In another section of the school, in Head General Paul's office, the Head General had his hands to his temples.
He let out a deep sigh.
He had received the report of what had happened in the assembly hall.
The student interviews were nearly done, only a few more students had to be interviewed.
"Why the hell is everyone making a fuss out of this." He muttered. "It's just kids being kids! I mean, if a few of them got killed, then I'd understand…" He muttered.
It was then that he heard his wristwatch begin to beep.
Looking down at it, he saw it was a communication from his daughter, Hayley, the school's doctor.
He sighed again, and answered the call.
"Yes?" He asked in an exhausted voice.
Hayley's voice came out of the screen.
"Father, I need to talk to you about a matter involving the student Hikiko Tsukuru." She replied.
Hearing her, Paul sighed again.
'Oh, what did he do NOW?' Paul thought in exasperation.
"Go on." He replied.
"Hihiko Tsukuru gave me a 'healing potion' that he had created using his Ability." Hayley replied, causing Paul's eyebrows to raise in surprise.
"I have just tested its effectiveness on a slightly-beaten student who required first aid. I would like you to…procure additional potions for me to keep as a reserve."
Paul remained silent for a moment.
He then let out another sigh, and brought his hand up to his forehead.
"I'll see what I can do." He replied.
Hayley ended the communication, and his wristwatch returned to being on stand-by.
Paul brought his hand down from his face, him now having a serious expression. "First Glathrium deposits, and now healing potions…" He muttered. "That boy is too valuable of a resource…"
Back in the first-year dormitory, Vorden, Quinn, Peter, and Tsukuru stared at each other in their dorm room.
Quinn and Vorden had already gone to be interviewed, and had relayed what to expect.
They weren't asked many questions, they were simply asked to recall their experience from the assembly hall.
A moment later, Quinn began to speak.
"Wow, Vorden." Quinn replied in amazement. "You never told me you could use two Abilities!"
In response, Vorden just scratched the back of his neck, and let out a nervous laugh.
"Oh, didn't I?" He asked. "Hehe, it must have slipped my mind, or something."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Instantly, the four all looked at each other.
This could be the soldiers coming to retrieve the next one of them.
Or it could be something else.
Maybe Mono or another second-year student coming back to stir up trouble
They all stared at each other, trying to figure out who would answer the door.
Eventually, Tsukuru rolled his eyes.
He activated his Ability.
The others watched as pixels appeared in his hand.
The pixels clustered together into the form of a long cylinder. It had four slender rounded rectangles sticking out of it.
There was a bright flash.
When it faded, Tsukuru was holding a white, opaque, glass with four wooden sticks sticking out of it.
The sticks looked identical to the ones used in popsicles.
Tsukuru swirled the sticks in the cup.
"One of these four sticks is marked with a big, red 'X'." Tsukuru replied, as he removed his hand from his head, and used it to pull a stick out from the glass, and showed it to the others.
It was completely blank.
"We'll each take turns drawing a stick until the marked one is revealed. That person answers the door."
Vorden nodded, and stepped forward, drawing a stick.
Holding it up, everyone could see that it was also blank.
Quinn let out a sigh.
He got off his bed, and stepped forward.
As he pulled a stick out, a large, stylized "X" could be seen on the bottom, looking as if doodled on with a marker.
Quinned kissed his teeth in annoyance.
Opening the door, he saw Tsukuru's sister, Sergeant Shizuka in the doorway.
However, she wasn't alone.
She had a military soldier standing to her right.
Shizuka looked into the room, and saw Tsukuru.
Her face morphed into a smile.
"Tsu-Tsu, it's your turn to be…interviewed." She replied.
Tsukuru nodded.
He walked over to his desk, and grabbed the box holding the ten Minor Health Potions.
Holding it in both hands like he was carrying a present, he walked towards the door.
As soon as he stood in front of Shizuka, she nodded, and then turned around.
Shizuka and the soldier led Tsukuru down the hall and into one of the empty rooms.
As they walked, Shizuka glanced down at the white box with the red "plus" in the center that Tsukuru was holding in his hands.
"What's that?" She asked.
Tsukuru glanced up at her.
"It's something the school's doctor, Hayley, asked me to make." She replied.
Hearing this, Shizuka smirked.
"You want me to deliver it for you?" She asked.
Tsukuru glanced up at her.
He had intended to take a detour after his "interview" to deliver it in person, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he would be required to return straight to his dorm afterwards.
He let out a sigh, and handed the box to her.
Shizuka grabbed it by the handle, and carried it like one would carry a tool box.
When Tsukuru reached the empty room, it had just been like the one Quinn had been in when he had been interrogated after Brandon's death.
It was a white room with no windows, containing only a table with a single chair on either side.
Sitting on the other side was a muscular man with dark skin wearing a general's outfit.
Seeing the man, Shizuka quirked an eyebrow in suspicion.
Tsukuru narrowed his eyes, and recognized the man.
He was one of the two who had escorted him and Erin from the canteen to the assembly hall for the "demonstration" this morning.
As Tsukuru sat down in the seat opposite the man, the man smiled.
"Hikiko Tsukuru." He replied with an amused smile. "At least, we finally meet." He replied.
He clasped his hands on the table.
"I am General Duke, and I am the general in charge of the second-years. And it seems my little second-years got a little rowdier than usualtoday."
Tsukuru stared at General Duke for a moment.
He wondered if he had been the one doing all the interviews, or if he had asked to sit in on this one personally.
General Duke let out a sigh.
Despite being an arrogant, narcissistic, and deeply corrupt General, he still had a job to do.
"Alright, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let's get this over with." He replied, pulling out a tablet and a stylus. "Please, start from the beginning."
Tsukuru sighed, and glanced to the side.
"It started when me, Quinn Talen, Layla Munrow, and Erin Heyley were heading back from the Beast Weapons Hall…"
Tsukuru started.
He went on, reiterating everything that had happened.
He explained how they had been stopped by the second-year students, and been herded into the assembly hall.
He explained how Mono had brought in Vorden restrained to the board and the crates of Beast Stones.
He then went on to tell about Quinn's inspiring speech, and how he had started to attack the second-years.
How everything had then devolved into a free-for-all.
He explained everything from his perspective, up until the point that Sergeant Faye and Shizuka had arrived.
The whole time, Duke had been transcribing everything Tsukuru had said down on the tablet.
Just as the other interviewers had done.
Although, Tsukuru had noticed that Duke had momentarily paused when he got to the part where he had begun tagging second-years with Glathrium balls.
It was almost as if that part had piqued his interest.
When Duke was done, he glanced up at the soldier and Shizuka standing in the back of the room.
Shizuka nodded.
General Duke put the stylus down, and pressed the "send" button on the touch screen, sending the report to Head General Paul.
He then turned to Tsukuru.
"Return to your dorm room." He ordered. "Do not leave under any circumstances. All those involved in this incident have been confined to quarters until morning."
Tsukuru nodded, as he had already expected this outcome.
"Yes, sir." He replied.
Tsukuru got up, and walked out of the room.
It was then that both Duke's and Shizuka's watches lit up.
Soon, Head General Paul's voice resounded through the screens.
However, they weren't the only ones.
Sergeant Leo heard it as he meditated in the Beast Weapon Hall. Sergeant Dillon heard it as he was doing paperwork in the second-year building.
Hayley, healing injured students in the first-year's doctor's office, as well as Cecelia Bluegrass, still healing the injured second-years from the incident, both heard it on their wristwatches, as well.
General Nathan heard it as he was at his desk.
And Sergeant Faye heard it as she was grabbing something out of the fridge in the teacher's lounge.
"To all individuals who can hear this communication, be advised." Paul replied in a bored tone. "A meeting has been scheduled in one hour in the regular meeting room in the first-year building. We shall be going over the recent incident between the first- and second-year students that occurred in the assembly hall."