"7"

"7"
Japanese Title	「7」 "Sebun"
Volume	1
Chapter	1
Chronology
Previous Chapter	N/A
Next Chapter	e2. Close

"7" (「7」, "Sebun") is chapter 1 of the ǝnígmǝ manga.

Summary

It is Friday, September 17. A afro green-haired boy named Sumio Haiba introduces himself as a normal student attending a Tōkyō high school, except with a secret power of his Dream Diary.

Upon reading his diary today, he finds a "Mayday" call within. In the school gymnasium's storehouse, a group of male teenagers are harassing a girl. The fire alarm is pressed and everyone is trapped in. As one of the male students tries to get out and wonders if there really is a fire, Sumio breaks in and punches him in the face, claiming a man-made disaster instead. Sumio claims to have known what was going to happen and rescues the girl. He then makes a sudden marriage proposal to the girl, claiming they must have been separated by death in the last life. Meanwhile, the school authorities ask a brown-haired girl, Shigeru Kurumiya, what had happened. She tells them that Sumio accidentally hit the fire alarm again. Upon trying to confront Sumio to handle the school authorities, she sees him propose with another girl and becomes furious at his behavior as a member of the school Public Morals Committee. Sumio asks her why she's so mad, considering they've been childhood friends and so she should be the least to worry about him. Shigeru claims that everyone was worrying about him, then stops to read Sumio's Dream Diary. In hiragana, it describes what would’ve happened had Sumio not rescue her. With the correct date, time of day and location, it describes the boys teasing the girl to the point where she never wanted to leave her house again. Above the lines of text is a crudely drawn picture of a crying girl staying insider her house with three boys standing outside. Sumio introduces his Dream Diary to Shigeru. He explains that at times, he'd fall into a strange sleepiness. Unconsciously, he would then hold a pen with his left hand and draw and write out an event to happen later in his life. He's claims he's not sure how this happens, to which Shigeru claims it's probably a coincidence. Sumio calls her answer unromantic and claims that his diary can predict all the unpleasant things in life that are about to occur, and that he'd be the first to know of a tragedy before the victims experience it themselves. He proclaims that his goal in life is to decide his own future by making sure the diary lies all the time while he has the power to make it so, making sure that even his spouse would not be another boy even if the diary binds him to one. Admiring him, Shigeru tries to propose to Sumio, but Sumio is already off trying to propose to two other girls in the school. With a venomous face and claws, Shigeru lunges at him.

Later that day, Sumio drops Shigeru home. Her mother wants him to pass a compliment to his mother on her tea. Now alone on the streets, Sumio is disappointed at Shigeru losing her past charm to go by the rules. He watches a singing girl on a television inside a store display and points to that as Shigeru’s past behavior. Beside him, a girl confesses to a boy about running away from home. The girl claims that she’ll just be gone the second her friends don’t notice her. The boy insists that her friends and parents will notice her missing. Sumio notices her from her uniform, the same as his own school’s uniform. Suddenly, he spots the singing girl’s head on the television turn into a skull-like head and becomes shocked. Walking further down the street, he passes through three other boys and a girl riding a car all at the same time.

Later that night, Sumio returns home to find a man wearing a suit with a bag over his head being chased out by his mother. Sumio seems to have predicted this too in his diary, picture and scenario; the man would’ve snuck in to take her clothing. His mother always thought the man was annoying, to which Sumio claims that if he knew her more, he wouldn’t have come. His comment reminds his mother of her husband and her fated meeting. Sumio narrates to the readers that his parents had had a much-devoted marriage and that in fact, it was love at first sight between them. He admires his parents for their ultimate future. Staring at the family photo, he wonders where his father went for the past 3 years. His mother claims that he’ll be back someday to live happily with the rest of his family. Sumio narrates having acquired his ability of the Dream Diary after having been through turmoil three years ago when his father disappeared, when both he and his mother became upset. He recalls not knowing what his diary meant and cried, but got scolded by his mother who proudly claimed to him that it was a talent. He then recalls having spent time with her studying neuroscience, physics and even the occult to explain his talent. He explains that although she only graduated middle school, she was a "gutsy type" of person who had the ability to accomplish anything with enough will. Thanks to her, he claims he can face his diary. In the present, Sumio draws his mother what he saw today, the skull with its jawbone reversed on the television screen. His mother is shocked to identify the figure as ǝnígmǝ and immediately crushes his drawing into a ball. Horrified that he had been chosen, she explains that she can’t explain much, except that there is a monster inside of him. She then proceeds to encourage him to follow the future he wants and find the answer before quickly leaving for work and promising to come back the next morning. Before Sumio could ask her for a proper explanation of ǝnígmǝ, he becomes drowsy and falls asleep. His ability activates and starts to write out another diary entry. Finished, he wakes up to find a journal entry explaining a long-haired woman he knows that will turn pitch black and disappear today, with the culprit being ǝnígmǝ. Seeing a woman drawn inside an elevator and a drawing of ǝnígmǝ on the corner of the picture, Sumio realizes that it is already 10:00pm and that the day will end in two hours. Before rushing out the door to rescue this long-haired woman, he thinks of who this woman could be and immediately thinks of Shigeru.

Having rushed to Shigeru’s apartment on time, Sumio finds Shigeru and her mother coming out of the stairs. He checks on Shigeru to make sure she didn’t get hurt in the elevator, to which Shigeru tells him that the elevator in her apartment had been and still is out of service for a few days already. Realizing that the woman with long hair was not Shigeru, he recalls that his mother owns a wig in her dresser and wears it to work. At her workplace, Club Lena, a security guard standing by the elevator wishes his mother, Mina, a good morning, as she steps in. Just as the door closes on her, Sumio bursts in and tries to stop her, but he is too late. He tries to tell her to get out of the elevator and budge the door open. The security guard is shocked at Sumio, who is now claiming her mother is calling "Mayday". Finally, when Sumio opens the elevator door, he finds his mother gone, replaced with a stain on the wall and her wig on the floor. The security guard panics and calls the police.

Sumio narrates that a few hours later, the police claimed that Mina had gone missing and that they believed it was a prank, disregarding him and the security guard’s claim on how she really disappeared. The next day, at Yūyami Hospital, Shigeru and her parents visit Sumio inside. A nurse warns them about Sumio’s violent behaviour not so long ago. Her father leaves to call Sumio’s relatives. Shigeru enters Sumio’s room to find the room trashed and wrecked. Shigeru tells him of the clothes she brought for him, to which Sumio expresses his regret for not thinking hard enough to rescue Mina. He asks Shigeru if she thinks his mother ran away too, like his father. Shigeru claims not to, that his mother was waiting for his father. Sumio thinks to himself of what had happened and ends up believing that Mina didn’t run away. Rather, she was abducted by someone and that she is not safe. Remembering his mother’s strange behavior, he wonders if his disappearance had to do with ǝnígmǝ. Recalling that his mother waited for his father like he is waiting for her, Sumio resolves to get his mother back somehow. Shigeru feels happy as Sumio feels better. The nurse comes inside to tell Sumio that he can stay in the hospital for the night since his relatives couldn’t be contacted, to which Sumio rushes up to her and starts to propose to her, claiming fate has brought them together. Again, Shigeru becomes angry and scratches him in the face before rushing home. Going to sleep afterwards, he narrates that starting this day, his destiny would turn, with his normal days leaving before knowing it.

At 11:00pm that day, September 18, Sumio awakens to find himself inside the school gymnasium. Knowing he was in the hospital earlier, he finds his diary again with a new entry, this time depicting seven people in front of the high school with ǝnígmǝ ruling over them. The diary predicts a dark atmosphere that will get brighter as, excitingly, his wish will come true. He finds Shigeru in front of him waking up, as well as five other people. Everyone is confused as to why they are in their own high school. The messy-haired boy claims to have stayed up late on a futon, while the black-haired girl claims to have slept on a king-sized Simmons bed. The boy is shocked by a person inside a mascot costume, who claims to have had a break while having a part-time job in a show as the police mascot Pit-kun. Sumio asks Shigeru what she was doing just before coming into the school, to which Shigeru claims to have went to bed right after coming back from the hospital. At this point, Sumio realizes that everyone was sleeping before coming to school, and that no one came on their own will. Looking at the time, 10-15 minutes past 11:00pm, he realizes that 14 hours have passed. He wonders how someone could’ve brought seven people inside within that time. Another male student starts to lead everyone out of the school, only to find the door out locked. Sumio tries leading them out a window, but the window won’t open. A tall, hooded male student tries to kick the window out, but the window doesn’t break apart. The black-haired girl notices her cell phone out of range. The person in the mascot notices the city outside the school devoid of light. Suddenly, the gymnasium screen flashes on. The skull-like figure appears and apologizes for the trouble. It introduces itself as ǝnígmǝ and tells everyone to come up to him on the screen, calling out all their names: Moto Hasekura, Shigeru Kurumiya, Aru Mizusawa, Jirō Matsurigi, Hiina Kujōin, Takemaru Sudō, and pausing before calling Sumio Haiba. Everyone is shocked at how ǝnígmǝ knows all their names. Sumio asks ǝnígmǝ what he wants. ǝnígmǝ introduces an aptitude examination for them to participate in, to measure their true natures, known as an e-test. ǝnígmǝ explains that the school will be locked for the next three days, and that they have 72 hours to escape, using whatever methods they have. The figure explains the fundamental rule is to "escape" with the specifics to be explained as soon as they enter the rest of the school. ǝnígmǝ tells the seven not to worry as they all hold unique abilities that no other people have and that they will all be free if they complete their challenge. Sumio realizes that ǝnígmǝ could be referring to his Dream Diary and wonders how ǝnígmǝ knew, as well as if the others have abilities like him too. He then thinks of why ǝnígmǝ brought Shigeru with them. The others try to refuse ǝnígmǝ’s challenge, but ǝnígmǝ points them to notes on their right pockets. ǝnígmǝ explains that each note varies from person to person, but that they all list each of their own names and wishes, those it is able to grant from knowledge of them. Sumio’s note lists his Reward as his Parent. ǝnígmǝ promises to grant them their wishes should they escape. Sumio crushes his note and wonders what is with ǝnígmǝ. ǝnígmǝ claims that the seven of them will all eventually act for their rewards, as their destinies have been decided for them, with rules. ǝnígmǝ then points to their left pockets, each containing their names and a map of the sections of the school, with the Problem titled "Escape from Fate". Also on the note are seven blank spaces allocated for Passwords and Rules indicated as follows:

1. Time for Response is 72 Hours
2. The Exit is Section 3 Rooftop Door
3. To Escape, Input the Passwords to the Door
(However, Only 1 Password Will Let Only 1 Person Pass)
4. Corridors Have Shadows Going Around

Everyone is shocked at the rules, but ǝnígmǝ insists that they will understand them, whether they like it or not. Sumio resolves to beat ǝnígmǝ and get his mother back. ǝnígmǝ bids them farewell as the door to the rest of the school opens and wishes them good luck.

It is September 19, midnight. The e-test has started. The seven participants are revealed, all of Yūyami High School:

Sumio Haiba of Year 1, Class A
Aru Mizusawa of Year 2, Class H
Shigeru Kurumiya of Year 1, Class A
Moto Hasekura of Year 1, Class E
Jirō Matsurigi of Year 3, Class B
Hiina Kujōin of Year 2, Class C
Takemaru Sudō of Year 3, Class G

VOMIC adaptation

A VOMIC adaptation of the chapter was aired through April 2011.

Characters in order of appearance

1. Sumio Haiba
2. ?
3. ?
4. Takeshi Iwamura
5. Shigeru Kurumiya
6. ǝnígmǝ (television)
7. Jirō Matsurigi
8. Takemaru Sudō
9. Moto Hasekura
10. Hiina Kujōin
11. Mina Haiba
12. Sumio's Father (photo)
13. Kajinuma
14. Aru Mizusawa