Isagi walked into the small, concrete room. It looked like a prison cell. Twelve beds. No privacy.
He looked down at the blue bodysuit he had been forced to change into. On the sleeve, a number was printed in bold white:
RANK: 289
Isagi smirked. 289? Out of 300?
It was insulting. He had just crushed the Prefectural Final. He had Metavision. And yet, Ego Jinpachi had placed him at the bottom of the barrel.
No, Isagi corrected himself as he scanned the other guys walking in. I'm not the bottom. I'm the top of this trash heap.
He looked at the others.
Rank 300: Some bald monk who looked like he was about to pee his pants. (Igarashi Gurimu).
Rank 291: The orange-haired hero guy. (Kunigami Rensuke).
Rank 290: Ryosuke Kira.
Isagi laughed out loud. "Hey, Kira. Looks like you're my subordinate."
Kira, who was staring at his own sleeve in disbelief, snapped his head up. His face was pale.
"290? This is a mistake! I was the Ace! Why am I lower than you?!"
Isagi walked over to his designated locker, tossing his bag inside. "Because Ego isn't blind. He knows who the real monster is."
The room was tense. The other guys—Bachira (Rank 298), Chigiri (Rank 292), Gagamaru (Rank 296)—watched the two of them. They could feel the hostility radiating off Isagi. He wasn't the polite, awkward boy from the original manga. He was radiating a black aura.
Suddenly, the monitor on the wall buzzed to life. Ego's face appeared.
"Hello, diamonds in the rough," Ego droned. "Welcome to your new life. You are currently in the lowest ranked room, Team Z. Your ranks are based on my biased evaluation of your potential."
"Biased?!" The monk, Igarashi, yelled. "That's not fair!"
"Fairness is a loser's excuse," Ego cut him off. "Now, let's start the first test. I call it... Tag."
The floor opened up, and a soccer ball dropped into the room. It hit the floor with a heavy thud.
"The rules are simple," Ego said. "The person currently 'It' has 136 seconds to hit someone else with the ball. Whoever is 'It' when the timer runs out... is expelled. Forever. Your football career dies here."
The monitor went black. A timer appeared on the wall.
136 seconds.
The monk, Igarashi, realized something. The holographic display on the ball turned red. It was tracking him.
"Wait! Why am I 'It'?!"
"Because you're Rank 300," Isagi said coldly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "You're the weakest. Makes sense."
"Fuck you!" Igarashi screamed. "I'm not going home!"
He grabbed the ball and looked around wildly.
The room exploded into chaos. Everyone started running.
Igarashi panic-kicked the ball. It flew toward Kunigami.
Kunigami didn't panic. He chested the ball down comfortably. The ball turned red for him. He was 'It'.
"I'm not losing to a monk," Kunigami growled. He wound up his left leg. A cannon.
Boom.
He blasted the ball at Igarashi. But Igarashi tripped over his own feet and the ball smashed into the wall.
"Shit!" Kunigami cursed. He chased the rebound.
Isagi watched from the corner. He wasn't running. He wasn't sweating.
His eyes were darting around the room, tracking vectors.
Kunigami has a strong left foot. His range is about 15 meters. Bachira is flexible, he's dodging by shifting his center of gravity. Chigiri is... hiding? He's protecting his right leg. Interesting.
The ball bounced around. People were screaming.
"Stay away!"
"Don't aim at me!"
Suddenly, the ball rolled to Isagi's feet.
The hologram turned red.
Isagi Yoichi is IT.
The room went silent. Everyone froze, staring at him.
There were 60 seconds left.
Isagi looked at the ball. He felt the weight of it.
I could hit anyone, he thought. Igarashi is an easy target. He's slow. Raichi is loud and distracted.
"Hey, Mr. Rank 289!" Kira shouted from the other side of the room. He was sweating, trying to look confident. "Prove it! Prove you're better than me! Try to hit me!"
Isagi looked up. He locked eyes with Kira.
"Careful what you wish for, pretty boy."
Isagi didn't kick the ball immediately. He started dribbling.
He moved slowly at first, then exploded.
Bachira tried to jump in, looking for fun. "Ooh! Come at me!"
Isagi performed a Roulette, spinning around Bachira without even looking at him.
You're not the target.
Isagi drove straight toward Kira.
Kira backed up. "You think you can hit me? I'm the Jewel of—"
Isagi didn't shoot. He passed the ball to the wall next to Kira.
Bank shot.
The ball slammed into the concrete and ricocheted at a sharp angle, hitting Kira square in the face.
Smack.
The hologram switched.
Ryosuke Kira is IT.
Kira stumbled back, nose bleeding. "You... you bitch!"
10 Seconds Remaining.
Kira scrambled for the ball. His eyes were wild. He had lost his composure. He looked at Isagi. Isagi was standing still, hands in his pockets, staring him down.
"Shoot me," Isagi challenged. "If you can."
Kira screamed and unleashed a volley straight at Isagi's head. It was fast.
But Isagi had seen the tension in Kira's hip flexor before the leg even moved.
Too emotional. Too telegraphed.
Isagi tilted his head to the left.
The ball whizzed past his ear, missing him by an inch.
It hit the wall behind him.
0 Seconds.
BUZZZZZZ.
The ball rolled to a stop. The hologram turned off.
"Time up," Ego's voice crackled over the speaker. "The player who is 'It'... is Ryosuke Kira."
Kira stood there, panting. "No... no way. The time... it was just a second off..."
"You hesitated," Isagi said, breaking the silence. He walked over to Kira. "When you aimed at me, you blinked. You were scared. You were wondering 'what if I miss?' That split second of doubt is why you're mediocre."
Kira fell to his knees. "I... I'm the Jewel of Japan! I can't leave! This is a mistake!"
The door hissed open. Two large guards walked in.
"Ryosuke Kira. Get out."
"No! Isagi! You ruined everything!" Kira lunged at him.
Isagi didn't flinch. He just watched as the guards dragged the screaming boy out of the room.
"Lock off," Isagi whispered.
He turned to face the remaining ten survivors. They looked terrified. Even Bachira looked a little unsettled by Isagi's coldness.
"Listen up," Isagi announced, his voice echoing in the small room. "Kira is gone. The 'team' dynamic is dead. If you want to survive in here... stay out of my way. Or I'll devour you too."
Bachira's eyes suddenly lit up. A wide, creepy smile spread across his face.
"Wow..." Bachira whispered, his monster sensing Isagi's monster. "You're... amazing."