Electrode Spark | Megumi | Ch1 Start Reaction
Megumi slipped back into consciousness slowly. The smell of smoke, far more concentrated than anything that came off a match waved through the air, unpleasantly called for her attention. She coughed, rolling to one side, only for her bare shoulder to ache insistently where it pressed against hard concrete.
For a second, Megumi just lay there on the ground like a boneless noodle before it actually caught up with her that something was wrong. More than a few somethings were wrong, actually, and her limbs tensed up in the process of pushing herself up. She skittered back a few feet, unsteady and murmuring.
She spoke jokingly, but her somewhat hoarse voice held enough questioning nervousness that there just wasn’t much room for humor. Then she looked down at the ground, and around, finally taking notice of the other students.
Megumi gaped, before recovering and taking a deep breath. Sprawled across the ground, asleep, in public? Megumi was horrified that anyone else present might have seen her in such a state. She wasn’t the only one placed in such an undignified position, but that hardly changed anything.
Her eyes swept left and right, guarded caution written across her face. There were the other students, and– was that a bear? Whatever the purple thing was, it chattered away in such a grating voice that Megumi just ignored it. There were concerns, concerns, and more concerns to be concerned about right now. Some crummy animatronic ranked quite low. Anyway, some other people were listening, so surely she could get a recap later.
Still cautious, Megumi crept forward to crouch down and immediately thrust one hand out to snatch up her purse from where it lay on the ground. She yanked it by the strap and skittered backwards, holding the bag up in front of her chest like some kind of improvised shield while she rummaged through it.
After a second, Megumi’s hand closed around the shape she was searching for, and she pulled out a– wait, whose PDA is this? Who even uses PDAs anymore?
She petered out. As she glanced down at the screen, some of the bear-thing’s words register in Megumi’s ears, sending a chill down her spine. Promotion. Slaughter. Kill or be killed. She startled, finally paying attention like she should have from the beginning.
None of this sounded like something that could happen in real life. So why were there… Megumi filed away a few thoughts for later, things to ask when she had the chance. She was far too flat-footed to do anything but call out at the purple bear’s retreating shape
“E-excuse me? You expect us all to go along with whatever this is? I’m sure– lawyers! A whole flock of them are going to come after you, and… and land a helicopter on your roof! I’m going to make sure of it!”
It took a moment for her to realize she was still holding up her purse like a lame shield. Megumi composed herself, lowering it and putting one arm through the strap. She paused, brushing the hair out of her eyes and over to one side, then fixed those eyes on the unsightly apartment building. This was a lot to take in.
An irritated huff followed, and then Megumi began to take her first purposeful steps towards the building’s entrance.
