Episode 1: The white room and the six students

[Kiyotaka POV]

As I opened my eyes I found myself in a room I didn't recognize.

The room is all white, like a big box. How nostalgic.

A dream, perhaps? I looked around the room to clear my foggy head.

Away from me, there were a few uniformed girls lying on the floor. There are a total of five of them. It was my school's uniform, and I knew their faces. One of the girls spots me and approaches me.

''Ayanokouji-Kun, you were here too. Are you okay, nothing wrong with you right?"

Suzune Horikita, class D's leader and my neighbor, peered at me with concern. Her straight black hair sways and her well-defined face comes unexpectedly close to me.

She raised her hand to my forehead, to check my temperature. I had to slightly back away due to how close she was.

''Yeah, I'm a bit light-headed, but I'm fine. what about you?''

''I'm fine. But I think we got bigger problems than just my physical condition."

Horikita started walking toward the other girls.

Unsure, I follow her. The room seems to be quite spacious, but the patternless white walls make it difficult to get a sense of distance. Apart from Horikita, there were four other girls: two were awake and the other two were fast asleep on the white floor. It is a surreal scene.

''Wow, it's Kiyo-I mean Ayanokouji-kun. So it's not only girls here."

Kei Karuizawa, who is in the same class as me, said shyly while fixing her waist-length blonde hair. Her eyes tell me that she's glad I'm here.

''It seems like everyone is a girl except me. Still, it's kind of funny that you care about your hair at a time like this.''

''Oh, don't tell me about my hair. My hairdresser said it would look good on me, but it's definitely too short. I hope it grows out soon."

Her front bangs are definitely freshly trimmed at a close inspection, but it would be an understatement to call it bad.

''But I think it suits you and you look lovely.''

''Ah mou don't just casually say stuff like that, people will get the wrong impression. Heh heh, but I'm glad."

I praised Kei comfortably, without realizing that we aren't alone, but she blushed and was pleased. I'm good friends with her, but I think this was the first time I've ever said "she's cute" out loud in front of others. Well, it's a dream, so it's not a problem.

If she reacts this positively, I might try saying it in the real world as well.

''But... Is this really a dream?"

The person who suddenly uttered the words was Mio Ibuki. Ibuki, a student from class C, was looking at her surroundings as if on guard. Tall and rough, her words had weight.

"Hmmm, Ibuki doubts this is a dream. In truth, I don't think it's possible that I woke up in a strange room with my classmates." Kei expressed this.

Horikita nodded her head in agreement. She also seems to think that this situation is a dream. Even in her own dreams, she seems to be a student whose ice-cold and firm. No wait, it's my dream, so I must have that image of her.

''I know what Karuizawa means. But I think we should be careful, just in case.'' I told the girls my honest opinion.

''Something is not right."

Ibuki is not letting her guard down and is carefully running her eyes over the area. Following her action, I re-scanned the inside of the room again.

A bizarre white-walled room. I would describe it as 'being imprisoned', there are no doors or windows of any kind. No, there is only one bed in the room, which is oddly located in the corner. The room has six people in it, including me, but only one bed?

''Speaking of which, Horikita, are the two sleeping girls all right?'

Seeing them sleeping peacefully on the floor, I asked Horikita.

"They're fine. They just appear to be sleeping soundly, so I'm not going to force them to wake up; instead, I'm going to leave them like that."

''Hey, Kiyotaka, no. You can't look at a girl's sleeping face without permission..."

Kei stood in the way, blocking my view with an angry pout.

''Uh, I don't have any ill intent. I just thought, well, we're all classmates and we all know each other."

''I didn't mean to doubt Kiyotaka or anything.... Oh, no Sakayanagi! Your skirt is in danger!"

After shouting, Kei fixed the hem of the skirt of Arisu Sakayanagi, who was sleeping on the floor, while simultaneously making sure her back was blocking my view. If she was a little bit too late, I might've caught a sneak peek at her smooth thighs and white garter belt.

Sakayanagi is a pretty girl, slender and doll-like. She is physically weak but makes up for it with her talent in mental fortitude.

''Don't look, Kiyotaka. No matter how much you dream about it, it's not proper etiquette. Unless it's me, if it's me then you get a free pass."

''....'' I sighed. ''I was just wondering if she was all right because she's so frail.''

Wait, it's just a dream, so there's nothing to worry about.

''I see. Hmm, even in dreams, Kiyotaka is kind, isn't he?''

Sakayanagi's eyelids started fluttering, perhaps because we were too loud.

''... Huh ... what is the place? Good morning, ... everyone."

Sakayanagi looked at each of our faces in turn and greeted us politely. She uses formal language for everyone. For a sadistic loli, she is certainly cute.

''Um, am I in the hospital again? No. Where is this place?''

''We think it's a dream. Only Ibuki insists that it is not a dream."

Kei spoke nonchalantly to Sakayanagi, who looked confused.

''Is it really a dream? It's so realistic for a dream, and it's the first time I've ever had a character in my dream insist that 'this is a dream." Sakayanagi tilted her head cutely.

"It's odd, if you ask me. In my dreams, I rarely identify that I am dreaming, and I often wake up as soon as I discover that I am dreaming."

I pinched my cheek. It stung and feels like a normal sensation. As I was wondering, my eyes met Sakayanagi's.

''Fufufu, now that we've got that out of the way, let's hear what the sixth person has to say. Looks like Sleeping Beauty is about to wake up."

When I looked at the floor, I saw Honami Ichinose, who had been asleep until the end, mumbling something munchy and stretching. Ichinose is a follower of the idea of helping everyone, including her enemies. It's noisy, but it's also fascinating to me.

It was also somewhat strange that she was sleeping peacefully until the very end. How will she react when she wakes up?

''Mnya... hmm? Hey, guys, how did you get here? Wait, where is 'here' in the first place? Ooops, Ayanokouji-kun is here too."

''We all found ourselves in this state. By the way, you are the last to wake up."

When I replied, Ichinose ruffled her strawberry-pink hair and looked around sleepily. After looking at the box-like room with no doorways, she checked our faces in turn. At first, she looked dazed, but gradually her expression stiffened.

''Eh, hey, what's this? Ah, could it be...?"

Ichinose blushed and immediately put her hands on the chest of her blazer uniform in a panicked manner. She then frightenedly stroked her skirt.

''What's the matter with you, out of the blue?''

''Ah, thank God. You didn't do anything to me. Ugh, I was so surprised, but why do I feel a bit disappointed."Ichinose silently murmured the last part.

The other girls also seem to realize the significance of Ichinose's actions and begin to anxiously check their own outfits.

''Isn't that a rude reaction? I wouldn't do anything weird to my classmates, no matter how much I wanted to."

''Ah mou, Kiyotaka. Think about it, you find yourself locked up in a room you don't recognize and you see five unconscious beautiful girls. It would've been fine if it was just me, but the rest are a big no-no. Oh, by the way, Ayanokouji-kun, are you alright too?"

I thought about what she meant by that, but looking at the unusually serious Kei, I started to feel uneasy. I recalled the time I found Ichinose hiding in my closet at night with a camera. That was an awkward conversation.

I gently touched the back of my trousers, but thankfully there seemed to be nothing wrong.

''Hey, were you all right? Ayanokouji-kun."

Ichinose asked, looking strangely nervous. I nodded silently and she looked relieved. She is a good girl to worry about me in this situation, despite her cumbersome actions. The rest of the girls seem to be all right too.

''Everyone, can I have your attention. Let's just calm down here and get the situation sorted out."

Horikita addressed everyone for a group meeting as if she were the head of the committee.

I shrugged and played along because, for the time being, I genuinely have no idea what's going on.