Number 7

A few days passed without incident.

"Hey! You wanna go get something to eat after this? I know a good cafe!"

"I don't have any money."

"It's alright! My dad gives me an allowance."

"I see. Then let's go."

The friendship which had started with a one sided declaration of a naive girl who didn't even know the person she was calling a "Best friend" slowly blossomed as the two became closer to one another.

"Eh? You're not going to like... say something like 'I can't accept your money.' Or try to tell me that I shouldn't be giving money away so easily or something?"

"If it's to me, then I'll take it gladly. Your loss."

Therefore on Friday, with the weekend ahead of them, the girls decided to head to a cafe.

"Don't take advantage of me so smugly! If you're going to do it, then shouldn't you be quiet about it!?"

"If I was quiet about it, then I really would be taking advantage of you."

"Ah... I guess that's true. Because you admitted it, I'm basically agreeing to letting you take advantage of me."

"..."

While they may have appeared to be arguing on the outside, the two girls were both filled with a strange happiness in this moment of peaceful bliss.

However, such moments are always temporary.

"If you had to kill someone you loved in order to save multiple people that you didn't know, would you do it?"

"What's with that question!? Isn't that really morbid! How should I even answer something like that?"

"Just tell me the truth. I'm just trying to find out what type of person you are."

Celia crinkled her expression with indecision at the morbid question of her friend, however said friend wasn't taking silence as an answer.

"Are the people I don't know good people?"

"I can't tell you that. The situation is that you don't know them. You have no idea who they are, if they're good or bad, anything about them."

"If I don't know whether they're good or bad, how can I make that decision?"

"Are you telling me that if you knew they were good people that you'd save them? Or if you knew that they were bad people that you'd let them die without a second thought?"

This question, posed by Heather, made Celia stop in horror at her own demented logic which had been revealed - a logic which she herself was not even aware of.

"Wait... no... that isn't..."

"What would you do? I can tell you what I'd do."

Without a hint of compassion, Heather blatantly spoke to her friend.

"I'd save the person I love every single time. Good or bad, I don't care about the people I don't know. If they die, it doesn't matter to me."

"Isn't that like... horrible!? Without a second thought, you'd just kill off so many people-"

"If it were your father, would you care who the people on the other end were?"

At this question, the heart of Celia wrenched.

"That..."

"You'd save him, right? As a matter of fact, if it were him on the line, you probably wouldn't even want to know whether the other people were good or bad. Am I wrong?"

Pressed with such a decision, the girl changed the topic.

"A-anyways! It's not like... it's not like I will ever have to make such a decision! Let's stop talking about pointless things!"

Moving forward as she dodged the entire scenario, the girl pressed into the cafe ahead of her friend, who watched with a bitter smile.

'You have to think about things like this, Celia. If you don't, how will you ever make such a decision when you really need to?'

----

"MMM! This is so good!"

"Geh... I don't understand how you can drink something so sweet."

"And I don't understand how you can have black coffee! It has no taste at all - no, worse! It's so bitter that it's worse than water!"

"And your drink is like drinking liquid sugar."

"That's the point! It's supposed to be sweet!"

The girls were complete opposites, but even so they joked and laughed together.

"Sigh... well, I guess you can drink what you want. And I'll drink what I want. You're probably going to get fat or something from all the sugar though."

"Haha... you're always so brutal, Heather."

"Because you always accept my insults as if they're compliments."

With smiles, the two happily sipped on their drinks - or at least, one of them sipped while the other slurped it down.

"Hey. Mind if we sit here?"

However suddenly, the two girls were interrupted as their booth filled against their will - for three girls had shown up out of nowhere.

"Eh?"

Locking the two girls into the inside of the booth, any path of escape had been shut off as the three sat without invitation.

"Seems like you two have been having a lot of fun with one another recently. It almost makes me think that you've forgotten that I own both of you."

"Jessica... you don't own either of us. I don't get why you keep on saying stuff like that."

Celia spoke with softness in her voice, not with irritation, but rather almost looking at the bully - Jessica - with pity.

"Tch.... that airheaded brain of yours... even after I dumped all that rotten milk on you... you still don't understand?"

"What is there to understand? You keep on saying you own us, but I've already told you that slavery is illegal in this country. It's not like you can force us to-"

"Ah. I see. I can't force you."

Placing her hands behind her head, the girl smiled sinisterly as she spoke without so much as looking either of her victims in the eye.

"But maybe something I say can. Isn't that right?"

Glancing at Heather, the girl grinned with confidence as she spoke.

"Prostitute's daughter."

And as soon as this phrase was uttered, the color was drained from the face of Heather.

"..."

The girl looked down, wide eyed and shivering, unable to say anything in response.

"Huh? What's that supposed to be? A cheap insult?"

Celia however, showed no sign of backing down.

"Just because you call us names like that, you think you can-"

"Celia. Stop."

However Heather spoke up, urging the girl to cease.

"Haha... I guess you're clueless to the end. You see, Celia, it looks like I'll have to explain it to you in terms that even someone as stupid as you can understand. This girl here - her father is some bigshot politician."

"Eh!? Your father is someone that important? You never even told me about him...", Celia chimed, gazing at Heather with surprise.

"That's because I don't even know him."

However the words out of Heather's mouth shut Celia up.

"Eh? You... don't even know your own father?"

"Oh, she knows him. But only as some bigshot politician on the TV screen. See Celia, her mother was a hired body. Her father likes to play around with as many women as possible, and her mother was with him for a single night, then thrown away like the garbage she was."

"Wha... how could he do something like that!? Leaving a mother with a child-"

"It isn't just me. Who knows how many sons and daughters that man has. But there's only two of his children that he considers to be real. And only one wife. But even that wife... well, if he's playing around with other women so much, then he probably doesn't care about her either."

Suddenly, anger in her tone, Heather spoke up about things that she hadn't even told to Celia before - in front of the three girls present.

This was because all three of them had already known from the start.

"That's right. What, are you going to laugh at me too? Are you going to pity me too? Are you going to look at me like I'm some leftovers that nobody wanted to eat?"

"I... I wouldn't do something like that, Heather."

With a kind expression, Celia spoke calming words, however the anger didn't cease in Heather's eyes.

After all, the three were still present.

"With that being said, we know everything about her. And obviously, if the rumors spread, she will be outcast everywhere. Not just by people at the school, mind you. If this escapes into the real world, her father will probably have people come out to silence her. Even her mother will be in danger. Politicians are pretty terrifying, you know."

Faced with this harsh reality, Celia didn't know what to say.

She merely gazed at Heather, who looked down in frustration at the things said.

After all - anyone who knew of such things had the power to do anything they pleased.

"I... I'll do what you want, Jessica. But could you leave Celia out of this?"

"Absolutely not. She's your friend, isn't she?"

With a grin, Jessica turned to Celia.

"If you come with us and do as we say, then I won't say anything about her past. But if you don't decide to go with us, then I'll tell everyone in the school."

Standing up, the girls now opened up the booth, so as to allow the two free.

"So you choose. It won't affect you at all, but I want to see what your decision is. Will you come with us for the sake of your friend, or will you give up on her and escape what we're about to do to you?"

Faced with such a decision however, Celia didn't hesitate for a second.

"I'll come with you."

Heather merely looked to the girl with shock, however such shock soon turned to irritation.

"You... you don't know what they're about to do to us. You may have never experienced things like this, but it will be too late to regret it after-"

"I said I'll come."

Even as Heather protested, Celia spoke these words, at which the girl merely slouched her head in defeat.

"Do what you want."

Standing up, Heather followed Jessica and the other two without hesitation, preparing herself for the worst.

"After all... if you're going to give me something for free... then I'll gladly accept."

----

"Come on. I don't like being in a place like this any more than you do. Let's get this over with so we can go do some shopping afterwards."

The five were now in an abandoned building.

It was a three story structure - one completely made from wood. Something like this wouldn't be found very often, but this particular piece of land hadn't been renovated for years after having been confiscated by government officials.

"I heard that there were some weird experiments going on in this place before it was locked up... but that doesn't matter. Right now it's a place that even the police won't bother with. Which means it's perfect for what we're about to do here."

With a sadistic grin, Jessica led the two who followed without a shred of complaint.

'What is she going to do to us?', Celia wondered. 'Isn't this... really bad? Should I have told somebody? Should I have made another decision?'

Looking at Heather, who was not quite as terrified as Celia had expected, the girl wondered what the right decision was.

'We're probably about to get hazed pretty badly... but if it's only that then I guess I can live with it. It's better than risking having her secret leaked.'

If her secret were just something embarrassing or strange, that would be one thing. Perhaps Heather would overcome it. Although, Celia would still have defended her in order to protect her if the secret meant that much.

But this was something that would have real world consequences in the adult world.

It wasn't something that could be laughed off, like being dumped with rotten milk or poked fun at by others.

For this reason, Celia decided that compliance was her best option.

"Come to this room."

Entering a small wooden closet filled with bookshelves, the five girls gathered around.

"Sit down. Both of you."

Placing two chairs facing the open door, Jessica set up the room in a strange way, at which the two sat down.

"I'm really sick of you two thinking that you can do whatever you want. And it pisses me off even more that the only reason you're here is because I have dirt on you. So I'm going to make sure you both remember not to disobey anything I say in the future."

As the girl said this, Celia tensed up, wondering just what was about to happen to the two.

"For the first one... We're going to play a little game. Heather is going to be playing this game. Jane. Make sure to tail her when she runs."

"Got it."

One of the lackeys - Jane - stepped near the door as she leaned upon it with crossed arms, keeping careful watch over Heather.

"This is going to be like hide and seek, except the hider isn't a person. It's a bathroom. When I say go, you're going to run off to try and find a bathroom as quickly as possible. If you find it in time, you win."

The rustling sounds of rummaging through a bag could be heard, but when Celia tried to turn her head she was met with the hands of the other lackey - stopping her from doing so.

"You're not allowed to look. Keep facing forward. Remember that if you disobey us we'll spread the secret."

With this threat, Celia could do nothing more than obey.

So long as they held this secret, would they be able to have such power over them forever?

'Why is she running to find a bathroom? What's the goal here? What happens if she doesn't find it in time? Is the secret going to be spilled if she loses!?'

"What... what happens if she loses? Will you tell her secret to everyone?"

Filled with concern, Celia spoke up, at which she heard a rich laugh.

"Hahaha! No, no. So long as she obeys me, I won't spill the secret even if she loses."

With this, Celia let out a sigh of relief, however as she glanced over to Heather, the same could not be said.

Instead, she seemed to be even more worried.

'Why does she look so concerned? Her secret isn't going to be spilled, so even if she loses, everything will be ok... I mean... I don't want her to get hurt in any other way... but I'll make sure to cheer her up after.'

"Remember. You can't go until I say go."

With this demand, Jessica ensured that her orders were followed.

"Ready..."

Suddenly, from behind her head, Celia felt something hot.

"Set..."

The smell of smoke filled her nose, and she felt the instinct to turn her head - but did not.

"GO!"

And in that instant, Heather jumped up, rushing off.

Jane immediately followed the girl, running behind her as the two sped off.

And as she witnessed this, Celia realized it.

"Wha..."

Anger couldn't even begin to describe her emotions at that point, however overriding even that anger was a single tear.

"How... could you do something like that?"

"Do you understand your position now?"

She trembled at the horrible thing which had been done, unable to say a word in response to her tormentor - who held her at the edge of a knife.

If she stood up to help, she would be cut.

If she turned around, the blade of words would be let loose.

So she did nothing, instead biting her lip as worry overwhelmed her heart.

For the girl who had rushed away moments before did so with her hair on fire.

----

She had tried to relate to this girl - Jessica.

She had tried to understand her.

She had done everything she could to forgive her.

She had imagined every possible hazing scenario, and thrown them all aside as temporary discomforts that could be brushed under the rug.

However such things were no more.

"What if her hair all burns off!? No, what if she gets seriously burned!? What if she can't find a bathroom!?"

"Hey, I sent Jane with her. If she takes too long, she'll tell her where it is before she dies. I can't guarantee that she won't get away without injuries though."

Standing in front of Celia with a seductive step, Jessica beamed down on the girl with a sadistic smile.

"Now it's your turn, girl who isn't my slave because they aren't legal in this country."

With a lighter in hand, the girl grinned as the other took her side.

"Now for your game. If you lose this one... I will tell her secret. Stay in this room for 1 minute. I'm going to see whether the girl won her challenge or not, so I'll be leaving Yolanda to time you. You're not allowed to get up from that spot until the time is up, or you lose."

Then, flicking the lighter, the girl threw it to the ground in front of Celia.

The fire slowly spread, at which Jessica made her way off - leaving the final remaining lackey to watch her - phone in hand as the timer began.

"How... how can you do this?"

The fire was small, so Celia merely pulled her legs away from it, remaining seated as she spoke now to the lackey.

"Is this fun to you? Are you getting a kick out of this? I can't possibly understand! I can't relate at all! Why would you do something so-"

"Cause watching people like you pisses us off. Is there any other reason we need?"

----

The time passed.

The fire came closer and closer, growing until it became uncontrollable.

'This is extremely dangerous!', Celia thought, scooting her chair back to avoid being burned.

"Tch... I guess you can move the chair. I'll allow it."

Yolanda didn't seem to be fond of the tactic that Celia had used to avoid her legs from being burned, but nonetheless accepted it.

"How much time has passed!?"

"35 Seconds."

Could those seconds have gone any slower?

She would run out the time, and then she would rush out and find out if Heather was ok. She would have to get out of this building as soon as possible, given that it was wooden and would likely spread.

'Dad would be really disappointed...'

"How much time now!?"

"45 Seconds. How many times are you going to ask?"

"Until it's 60!"

At this point the fire had spread quite significantly, and was now too large to be stomped out.

'So this building really will be destroyed...'

No alarms were going off, and the fire department wouldn't be called. It was an abandoned building, so the entire place was likely going to burn down if it was left the way it was.

'I need to call dad as soon as I can... I need him to know about this so he can show up!'

Even if this building was going to burn down, she couldn't allow the fire to spread to other buildings. Someone had to be informed before it was too late, so she would at least do that much.

But first she had to complete this trial.

"That's 60. You're free-"

Standing up on the chair, the girl was now surrounded by fire.

However even in such a situation, she leaped off it through the door, tumbling to the ground as she overcame such a hurdle.

The walls of the small room and bookshelves were aflame at this point, however it was at that moment that something happened.

Boom!

A large explosion rang out from the neighboring room, dousing the first room in a roast of flame.

"EH!?!? If I was still in there..."

"Shit... I guess there must have been some sort of gas or chemical in the other room... I'm out of here."

Running off, the girl known as Yolanda took off, heading for an exit.

As she did so, Celia watched as the fire spread with massive strength, the gas explosion carrying it down the hallway in a matter of moments.

'Oh my goodness! This was way faster than I thought it would be!!! I have to call dad!'

Rushing down the stairs, the girl grabbed her phone, however before she did so, her mind returned to the girl whose head had been lit aflame.

'Shit... no... before that, I need to see if she's ok! When we're all out safe, I'll figure out the rest!'

After all, she was the daughter of a fireman.

And she was the one here on the scene.

"The real first responders are the ones who can respond first."

She could react faster than anyone, and if she could get everyone out before anything bad happened, that was more important than anything else.

Therefore, she rushed to the stairs, shouting.

"Heather!!! Jessica!!! Where are you!? Are you anywhere on this floor!?"

However upon receiving no response, the girl rushed for the stairs, heading down to the second floor.

'They must be on a lower level... that's good. If they're on the uppermost level it will be troublesome. Let's try the second floor.'

Heading to the second floor, she rushed down the staircase as she tumbled out into the hall.

"Heather!!! Jessica!!! Jane!!! Are you three on this floor!?"

"What are you shouting about!?"

Standing across the hallway as she walked out of a bathroom, the girl known as Jane yelled to Celia, whose face lightened up with relief.

"Hurry! You've gotta get out of here!!!"

"Why is that? What the hell are you talking-"

Rushing to them, Celia shouted out in desperation.

"The fire!!! It... it... huff... huff..."

Suddenly, Celia felt quite tired as she began to pant.

"Hm? What's the commotion? What the hell are you going on about, slave girl?"

Gripping Heather's hand in her own, Jessica exited from the bathroom, at which Celia saw it.

Heather's hair was mostly missing, but some of it remained.

The back of her head had been badly burned, but it didn't seem to be something she wouldn't recover from - as tears weren't even present in her eyes.

Rather, she looked tired - as if she were used to this sort of treatment.

Irritation surged up within Celia upon seeing her friend in such a state, but she had no time to pay attention to such things. Right now they had to escape.

"The fire! It's spreading! We have to-"

Boom!

Yet it was too late - for in that instant, an explosion rocked the very building.

And falling from the ceiling, a flaming beam blocked the path between Celia and the other three.

"Eh!?!?"

Shouting out in surprise, Celia watched as a wall of fire separated the three, and she reached forward without thinking - only to be burned by the raging flames.

"Agh! N-no... this... how can this..."

"SHIT!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?!"

Roaring in rage, Jessica glared at the wall of fire with indignance, thrusting Heather forward in a moment of anger.

"What the hell!?!? This was supposed to be you trapped in a fire, not us!!!"

"AGH!!!!"

"STOP IT!!!"

Celia shouted out, tears forming in her eyes as she watched the girl put Heather through such a cruel torment - for the bully was currently shoving Heather's face into the raging wall of flame.

"YOU BE QUIET!!! GET US OUT OF HERE!!"

Throwing Heather aside, the girl screamed and shouted as she rolled on the floor to put out the fire.

"AGH!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! WATER!!!"

However the raging fire, which had spread to her clothes and hair - and now even the floor around her - didn't seem to be going out anytime soon.

As soon as she looked over, even Jessica looked at the girl with horror in her expression.

"Wait... no... I didn't... I didn't mean to-"

Realizing what her anger had done in the heat of the moment, the bully's words became weak as she stepped back in terror.

"I'll get her water!"

Shouting out was Jane, who rushed into the bathroom.

Yet the perpetrator of this crime instead fell to her knees, fearful and shivering as she watched her victim suffer such abuse at her own hands.

"AGH!!!"

"Stop screaming... stop it..."

Tears formed in the eyes of the bully as the victim shouted, and Celia could do nothing more than watch in dread from behind that wall of fire.

She wanted to cross it.

So desperately she wanted to jump over there and do something.

Yet she could do nothing more than watch as her very best friend was burned alive.