person. They're simple. Read them."

(Y/N) shoved a trembling hand into her pocket instantly coming into contact with a slightly damp slip of paper. She removed it and unfolded it. Silver peeked over the edge of the paper in (Y/N)'s hand whilst searching his pockets for his own. Everyone else followed, pulling out identical papers. "It would seem Zero has seen fit to grace us with a letter." The older man with greying hair hummed meeting eyes with Jumpy. "Would you mind reading it to us, young man?"

Jumpy blushed and looked back down at the paper. "On this ship, you will find a handful of doors emblazoned with numbers." Silver turned back towards the two doors behind them. "We will call them numbered doors. The key to opening these numbered doors are the numbered bracelets each of you has."

He paused for a moment looking down at the bracelet on his hand, as did the remaining eight of them. "Should you total the numbers on your numbered bracelets and find that the digital root is equal to that of the door you seek to enter, it will open. Only those who opened the door may pass through. But there are, however, limits."

"Only three to five people can pass through a numbered door. All who enter must leave, and all who enter must contribute. The purpose of this game is simple, leave this ship alive. It is hidden but it can be found, seek a way out. A door that carries a nine."

Figuring the paper had reached its end the room fell silent. Thick with tension. The speaker crackled to life once again. "There is one last thing I have to tell you. As you've all figured out, this ship has begun to sink. On April fourteenth, nineteen twelve, the famous ocean liner Titanic crashed into an iceberg. After remaining afloat for two hours and forty minutes, it sank beneath the waters of the North Atlantic. I'll give you longer, nine hours. That's your time limit." The speaker went silent.

A bell tolling echoed throughout the hall. It took mere seconds to locate the huge ornate clock embedded into the wall. The bell tolled nine times stopping short of the tenth ring. That meant it was nine o'clock. Probably nine PM, If that much was true they would have to escape by six AM the next morning.

It was going to be a long night. "It's time. Let our game begin." The speaker's static consumed the voice and the situation set in. The silver-haired boy shouted a string of curse words at the speaker, but still, it didn't respond. The Nonary Game...The Nonary Game. Those three words looped over and over in (Y/N)'s head.

Her heart was roaring in her ears. Why was she feeling this way? Her body was screaming fear but her mind refused to tell her why. "Very well. Standing around won't do us any good. Best we get moving, don't you think?"

Jumpy furrowed his brows and slipped the paper back into his pocket. "Get moving?"

"Are you planning to open the numbered doors?" The girl (Y/N) had recognized as Akane piped up, brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.