"Are you fucking crazy?! There could be more of those...things in there!" Lydia screams. "Did you see what those monsters can do?! We nearly died earlier!"

  "If you have a better idea to get food, I'm listening," Shinta leans on his desk with a smirk. Lydia lowers her hostility, keeping quiet. Elios shoots an icy glare at Shinta.

  "Shinta, you're getting ahead of yourself. So what if there's food there? We risk losing our numbers as a cost. That's not worth it. If any one of us turns into those monsters out there, we'll end up killing ourselves," Elios nitpicks the idea. "Lydia's right. All of us struggled against only two. What if there's more?"

  "We'll lose numbers either way if we do nothing the whole time. It's better if we at least try to survive rather than slowly rot away," Shinta refutes. "If you have a better idea, I'm listening. Tell me, what do you have in mind? Sit here until we all die? I'm giving us a chance to make it out of here, and what are you doing? Besides, who are you to speak to me like that?"

  "I'm telling you the pros and cons of your 'little plan.' It's ironic that you can't take criticism very well. Your plan is extremely flawed, you and I know that well. And in this catastrophe, ranks no longer matters between us. Our survival is top priority."

  Shinta rolls his eyes and shrugs. He ignores Elios and continues talking.

  "We should be smart about how to approach the neighboring classroom. I only want a couple of people to go with me inside and leave some people to protect this place in case of an ambush. If we succeed, we'll expand our territory." Shinta orders.

  "Look who's decided to be an assertive leader. What happened before? You were so quiet before all those fucking monsters came in. You dismissed me before you even got actual proof. Now you're trying to take advantage of everyone when we're vulnerable?" Elios continues to be opposed to anything Shinta proposes. "You're only killing us faster, you know. We have a better chance of rotting in here than fighting off those monsters again."

  "Guys, let's try to come to a consensus, okay," Karna pushes the two away from each other to prevent a likely fight. "I do feel like we need to eat if we are planning to survive. Maybe we can give Shinta's plan a chance."

  "Will you all just listen?! We're ignoring the biggest danger here! We barely fended two of those creatures off at our peak, so how are going to be able to fight more?! We're only becoming weaker as time goes on!" Elios yells in frustration. The power blacks out for just a second. As the lights flicker on again, everyone stays quiet, knowing deep down Elios was right. But Shinta's strong manning would eventually overpower Elios's facts. After all, Elios was nothing more than a lowly peasant in Shinta's eyes. Not even Rika was that intolerable.

  Rey adds his opinion, "...Guys, how about we give Elios a chance? We may not interact with him much, but that doesn't mean his ideas are automatically bad."

  Rika tries to involve herself in the conversation, "I agree. We should-"

  "All the more reason why we should listen to Shinta instead. We barely know the guy, how can we trust him? Let alone plans risking our lives?" Karna counters instantaneously. He doesn't even look at Rika, only focusing on Rey. Rey glares at him but doesn't say anything, always trying to avoid any sort of conflict or confrontation. Although hesitant, he steps back and backs off.

  "So he's always going to be right just because you know him more?!" Elios's face starts turning red from anger and he pinches his forehead in fury. "If we follow that logic, would you rather listen to him telling you to jump off a cliff just cause he's your friend?! You all know what I'm saying isn't wrong!"

  "Can this guy just fucking shut up?!" Karna's eye twitches in annoyance, but he doesn't say anything to express it.

  Silence erupts the room with tension thicker than the soundproof walls of the classroom. Shinta's status that exuded nothing but perfection made it more difficult to deny him.

  "It looks like whatever I say won't make a difference."

  Everyone avoids Elios's piercing gaze, his anger burning in his eyes.

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  "I'm glad we can come to a consensus," Shinta poignantly ignoring Elios's angered expression and proceeds on with the rest of the group. He still notices Elios clearly against this and rolls his eyes. "How about this? How about we all vote to make a decision so everyone plays a part in what we plan to do. All hands up in favor of going to the classroom next to us."

  Everyone but Rey and Elios awkwardly raises their hands, and Elios glares back in response. Shinta smiles in smug satisfaction despite not getting full votes. Kenji looks at Rey with confusion.

  "You little..." Elios grits his teeth. "You didn't even refute my claim! Guys, you know I'm right! He's endangering us all!"

  "Then I guess it's settled," Shinta grips Elios's shoulder tightly and continues to ignore him. "Shame. Would've loved to see what you could come up with."

  Elios swipes Shinta's hand off, "Don't pretend to be a genius."

  Shinta's smile drops and he turns to the others.

  "I only want a few people to come with me, again, we need to defend this classroom too," Shinta looks at everyone. Rey raises his hand to volunteer.

  "I can come with-"

  "That's quite alright. Besides, you're injured and probably need rest the most. I was hoping some other company could join me.," Shinta glances at Rika. She flinches, barely saying anything to the group.

  "Why...me? I'm not fit for the job, Shinta. I'm not as athletic and courageous as you guys," Rika fiddles with her oversized sweater. Lydia scoffs at Rika's timidness. Rika flinches at Lydia's behavior.

  "I can't believe she's still treating me like this..." Rika thinks quietly, glancing at the problematic girl.

  "She's right, Shinta. Rika is the last person to ask for a plan that has risks like this. We're going in a fight and our lives are at risk. She's not cut out for the job either," Lydia folds her arms and scoffs snarkily. She was only logical when it came to bullying the only one intimidated by her.

  Shinta sighs, "Well, see, here's the thing. I just want to make sure all of us get a chance to contribute at least something to the team. If Rey and I were to get food yet some don't contribute, how is it fair at all for them to eat? Would you want someone to have a share of your rewards when they do nothing but hide and cower in a corner while the rest actually do something? It sounds more like keeping dead weight for no reason."

  Lydia shrugs, "You have a point there."

  She contemptuously looks over at Rika quivering in fear.

  "Probably more useful dead than alive. Face it, Shinta. If you bring Rika with you, you're dying with her."

  "If you're so confident about that, how about you come with me as well?" Shinta gestures.

  "W-what? Me? Why me when you have the others?" Lydia points at herself in surprise.

  "Don't make bold claims if you don't have the guts to prove me wrong," Shinta smiles arrogantly.

  "Going off of what you said, I'm assuming you'd want to take different people so they have a chance to contribute. But wouldn't that just have more risks for death if you don't bring one of us?" Karna asks, skeptical.

  "Correct, and don't worry. I'll make sure we return safe and sound." Shinta gives a playful grin. All Elios could do was shut his mouth and turn away, knowing no one would be willing to listen to him anymore. The circumstances may have changed, but socially, everything remained the same.

  "And what if you're not safe and sound...? Look, I know what you're trying to get at, but it's much safer to have us go instead," Karna sighs. "You have a flaw in that plan, dude. You're taking the most incompetent people in our group, so how is everyone going to be safe if you're not planning to take one of us? I'd rather not have you guys die yet."

  "I don't want to take you guys because you all need some rest. Our two strongest fighters bravely took down the two zombies on their own. If even Rey sustained injuries, I'm sure you did as well. Besides, when have I ever failed to keep my word?" Shinta waves off the clear concern. Karna stays quiet, deciding to trust him. "We're going to have weapons to defend ourselves as well. If anything happens, I'll take charge."

  Shinta grabs multiple pencil cases and takes out two large and colorful scissors to give to Lydia and Rika. He picks out a black pair of scissors for himself and puts the pencil case away. Lydia turns and scowls at Rika.

  "Just stay out of my way and we'll be done with it. Okay?" Lydia glares at the cowering girl. She musters up courage and glares back, holding back her tears.

  "Stop treating me like your servant. Especially in this situation, I deserve to be treated more like an equal," Rika suddenly marks her boundaries with a more confident voice after years of timidness. Everyone's face morphs into shock and glances at Lydia in silence. Utterly humiliated by a measly peasant.

  Lydia's face twists to fury, the veins on her face becoming more visible, "You little, pathetic, low-"

  Before she can do anything, Shinta grabs both of their shoulders with an unsettling grin and steps in.

  "We should focus on our main priorities. The longer we wait, the more time we waste. Besides, it's a bit childish to bring up ranks now, isn't it? Our lives are on the line here," he states with a condescending tone. Knowing what Shinta means, they both keep their mouths shut and listen.

  "Get ready to shut the door once we're in," Shinta waves his hand to the rest of the group.

  "Shut the door? For what?" Elios asks, irritated with the complete separation.

  "If we all go down, which is unlikely, they can't get to you."

  Elios almost speaks up again, but decides it isn't worth it to spark more conflict and make him more antagonistic than he already is. He reluctantly complies and turns around.

  "Alright, let's go," Shinta grips the doorknob tightly.