ACADEMY OF SURVIVAL

Nola turned his gaze back to Team A, now seated and waiting.

"Now, I don't know what to believe," he mused, his expression a mix of intrigue and amusement.

"Either a Sinder killed him—which I highly doubt," he mumbled, narrowing his eyes, "or it was one of his team members."

The thought thrilled him. His faint smile grew more pronounced, his curiosity piqued as Team A now stood out more than ever.

"He has five more minutes to make it here before I disqualify him... involuntarily," Nola said, tapping on his watch. Rodè's name appeared on the screen, marked In Route.

Nola's gaze hardened, his smile vanishing, replaced with a cold, sinister expression as he stared at Rodè's name.

"What is he even doing here?!" he muttered, the disdain in his voice palpable.

He leaned forward, his fingers drumming lightly on the table.

"And the fact that he hasn't died yet... is quite impressive," Nola admitted begrudgingly, though his tone dripped with contempt.

Meanwhile Back in the Team A room, Micheal suddenly noticed Rodè entering, escorted by a guard. Rodè's eyes were wide with horror, his expression distant and emotionally detached, as though he had just escaped something unimaginable.

"All right, now that everyone is here and has successfully passed the House of Crows—which, by default, was a team effort—I owe you all an apology," Nola's voice cut through the silence as he appeared on the screen. "I had previously announced two eliminations, but that was due to a delay in receiving updates on Rodè's survival."

Nola smiled casually, brushing off the earlier error.

"Anyway, Team A, your next trial will no longer be a team effort. It's an individual challenge... and it's called Independence." His voice carried an edge of excitement as he dropped the bombshell.

Micheal's eyes widened, his breath catching as the words sank in.

"So now they want us to go against each other?" he thought, his gaze narrowing at Nola, who remained calm and almost amused.

His thoughts were interrupted as he glanced at Tohira, who was now smiling directly at him. A chill ran down Micheal's spine. There was something unsettling about that smile—an unspoken signal, almost as if Tohira was warning him or quietly promising that he was watching... or coming for him.

Micheal quickly averted his gaze, his unease growing. The room felt heavier, the stakes higher than ever.

*************************************

Micheal stepped out of the bathroom, the bright light reflecting off his jet-black hair as his thoughts swirled about the upcoming trials, especially the looming Independence trial.

"I've always been suspicious of him, but I won't back down," Micheal thought, his expression darkening. "Even if it means someone else has to be sacrificed."

He had just washed away the blood of the Sinders he'd been soaked in, yet the weight of the ordeal lingered. As he stepped into the room, he noticed Rodè sitting on the bed, his legs pulled tightly to his chest, staring into nothingness.

"Is he my roommate?" Micheal wondered, giving Rodè a quick glance before turning away.

"Mind your business, Micheal. Focus on yourself for tomorrow," he muttered to himself as he headed toward his bed.

Just as he sat down, an arm wrapped around his neck, and someone jumped onto his back in a playful piggyback hold, pulling him backward.

"Hey, mister red pupils, don't go dying on me now!" Tohira teased, his voice light but with an undertone of mockery.

"Get off me," Micheal grumbled, his frustration evident.

"And stop treating me like I'm weak," he added firmly.

"Aren't you weak, though? Compared to me?" Tohira whispered into Micheal's ear, his voice turning sinister.

"Dammit, get off me!" Micheal muttered through gritted teeth, trying to shake him off.

"Nope! Nope, nope!" Tohira protested, his tone playful, like a mischievous child.

Micheal sighed deeply, resigning himself to Tohira's antics. At this point, he was almost used to his unpredictable personality.

"Alright," Micheal said, his voice laced with exasperation. "Are you here to tell me not to die?"

"Yep! Yep!" Tohira responded, his childlike tone masking the unspoken seriousness beneath his words.

"Alright, fine, I'm not—" Micheal began, but his words faltered as Tohira's playful demeanor shifted into something subtly unsettling.

"Are you sure about that?" Tohira whispered into Micheal's ear, his tone dark and unnerving.

Micheal's gaze turned cold, sensing the possibility of a veiled threat. But after a brief moment, he chose to disregard it.

"Don't worry," Tohira's tone shifted again, returning to its playful edge as he hopped down from Micheal's back.

"You know why?" he said, smiling at Micheal with a strange intensity.

"Because I promise you, nobody dares touch my friend and gets away with it!"

Micheal stiffened slightly as Tohira's face loomed unsettlingly close to his, the wide grin unnerving in its sincerity.

A shiver ran down Micheal's spine as he processed Tohira's behavior. It felt more like a thinly veiled obsession than simple friendship.

"Uh, okay..." Micheal responded, dragging out the words in slight confusion as he instinctively created a bit of distance between them.

Suddenly, Tohira pulled Micheal into an unexpected hug, his tone softening into something genuinely friendly.

"That's because you're my best friend. My first friend," he said sincerely, his voice unusually steady.

"Does that make me less suspicious now?" Tohira added, patting Micheal's back as if he truly meant it.

Before Micheal could respond, they both heard movement from Rodè.

"Umm?" Tohira turned toward him, tilting his head.

"Hey, Mister Nervous, you barely have a presence at all," he teased, letting go of Micheal.

Meanwhile, Micheal found himself reflecting on Tohira's words. The sincerity in being called a first friend resonated with him. For a moment, he felt a connection, recognizing his own struggles with loneliness. Encountering Tohira had brought something he hadn't expected—someone who could relate to him.

However, despite the momentary warmth, doubt still lingered in Micheal's mind. The circumstances didn't allow for complete trust, even if the idea of friendship was appealing.