"Rule," Inyoninko stated with Uuzhit and Asakay walking on either side of her. She glared at Asakay who looked away and fiddled with the edges of his shirt. "Don't. Talk about me without my permission."
"But that's not fair," Asakay whined.
"How so?"
He pouted. "Cause how can I talk about myself without talking about you?"
Uuzhit snorted and hid behind his hand as Inyoninko glared at Asakay. "You can talk about yourself without talking about or mentioning me."
"Apparently not."
Asakay pointed at Uuzhit. "Yeah," and Uuzhit laughed harder.
Though her eyes narrowed to slits, Inyoninko's lips curled into a smile that made Asakay back a step. "Asakay." He tensed his shoulders and watched her. "Disobey me." A shiver traveled all the way up his spine. He shook his head.
Uuzhit noticed. "There's hierarchy, is that it?" Inyoninko glanced at him. She set her gaze forward, so Asakay answered, "Every order's self-managed. External command only comes from the Order of Reapers. You know. Government."
Uuzhit frowned to himself. "Then how do they? How does anyone know who to report to?"
Asakay shook his head. "We don't bother with that shit, man. Every order takes care of their own, you know."
"And if an order fails?"
Asakay shrugged and looked to Inyoninko. She glanced at Uuzhit. "Then they're eliminated," she said, "Orders can take over other territories. It's up to them to maintain the quality of living and the competitions. But if they can't control themselves. If they fail to accommodate their people and territories, the reapers will eliminate them."
Uuzhit nodded to himself and mulled it over. Looking up, he got their attention and pointed ahead past the upcoming bridge to the towers of glass standing tall like mountains. "You two know which dorm?" Both shook their head.
"How many is it per dorm?"
"Let's stay with you!"
Uuzhit looked between them. "Alright."
Inyoninko frowned. "Three to a dorm, no separation of sexes?"
Uuzhit smirked. "Three rooms, one commons. One dorm."
Inyoninko wondered why three rooms but did not bother asking. Along the bridge, she trailed behind Uuzhit and Asakay as they crossed the expansive stone bridge leading to the glass towers. Students passed them, heading to and fro, the youngest being Asakay's age, and briefly, Inyoninko remembered yet again that she still held the book Asakay had stolen. Her thoughts, as her gaze, strayed. All the buildings in Hamuu Amitirzh were large. The dorms consisted of three towers linked together by several bridges, dug into a massive crater, so that bridges like the one they were crossing were needed to get from the dorms to the rest of the campus and city.
Trailing behind the two, Inyoninko wandered close to the side of the bridge and peered over into the crater. Buried in the shadows were thousands of lights and narrow streets featuring little shops and boutiques, selling coffee, pastries, useless trinkets, as well as salon and spa services for men and women. Students collected on roof gardens and milled through the streets, eating then picking new clothes and accessories. Some were carrying large bags, which they took to shops on corners. She did not realize she had stopped until she looked ahead and saw Uuzhit and Asakay standing in front of her, looking over the side as well. "I thought the Oratorium was the center of campus."
Uuzhit scoffed. He pointed down towards the wall of the crater. The walls of the crater were smoothed down and resembled an embossed mosaic glorifying all aspects of Hamuu Amitirzh culture, in particular their deity, Amitirzh herself. "See that?" Where Uuzhit pointed was a massive green arch with glittering stones embedded in the figures carved into its beams. "That is one of the entrances to the Oratorium."
Asakay pursed his lips, eyes wide, mind blown.
"That's an entrance to the Oratorium." Uuzhit nodded. "Does it take the whole underground?"
"Pretty much. The Oratorium is not just for classes or public exhibitions or eating, it's. Where you go to get slain."
"What you talkin', dog?"
Uuzhit smirked. "You two know how it is here in Hamuu Amitirzh."
"Not a clue."
Uuzhit looked at Asakay, then at Inyoninko. "Strangely. He'll survive."
Inyoninko smirked and stared down at the entrance to the Oratorium, which looked more like a gate to hell. "Public rhetoric. International relations. Business acumen. They'd want to be in close proximity as much as possible to affect the social order."
"That's it exactly."
"They'd have to accommodate hundreds of thousands of students, tens of thousands of teachers and as many guests to the university during public events."
"It's the whole foundation of the university."
Asakay stared at the sky, shaking his head, muttering "Why god. Why let this be, Shsyryo."
Uuzhit backed up and resumed leading the way. Inyoninko clapped a hand on Asakay's shoulder. He gazed at her warily. "Do we have to?" She led him after Uuzhit.
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