Free Time: Gifts Not Included ((Kamukura X Komaeda))

Welcome To The Machine (Prologue Part One)

There wasn't much I could do, I had nothing to exactly think about either.
I had my knowledge, but that was simply general knowledge. I knew bees pollinated flowers, that dandelions were weeds.
I was aware of what created ocean seafoam, and I could recite pi perfectly.
Yet, none of that told me where I was.
There was a light in front of me, it was obvious I should follow it, unless of course, I was dying.
That notion was ridiculous, actually.
People don't truly see light before they die, it is merely a trick of the brain that leads them into bright blindness in those moments.

What then, if that was it? I didn't remember... Anything really, just my name. So how could I be sure I was not in a life or death situation? That the bright light before me was not my doorway to death?
I suppose... There was no proper way of finding out at all. There would need to be a leap of faith.
It was not just a measly light in front of me, but a door itself that shone so bright, it could have blinded even the most perfect of eyes if they stared too long.
It was strange how I couldn't remember a thing before this moment, but I knew my name, and I could recall my purpose.
It was slightly annoying that my brain refused to conjure the rest, but trying to think about it too long was beyond dull.
It would come eventually, I had no interest in attempting to force my brain to recall what it could not.
With a sigh, I twisted the doorknob and forced it open.
What my eyes met on the other side was not an afterlife, but a small, confined room with a calming aura, and the faces of strangers around me.
How... Peculiar.
I think I was starting to understand my situation, but not all the pieces were there just yet.
I looked behind me, but there was nothing more than the endless dark void I had awoken in. It would be useless to turn back now, especially with the watchful eyes upon me with morbid curiosity.
"Are you the last one?" A girl questions with a soothed, mature voice. "With you here, that takes every seat in the room, so..."
My attention flicked back to her. It took mere seconds to take in the number of chairs and the people around the room.
She was not wrong, it did seem to be the case. Using my voice so soon would have been too boring.
Rather, I gave a short nod, closing the door behind me.
"Finally," A male grumbled, feet atop his desk and arms behind his head. "I thought I was going to have to sit here forever! What's going on with the outside? Weird as hell."
"And the teacher isn't even here." Another muttered.
"Who cares? Why worry about that stuff when there are more important things to take care of?!"
Gazes moved to a girl with caramel skin and dark hair, urging her to continue what she was talking about.
With a slightly confused look around, she exhaled, as if everyone else were being dumb.
"Food, obviously! I don't exactly see any in this classroom and I was the first to show up, you know?"
"If it's food you want," Another guy chuckled, his voice simply dripping in seduction. "I can make whatever you want. But there aren't any plates here if you want to be the substitute..."
"That's enough of that!" A guy quickly hopped down from where he sat on the window seal, an awkward smile over his face. "If the last person is finally here, surely something must happen now? Unless this is all a strange dream. If that's the case, we should all wake up, safe and sound in our beds."
Everyone in the room had an interesting appearance. Some dawned needless accessories, others dressed more appropriately for a school setting in polite attire. I would be in such a category with the dark suit I had decided to wear... I suppose I decided it, of course.
Not that I could remember such a minuscule detail. Some students bore forgettable faces, others looked straight out of an action comic.
Yet that guy, he was the only one I couldn't get a proper reading on. Something about him nagged me to my core and I could not figure out what.
It still felt boring to think about but infuriating at the same time. What was he hiding behind that gentle smile as he spoke to the others?
His clothes were like none I had ever seen, certainly not the green jacket that reminded me more of a glitch than attire, nor the mysterious symbol upon his shirt.
And were those... Zipper shoes?
"Why am I even here?" One male finally spoke up after having his face twisted in irritation since I had arrived. "If the teacher isn't here, I'm leaving." He stood up from the desk, nearly pushing me aside as he approached the door.
I couldn't really care less about his aggressive attitude, it was not worth my attention.
But he pulled upon the door, jiggling the handle that was now spontaneously locked.
"What the hell is this?" He snapped, giving another hard yank. "It was just fucking open!"
His eyes suddenly locked upon me, anger leaking through his expression. Or more like a waterfall, than a leak.
"You were the last one in, you damn vampire. Did you lock it behind you?"
"No."
Vampire? Was that supposed to be an insult?
I didn't know how I looked exactly, the suit was obvious from the cuffs around my wrists, and I could feel my long hair swaying around my body, but did that qualify as a vampire?
Without warning, he reached out, grabbing a tight handful of my black overcoat.
I could have stopped him, his movements were slow, obvious.
But there was no point in it.
Not yet, at least. I did not want to cause a fight between people I did not know. He was not aggressive towards me, but the situation, else I would have had no problem throwing him back.
Even still, doing something like that would have been predictable, transparent, and boring.
With a simple movement of his hand, I could have seen at least thirteen different ways he was intending to move at me, none of them prepared a punch.
"So I guess it just locked on its own, huh?"
"Let's calm down," That mysterious boy approached slowly, hands up in peace. "Maybe it just got stuck."
"You stay out of this!" He released me, quickly aiming to throw a hit, but froze mid-air.
Around the room, a strange sound echoed, everyone's eyes turning to the teacher's desk in the front of the classroom.
It sounded like music, mixed with the twinkling of a fairy.
"Please, nobody fight! Let's all be good friends, okay?" A cute voice giggled from behind the desk, yet to be seen.
It sounded like the teacher was here, but no teacher was yet to be seen.
"Did that desk just talk?!" A dark-haired girl gasped. "Talking desk, furniture is taking over the world, we're all doomed!"
"Obviously it didn't talk," Crossing his arms, a fairly large boy frowned. "Don't be ridiculous."
Chattering erupted, but my eyes remained locked on the desk.
Right then, a small shape jumped up, revealing herself with a happy laugh and the wave of a magical girl stick.
She gave a small twirl atop the desk, showing off a pair of pearl white wings.
"My name is Usami!" She announced, "Your absolutely adorable, squeezably soft school teacher."

Although she made herself an entrance, the classroom remained still and quiet for a long moment as everyone took in what they saw.
I found no need to do the same, it was a stuffed rabbit, my eyes weren't deceiving me.
So this is what was happening now... New, but uninteresting. This was becoming a pattern, wasn't it?
This dull, painful feeling of boredom, seeping through my body like black sludge.
Finally, a voice rose up.
"Are you... A stuffed bear?" A girl questioned, earning a laugh.
"I'm no bear, I'm a rabbit! See my long ears?" She gestured with a stuffed paw to the two pink ears atop her head.
A robot, or a hologram... Perhaps a wind-up toy?
A trick, most likely. I was expected to believe such a creature was my teacher?
One of the students laughed, twiddling her fingers.
"A stuffed bear as a school teacher... It-It's not possible."
She held up her magic stick again, this time, looking a bit more annoyed.
"I'm not a bear, I am a rabbit! Rabbit!" Getting that out of the way, she relaxed once more. "My name is Usami, and I have an announcement for all you wonderfully wonderful kids! Are you all ready for a class trip?"
"Class trip?" Someone raised an eyebrow. "Aren't those supposed to happen after we already attend a class? We just got here."
There were collective nods but Usami quickly waved it off.
"Don't worry about the details! Let's all relax and make friends on the trip. We're going to have so much fun!"
She gave a wave of her wand before anyone could react and my world was flashing around me.
After how I woke up, this was becoming a common occurrence, and yet my mind was racing around me, clicking pieces together.
It seemed conclusive, I should have already guessed what was going on, and yet I was missing something.
Something important to bring everything together.
I felt nothing, there was not even the weightless experience I was expected before the scenery changed all around me.
Usami's magic fluttered away like ashes to the wind, the pink colors dimming down to expose the tropical beach we all stood on.
My neat shoes sunk into the pearly sand below, but that was the least of my concerns.
Could this perhaps have been a dream?
No, that was illogical, after all, I had felt the aggressive boy push me not long ago.
There would be time to string such thoughts together later, for now, everyone looked as confused and bewildered as I expected them to be.
How predictable. It was a beach, nothing more, nothing less.
"Holy cow, how did you do that?!" The dark-haired girl cried out once more. My grasp on her personality was free-spirited, carefree, perhaps not too bright.
Usami giggled behind her pink stuffed paws and waved her off.
"Don't worry children, we're here to have fun on the school trip! Don't anyone worry, okay? Let's all have fun and live in harmony. I just love love."
"Why on earth would we do that?" A short girl snapped, "Take us back, I don't want to be on some smelly beach!"
"And what about school?"
What about-?
No, there was nothing I needed to say, actually.
But it was strange, I had felt struck by a sudden flash of worry, but such things were odd.
It did not feel like my own emotion, but an invading virus.
I shook away the feeling, metaphorically, of course. Nobody had the thought to analyze me to see if anything was wrong, and I wasn't going to let them either.
"Are we... In danger?" The forest jacketed boy questioned softly, an unreadable expression in his eyes.
"No no no!" The rabbit was quick to shake her head. "Violence is prohibited, please don't hurt anyone!"
As though my mind had been attacked, I felt something odd once more.
What was this painfully annoying feeling within my mind? Something was whistling. A siren, or, perhaps screaming. I didn't care enough to find out, I simply wanted it to stop.
My vision became hazy, as much as I tried to ignore it.
Everyone's voices faded into the background, and as pathetic as I felt, I could no longer stand on my own two legs.
But darkness surrounded me before I felt the impact of the ground.