#we reposting ladies
The elevator came to a smooth stop and the doors glided open. I was momentarily blinded by the sudden light, but as my eyes adjusted, I was greeted with the trial ground. The walls had several screens streaming a 360 view of a tropical beach.
God I was getting really sick of tropical beaches.
The screens made it seem like the trial room was a pavilion on the beach, even though I knew realistically we were deep underground after that elevator ride. The sky was a soft, almost greenish blue. It seemed like it was only the break of dawn and small waves lapped lazily on the sand. Opposite from the elevator there was an ornate throne that Hikari lounged on. She had a sadistic grin on her face as she allowed us to soak in the trial room for the first time. Next to her, Sayuri stood at attention, not even given a chair to sit on.
Most attention grabbing, though, was the ring in the middle. Sixteen podiums stood in a circle, each one standing on a short pedestal, lined with different glowing hues. The completed ring created a rainbow gradient. As people filed into the trial room proper, I got a closer look and saw that each podium had a name inscribed on the pedestal. I found the one labelled with my name and stepped up. I took my place where soft cyan light illuminated my feet. Up on the stand, a screen affixed to the podium lit up and displayed a menu with several options. [Report Cards], [Evidence], and a third grayed out option, [Vote].
I looked to my left, where I saw Haru. He caught me looking and flashed me a grin, though it didn’t reach his eyes. He nervously tugged on the cuff of his glove as he waited for things to get started. To my right stood Tara. She gave me a sympathetic smile, but she looked so drained by the happenings. I’m sure I looked worse, so I gave her a smile in return, as if to say don’t worry about me.
As everyone found their places, Hikari banged a gavel against the armrest of her throne, getting all of our attention.
HIKARI: “Alright! Now that we’re all here, we can get started!”
