Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Defy and Comply ❯ Lesson 18.2: Death Metal (Pt. II) ( Chapter 19 )

XxXxXxXxXx

Defy and Comply

Lesson 18.2: Death Metal (Pt. II)

By: Melissa Norvell

XxXxXxXxXx

A considerable amount of time went by as the other students utilized their skills to attempt to uncover anything they could aside from the crucial documents that Ame had found. While the student body was involved in the search, the student council and a few extra members of the student body decided to hold a meeting in the council room. They were all seated around the familiar long table; most of the seats were taken by students that had stuck to their semi-large group.

Kraki was the first to speak. "A week has passed and everyone is starting to fall into despair. They're starting to believe that maybe they should start killing to survive and I feel like they're beginning to get paranoid of each other." If things got any worse, she feared that the students would start to take a course of action and kick off the slaughter.

"We can't hold them off forever. It's only a matter of time, even we know that." It was something that they had known all along. It was a fact that had been pointed out to Tsukimi by the members that took place in the graduations of the past.

"We cannot allow them to give up hope!" Kiyomaru stood up straight, holding his fist up with a look of steely determination.

"We've run out of positive things to say. They're getting pretty tired of being told 'it'll be okay, we'll get you out' and not getting any closer to doing it," Gaz propped his head up on one arm and sighed in defeat. They couldn't keep the charade. It was time to wake up and smell the roses.

"I imagine they all have cabin fever from being cooped up in here. Even if they can go outside, they have limited space." It had been a week of the same scenery in a place that they would rather not have been in, and Prasuna knew that she felt stuffed up already. Undoubtedly, there were students who were for more impatient than she was.

"You can't keep them from it forever," Taiga knew the outcome. This had all been done before, and someone ended up snapping every time. The tension was already wearing thin. Death was soon upon them, and there was no way to win against it.

"Yeah, I hate to be that person who shits on everything, but Taiga's right. We'll have to kill them sooner or later. Well...We'll have to kill someone." It was inevitable, and to shield everyone from it by hiding behind a curtain of false hope seemed wrong to Kazoo.

"There will be another trial, won't there?" Sunoma was tense. The reality of Lamar's diary was coming to pass. Even now, the words, his emotions, ran through her head, reminding her of the savagery that took place and how repetition was merely days or even seconds away.

Blue eyebrows creased in dread. "There will be a lot more, I'm afraid," Gaz knew that they couldn't get around it, not with the sheer number of people trapped in the school.

Suddenly, their heads snapped to the direction of the intercom, as a familiar voice flooded the airwaves.

"All students report to the gymnasium. I repeat, all students report to the gymnasium."

"Shit," Taiga cursed. No doubt the bag heads were pissed that they hadn't killed anyone in a week. He knew what came next, and a sense of dread caused him to tense up.

"What's going on now?" Aoili held her fists to her mouth and recoiled in fear and uncertainty.

"No..." Lamar's eyes widened. This made everything ten times worse.

Sunoma turned to Lamar with apprehension on her visage. "Why are we being called, Lamar?" She knew that he knew what was to come.

"No one has died, so they're having an event." It was worse than killing. During the events, death was mandatory. There was no getting around it, the bag heads wanted someone to die and they were going to get their way even if they had to trigger it themselves. Lamar felt himself hating his situation twice as much.

"That means one of us is going to be a sacrifice," Kazoo's face hardened. His frown couldn't be any deeper than it was at that moment.

"What? I can't take this anymore!" Kraki yelled, her fingers buried in her forest green hair as she felt her knees give way. The girl fell back into her seat, visibly shaking. She wasn't ready for this! She didn't want to die! She had fought so hard to maintain her composure, but she couldn't do it anymore. She was slowly breaking down, and this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Maybe it won't be one of us," Kokken tried to reassure her, rushing to the girl's side as she attempted to pat her shoulder comfortingly. "I know that's selfish but it's looking on the bright side." No matter what, she had to stay positive.

"There is no bright side," Kazoo crossed his arms, glaring at the martial artist. Was she that dense or that stupid?

"We might as well go. If we do not show, we may get punished," Kiyomaru didn't know what to expect, but he had a feeling that they should probably do what the bag heads wanted, at least for now.

Lamar's head dropped in defeat as the group of students walked towards the gymnasium.

Inside, groups of students were strewn around the gymnasium. A lot of them stood on the basketball court and in the stands. Others stood in the doorways and on the stairs as they awaited the bag head's orders. Behind a single podium, the hooded man who had conducted Kazoo's trial stepped up to address the student body.

"The first week has gone by and you all seem to be adjusting to your environment. I would have to say that you all adapted a little too well, as no one has met their end yet. It's quite unfortunate," he shook his head in obvious disappointment. After all, he put this event together to see blood, guts and overall gore as the psyche broke down and the students descended into madness and utter distrust. It seemed they had stronger psyches than expected.

"Only a mad man would find that unfortunate," Tsukimi shot. Who the hell was disappointed with no one died?

"She's right," Zoen added. "We're not going to kill each other. Get that idea out of your heads."

"We've decided to take matters into our own hands and we've set up an event for all of you, a true battle of symphonic harmony and octave melody! A special singing competition! It will be a true process of elimination. They're will be a total of fourteen participants from around the gymnasium. Two groups of seven. There will be three events, a solo, a duet and a group. The performances will be rated and whoever loses, their team will get executed on the spot!" The bag headed man pointed a finger into the air, sadistic bliss laced his voice. He then clasped his hands together and leaned over the podium with glee. "Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

Kiyomaru looked down. His vocal skills were average at best. Music was not a low point but it was not a high one, either.

"I wonder who is going to be picked and how?" Sunoma asked, and as if to answer her question, the whole gymnasium when dark as several spotlights flashed on. Their blinding lights skimmed through the crowd as students moved out of the way or ducked down, hoping that it didn't stop on them. After making several passes around the room, they stopped on Prasuna, Kiyomaru, Lamar, Tsukimi, Zoen, Gaz and herself.

"The spotlights are color-coded as to what group you'll be in. If your spotlight is red," he gestured to Prasuna and another female student, "then you'll be singing a solo. If your spotlight is green," he gestured to Kiyomaru, Asa, another male student and Sunoma, "then you will be singing a duet, the purple groups will be singing as bands."

"Soloists must perform a song that has been made a sensation. Those who perform duets must make up a song themselves and those who sing in bands will have a song chosen for them. You all have an hour to prepare." With that, he walked away from the podium, leaving a loud chatter of conversation flaring up around the gym.

"What if we don't know the lyrics to whatever you pick for us?" Gaz asked, catching the hooded man's attention.

He turned to the blue haired boy and educated him on that aspect of the process. "Lyrics will be provided. We will just have to hope that you can improvise and read sheet music."

"What about practicing?" Tsukimi thought that it was ludicrous to be able to perform a song they probably didn't know as a band in the span of an hour. Even as a talented bass guitarist, she found it nearly impossible to pull off something like that and be relatively good at it.

"All of those chosen are musically inclined. I'm sure that you all must know about performing by now," his words just hit her. It was true, everyone the spotlights fell on were good to perfect when it came to talent. She didn't know much about Lamar, but Gaz was a Korean rock star, and herself was a talented bassist. Sunoma and Kiyomaru could both sing good to well and Prasuna had sung in many musicals.

He had done this on purpose.

"This sounds easy enough. I've been in some of the most prestigious and famous Broadway plays and musicals in the world. "Prasuna announced proudly as she placed a hand to her breast with a confident smile. "I am a thespian, a figure of elegance, style and talent. If I lose this competition, I'll walk myself to my execution."

Sunoma glanced to Kiyomaru with a quizzical expression. "You can sing?" She never knew that he possessed any such talent.

"It has been a while. I used to be in drama classes. I had no idea that you could sing." It seemed that the both of them were learning little things about each other.

"I did karaoke, but that's it," Sunoma would rather not have mentioned that, as it was a hobby and not anything worth true merit.

"The odds are against us if we have someone who excels at music against us," Kiyomaru had a bad feeling about everything. He and Sunoma's prowess failed in comparison to someone like Prasuna, who had years of experience under her belt. He was glad that she was in another grouping or he would have been as good as executed.

"We'll do the best we can," Sunoma was nervous, and she didn't know how the other two students they were up against would do, but she knew enough about them to know that it was going to be a hard competition. They had both won awards in singing competitions and were two of the academy's top talents.

"You are right. We have got to try," Kiyomaru held up a fist, determined to do his best. He didn't want to die, but at the same time, he wasn't happy that they would have to die instead. This was unfair, and it forced him into a selfish, deplorable mentality of winning at the cost of other's lives.

He hated it.

Gaz glanced over to the graduate of their group. "You have musical experience?"

"I used to be a rock star," Lamar told him, as if it were something shameful to admit. In all honesty, he debated on even telling the Korean the truth, but he had no choice. He wasn't going to hide his talent if it would help them live through the competition.

Gaz beamed and jerked a thumb to his exposed chest. "I'm a rock star myself! Gazitsu Man Hao, I transferred here from South Korea. I was the number one sensation there. I still am, though I've slowed down on making albums. I've never heard of a Lamar, though," he scratched his beard in thought. He was sure he would have heard of the guy if he was so famous.

"That's nothing to be troubled with," Lamar quickly evaded the subject. Right now, there were more important things to be discussed. They could talk about fame and fortunes of the past later.

"I can play drums," Zoen offered the position up. Since they were in a band, it would be good to know who was going to fill what position.

"I've got bass guitar, and you two can fight over who sings," Tsukimi was going to take the place she was most comfortable with. She was pretty sure that the object of this event was to utilize their talents in a way that would save them from death.

"I think Lamar should sing. I want to see if I can recognize his voice." It would be Gaz's way of seeing if he could guess what rock star he was, or even if he had heard one of his songs before.

"I-I'm better with guitar riffs." It wasn't a complete lie, Lamar was known as the rock star with some of the most memorable and amazing guitar riffs in the world. It was a feat that he was proud of and liked to show off in his younger years.

"Don't be bashful! You've got experience on us! Let's see what you've got!" Gaz wasn't going to give up. He wanted to see what the graduate was capable of, and Lamar had no choice but to agree and accept the position, as much as he didn't want to give away his true identity.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

The auditorium was jam-packed with students. Not a single seat was barren, and those who did not have seats simply stood against the walls. It was oddly dark, more so than when normal events took place, and there was an ominous tension that hung overhead. It was as if death itself was breathing down their necks, and in a sense it was.

The wooden stage was concealed in rich, red curtains and a single spot light shown on a lone girl. Her melodic tune carried through the air, like a sound of a sweet bird's song as all eyes were on her. There were parts of the song she faltered on, but it came with only having an hour to really be able to present the piece. As she ended the song, they clapped and cheered for her. The nervous girl sat her microphone back onto its stand and existed behind the curtains.

Prasuna took a deep breath as the curtains were lifted, revealing her surroundings. The stage was set up in a scheme of monochromatic shades of purples and lavenders. It was decorated like a bedroom with a vanity, and Prasuna herself was dressed in a frilly night gown made of sheer material.

The girl sat in front of the vanity and prepared to sing, trying not to notice the fact that the outer edges of the stage were adorned with jagged barbed wire strands. Glancing in the mirror, she drew back dramatically and gasped.

Then, her singing began.

This will never do.

This image is hard on the eyes.

Girl we must improvise.

Perfection doesn't come easy, but I'm its definition.

When the world is your audience, you do what you have to.

Adjust to the conditions.

Not for my vanity, but for humanity.

Walk out and strike a pose.

My, how my good looks show!

Sometimes I even overwhelm myself!

When the stages says yes, who am I to say no?

Don't ask a commoner, just strut like a diva.

The world demands perfection.

No blemishes or flaws.

Take a peek at this body.

Lalalala

Perfection becomes me, nest ce pas?

Unrivaled, impressive, I'm the true definition of beauty, yeah!

Elegance in motion, symphonic devotion!

So classic and classy!

We're not talking Cinderella!

And ah! Ah! Oh!

Many covet my hand and status; they're got their positions all wrong.

You pretty boys all over the city.

I have your hearts but you have my pity.

Good looking is nice, but still it's just that.

Perfect, my dears is me!

Prasuna danced around, showing off her true prowess in the theatre. She even did a quick costume change into a beautiful black dress with a large, feather hat and busted through the curtains when she sang the line 'we're not talking Cinderella'. The crowd went wild over her stage skills, and it was more than obvious that she had the solo contest won over her other contestants.

She took a bow in a display of elegant class and waved to her adoring fans. "Thank you! That was from the hit Broadway musical, Elegant Class, in which I played the lead role!" Prasuna blew a kiss to the student body before exiting the stage.

The next competition that was up was the duets. The male and female students sang an impressive duet that really wowed the crowd. Behind stage, Kiyomaru and Sunoma were nervous. It turned out that their competition was harder to beat than they thought them to be. The two students they were up against had talent, and they felt the song that they wrote together wouldn't be nearly as good.

When they got on stage, the two of them had to sing on a makeshift gallow with nooses around their necks and trap doors beneath their feet. It limited their mobility, and the doors threatened to open at any bad notes or displeasure from the crowd. The two continued to sing, trying to ignore the feeling of the rough ropes around their necks and instability of the thinly made floors below their feet.

You say you are moving on. Yet I stay behind. It feels as cold as ice. I cannot take this pain, no I cannot! Kiyomaru sun, trying to defeat the uneasy feeling of uncertainty in his stomach as Sunoma joined in with him on the next line.

What about our love? What about the promises we made? What about our love? You have left me with nothing! What about our love? What about us together forever? What about love? I feel myself falling.

Kiyomaru then proceeded to sing alone.

What about love?

The song ended as the crowd cheered, giving them a little more confidence than they had about their abilities. With the nooses around their necks they were stuck to staying on a fixed spot, so their performance was greatly hindered. It was an incident that relied on their talent and nothing more. Two bowed as much as they could before the nooses yanked their necks, and then stood back up.

"At least we were not too bad," Kiyomaru looked on as the cheering was drowned out to his senses.

"Our song could use work. I think the violinists were better," Sunoma noted. The two twins that went before them had the opportunity to perform and they played instruments. In all reality, they gave the better performance, and she knew it.

Kiyomaru's visage morphed into one of worry a he struggled to keep his faux smile. "I hope not. Our lives are on the line," his voice darkened. "Then again, if we had truly been bad we would be hanging from these gallows." That was something to be thankful for at least, the two of them managed to live a little bit longer.

"These singing competitions aren't without immediate threat. Anyone could die at any time. If the crowd doesn't like your performance, you could die right here," she knew that it was nothing short of cut throat.

"No one has, yet," Kiyomaru knew that the magic word had been yet. So far, they were all lucky enough to put on decent to great performances despite being disabled by nightmare fuel props.

"There are two more groups left," Sunoma noted. The last competition left was the band competition. That seemed far harder than anything they were involved in. Not only did the members have to play in harmony, they had to sound good together.

"I hope Lamar's group does well," the blue-haired teen wondered about the fate of his best friend. He wasn't sure what type of talent Lamar had, but surely it was something to do with music, otherwise he wouldn't have been chosen to compete.

"So do I," Sunoma closed her eyes with a frown, "for everyone's sake. If he does, I don't know what we're going to do." Lamar was the only one who could save them, the only key to the future and the only one who had any inkling of who the mastermind was. She couldn't afford to lose him, not now.

XxXxXxXxXx

Wide-eyed, Lamar stared down his worst nightmare, written in black and white in the palm of his shaking hands. Horror was injected into his form as soon as he read the title of the song he had to play. Right now, he didn't want to exist. Right now, he nearly wished he would drop dead. It was bad enough his past was hitting him in the face, and he was functioning without the help of hallucinogens to mellow him out, but now he was confronted with a part of his past that he tried hard to keep buried.

There was no way that this shit was a coincidence.

'This...can't be...'

"Whoa! We're playing one of Leonardo Sukichi's songs! What an honor!" Gaz was ecstatic about the song choice. The fact that they were doing this particular song stoked him beyond all recognition. Leonardo was his favorite rock star, and a guy that he had admired heavily.

"This is my favorite song!" Tsukimi nearly squealed as she held the sheet music out in front of her. "He was my favorite singer, too! I just know we'll do it justice!" The girl pumped a fist, unaware of the fact that Lamar was staring at the song in sheer terror.

"We might not sound like him, but it'll be good enough," Zoen knew they didn't have his talent. Leonardo had a distinct voice. Not just anyone could emulate his original and unique style, and his guitar playing was second to none. There were idols and pros with more experience that couldn't do what his fingers could on a guitar.

"This song..." Lamar uttered in a tone barely above a whisper.

Tsukimi's sights were redirected towards him. "You look so horrified. Come on, Lamar, it's a good song. Surely you've heard of it before." Everyone heard at least one Leonardo Sukichi song. If they hadn't they lived in a hole their whole life. Was he really that intimidated by a song? Maybe he didn't know the song?

"Don't get cold feet now. If one of us screws up we all die. We're a team. That means we get judged together." That was the significance of the band performances. Zoen didn't feel like being executed because Lamar was being a pansy ass.

"I don't...want to sing this song..." It wasn't a strong protest, but the ex-rock star was so knocked over with fear that he couldn't project his refusal the way he wanted to.

"Don't be nervous! You'll rock the school!" The words of encouragement that came from the Korean was like a punch in the gut to Lamar. He had his reasons for refusing to sing it.

"Why is this happening to me?" Lamar asked as a sudden clatter happened on stage and the music abruptly stopped. The crowd screamed as several banging noises were heard. It was enough to jerk him out of his train of thought and look towards the curtains. "What the hell was that?"

Gaz pulled back the curtains and what he saw horrified him. The members of the band that was playing before them all hung lifelessly from their nooses. Some of their bodies still struggled and jolted around as they desperately struggled to keep alive. However, the force of the noose proved to be stronger as they all eventually succumb to death. Below them, their musical instruments lay scattered and broken on the wooden surface of their makeshift stage.

It left a grim reminder of what would happen if they failed. A vision painted in the horrific shade of scarlet. It was something Gaz wished he hadn't seen.

"We'll be next if we fuck up," Zoen reminded everyone of the very real consequences that awaited them.

"No..." Tsukimi hid her face, willing the images away.

Cold, blue eyes shifted to Lamar giving him a warning glance. "Lamar, get your ass out there and sing. We don't have time to debate or change this."

"Don't..." Lamar's small voice slipped from his lips as he hung his head.

"What?" The blonde gang member arched an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of his words.

"Please, don't make me sing this..." Lamar begged his team mates to make someone else sing it.

"Stop being a coward and do it. We're on," Tsukimi told him sternly, giving him a warning glare that prevented any and all protests before she swung the strap of her double-necked bass guitar over her shoulder.

Zoen glared daggers into the green-haired man before grabbing his drum set to set it up. "If you get us killed, you lose your chance, too." With those final words, he and Gaz headed out to set up the drum set.

Lamar walked out behind them, carrying the guitar that had been customized especially for him and clutching the sheet music. In truth, he didn't really need it. He knew this song very well. He knew this song by heart. As he walked up onto the stage, the pages fluttered out of his hand and danced across the ground. There wasn't a need to pretend anymore after this. There was no need to act like he didn't know every chord, every beat and every word to the lyrics.

As he made his way to the stage, the wooden boards gave way and dispersed and the sound of a metal, grated floor hit his black dress shoes. He looked down as the floor shot up, suspending them above the stage by a series of chains as the top of the wooden stage rotted away to reveal the opening to the incinerator. It blazed and popped as boards fell into it, engulfed in a series of yellow and orange flames.

That's right! The incinerator was directly below the auditorium. It was that way before as well, and it just now hit him as to why it was designed like that. If they failed this concert, they were going to be thrown into it. The chains would snap or the grated, hexagonal floor would swing violently and knock them into the fiery pits.

Kiyomaru reeled back on the front lines as he witnessed the spectacle before him. His form was bathed in luminescent, yellow light. "The school incinerator!"

Lamar continued to stare through the grates into the fiery inferno below. "If we fail, we'll be dropped in there and burned alive."

Tsukimi closed her eyes, trying to kill the anxiety that assaulted her nerves. "Okay...no one screw this up."

Zoen glanced to Lamar with that same, stone-cold face he always wore and when their eyes met, Lamar felt the stab of a barrage of knife blades.

"Tonight, we have a special show!" A familiar voice announced from below, and all eyes shifted to the hooded man, who stood in the center of the front of the stage, holding his arms out as if he were some cruel ring master. "This group will perform the same song as the last group did. Hopefully, they will succeed. As an additional surprise, we have a video that we will present. We find that it fits the chosen song very well. Now, begin!"

Behind the band, a jumbotron was uncovered as it began to queue up a reel of film. Lamar stood in front of the countdown, trying to gather his courage. "No turning back now." He started to play as the other members of his band joined in, a little shocked that he was playing without any sheet music after protesting having any involvement in the song at all.

They soon found out why as he began to sing.

Be careful playing in the dark.

Taking shots that might hit the mark.

I sit back, waiting to tear you apart.

I'm the devil's advocate.

At a new level.

King of an evil syndicate.

Trapped in a cage.

Gotta burst through with my rage

and strike up a spark to ignite.

Let's light it up!

Let's light it up!

On the large screen behind him, footage from the Leonardo Sukichi concert played. A man played the guitar with blonde, spiked hair that danced like a flame and piercing blue eyes. He wore a white tee shirt and a light blue jacket with studs along the popped collar and on the sleeves, along with faded blue jeans that had holes in the knees. He was singing the same song as Lamar, their voices matched in perfect harmony.

The tabloids write old news.

While men die in vain.

I have the scars of previous wars.

You can save all problems but mine.

I'll burn everything I love.

Burn it to ashes.

Then, the screen turned black and a red marquee text rolled across it. Its words conveyed a simple message, right before them in bold, blood red.

Leonardo Sukichi is before you on stage. He faked his own tragic death.

Welcome back, alumni.

Tsukimi nearly stopped playing and struggled to keep the bass for the song as she read the letters. Her eyes widened as the text was reflected in red and yellow pupils. 'What? He's...is that really true?'

In the end everything dies.

My childhood birthed the monster you see.

I know what you did in the dark.

Light it up!

Light it up!

"No way..." Gaz stared wide-eyed at the make before him. No wonder he didn't need the sheet music. He was Leonardo Sukichi. No wonder he didn't want to sing that song. Lamar was actually Leonardo. All of this time, a famous rock star that he thought was dead was in his presence.

Chatter erupted in the crowd below. It was so loud that it nearly drowned out their song. Lamar didn't understand what was going on. What had everyone in such an uproar...and then he turned around to see the article of his death flash on the screen. Green eyes widened as he felt exposed to the world. Red text flashed on the screen again, this time, it read something different.

Welcome back, graduate! Leonardo Sukichi's return! He is before you all! Hail the king of rock!

"No..." Leonardo's voice trembled as Tsukimi looked him dead in the eyes.

"You're name isn't Lamar, is it?" The song ended as she stared into the shattered being of her favorite rock star. Now was the time for him to explain himself. She wanted to know why he would do such a terrible thing.

"You damned liar! You tricked us all!" Zoen raged, pointing a drum stick at him in accusation. That was fucked up! Leonardo made them all believe that he was dead. Why would he do such a shitty thing?

"Dude...No wonder you picked this song. You wrote it," Gaz was utterly shocked. The entire world saw this guy die on stage. How the hell was he alive? What was going on?

"It makes sense now, why your picture wasn't crossed off. You really are the only graduate..." Tsukimi put all of the clues together in her head. It should have made sense to her before, but Leonardo looked so much different now. He was older, had more piercings, he dyed his hair and wore contacts but under it all, there was no mistaking his voice when he sang.

"You'd better explain yourself," Zoen wanted to know what the hell was going on.

"Why did you fake your own death?" Gaz was interested as well. Not only was that illegal, it was just wrong to do to people.

Taiga watched from one of the balconies that were mounted on the walls of the auditorium. He crossed his arms as he read the text on the screen. "Jig is up, Leonardo. What are you gonna do now?" He knew the secret wouldn't have lasted, but he didn't know that it was going to come out like this. In a way, he felt sorry for Leonardo, but Taiga wanted him to be up front from the beginning. Things would have honestly been easier that way. Why the hell was he so damned stubborn?

"So, I was right. He was going under an alias," Kraki noted from her position in the crowd. However, she was shocked at his true identity.

Sunoma looked up at the band, more specifically at Leonardo with a visage of disbelief. "Why did he lie to me? I it because he faked his death?" She instantly regretted everything that she had ever uttered about Leonardo being a talentless failure. Had she had known that he was a world famous rock star; she would have treated him better. It all made sense now. Those records on his wall, and that customized guitar. They were all his. They were his golden records, and the awards were things he had won on Awards Shows.

She had made a dire mistake in judging him.

Before she had an opportunity to continue her train of thought, swords flew past her at break neck speeds. Scarlet blood splattered across face and chest as they made contact with the two twins beside of her. The weapons brutally assaulted their bodies, popping out of them as the students didn't have time to react. They were only left with the realization that they were dead before falling to the ground in crumpled heaps, shells of what they were mere seconds ago.

Kiyomaru shook as he looked at the boy who lay on the ground before him, two swords sticking through his chest as dead eyes gazed up at him. Widened green pupils trembled in their sockets. He couldn't believe what had just happened. In a moment, just like that, the twins and the other solo singer had been brutally slaughtered.

This was no accident.

'This wasn't a contest at all. This was to draw us out. More specifically, to expose Lamar...I mean, Leonardo. Those students, they were meant to die.' It was all a set-up, and those poor students were merely sacrifices and another attempt to throw them into chaos.

The only question was, were they going to try and kill each other now? What in the hell was going on? He was beginning to lose his grasp on anything. Who was real and who was fake? Kiyomaru felt so lost, even after he felt as if he was in control of the situation.

It had only proved to slip through his fingers like sand.

...To Be Continued