Monologue — Riku Hayato (Chariot)
I don't remember falling asleep.
I remember lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the silence of this place. Every sound felt louder than it should have been — footsteps in the hallway, a door closing somewhere far away, the faint hum of electricity behind the walls.
I kept thinking the announcement would come back.
That voice.
That cheerful tone, like this was some kind of game.
Maybe it is a game.
But if it is, the rules are wrong.
They told us there's an Imposter among us.
They told us the only way to survive is to find them.
What they didn't say is the worst part.
Even if there is no Imposter… sooner or later, someone will start believing there is.
And once that happens—
People won't need the truth anymore.
They'll just need someone to blame.
I don't know who the Imposter is.
But I know this much.
If fear spreads faster than reason…
This place will destroy us long before the Imposter does.
****************************************************************************
Morning arrived without a bell.
The dorm lights brightened automatically at 7:00 a.m., the soft white glow pulling students out of restless sleep.
The hallway was quieter than the night before.
Doors opened cautiously.
People looked around before stepping out, as if expecting something to have changed.
Nothing had.
The same white walls.
The same cameras.
The same silence.
In the cafeteria, a few students had already gathered.
Takumi Kisaragi sat at a table with a notebook, writing in careful lines.
Masato Takeda stood near the food counter, arms crossed, observing the room.
Hana Mizuno was preparing trays and quietly handing them to anyone who approached.
"Everyone should eat," she said gently. "Whatever this situation is, we'll need our strength."
Some students thanked her.
Others avoided eye contact.
Trust hadn't broken yet.
But it wasn't there either.
By the time most of the group had gathered, the atmosphere had settled into something fragile.
Not panic.
Not calm.
Something in between.
"We need structure," Masato said finally. His voice carried across the cafeteria. "If we're going to stay here, we can't just wander around alone."
Reina Shirogane nodded. "Agreed. At minimum, people should move in pairs."
"That'll just make everyone suspicious of each other," Daigo Arashi replied from across the room.
"Suspicion is already there," Reina said. "Ignoring it won't make it disappear."
A few students murmured quietly.
At another table, Hikari Tachibana sat with Shizuku Aoyama and Ayane Mizuhara.
"Do you really think there's an Imposter?" Hikari asked softly.
Shizuku didn't answer immediately. Her eyes moved slowly across the room, studying people one by one.
"…Whether there is or not," she said finally, "people will act like there is."
Ayane gave a small nod.
"That's what worries me too."
After breakfast, small groups began forming naturally.
Not official teams.
Just proximity. Familiar faces. Comfortable silence.
Takumi approached a few students individually, asking where they had been the previous night and what they had noticed about the building.
He wasn't accusing anyone.
But people still answered carefully.
Masato and Daigo inspected the exterior doors again, searching for weaknesses.
None.
Taiyo Hinata tried to lighten the mood in the lounge, joking with Hoshika Amano about turning the place into a "weird boarding school."
Hoshika smiled.
But only a little.
Kurone Yoru sat alone near the window shutters.
Sora Amamiya stood nearby, not speaking, just watching the hallway like someone waiting for something that might never come.
Megumi Unabara wandered between rooms restlessly, unable to stay in one place for long.
And near the vending machines, Arata Mujin leaned against the wall, quietly observing the movement of people as if he were watching patterns form.
When someone glanced at him, he simply smiled.
Not warmly.
Not coldly.
Just casually.
By afternoon, the tension had shifted.
No one said it out loud.
But everyone had noticed something.
No second announcement.
No new rules.
No sign of the people who had brought them here.
Which meant one thing.
Whatever was going to happen next…
It would come from inside the group.
Takumi gathered several students in the lounge.
"I've checked the cameras," he said. "They cover every hallway and common area. But we don't have access to the footage."
"Then what's the point?" Daigo asked.
"The point," Takumi replied calmly, "is that whoever's watching us can see everything."
The room went quiet.
Hikari spoke hesitantly. "So… we're being monitored, but not controlled?"
"Exactly," Takumi said.
Reina frowned slightly.
"That means the situation won't escalate unless we escalate it."
No one liked the implication.
As evening approached, the atmosphere grew heavier again.
Conversations became shorter.
People checked their surroundings more often.
Doors that had stayed open the previous night were closed earlier this time.
In the hallway, Masato stopped a small group.
"Before everyone goes to their rooms," he said, "let's agree on one thing."
People turned toward him.
"No accusations without evidence. No acting alone. If something feels wrong, we bring it to the group."
A few students nodded.
Others hesitated.
Because the problem with that rule was simple.
Evidence might not exist.
But fear always did.
That night, the academy felt different.
Quieter.
More careful.
Lights turned off earlier.
Footsteps were lighter.
Locks clicked faster.
In one room, Hikari sat on her bed, staring at her bracelet.
Lovers
In another, Reina reviewed the day's events like a case file.
Justice
Takumi added new notes to his growing list.
Magician
And in a dim hallway, someone stood alone for a long moment before returning to their room.
Fool
At midnight, the lights dimmed automatically.
The building fell silent once again.
Twenty-two students.
No evidence.
No attacks.
No Imposter revealed.
But the calm didn't feel like safety.
It felt like waiting.
Because everyone understood something now.
If nothing happened soon…
Someone might decide to make something happen.