Four Inches Below - Chapter 5
Ayumi frowned at her friend’s attitude and even more confused at her question.
“What are you talking about?” Ayumi whispered back.
“You stupid! Why did you release your pheromone all confidently?! You wanna be raped??” Chinatsu scolded while she observed their surroundings.
Ayumi’s face turned blue at the drop of Chinatsu warning. “W-What?” She stammered, losing her ability to talk.
“I can smell it like a fucking cocaine! What the fuck did you do?!” Chinatsu continued to berate her.
“I-I-I-” Ayumi’s head turned blank. She could neither think nor breathed properly all of the sudden. Her heart pumped relentlessly like a galloping horse in savannah. She felt her blood draining out of her body.
Chinatsu secretly kicked Ayumi’s butt from under the table to pull her out of her absentmindedness. “Wake up, you moron!! It’s not the time to daydream. Get your shit together and stop your pheromone from spreading further.”
“B-But,” Ayumi was still stuttering in panic as she tried to pull back her pheromone, “S-Shit..C-Chi…I-I can’t. It’s not working.”
Tears began to stream down Ayumi’s face. Meanwhile, the students had thrown the teacher’s explanation at the back of their head and busying themselves by trying to identify the source of this delicious fragrance. Even the teacher herself who was an Omega couldn’t help but be distracted. Everybody almost got it five seconds ago but then, the scent suddenly turned chaotic which made the trail scattered all over the place.
“Breathe, Yumi,” Chinatsu tried to calm her down. “Don’t be anxious! The more you panic, the easier you’ll lose control.”
Ayumi tried to follow Chinatsu’s advice. She repeatedly inhaled and exhaled while she tried to retrieve her scent. Slowly but surely, the smell dissipated however the main problem still remained.
“Good. Now, onto the next-” Chinatsu’s voice was cut off at the sound of a melody that marked the beginning of every Beta’s doom.
Ayumi’s eyes widened as her head slowly turned towards the white speaker which was attached on the wall near the classroom’s door. Not only Ayumi but every single person in Kyuten Gakuin was currently gawking at the speakers around them. One by one they stopped to listen.
An automated voice over of a female echoed throughout the school.
“Mina-san, kon’nichiwa! You have now reached the end of today’s lesson. May the knowledge you receive in the present aid you in your future endeavors. Kyuten Gakuin forever wish you success and for the odds to always be in your favor.”
And then the announcement stopped for a split second, before a male voice resounded through the speaker.
“May our founding father, Saito Jun, found his peace and forever protects us from the Devil’s hand. May human race continues to exist and the Alpha continues to persist.”
“Let the Hunting commences.”
Afterwards, both the female and male voice spoke together.
“”Your faith lies in your own hands and your choice shall be your ending.”
“Happy Hunting! May the strong prevails and the weak be damned!”
The announcements ended then.
…
– In a particular room at the central building –
Nine figures were hanging around without a care in the world. As if the society struggles and the hunting for survival did not concern them. They were just happily lounging around.
Three girls were sitting down on the zabuton which were arranged near the opened balcony overlooking the desolate view of the perilous Hell Valley. From this central point of view, they could even get a glance of the scene at the foot of the valley. This was how the three girls enjoyed their time while sipping on warm tea.
Meanwhile, one petite figure was playing with a female senpai’s dark brown hair who was currently playing a game of go with a male senpai. Whilst the other two male members were playing an online game in their phones at the corner.
Across the room, behind a shoji made of eight panels plum blossom screen, two third years were taking a break from their workload.
“So?” The man with an impeccable appearance asked his friend whose hair was dyed in ash grey color, “Where is he?”
“Probably lazying around somewhere,” he answered.
“Ugh..” the handsome male, Koijiro, groaned in annoyance. “Can’t he laze around here?”
The ash grey man, Eiji, corrected his eyeglasses before delivering the message, “He said he can’t relax with you around.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment or-”
“Obviously, it’s an insult,” someone interjected.
Koijiro scooted out from behind the table and came to peak through the side of the panel. “Can you not read my mind as you pleased, Megumi-chan?”
One of the girl who was wearing a headband put down her tea. She smiled cheekily at Koijiro, “But, I love teasing you, Kaicho!”
Koijiro expression became dejected at her answer. He then shifted his attention to the girl who was playing go. “Asuka-san, would you please be kind and help this handsome kaicho locate our runaway cat?”
The cool lady, Asuka, raised an eyebrow at the face of Koijiro’s puppy eyes. However, she only responded indifferently by looking away and continued placing her stone on the board.
“Asuka-san!” Koijiro put on a cute face as he pleaded once again.
This time, Asuka’s opponent, Hideomi spoke up, “Kaicho, don’t disrupt our game! If I’m winning, I want to win this fair and square.”
“Which is unlikely,” the petite girl, Kano, chirped in.
Asuka chuckled derisively with her hand covering her mouth in an elegant manner. “Kano-chan, don’t spill the truth so blatantly, you will put Hideomi senpai on edge then.”
Kano giggled in accordance with Asuka. On the other hand, Hideomi could only swallow their sarcasm by gritting his teeth. It was a fact that after countless match against Asuka, Hideomi had never won even once.
“Kano-chan, why don’t you help me convince your beloved senpai to assist me?”
Kano-chan blinked innocently. However, before she could open her mouth, Asuka had already pointed angrily at Koijiro. “Don’t you dare use my Kano!” She snorted. Folding her arms, she said, “Kaicho, you do know that I’m incapable of using my ability to locate his whereabouts. So, why are you being persistent?”
Koijiro played with his fingers awkwardly. “But, I need him to help me finish these papers.”
Hideomi turned to Koijiro and waved his hand in a lazy manner. “Give it up, Kaicho. Let it be! Sit down and relax with us. The cat will eventually return after the hunt. Stop fussing!”
Asuka nodded in agreement. In fact, everyone had unknowingly did the same.
“Speaking of hunting, it should be aroun-”
A melody suddenly resounded into the room.
“”Mina-san, kon’nichiwa!”
“Oh, there we go.” Megumi smiled.
Koijiro’s expression instantly turned 180 degrees and no trace of languidness could be found in his face anymore. Everyone in the room stopped whatever they were doing and different kind of expressions decorated their faces. However, one thing for sure, they were grinning in ridicule.
Following the end of the announcement, Koijiro stood up and stared at the outside scenery.
“May the strong prevails and the weak be damned,” he repeated.
