Chapter Text
Hiyori seemed different. Lighter, for a moment, before it all came crashing down upon her shoulders with the weight of ten thousand tons of rubble and debris.
Yet even after, she seemed different. Like some invisible strings propping up her arms and legs were tossed aside by the bored child puppeting them, leaving Hiyori quiescent.
It wasn't as though Sara was in denial. She had believed, nun-like in piety, that Hiyori was the devil herself, salting her gaping wounds with a childish sneer.
But, Sara had to question, staring at the lost, defeated girl, three years her junior; was any of that belief right?
Sara hated uncertainty.
“Shin,” she whispered, seeing the man sitting on the grand staircase leading to their spoiled last chance, back hunched and beanie off, kneaded gently between his fingers. “Shin, tell me there’s another plan. You’re the one who knows her best. T-Tell me,” she choked, furiously scrubbing at the tears, “tell me this isn’t it!!”
Sara didn’t know who had that awful, terrifying role. The one who would die just to make the game more interesting.
Maybe, if things were just slightly different, she wouldn’t have found the nerve to care.
“Shin,” the name spilled out - non-concise, cloying, desperate: not Sara in the slightest - and the man barely twitched, “please just tell me something.”
“Miss Sara,” he said, and stood. “Have you ever made a promise you weren’t sure you should keep?”
She blinked, caught off-guard. “I… Yes. I have.” An image of a long-haired, slender man with blood streaming from his wrists, wearing a wan, dying smile, came to her. “I don’t know if I should have promised, but… I didn’t see any other way.”
“Then you’d know how I felt,” he said, looking up at the illusory ceiling. She wondered if he was searching for something, or just trying to look mysterious. “I made a promise, and over and over again, I questioned it. ‘Am I really doing what’s right? Is this promise really so important?’ I don’t even like the person who I promised much, anyway. Why should I go to all this effort?”
“What promise did you make, Shin?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. You know why?” Shin smiled softly, sliding his beanie back over his thick, unruly hair. “Because I found out that I was never really doing any of it for the sake of that promise, or the one I made it to. I did it for myself. I felt good about myself, fulfilling that promise, so I kept going.”
He stared right at her, a cattish grin kissing the quirks of his mouth. “So you do the same, Miss Sara. Just make sure to look out for yourself. If you get too obsessed with one goal, you end up losing sight of the whole damned thing.”
“... I’m not really sure what you’re talking about, Shin,” Sara admitted, brain prickling as it combed through whatever it was the man was referring to. “A-Are you just trying to distract me?”
“No,” he said, and turned, leaving the stairwell. “Sorry, Miss Sara. I’m just using you for practice.”
What if? What if, what if, what if. Locked in a dark room, eyes strained against the blue light of her computer screen, segments of malbolge leaving her bewildered and undistracted from the pathetic phrase.
Legs curled up into her torso as she stared blankly. What if?
Hiyori had always sounded strange when he mentioned Sister - a purposeful lack of edge Kanna couldn't quite place.
If it had been one second earlier, had been one second later, Kanna could have remained her own.
There was a one in fifty thousand chance to die from a bee sting or a dog bite, and bees and dogs littered the summer streets.
Kanna wondered what the exact odds of lethal ignorance were.
“Wow,” she breathed, chest softly rising with awe. The colors of the sunset danced and glittered and sang for Kanna’s sparkling eyes. “Sister! I didn't know it could get this pretty!”
Sister smiled, coming to halt on the cracked sidewalk. “Why don't you take a picture? It'd make a nice phone background.”
“Really?” Kanna grinned. “It doesn't look much like a swimsuit model to Kanna.”
The older girl flushed. “Wh-!? Shut it, brat! Have you been poking through my stuff?”
Kanna giggled, reaching into her skirt pocket. Her smile dropped to a soft pout as her finger met nothing but lint.
Sister grinned. “You left all your smarts in your mouth today, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll take it.”
Sister stepped into place beside Kanna, reaching for her own phone, shoe just uneven against the cracked concrete.
(Black ichor. Black, black ichor. From her gut to her throat to her tongue, burning all the while.)
Kanna sniffled, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. Slowly, over the weeks which contorted into months, every ‘Kanna, please eat with us,’ and ‘Kanna, your friends really want to see you,’ and ‘Kanna, we love you,’ trickled all away into uneasy silence, leaving her alone in her stuffy room.
Comfortable and safe. Blackout curtains always drawn.
It hadn't taken much. Just a second sooner, a second later, a shoe placed a millimeter to the left or right, and it would have been something to laugh over later.
But Kanna had never been afforded much laughter.
She was safe in her room, save a house fire or hurricane. The empress of dusty motherboards and strings of procedurals, mummified in her sealed tomb.
But Kanna's heart beat of its own will, separate from her, and she could not evade hunger for long.
Nail by nail, Kanna pried open the lid of her coffin.
And the first time she smelled the fresh air, without the hazy, single-minded drone of Point A to Point B, it felt good. The street was safe and quiet. She stepped a foot on the pavement and lived to scrape her shoes across the other side of the street.
So she did it again. And then again. Slowly, agonizingly, her tiny hands inched through the dirt, crawling away from the tomb on mended bones.
(Until she stared at a board of heartless statistics and bled all the fresh blood right back out.)
There was acid in her mouth. Her throat burned, burned, burned with bile.
Kanna lifted her head from its pillow of disgorgement. It was going to dry in her hair, she knew, and miserable, stubborn tears came to her.
After everything, this was her breaking point? A bit of vomit?
She swallowed, and it burned as she did. At least they had been kind enough to lay her on her side.
Shin, she thought sharply, the video of Safalin melting into droning white noise. Shin’s going to die.
She hiccupped, stifling a sob. Yet, alone, she had no one left to impress.
Kanna wept, salty snot and tears greasing the fine wood of the Last Supper table. She stumbled over something, catching herself on the oak. The sound of metal rolling across a smooth surface reached her ears - her hat, most likely. She picked it up, rubbing the metal with a trembling thumb.
‘Tonight,’ she thought, ‘I’ll be home, or I’ll be dead. It’s all going to end tonight. I promise.’
The part of her which had grown numb to the overplayed, daily sense of horror could only say, ‘Thank God.’
And with only a glass of water to clean her hair and face, and her blouse to dry it, she left.
“Strange,” he said, and he was still alive, still animated and mobile, even with dull, listless eyes. “This doesn’t feel like it’ll be the same as last time.”
Kanna buried her face into his ratty shirt, fingers digging into his cheap jacket. She was grateful for her foresight, tilting her hat just enough to hide her burning, veiny eyes.
“K-” he cleared his throat, gently resting his hands on her shoulders. “Hey,” he said simply.
She was running out of time; the others were giving her suspicious looks. “I’ll end it here. I swear. You won’t have to trouble yourself with me again, Shin. That’s a promise.”
“Hey,” he repeats. “What do you mean, a promise?”
She smiled, sliding everything inside her back into its proper position. “Trust me, Shin. Even if you have no reason to.”
She slid across to a far podium: a comfortable, estranged distance. She had heard his heartbeat, loud and fast in his chest.
That was enough. It had to be.
“What was all that about a transgression?” Keiji asked aloud, interrupting her thought process. “If our generous host isn’t playing by the rules…”
A transgression? Kanna dismissed it. There wasn’t anything ASU-NARO couldn’t warp to their own benefit.
“But of course I am,” said Gashu, strolling across the room and taking his place before them. “The Death Game is an event of inexhaustible equity, after all.”
“But no equality, huh?” Sara said, gripping the edges of her podium. “If you’ve done something behind the scenes…”
Reko scoffed. “Then how’d we be able to tell, eh? Son of a f*ckin’ bitch.”
How was she so calm, Kanna wondered, when her older sibling had died not four hours before?
Kanna couldn’t even speak. Could hardly move.
“If,” Gashu sighed, “there is a discretion, then surely it will become apparent over the course of your discussion? I assure you, if it is, then we will have it addressed appropriately.”
“And I suppose,” Shin sneered, “that you’d be the one to decide what counts as a ‘discretion’?”
“Gashu,” Sara said, “Call in Safalin. I don’t trust you to make an impartial decision!”
Gashu leered at her for a long moment, almost excited. “Very well,” he said. “If that shall satisfy you.”
With a laugh, he summoned the woman, quietly sniffling at his side.
“What’re you laughing at, prick?” Reko growled.
“I’m just overjoyed to see your determination for a fair slaughter, with no worries of misconduct!”
“S-Sunnuva,” Q-taro gasped, staggering out of his waiting room, “f*ckin’ bitch. Yer gonna,” he stopped for a breath, hands on his knees, “act like that? When yer already tryin’ ta kill us?”
“Mister Burgerburg, I’m so glad you’ve made it. Do understand that it will not be I to decide anyone’s fate here. All of you have a fair chance at survival. Complaining only serves to waste that precious time.”
“Oh, fuggoff.”
“Very well. Let the second Main Game commence.”
And there they were again. Kanna rubbed the scalp where her hat rested before, eyes fixed on the wood of her podium.
There they were. Kanna wondered if the image of them all lined up to condemn one another to death would ever leave her mind.
“The process should be a little easier, this time around,” Keiji said, breaking the heavy silence. “One less candidate to choose, and one less potential Sacrifice.”
“Can’t ‘xactly call this easy, though, can ya!?” Q-taro bemoaned, tugging his baseball cap across his eyes. “We din’ know each other back then!”
Shin hummed. “And you could argue that we still don’t.”
“Ah, shuddup, wouldja!? You spent all yer time with her!”
“Watch your tone, Q-taro. You were hardly a stranger, if I recall correctly.”
Q-taro growled, but grew silent all the same.
“Still,” Sara risked, “where would be a good place to start? So much happened… It’s all gotten blurry.”
“Where else, Sara?” Keiji’s face masked itself with cold solemnity. “Our four candidates. Who should live… and who should die.”
“Ain’t you jumping the gun a little?” Reko blinked, taken aback. “There were a sh*t-ton of card trades, right? There’s no reason to jump right down each other’s throats, right?”
“If everyone speaks honestly, sure.” Keiji grinned. “But we don’t have a great track record there, do we?”
He was looking right at her when he said it. Kanna gave him nothing, staring blankly back.
He snorted quietly. “At the very least, the Sacrifice certainly won’t tell the truth. I can’t picture anyone here as suicidal.”
“So we start with four candidates,” Shin said. “If Kai hadn’t been in the final running last time, he certainly would have been more honest with us.”
Q-taro winced at the memory. “Yeah… I’d like ta think.”
“Exactly.” Keiji’s grin dropped, face devoid of any emotion. “That’s not to mention, that if we uncover all the roles immediately…” He closed his eyes, grinning with no shine. “Voting would be hell.”
“Ha…” Q-taro gulped. “‘This guy should die, that guy should die,’ huh? Y’think we’d jus’ turn into animals like that?”
“I’m not sure you should be talking, Q-taro,” Shin said coldly. Something seemed off with his demeanor. Kanna curled in on herself, hearing his tone. “You gave up that laptop easily enough, and the consequence was hardly your life.”
Q-taro choked, tearing his hat across his eyes.
“See?” Keiji said simply. “We’re already tenser than ever, knowing the consequences. Still think we should discuss the trades, Reko?”
“N-Nah,” Reko admits, reserved. “I getcha. I guess I just don’t wanna point any fingers right now. Not even at a bastard like Q-taro.”
“Wh-Whad’ I do?”
“Ask Gin, dickhe*d!”
“M-Mreowr!?”
Kanna sighed. “Just get it out of the way, would you?”
“H-Huh?” Sara blinked.
Kanna dragged a hand over her eyes, fingers coming away sandy. “Don’t tell me you’re scared to say it? I can see it, you know. The thing you don’t want to say, because I’m still a kid. ‘Shouldn’t we vote for her?’” She grinned tiredly, gaze low. “‘Don’t you remember what she did?’ Go ahead. I’m not scared.”
Keiji smirked, crossing his arms. “Why not? Because voting for you would work in your favor, this time around?”
“Hmm?” Kanna’s head tilted.
“It just seems strangely sanctimonious for you. Is that your strategy? Drum up hate in the first Game, and then reap it in the second?”
Kanna sighed. “Think what you want.”
‘It’s not me you need to vote for.’
“It,” Shin’s teeth ground together briefly, eyes flashing with something intdeterminable, before growing cold and dull. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Shin?” Kanna whispered, despite herself.
“Either way, could it really hurt to include her as a candidate?” he asked. “It’s dangerous when we can’t know for sure. Say that she’s banking on your line of thought, Keiji.” What was he saying? Kanna couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “Then we exclude her from the vote and she laughs in our faces. We have several candidates for a reason, right? I think she should be one of them.”
Keiji was silent for a long moment. Kanna’s mind whirred. ‘He’s not defending me in the slightest? Why? To throw suspicion off himself. But if I’m voted out…’
Kanna didn’t mind the thought of dying as she did mere hours ago. But Shin’s death (gnarled limbs and shattered bone and cold blankness in dark, warm eyes) was unacceptable. Utterly.
Kanna forced a scowl. “Is that so?”
He looked at her blankly. His eyes were cold and closed, letting nothing through. “I don’t suppose you have a counter-argument, Hiyori.”
“No, not really. Just that if I should go for being dangerous, you should too.”
“What the hell?” Reko coughed. “Why are the two of them glaring at each other? The hell’s wrong with you!?”
“... You’re trying to vindicate each other,” Keiji said. “I see.”
Kanna’s gut went cold as Sara hummed in confusion. “What do you mean, Keiji?”
He chuckled. “Nothing too important. I’m just touched, is all. Looks like even schemers can have bonds, huh?”
Kanna said nothing, knots in her throat and needles of sweat pricking her forehead, matting her hair. Shin’s face remained impassive and unmoving and wrong.
But she saw it then, just so. A look which she had adopted as her own; a mirage of a cold, deadened expression more fitting on a young, friendly face marred by weathered smile lines, framed by shaggy green locks and a dotted scarf.
Kanna clutched it with clammy palms. They were both fakers, then. Prey imitating a greater predator to frighten away the immediate threats.
His hands were bony and pale, just like hers. Kanna wondered what else they shared, feeble genetics binding them through a lifetime of estrangement.
‘I’ll be better, myself again,’ she promised, ‘when this is all just another bad dream.’
Kanna’s first memory of Q-taro Burgerburg was as another integer value to chip further away at her own survival. A giant with the heart of a mouse, who’d take care of himself first and foremost, slaughtering the others with tears in eyes.
(Sara still reigned supreme, absent of the large man’s cowardice to dirty his own hands with their blood, using ASU-NARO’s arbitrary rules as his weapons.)
The longer and longer the hours in that oven of a room dragged on, Miley pointing out all her favorite parts, the more his behavior became clearly sensible.
The real thing certainly didn’t disappoint, dropping the card to crack her back clean in half across the wireframe floor of the lobby where they were all to meet.
Kanna wondered if she should have called him out back then, when she was still an innocent girl in the others’ eyes. Would they have eaten straight out of her hands, just like they had for her indictment of Kai?
It was much harder to plan around everyone else distrusting your every word, and (funnily enough) required even more charisma - of which Kanna found herself in dwindling supply - to succeed.
But Kanna was getting lost in her head again. She refocused on the conversation, cursing her naturally scattered brain.
“Think whatever you want,” Shin said, aloof and almost bored. “Just don’t forget you’re the one who gave up that laptop, Q-taro.”
“Sumfin’ still stinks ‘ere, dammit! Why’n the hell weren’tcha jus’ honest from the get-go!?”
“Wasn’t up to me.”
Kanna met the large man’s sliding gaze not without fear, nails digging into her palms. “Tch. Y’went back ‘n’ shared it anyhow. What was th’ point of pullin’ a fast one on me?”
“Didn’t the password get changed?” Reko asked, scratching her head. “Guess it doesn’t matter how good you are with computers if you can’t get into it, huh?”
That was true enough, even if Kanna hadn’t specified which password she couldn’t guess. Kanna was good, but she couldn’t code a decryption program with hopes and dreams.
“W-Wait,” Sara coughed, sweat beading across her forehead. “The folder with my name on it; wasn’t it locked? If they couldn’t access it…”
Of course, Sara would understand immediately. Kanna couldn’t muster the energy to be frustrated.
“What the hell!? Y’din say nothing ‘bout that when-!” Q-taro cut himself off quickly, eyes wide.
Kanna tilted her head like the cutest stray dogs on her block. Sara’s eyes sharpened, nose wrinkling in a familiar expression of confusion.
“Q-taro? Was there… another reason you gave up the laptop?”
“That’s…”
“Please be honest with us,” Sara pleaded, fingers digging into the sides of her tacky reverse-hourglass.
Q-taro pulled his hat deep, neck craning uncomfortably. “... So me ‘n’ skinny over there had a deal. The kid ’n’ him’d give me lotsa tokens for that laptop. That’s all. I… I was a different man back then, y’hear!? Them tokens… possessed me. Figured I mighta had a fightin’ chance if I got enough. T’ain’t proud of it, but…”
Sara’s eyes only grew narrow, crimson slivers cutting straight through Q-taro’s layers of muscle and bluster. It wasn’t so bad to watch from the outside, Kanna thought.
“Q-taro. I’m giving you one last chance. Isn’t there something you’ve forgotten to mention to the rest of us? Something to do with the first floor, maybe?”
Q-taro’s eyes blew wide, spine straightening with an ill-suited rigidity for the dynamic baseballer. “Th’ hell’re ya saying.” The words came out flat, non-interrogative.
“Keiji can back up my words. Him and I took the opportunity to investigate, before Shin and Hiyori called us all together.” Kanna didn’t miss how her moniker came second. At least with all this heat on Q-taro, she’d have half a chance of regaining a grip on their direction. Perhaps she should claim Q-taro’s sage, if she could manage to stop her traitor hands from shaking. “In doing so, we discovered footage from the first floor.” Kanna’s heart skipped. The shaking worsened. The thought of Sara seeing her, freshly burdened and running tearfully, girlishly away from her tormentor and the ugly truths, clawed at her temples, breathing fresh life into the migraine she had been willing away.
She looked to Shin. His eyes were still a stranger’s; bored and unreadable.
“We both saw it,” Sara continued, back straight. “Q-taro was the one who placed the role cards back then. Wouldn’t that be good blackmail material? Especially to someone who needed something from him?”
“sh*t, that… makes sense, don’t it!?” Reko yelped, leather squeaking as she tightened her gloved fist. “What in the f*ck, Q-taro? Where’d ya get those cards!?”
“H-Hey, you don’t gotta be mean, Big Sis Reko!” Gin mewled. Kanna blinked in surprise. Why was he defending Q-taro, of all people. “Muscle Gorilla, they probably made him do it, arf!”
“Still, it’s pretty concerning that he’d hide this from us, ain’t it?” Keiji rubbed the back of his neck, grinning. “What’s the big idea, Q-taro? Why’d you go and do a thing like that?”
Q-taro lifted his head, and Kanna recognized the face of a bold liar. “Security footage, y’said, Sara?”
She blinked. “Y-Yes?”
“With what cameras? We did a real thorough search of the whole first floor, din’ we?” He grinned. “Didn’t find nothin’. Not even the slightest hint o’ surveillance.”
“Well, they must have done it somehow, Q-taro!” Sara shouted, face red. “These people have access to technology we can’t even dream of, and your best argument is that there were no cameras!?”
Q-taro scoffed. “Y’ just proved my point. Musta been a puppet show.”
“Huh?”
“We got tricked by a fake Reko, Hiyori broke up that fake Mishima, there are freakin’ fakes everywhere ya look! If we couldn’t tell that trick Reko was a dummy jus’ by lookin’ at her, then how the hell couldja tell through some blurry camera footage?”
Reko winced at the reminder, rubbing at her wrists. “... I hate ta say it, but…”
“He does have a point,” Shin finished. “A puppet show’s a puppet show, Miss Sara. Unless somebody saw Q-taro place that card with their own eyes, then we can’t trust it.”
Sara’s eyes flashed, and a victorious smirk stretched her jaw. “Somebody who saw it with their own eyes, huh?”
And then Sara was looking straight at her. Kanna. Hiyori. The girl.
“Oh, you mean like Giggles?” Gin asked, breaking into a growl. “I hate her, woof. But I guess if we have to talk to her…”
“That’s not who I was referring to.”
“Dammit, can’tcha jus’ let it go, Sara?” Q-taro hissed. “Y’ don’t hafta win every argument, y’know!”
“Hiyori, you used that information to get what you wanted out of Q-taro, didn’t you?” Sara asked. “Because you saw him place those cards with your own eyes.”
“... That was Shin,” Kanna managed, “that made the deal. You’ve got him to thank. I just chipped in for tokens. He seemed like he knew what he was doing, so I trusted him.”
Sara’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie, Hiyori. You concocted that escape plan for all of us, didn’t you? There must be some part of you-”
“You’re assuming a lot of things, Miss Sara,” Shin cut in, adjusting his beanie. “Whether she wants to be honest is up to her, don’t you think? You shouldn’t put so much pressure on a young girl. It’s not healthy for her.”
“W-Weren’t you just saying we should vote for her, ya two-faced bastard!?” Reko hissed. “What’s yer deal, creep?”
“There’s no need to be hurtful,” Shin said tonelessly, and she barely recognized his voice without the quivering undertone of warmth. At the same time, she couldn’t help but think back to what he had said, right after Alice had died and she had not been there.
A promise can only go so far.
Yet Kanna had never promised him anything. Shin could hate her, he could love her, he could look at her and not feel a thing; it didn’t matter at all. Kanna’s thoughts on the people she had tormented through her own selfishness did not matter.
She was like a sieve, she thought, diluting and trickling her own experiences over all the people who surrounded her. What a wonderful girl she had been, until she lost everything worth sharing.
She sighed, tired enough to feel it in her bones. “If I was a doll, I don’t remember it. Do you remember what card you placed, Q-taro? In the lobby, right in the middle where anybody could see it?”
Q-taro exclaimed wordlessly, a unthinking grunt of surprise.
“I don’t really wanna trust Bucket Girl,” Gin moaned, “but if Big Sis Sara strongarmed her, then she’s telling the truth, right, meow?”
The room went quiet for a long moment. Q-taro, thick and boisterous, broke into a fit of chuckling.
“So what?” he said.
They stared at him like he’d gone mad.
“Yeah, I placed them cards. So what? It don’t change nothin’. I don’t think Hiyori’s the girl who should be tellin’ me about sh*t I shouldn’t be proud of.”
Kanna said nothing, rubbing a thumb against the side of its index, focusing on the feeling of her thumbprint grating softly against the smoother skin.
“Ha. Nothin’ ta say. Y’ didn’t have jack sh*t ta say after you murdered Kai neither. So when it comes to the first f*ckin’ floor, I didn’t do a goddamn thing wrong.” He snarled, beard and flowing hair coming together to paint the very portrait of a lion. Kanna thought it fit him. She wondered who would play Dorothy. “So go piss up a rope, Hiyori. Kid or not, the only reason I won’t vote for ya is cause yer probably the goddamned Sacrifice.”
“Q-taro!” Sara yelled. “Calm down! Getting this angry isn’t going to help your case.”
“You should know, Sara,” Q-taro said coldly, eyes flashing bloody copper. “‘Cuz Kai ain’t the only one what died for that kid’s sake. Seems I’m the only one here who ain’t forgotten that.”
Shin turned a funny color, as Kanna watched him, like something was tearing at him from within. The searing heat of Q-taro’s growling, ironically enough, seemed to elude only her; she had never learned to truly fear red-hot, boiling anger. There was never shouting before a punishment.
He took a deep, shuddering breath in the sickly, penny-scented gloom. “Sorry,” he said to the silent room. “Din’ mean ta blow my top like that.”
“R-Right,” Nao agrees shakily. Kanna could blame her for quivering; her fellow redhead, beside her, dwarfed her twice over in height and width. “So… where does that leave us? I don’t mean to be, uh, overly critical, but… what was the point of all that arguing again?”
“She’s got a point,” Keiji said. “Our obvious candidates would be,” he grinned shinelessly, “Hiyori, despite the moral implications of sacrificing a kid, and Q-taro, for his little… episode, just now.” He chuckled tonelessly. “No matter how true his words might have been, he still placed those cards to begin with. All that yelling cinches it for me.”
Reko scoffed. “That your official cop opinion?”
“Yup.”
“That’s still only half of what we need,” Nao murmured. “A Sacrifice Hiyori and a Keymaster Q-taro would be pretty bad, huh?”
“That ain’t the half of it,” Reko groaned.
“Why are you making puns at a time like this, woof!?”
“What?”
“I f-feel I should warn you,” a quivering voice floated into the quieting grounds, “there’s not much time left for the Preliminary Vote. Y-You should decide a course of action quickly.”
“sh*t,” Q-taro hissed. “Already?” He twisted his cap to the side, gritting his teeth. “Look, if’n you wanna vote fer me, that’s fine. I’ll face it like a man. But I think I got it figgered out.”
“Do you?” Shin asked dully. “That’s nice, Q-taro. I’m sure your wisdom will be a beacon of light in these trying times.”
“Shut it, smartass, I’m serious.” The broad man straightened up, shoulders set nice and neatly, like Sister when she tried to chat up a cute girl.
(She usually failed. These were the thoughts Kanna were slowly reintegrating into herself, after Hiyori vanished; the bittersweet, human things - the reality of Kugie, rather than the shining, post-mortem pedestal her mentor had so relentlessly mocked.)
Q-taro’s voice was far steadier. “Sara ‘n’ Keiji. No matter whatcha decide, don’t vote for ‘em.”
Shin scoffed. “Why should they be exempt? I like Sara well enough, but the detective?”
“Y’know, that smarmy attitude was easier to put up with from the brat,” Q-taro sighed. “At least she’s got the excuse of bein’ a dumbass kid, instead of jus’ actin’ like one.” He straightened further. “I’m the Sage. If’n that means ya vote for me, well, all I can ask is thatcha please don’t.” He swallowed. “Keiji’s the Keymaster. That’s simple enough. An’ Sara? Well… The truth is…” He pulled the cap far over his face, enough to tug the roots of his hair.
“I,” he muttered, “I’m the one who did it. That last trade. I’m sorry, Sara. Real sorry. I jus’... weren’t thinkin’ clearly no more. I jus’... picked the first name that came ta mind. All I could think ‘bout was gettin’ rid of that damn card!!”
“But you-!” Nao bit her tongue, looking oddly enraged. It brought visions of a frying pan to Kanna’s mind, even as Reko eyed her with concern.
Sara’s eyes clouded with confusion. “I, you… what?”
“I’m sorry, Sara,” he gasped. “It didn’t even work out, in the end… I got saddled with the goddamned Sage, after all.”
‘Is that where my Sacrifice went?’ Kanna thought for a relieved, traitorous moment, before realizing how very stupid it all sounded: the man was unconscious. It went straight into her mental file for Q-taro: good actor, bad liar.
Shin’s eyes narrowed, and that was all the confirmation Kanna needed. Strange, cruel survival tactics were hard to watch, seeing them mar his thin face.
Kanna would let nothing distract her any longer. Her finger lowered across her brother’s face.
Hiyori - 3
Nao - 2
Shin - 2
Q-taro - 2
“These four?” Reko murmured. “Why…?”
“Hey, what’s the big idea, woof!?” Gin sniffled, wiping his eyes. “I was really scared Big Sis Sara was the Sacrifice!! But she’s not even in the vote!”
“I’m… not the Sacrifice,” Sara said. “I was, but…”
“It went away, huh?” Keiji said, grinning. “Looks like somebody up there likes you, Sara.”
“I’m tired of this freakin’ Goliath dickin’ us around!” Reko shouted. “Let’s just vote for him and be done with it! He’s the Sage, ain’t he?”
“That’s assuming we can trust any word from his mouth,” Shin scoffed. “He’s been stringing us along this whole while, and forgive my rudeness, but I doubt he’s got the brains to concoct all this.”
“Hey, I ken concoct as well as anybody!” Q-taro chuffed. “I’ll admit it, though: I made that crap about Sara all up. She’s the one who had the darned Sacrifice back then!”
Sara blinked, jaw dipping in bewilderment. “You- What? How did you know that, Q-taro!?”
“I got my sources,” he grinned coyly. “‘Sides, it was written all over yer face.” He softened. “Y’ looked even worse than y’ already did before. What kinda heartless bastard would I be if’n I didn’t help?”
Kanna was still getting used to recognizing platitudes in real time, thinking to a bloodbath claiming her and Shin’s lives both, pale, lifeless hands intertwined.
“Wait, hang on a second…” Reko said, rubbing her temples. “How the hell could Q-taro have made the last trade? He was out like a damned light!”
“W-Wait, what’re ya talkin’ about?” Q-taro asked. “I wasn’t knocked out! The last trade’s the one that got rid o’ Sara’s Sacrifice, right?”
“Q-taro, that was the fourth trade,” Sara said tonelessly. “The last trade… was the fifth.”
“Wh-What? No foolin’!?”he gasped, groaning. “sh*t. Y’all couldn’t have enlightened me!?”
“So Muscle Gorilla’s list is worthless, mreowr!?” Gin wailed. “What was the point of all those dramatics, arf!?”
Shin sighed. “For all that talk of me being in Hiyori’s pocket. You sure are a hypocrite, Q-taro.”
“What the hell’s zat s’posed ta mean!?”
The smaller man played with his hair, trapping stray locks under his beanie. “Well, the way I see it,” he grinned, “it’s either Keiji or the young Miss Sara who’s got you under the boot. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had to bluster so much, right?”
Q-taro laughed at that, long and loud. Kanna’s gut sank. “Izzat what ya think? I-”
“Maybe,” Keiji said at once, commanding the room’s attention with a single, low word, “we should discuss the trades before jumping at each other’s throats. Those fifty minutes passed quickly enough as is.” He cracked his neck. “Because, as it stands, nobody has any clue about the fifth trade. Anybody… could be anything.”
“And with only four candidates,” Kanna said, eyes meeting only her podium. “The walls are closing in.”
“So we start from the top, huh?” Sara muttered to herself, looking oddly frustrated. “Okay,” she sighed.
“I’m all fuzzy on it, meow,” Gin groaned. “There were only five, but…”
“I never got anything but a Commoner,” Reko said, “so I guess I’m lucky.” Her gaze lowered, expression much more human when Kanna realizes her makeup is wiped away. “Sure wish I could feel it.”
“Oh, me too, woof!” Gin perked up. “I never saw any of the scary cards! I- I would’ve really been out of luck, mew…”
Keiji hummed. “Guess you two don’t have much reason to lie, considering. That still leaves the six of us. We all know Sara had the Sacrifice, but lost it soon after. Guess that’s it for those of us who don’t really matter.”
Kanna’s eyes narrowed. How convenient, for him to gloss over himself. She thought better than to bring it up, remembering her goal.
He chuckled lightly, continuing, “In the hopes of deepening our trust a little, I’ll admit it right out. I made the first trade: gave Sara the Keymaster.”
“S-Seriously!?” Gin yowled. “I- I mean, you just gave it away like that, woof!?”
“And you just ended up getting it right back anyway!” Reko added.
“Hey, that wasn’t my fault,” Keiji shrugged. “I did what I had to, at the time. What happened later,” his eyes flashed; Kanna stiffened, “wasn’t up to me.”
He hummed. “So first up, Sara gets my Keymaster. Next up, there went Q-taro’s Commoner, right? Because during the third trade…”
“... I received the Sacrifice,” Sara finished quietly.
“H-Hang on,” Reko’s eyebrows knit. “How do we know the big guy didn’t have the Sacrifice right from the start?”
“... He would have gotten rid of it as soon as possible,” Nao said. “You’d be terrified, getting a card like that.”
“Evidently so, considering it’s jumped about at least twice,” Shin said.
At least.
“Still,” he continued, “it’s awfully strange to me that Keiji would just assert that Q-taro was a Commoner so confidently…”
“Call it detective’s intuition.” Keiji grinned.
Shin hummed.
“And as for the fourth trade?” Sara asked. “We’re just as clueless about it, since Q-taro was lying…”
“Shouldn’t we just vote for him?” Reko sighed. “He’s still got the Sage, right? Unless that was a load of crap, too.”
“Let’s not be so whimsical, Reko,” Keiji chuckled. “We’ve got plenty of time to discuss.”
“Wait, wait,” Nao said, clutching her head. “If Q-taro was lying, w-wouldn’t that mean either… he still has the Sacrifice, or never even got rid of it!?”
“Eh?”
“Hmm.” Shin grinned cattishly. “It would seem so. Guess we can’t vote for him. That’s good progress! Let’s just eliminate me and Nao next!”
Kanna’s jaw clenched, gut winding in on itself. “Don’t be so quick to exclude, Mister Shin. Everybody should have a fair shot, right?”
“Where was everybody when the third trade occurred?” Sara asked. “If we can pinpoint everyone’s locations, that ought to help.”
“Q-taro was the one who ditched the Sacrifice, right?” Reko asked. “But the son of a bitch was right next to us when it happened!”
Q-taro sighed. “Hey, think fer a sec. How’d ya s’pose them Ring-up Boxes work, anyhow? Y’just insert tokens like a normal payphone. It’s not like they read yer tablet or anything ta know who’s tradin’...”
“So you’re saying,” Shin realized, “that it doesn’t really matter who puts the tokens in?”
“Wh-What does that mean, meow?” Gin asked.
“It means…” Sara blinked. “Q-taro, are you saying that anybody could trade any card, so long as they had the tokens!?”
“Yeah.” He grimaced. “T’weren’t me who saddled Sara with the Sacrifice, even if I had the card.” He stared straight at Kanna. She met his gaze blankly. “Ain’t that right, Hiyori!?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Of f*ckin’ course ya don’t,” he growled, tugging his cap’s brim back to his forehead. “You knew! You knew, after the second trade, that I had the Sacrifice! So ya did whatcha do best, and started playin’ everybody again!”
Kanna glared at him, chest prickling with anger. It wasn’t her fault that he came to her. She only needed the laptop from him; he’s the one who came begging for a deal.
“Say, Hiyori,” Keiji said blandly. “Why don’t you tell us why you really shared that laptop.”
“Why should I?”
He chuckled. “You’re acting more your age than normal. Spare us the sulking, would you? Mister Policeman’s not too great with kids.”
“No point hiding it,” Shin cut in. “I saw it too: Q-taro’s Sacrifice card, slid right underneath the door. Of course, Hiyori did a little bit of sweet talking, but it’s not hard to trick a great lumbering moron like Q-taro.”
“I’m gettin’ real tired of your snipes, sh*thead!”
“Cool it,” Keiji said as Kanna swallowed dryly. “This is important information. Hiyori knew Q-taro’s role, and it stands to reason she could figure out the nature of the Ring-up Boxes, as well.” He grinned. “Isn’t it clear that she’s the one who put that burden on Sara?”
“Hiyori,” Sara hissed, though there was something pulling at her expression; some invisible weight. “Of course…”
“Maybe I did,” Kanna admitted, eyes closed for the boost in bravery. “It’s not like you’ll believe me if I insist I didn’t. But why does it matter?”
Sara blinked.
“I controlled the Sacrifice for a very short time. Those next two trades… make it completely meaningless, don’t you think? Just ask yourself: if I can trade two unrelated roles, who else did the same thing?”
“But why Sara!?” Reko hissed. “Just what has she ever done to you, Hiyori? I don’t f*ckin’ get it!”
“I was just,” trying to show everyone else here what she really is, “curious. Our golden girl Sara, who always puts her allies first… Just how would she react to being given the worst role?” Kanna sighed. “Besides, Q-taro would’ve just traded it to somebody else either way. Unless you’re forgetting what he let happen to Gin?”
“You got no damned room ta talk!” Q-taro roared. “I know I ain’t done everythin’ right, but I don’t need a sermon from you, of all people.” He took a deep, shuddering breath and rubbed his palms against his face, fingers threading through his beard. “... That security footage, Sara.” He swallowed. “It weren’t no lie. Kai died ‘cuz of a card I placed all willy-nilly. S’like I killed him myself. I jus’ wanted the one thing he left to us back. I shouldn’ta gave it up like a coward.”
“That’s all very noble,” Shin said as Kanna only sighed, “but you still left yourself just enough tokens to save yourself, didn’t you? You gave Hiyori and I fifty each, after all.”
Q-taro’s face remained in his hands. “Think whatchu want.”
Sara swallowed. “So that’s the truth of the third trade. That leaves us with the fourth.”
Reko sighed. “Well, it sure as sh*t wasn’t Q-taro. Not after that whole spiel right before the preliminary.”
“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Shin scoffed, and Kanna was growing dizzy. He wasn’t supposed to be acting like this; so bitter and sneering. That was her burden. There was no reason for him to steal it from her. No reason to throw so much away for a plaything lost of luster. “Who were the two who he attempted to vindicate? Who was the one who lost somebody because of the Sacrifice?”
“Shin,” Sara bit out, eyes dark, “if you’ve got something to say, then say it.”
“Sara performed the fourth trade,” Kanna said, blinking away the lights and colors. “Or, well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say she had it performed.”
“Oh, great, now both of ‘em are goin’,” Q-taro grumbled.
Shin grinned. “There were two trades performed after Miss Sara gained the Sacrifice. So to remove the immediate threat, she had our friendly Mister Policeman spirit it away. Who he gave it to, I couldn’t say.”
Kanna nodded, playing along. “That makes sense! I wonder if he gave it right back to poor Mister Q-taro?” She sighed. “Of course, he was knocked out so soon after…”
“Tch! An’ whose fault izzat? I know it was either you or the stringbean!”
Kanna ignored him. “It would be convenient for him to claim the role of the Sage. Perhaps the last trade was more innocent then it seemed? Maybe somebody just wanted the Keymaster.”
“What, yer sayin’ I’m the Sacrifice!?” Q-taro laughed incredulously. “Now that is rich.”
“And of course,” Shin said, “there’s still the Sage. Such a shame, for Hiyori to have been given such a heavy role.”
“Hey, just slow down, Hipster!!” Gin pleaded. “I’m losing track of the conversation, arf!!”
“Hmm?” Kanna hummed, frost on her breath. “You’re really sweet, Mister Shin, but you don’t need to cover for me. It really doesn’t matter if they know I’m the Sacrifice, does it? With what my word is worth?”
Shin’s breath hitched. Kanna blinked.
‘What was that?’
“Cut it out, arf!! My head hurts!!”
“Goodness,” Nao gulped. “It’s like a competition to see who can lie the fastest…”
“T-Trying to save your own skin, huh?” Shin sighed. “With a shallow lie like that? This is why I’m so fed up with you, Hiyori.”
Kanna scowled, biting her lip. “Am I really the liar here, Mister Shin? I was only joking. It’s obvious that Q-taro’s been the Sacrifice this whole time. It only makes sense to get rid of someone so scary-looking, right?”
Keiji sighed. “Enough.”
Shin and Kanna turned as one.
“You two…” His grin didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m having a hard time deciding which of you sickens me more. Here’s a hint: you’ve been staring at the wrong corner this whole time. Since Q-taro’s in the running, he must be desperate to save his own skin, right?”
“I suppose,” Kanna said airily, unsure as to what the ex-detective was getting at.
Shin said nothing.
“Looks like you’re the one barking up the wrong tree, Hiyori,” Keiji chuckles. “After all, now’s as good a time as any to tell you that I’m the real Sage.”
“Why should I believe that? Wouldn’t you have spoken up a lot sooner?”
“Just waiting for the right moment.” Keiji adjusted his vest, turning to Q-taro. “You wanna drop the news?”
“Sure thing,” the giant grinned, flashing a thumbs-up. “Y’all were right ‘bout one thing. That whole speech I gave was a big, stinkin’ pile o’ crap! I’ve been the Keymaster this whole time!”
“S-Seriously?” Shin asked, eyebrows furrowing comically. “Then why…?”
“It’s all lies,” Kanna dismissed. “Unless you prove it, then I’ve got no reason to think you’re being honest.”
Keiji hummed. “I wonder why you’d be so adamant about this. It’s not like it matters to you, right?” His neck craned, tired eyes boring through her own, spiraling and spiraling until her vision swam. “You’re just trying to tie off a loose end, after all.”
“A loose end…” Kanna repeated. “Well, if that’s what you think, then I guess there’s no helping it.”
“Hang on,” Sara said. “I’d like an explanation too, Keiji. What were you and Q-taro doing?”
Q-taro chuffed. “I ain’t done too much myself, admittedly. ‘Sides act my ass off durin’ the prelim, that is. I was stompin’ around in a rage, and I weren’t even sure who ta take it out on. I may talk big, but Hiyori’s still jus’ a girl, yeah?”
“So where does Keiji factor in?” Sara asked, brows furrowed.
“I proposed that we team up,” the man responded. “Cooled him down a little. Q-taro’s intimidating when he’s angry.”
“I saw you actin’ funny, Sara. It weren’t right, you actin’ all despondent an’ hopeless.” Q-taro sighed, scratching his beard. “So when Keiji came to me ‘n’ proposed a deal, I took it.”
“What did you give him, Q-taro?”
The giant smirked. “My tokens. All that was left of ‘em. Somehow, he knew I had the Keymaster too. But it looks like the whole things worked out, eh?”
“Jeez…” Reko looked perturbed. “The Keymaster? You really hate Sara that much, Hiyori?”
“It’s alright,” Keiji said. “It all worked out in the end. Of course, just sending the Sacrifice away from Sara wasn’t enough. Q-taro and I needed to protect ourselves as well…” He grinned. “So as the Sage, I kept quiet until I was vindicated. It sure would have been troubling if I’d ended up in the final vote.”
That… made sense, even if Kanna didn’t like where it seemed to be heading. She had seen Q-taro’s tablet. After the fourth trade, he was the Sage. Yet why would Keiji lie? He had no reason to protect Q-taro any further.
“That’s interesting,” she hummed. “Except for one thing: I happened to catch a glimpse of Q-taro’s role, right after the fourth trade. Could it be your plan didn’t go as well as you’d hoped.”
“Izzat so, li’l missy?” Q-taro grinned, and alarms blared in Kanna’s mind. “Jus’ what would that role happen to be?”
“The… Sage,” Kanna said haltingly, wrong-footed. She couldn’t shake the feeling she had already flown straight into the spider’s web. So unless Keiji had enough tokens for yet another trade, he should still be the Sage. This is all a bluff.”
“Wait a second!” Gin yipped. “How would Bucket Weirdo have even gotten a look at Muscle Gorilla’s tablet, woof!?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Keiji hummed. “I’ve seen enough to know how dangerous the world is. It would seem our mutual friend saw it fit to arm herself.” He scratched his chin. “Even if I’m not sure exactly what Q-taro did to deserve such a… violent surprise attack.”
“You’re saying-!” Sara gasped, producing Kanna’s stun gun from her pocket. “I had been wondering where this came from!”
“Funnily enough, it was Hiyori herself that made me think of it,” Keiji said. “Back when Nao whacked her.” The woman winced at the reminder. Kanna’s fingers curled. “Got me thinkin’: if somebody finds out your role, couldn’t they act just as violently? Even when the cards are nothing but data, you would still be at a real advantage if you found out even one of the special roles.”
“You-!” Kanna wheezed, fists shaking at her sides. “A-Are you serious? You swapped tablets with Q-taro!?”
“Why not?” The ex-detective shrugged. “There’s no rule against it. And since I was the one with the more undesirable role, there was much less risk to me.” He grinned, dark eyes gleaming with a vicious sense of victory. “It was a gamble, but well worth it, I find. Not often you lose your cool like this.”
“But Keiji,” Sara said. “You… If you…”
“What’s up, Sara?”
A tense second passed, where Sara and Keiji met one another’s eyes, expressions inscrutable. Kanna swallowed in frustration, little bee-stings of fear itching her scalp.
“Nevermind.” Sara shook her head, biting her lip. “It’s- It’s nothing…”
“Well, that’s that.” Keiji rolled his shoulders, stretching like a cat. “It was a good effort, Hiyori, but I was never going to let you win. That’d just be embarrassing.”
“You…” Kanna had nothing to say. None of this mattered. What they thought of her, whether they could vote for Q-taro. Keiji hadn’t won. Just as long as she could cast enough doubt to direct the votes towards Shin, then everything would be alright. He would live, and go home, and eventually forget all about this.
He didn’t even have to take her with, if he didn’t want. She had realized long before they’d met that she had no place in a Tsukimi’s life.
“Is that really it?” Nao asked hesitantly. “I- I mean… We haven’t even really figured anything out! It’s not safe to vote for Q-taro, but…”
“If we pick the Sacrifice, it’s wraps, huh?” Reko sighed, long and low. “Way I see it, it’s gotta be the kid or the wimp, but I don’t feel too great about a fifty-fifty.”
“There’s no need to worry about it so much,” Keiji said, staring straight into Hiyori, picking her apart piece-by-piece. Could a little girl have ever hoped to fool a detective, even a has-been? She wasn’t quite Hiyori, but she had tried, had let his words resound through her over and over. “Spinning our wheels again and again will just confuse us.”
Kanna didn’t know what she was doing, really. She never had.
“It’s your turn to die, Hiyori,” Keiji slipped the words smoothly from his mouth without a hint of pity. “You can’t run this time.”
“No!” Sara burst, Kanna cringing heavily at the sound of her fist slamming into her podium. “We can’t leave it to fate, Keiji! The absolute truth: that’s the only thing we should look for! As long as we still have time, we need to search for it…”
Keiji side-eyed her, still as a stone. His face was far too blank to be considered shocked, but his momentum had halted right in its tracks, wheels spinning in the dirt.
“... Alright,” he said, and nothing more.
“Sara’s right!” Reko proclaimed. “I still ain’t sure just what the hell we are, but I sure as sh*t won’t shrug my f*ckin’ shoulders!”
“The roles of the four in the final vote,” Sara said. “That’s what we still need to uncover!”
“That fifth trade is a complete mystery!” Q-taro groaned. “I mean, obviously it was the Sacrifice what moved around, but as ta who got it…?”
“I need to ask,” Sara pressed a fist against her chest, steeling herself. “Keiji, you performed the fourth trade, but you never said who you sent my Sacrifice to.”
Keiji sighed. “Alright,” he repeated. “Guess I should come clean. I tried to tell you, there’s no point in thinking about this any further. Voting for Hiyori’s safe, because at the time of the fifth trade, she was the one with the Sacrifice. Isn’t it obvious what happened?”
Gin swallowed. “S-So it’s either Big Sis Nao or the Hipster?” He shivered. “I mean, I’ll be really sad if it’s Big Sis Nao, but it’s really scary thinking about the Hipster getting used like that…”
“W-Wait, Keiji!” Nao shouted. “You have to have know she’d do that, right? It’s not as though Hiyori’s suicidal…”
“My biggest concern was keeping Sara safe,” Keiji said. “I saw two things happening when I sent Hiyori that card: either she kept it, and rode our ill will from the First Game to the finish line, or she got rid of it.” He hummed. “Of course, I wouldn’t just leave it up to fate. I took some precautions to ensure it wouldn’t come back to Sara or I.”
“Whadda ‘bout me!?” Q-taro yelped.
“Or Q-taro.”
“Precautions…” Kanna repeated, simmering. “So you’re the one who…”
“Who what?”
“Nothing.”
“So it’s still just a crapshoot between Shin and Nao?” Reko asked. “God dammit… There ain’t no good option.”
“That’s a little difficult to ascertain, don’t you think?” Shin hummed. “What a ‘good option’ is?”
“I changed my mind,” Reko deadpanned. “I’m definitely votin’ for this prick.”
“Since we know it was Hiyori-”
“You seem so certain,” Kanna griped, frowning.
Sara shot her a withering look. Kanna shrank back, trying not to show it on her face. “- Hiyori who performed the fifth trade, it’s not like the tokens matter anymore. So we can’t use that as a determiner.”
“sh*t, looks like you dodged a bullet, Nao!” Reko cheered. The redhead offered a frail smile.
“It’s not as though Hiyori will be of any aid, no matter how much we press her,” Keiji said. “There’s just one thing to do: recount exactly where everybody was when the third trade occurred.”
“I was conked out!” Q-taro offered immediately. “Not sure ‘xactly where I was. Something ‘bout an escape attempt? Obviously it ain’t worked out…”
“We don’t need your input,” Shin sniped as Kanna’s head lowered.
“Oh, hop off my co*ck already!”
“Eh?” Gin’s head quirked. “Muscle Gorilla’s a farmer? I thought you played baseball, meow?”
“U-Uh…”
“Q-taro, please refrain from any unnecessary comments!” Sara ordered. “The only three whose locations matter are Hiyori, Shin, and Nao!”
She huffed, continuing. “I can state confidently that Hiyori stayed in the room of rubble.” She sighed. “I was on the stairs when they knocked us out, so I assume she used the Ring-up Box in the winner’s room…”
“W-Wait,” Nao said. “The winner’s room?”
“Y-Yes,” Sara blinked, caught off-guard. “From there, she must have sent the Sacrifice either to you or Shin, right?”
“B-But,” Nao fiddled with the straps on her apron, the flesh of her bottom lip thoroughly victimized by her teeth, “but I didn’t see her do anything either. I- I was in the winner’s room the whole time, feeling sorry for myself!!”
“W-Wait, what!?” Q-taro howled. “Why didn’tcha say anything!?”
“I didn’t think of it!” Nao gulped. “E-Everybody was so confident that Hiyori traded away the Sacrifice… I figured there must have been one I didn’t notice in the rubble room! I- I had more important things to worry about back then…”
Reko rubbed her shoulder, turning to Q-taro. “Cool it, mountain man! I don’t wanna hear you yellin’ at Nao for a slip of the mind after all the sh*t you’ve been pullin’ with the boy in blue over there!”
“So… it was somebody else entirely who removed Hiyori’s Sacrifice?” Sara asked, eyes sparking a hot amber. “But the only person who’d be willing to do that…”
No.
“Hey, Sara,” Kanna forced her breathing steady, remembering every insult, every laugh, every mousetrap or kettle on the boil. “Quit flapping your gums aimlessly. If I didn’t want you to see me, then you wouldn’t have. Enough of the wild speculation.”
Sara shook her head, closing her eyes solemnly, like she had any right to feel sorry when she was sending Shin to his death. “I saw Shin on the stairs, right before the fifth trade. He seemed… out of it. He marched down the stairs, and that was the last I saw of him.”
“And since he din’ make any of the other trades!” Q-taro gasped. “He sure as shootin’ woulda had enough tokens!”
“Disgusting,” Kanna hissed, the anger alien and familiar, Andromeda and her family home all at once. “That’s all you’ve got? You’re boring me, so I guess I’ll tell you now: I gave Nao the Sacrifice.” She made a show of removing her hat and rubbing her scalp, though the hiss of pain was very real as she rubbed against the still tender wound. “I never did forgive her for doing Kai’s bidding. I figured it’d be nice to teach her a lesson. That’s the truth of it.”
But then Shin sighed, and Kanna knew that the game was over; that it was never a game at all, for games could be won. “Give it up, Hiyori.”
“M-Mister Shin…” Kanna managed. “Don’t say something you’ll regret…”
“Oh, I regret enough already,” Shin sighed. “The truth is… I took that Sacrifice, so Hiyori couldn’t screw you guys over.” He tugged his beanie down, neck craning. “She knew that she’d be given the Sacrifice right back, so she asked me to do something pretty horrifying: right after she got the Sacrifice back, I’d use my tokens to trade two completely worthless Commoners.” He chuckled grimly. “Pretty devious, huh? She was going to trick you all into thinking that she had thrown away that Sacrifice, and use your votes to save herself. She promised me a way out, of course, but…”
“S-Seriously!?” Gin yowled. “That’s… I don’t even have any friggin’ words, woof!!”
“Wh-Wha…?” Kanna squeaked. “What are you talking about? Shin?”
“I just couldn’t go through with it,” he sighed. “This whole time, I’d thought that maybe there was still some good in Hiyori, that no little girl could do something so awful… but it just wasn’t so.” He pulled his beanie off, wringing it between his sweaty hands. “So… I took it for myself. Because I just couldn’t stomach the thought of betraying you all!!”
“Sh-Shin…” Sara whispered. “You really…!?”
What was he saying? Why would he go through all this effort to lie through his teeth? Did he hate her? Did he finally see her for what she was?
“I- I…” Kanna tried to stop it. She tried and tried and tried. “I’m really sorry, Shin,” she hiccuped, awful, stinging, overpowering tears forcing themselves from her eyes. “I-I- I’m sorry…”
And through her blurring vision, she just caught it: an off-timed blink, eyes widening in shock. Guilt, from Shin.
But why would he feel guilty?
“You must really hate me, huh?” she scrubbed at her face, painfully aware of the others’ piercing stares of confusion, incredulity, disgust. “But that’s fine. Because you’re a liar, too!”
“H-Huh?”
“Why? Why are you trying so hard to kill yourself?” She giggled hysterically, head swimming and throbbing and aching. “I don’t get it… After all I’ve done to try and save you, you’ll still pull this self-sacrificing nonsense? What’s the matter with you? Don’t you have any sense of self-preservation? Did you really-?” A horrible thought occurred to her, ugly and insidious, reminding her of the bile in her throat not two hours prior. “... This whole time. You… You sent it to Nao, didn’t you?”
“Wh-What!?” Nao shrieked. “I’m really losing track of this whole conversation!!”
Kanna grinned, sad and empty. “This whole time… Shin’s been trying to get rid of me.” She swallowed heavily, craning her neck. “But don’t believe what he’s saying about self-sacrifice. He’s not the Sacrifice, Nao is.”
“Wh-What kinda ploy is this?” Q-taro muttered.
“That’s not-!” Shin sputtered. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Kanna scowled, a hot, ugly feeling rising in her chest. “I don’t know why I expected better from someone’s who’s friend with him. Really, you were the one using me the whole time, weren’t you?”
“I- I’m not, aren’t you…?” Shin blinked cluelessly. “What?”
“Hiyori, Shin,” Sara said, eyes narrowing into thin slits as her brows furrowed furiously. “Have you two… been covering for each other?”
Keiji chuckled. “We can’t understand what’s happening until one of them finally tells the truth.” He zeroed in on Shin, still staring at Kanna in shared bewilderment. “Hey, Shin. Won’t you tell us what really happened during the fifth trade?”
“I- I…” he stammered. “Hiyori’s… been directing votes towards me.” His jaw set. “I think I understand why, now. Okay. I’ll spill. No more lying.”
“Shin…”
“It’s okay, Hiyori,” he said calmly. “I think… we might’ve just missed each other. I feel… oddly relieved, seeing how angry you were. Funny, isn’t it?”
“Shin, please tell us the truth,” Sara asked. “Did you really trade yourself the Sacrifice?”
“... I tried,” the words came hard, hitting Kanna in the gut. “But… the thing is…” He gnawed on a knuckle in consternation. “I never actually received a Sacrifice. My card stayed exactly the same as before: a Commoner. That’s… That’s why…”
“sh*t, that’s kinda hard to believe,” Reko said. “Even when you specified the Sacrifice? Was it some sorta machine error?”
“I see,” Keiji hummed. “So you thought Hiyori retained the Sacrifice. That’s why the two of you were at each other’s throats this whole time.” He scratched his chin. “Even schemers can have bonds… Looks like I was right on the money.”
“I- you…” Kanna’s head hurt worse than it ever had before. The murky puddle of confusion surrounding the day’s events trickled more and more into her ears and eyes, vanishing her senses. “Shin… You were trying to protect me?”
“... Yeah,” he admitted softly. “I guess I was jealous of Sara, always playing the hero. I saw, more than anyone here, just how much you wanted to escape. The idea of this all ending in bloodshed, despite your best efforts, of- of you dying here? I just… couldn’t allow it. Even after what happened on the first floor, I…” He chuckled, trailing into a tired sigh. “I’ve always had unpopular opinions, I guess. The thought of you dying for nothing, becoming a murderer for nothing… It made me sick to my stomach. So I went downstairs, and I decided… that I should do the dirty work for once. Looks like I’m no good at it, after all…”
“Shin…” Kanna felt something neglected and forlorn strum within her, like an abandoned instrument finally retuned. “Y-You…”
“Well, that’s touching an’ all, but…” Q-taro groaned, long and weary, “what in the sam hill happened to the Sacrifice?”
“It’s all a buncha lies, woof!” Gin growled, squeezing his plushie. “Bucket Weirdo and the Hipster are bigger drama nerds than Stripey was! They’re just trying to stir up trouble!”
“But it wouldn’t be a very good play, would it?” Keiji asked. “Logically, one of them should be more suspicious so as to gain votes, correct? But now they’re suggesting that neither of them is the Sacrifice. You know what that means, right?”
“Since Q-taro’s the Keymaster… Nao would be the Sacrifice!?” Sara gasped. “Then… we’d have to vote for one of them! If they really haven’t betrayed each other, then it wouldn’t make any sense for things to play out like this!”
“H-Hey!” Nao squeaked. “Sh-Shouldn’t we focus on the fifth trade before we make w-wild accusations!? If Shin’s Commoner stayed where it was, but Hiyori’s Sacrifice disappeared… Isn’t something really wrong there!?” She swallowed. “M-Maybe… Hiyori’s really gifted with machines, right? Isn’t there a possibility she just… eliminated the Sacrifice, or something?”
“Don’t you think I would been a little more honest!?” Kanna yelped, nerves fraught. “If I could just erase the Sacrifice, Shin and I wouldn’t have been in the final vote!”
A tense silence reigned. Distrustful, confused eyes glared at each other in the electric darkness.
“... There is one thing that comes to mind,” Shin said, biting his nail hard enough to pale the finger. “Does everybody remember what happened in the Last Supper Room? When Miley came on the screen?”
“M-Miley came on the screen?” Nao asked, voicing Kanna’s thoughts. “I- I was too busy trying not to throw up to really pay attention…” Reko patted her back gently.
“What’s important is what she said,” Shin claimed. “That Gashu made a ‘flagrant transgression.’ One bad enough to ‘shake the very core of the Main Game.’” He shook his head. “In the back of my mind, I’ve been turning that over. Just what did she mean by that? What did Gashu do?”
“You’re saying,” Sara began, words coming slowly, “that Gashu might be behind the discrepancy with your card?”
He nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. This whole game should have gone much differently.”
“But what would be the point?” Nao asked. “What does he gain from messing with the trade?”
A low chuckle rang out, eight collective gazes turning to the man who had been silently observing the whole affair. “Is this what you want to waste your last few minutes on?” He shook his head, smiling almost fondly. It sent cold shivers down Kanna’s back. “So be it.”
“If you’ve done nothing wrong, then what would you have to worry over?” asked Sara. “Of course, if it comes to light that you have… We have the right to a retrial.”
“A… retrial?” Shin whispered, eyes wide.
“Yes,” Sara nodded confidently. “The Floormasters have a code of conduct to promise a fair Main Game. Gashu, if we expose your transgression, you’re obligated to reschedule the Main Game twenty-four hours from now!”
Gashu’s needle-narrow eyes widened in shock. “You…” He grinned, wide and manic, twitching beneath his mustache. He cackled, the sound ringing through the open room. “Of course… The code of conduct. As expected from Miss Sara Chidouin! Rest assured, I will obey it. Nothing is more important to me than carrying out my duty, after all.”
“F-For real!?” Gin howled. “Are you serious, woof!? C’mon, Big Sis Sara, expose this creep!!”
“Twenty four hours is more than enough time to plan another escape,” Shin breathed.
Gashu’s grin shifted. “Of course, that’s only if you can provide concrete evidence that such a transgression ever occurred. Miley’s unfortunate little outburst hardly counts.”
“Alright,” Sara nodded, turning to Kanna and her brother. “Hiyori, Shin… Please. The lies have to end here if we all want to live.” She had seen those blood red eyes pierce through her a thousand times before, yet Kanna could not mistake the sincerity. Was she being fooled? Was this why Sara always won? “The only other possibility is that Hiyori fiddled with the roles manually. I don’t want that to be the case. Won’t you work with us? Even if it’s only for your own sakes?”
Kanna inhaled slowly. She found that she had nothing to lose.
“Sh-Shin,” she swallowed, tripping over the name. “You’re… really going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I promise,” he said. “I never had the Sacrifice, and I was never going to betray you. Please,” he paused, eyes meeting his podium. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to again meet hers. “Can’t we trust Sara? Just this once?”
Kanna nodded softly, working up all the vestiges of courage left within her. “O-Okay… I’m really tired of playing this game. Sara…” She swallowed. “I didn’t do anything. Not to the role cards. That’s the truth.”
“You swear?” Sara asked, meeting Kanna’s eyes fearlessly.
“I swear! No more lying to each other! If we can win an extension, then there’s no point, right!?”
Sara grinned toothily, and Kanna warmed. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!”
“H-He must have had a motivation,” Kanna said, getting caught up in a strange wave of giddyness. “Gashu wouldn’t tamper with the trade just for kicks, would he?”
“Maybe he wanted some poor bastard dead!” Q-taro growled. “Wouldn’t put it above the creepy bastard.”
“M-Maybe the Sacrifice was eliminated entirely?” Nao posed. “B-But that’s a bit too optimistic, huh…”
“Ha, that’s not too likely,” Shin chuckled. “As much as I’d like to think we’ve got someone on our side, I know better.” He pursed his lips. “I can’t think of anything that might point us in the right direction. Is there some sort of clue we missed?”
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!” Reko proclaimed. “Have we really gone over everything?”
A short, tense moment of silence passed before Sara hummed. “There… is one thing,” she admitted, sliding some papers from her blazer’s inside pocket. “I haven’t been able to figure out what these papers mean. They’re the biggest mystery I can think of right now.”
Those papers seemed familiar. Far too familiar. Kanna’s high broke. “Th-Those…?”
‘15.5% - Sara Chidouin… HS Student
9.9% - Naomichi Kurumada… Boxer
9.6% - Keiji Shinogi… Ex-Detective
8.8% - Q-taro B.B… Baseballer
8.2% - Shunsuke Hayasaka… Office Worker
8.0% - Anzu Kinashi… HS Student
7.7% - Reko Yabusame… Singer
7.5% - Mai Tsurugi… Baker
6.6% - Alice Yabusame… Murderer
5.6% - Ranmaru Kageyama… HS Student
4.9% -Megumi Sasahara… Detective
3.0% - Kazumi Mishima… HS Teacher
2.1% - Shin Tsukimi… Self-Employed
1.5% - Gin Ibushi… Elm. Student
1.1% - Hinako Mishuku… Mid. Student
0.0% - Kanna Kizuchi… Mid. Student’
There she was. There she was again. A million little bubbles of fabrication and evasion birthed themselves, dying stillborn.
Hadn’t she promised? No more lies?
Her fingers shook, white around the podium sides.
“This is just like those papers from the first floor, woof!” Gin called, scratching his head. “They’re a lot less… destroyed, though!”
“Why!?” Gashu hissed, sounding how Kanna felt. The tension eased at his panic, if only just. “Why do you have those!?” His nose scrunched up in a sneer, mustache twitching. “Of course… Miley. Damn that woman! Handing internal documents to participants!?”
Sara’s eyes sharpened. “Gashu! What’s the purpose of this roster!?”
His back straightened in surprise. “... What, indeed?” he purred, grin returning.
“That’s enough for me,” Shin said. “That roster is definitely the key. No doubt about it.”
Keiji grinned. “Well done, Sara.”
“But I-!”
“But nothing. You made him panic, even if just for a moment. That told us all we need to know. Next on the chopping block is that roster. Looks like you’ve saved the day.”
“... I hope so.”
“C’mon!” Q-taro yelped. “Let’s barrel on ahead! We ain’t got time to pat each other on th’ back!”
“Well, it’s a strange roster,” Nao said. Strange, indeed, to have smothered a girl so thoroughly. “It’s not alphabetized, and the professions aren’t really in any sort of category… I can’t make any sense of it!”
Shin hummed. “Are there only four papers, Sara?”
“Yes?” she replied, blinking. “The percentages all add up to one hundred, so I don’t see why there’d be any more.”
“... Strange.”
“Well, there’s certainly nobody I recognize,” Q-taro huffed. “Buncha unfortunate souls, all caught up in this crap. Makes me feel right rotten t’ve gotten off so easy…”
“Well,” Kanna rasped, fear clutching at her heart like frostbite creeping in on a dying soul, “there’s three missing names, right? That probably means something…”
“Hmm?” Sara quirked an eyebrow. “What makes you say that? We don’t know how many people were dragged into this Death Game, after all…”
“Oh, I know!” Gin barked. “There was nineteen of us!” He wilted quickly. “B-But, uh, seven of us didn’t make it out… I remember ‘cuz it was on the blackboard on the first floor. I got bored, so I just read it over and over with Mister Mishima…”
“See?” Kanna latched on. “I remembered that too! That’s why I knew there were three missing names, since there’s four names to a paper.”
“But that doesn’t track, Hiyori,” Sara refuted, tapping the papers. “After all, Nao, Kai, and… Joe are missing, as well as you. That’s four names.”
“Th-That’s…” Kanna’s hearing went a little funny, heart drumming in her ears. A steady pulse, beating accelerando. “Whoops, I, uh, f-forgot to count myself, haha…”
“Um, if it helps, I remember the list on the blackboard perfectly!” Gin barked. “Do you want me to repeat it, Big Sis Sara?”
“You can seriously remember all that?”
“Of course, woof! ‘Can drink,’ was ‘Alice, Kai, Kazumi, Keiji, Shunsuke, Shin, Naomichi, Mai, Megumi, Reko, and Q-taro,’ meow! ‘Can’t drink,’ was Anzu, Hiyori, Gin, Sara, Joe, Nao, Hinako, and Ranmaru, woof!”
“That’s fantastic, Gin!” Sara cheered. “If we can just cross-reference these lists…” She splayed out the papers on her podium. “The names missing are Hiyori, Kai, Nao, and Joe, so we’ll ignore them for Nao.” She produced a pen from her breast pocket, adding checkmarks next to the names. “Help me out, Gin?”
“Arf!” Gin bounded over to her podium, standing on his tip-toes. “Alice first… Ignore Kai, woof…”
They continued, Kanna’s heart hammering in her throat, slowly and surely down the list of names.
“Anzu, skip Bucket Weirdo, me and you, skip Big Bro Joe…”
Kanna’s breathing hitched. Hiyori hissed pitifully within her. It would be okay, she insisted to herself. It was all lies she was stupid enough to believe. It would all work out. Kanna Kizuchi still had the right to exist.
Kanna felt nothing, hearing her own pitiful reassurances, the gleam of drying blood in this very room coloring her vision.
“Mraowr? This Kanna girl… She’s not on the blackboard, woof!”
“I see,” Sara said quietly. “Kanna Kizuchi, Middle Schooler…”
“sh*t,” Q-taro coughed. “Guess we solved that mystery, eh? There’s only one person what fits.”
“No point dancing around it,” Keiji hummed. “And here I thought we were done with the lies,” his eyes flicked up, staring right into her, “Hiyori.”
“She… never did tell us her first name,” Nao murmured. “I feel kinda dumb for not getting it right away, now…”
“The last name is what threw me off,” Reko admitted. “If her real last name’s Kizuchi… What’s up with that, huh?”
“Don’t,” Kanna rasped, “make me say it.”
“... You never did tell me,” Shin said softly, “exactly what it is you’re so afraid of… Kanna.”
Kanna flinched as though struck. “... S-Stop…”
“What a subdued reaction,” Keiji observed. “You won’t deny it, then? Your true name…”
“... Kanna Kizuchi… is a dead girl,” she breathed, voice shaky and hoarse. She knew she was trembling, as her own body was all she could bear to look at. “That worthless piece of my past… ceased to exist, the moment I woke up here…”
“Hiyori, o-or whoever you really are,” Sara said. “Didn’t you say that you were done playing this game? Shouldn’t lies and deceit have no more place here, if we want to expose Gashu? Just trust us, please. Right from the start, none of us have wanted to hurt you!”
“That’s… a lie,” Kanna said haltingly. “That has to be a lie. There’s no one here whose done worse than me. I- I never wanted- I didn’t-!” She swallowed harshly, choking back a sob. “Kanna never wanted to hurt anybody…”
“... Kanna,” Keiji said. “We can’t back off until you tell the truth. I hope you understand.”
And that was it, wasn’t it? They still needed something from her.
Kanna looked up. Shin’s eyes glimmered with a fragile gleam of hope.
Being needed wasn’t a horrible feeling. “I’m,” Kanna dared, dreamed, prayed, “Kanna… Kanna Kizuchi. That roster… has a horrible secret. One- One I’ve been hiding all this time…”
“Wait, Bucket Weirdo knew about this!?” Gin yelped. “Why were you wasting our time, woof! Tell us what’s up with it!!”
“It’s,” flashes of red and blue and sickly green, hands intertwined, “the victory rates… That’s how the list is organized, the- the meaning of those percentages!”
“Victory rates?” Keiji repeated, eyes flashing.
“E-Exactly… It was Kanna’s First Trial!” She gasped, clutching her chest. “Th-They showed me, I- I don’t know how long it was… Everyone’s odds of winning this game was precisely calculated!!”
“H-How the hell would they pull that off!?” Reko gawked. “Did they just draw names out of a freakin’ hat!?”
“Of course not,” Sara gasped. “The AIs… That was their true purpose!?”
Kanna giggled wetly. “I knew you’d understand, Sara… Over and over and over again, they’d run thousands of tests, all at once, with only one goal in mind: to understand the fighting chance of each candidate in the Death Game… You saw how accurate that Reko AI was… They had so much time to perfect it…” She shivered. “I- I was terrified, when I realized just how long they had been watching me, watching my family!! And in all that time… I didn’t come out alive even once. Zero point zero percent… Not even the slightest hope to survive.”
She scrubbed away the tears, running her hands through her hair raggedly. “I’ve… seen death before. Long before I ever could have imagined all this… That’s why… I couldn’t let it happen to me. No matter how much my heart screamed that I was doing the wrong thing, my brain just kept remembering. That’s why… Kanna Kizuchi had to die. Because she could never have done the things Hiyori did, not even in her worst nightmares.”
She laughed, exhaustion seeping through her, drying her skin and creaking her bones. “I’m… really a reprehensible person, deep down. I wish I never had to realize that. Even now, when I’m promising you the truth, I can’t ever go back. I’m,” she bowed her head, chest heaving. “I’m sorry, Sara. That’s the last thing I can possibly say. Eliminate Kanna from that list, and I’m sure you’ll find the truth.”
“Kanna…” Shin murmured, eyes squeezing shut. “God dammit. That’s the most sad*stic thing I’ve ever heard, putting that burden on a little girl.”
A low chuckle rang through the shell-shocked silence. “A bit dry, when you already know all the details, but you are quite the riveting story-teller, young Miss Kizuchi.”
“G-Gashu?” Sara stuttered.
“Yes, I. I’m afraid that’s the last of your time. I even gave you quite the generous extension.” He shook his head. “Oh, well. It was a phenomenal effort. I applaud you.” He made a show of lightly clapping his hands.
“Wh-Wha’!?” Q-taro growled. “That’s the note we end on!? That depressin’ story!? Ya can’t f*ckin’ do this!!”
“And why not? You figured out the true identity of Hiyori, yes… but how does that pertain to my supposed misdeed?” He grinned cruelly. “You have nothing to pin on me, I’m afraid.”
“Th-That’s…” Sara trailed off, eyes dimming with frustration.
“Oh, is there any evidence you’ve uncovered, Miss Chidouin? Any at all?”
“I’m… not sure.” She swallowed, breath growing heavy. “Just… Just let me sort it out in my head!”
“I’m afraid we’ve no time for that. Now or never, Miss Chidouin.”
Sara bared her teeth, chewing on her bottom lip hard enough to pale the flesh. “There’s… not much to go off of… Hiyori, is there anything else? Anything at all?”
“I- I don’t know!” Kanna hissed, gnawing at her fingernails. “Just the names that weren’t on the list… I, I never saw them in the simulations! But they could have just cherry-picked to fool me! They didn’t show me any of the nice parts!”
“There’s… There’s got to be something,” Shin moaned. “Anything at all!”
‘Sixteen glorious candidates, assembled here to assert their dominance above dominance.’
“W-Wait,” Kanna called. “There is something sticks out to me. When they explained what the purpose of the tests were, they used the term ‘candidates,’ not ‘participants’!” Her face crumpled. “But that doesn’t really mean anything, does it? What’s the difference!?”
“Nao, Joe, and Kai…” Q-taro hummed. “Those three ain’t on the list, right? But whadda they have in common? Joe and Kai are related, but what does Nao got to do with anything?”
“Wait,” Sara said. “There’s… something that’s been bothering me, ever since we came to this floor. The monitor room… had AIs of all of us, right?”
Kanna groaned. “Yes, it did… I smashed mine, but it’s not like it’s done me much good!”
“So you have an AI.” Sara swallowed. “But why didn’t Joe? It can’t have been because he- he died, since Mishima had his own. And now that I think of it, Nao’s was missing, as well!”
“E-Eh?” the girl squeaked.
“Hiyori said that the kidnappers used the term ‘candidates’ to refer to us, but that she never saw any of those three in the tests! Maybe, there’s a vital difference between ‘participants,’ and ‘candidates’!”
“Say wha’!?” Q-taro gasped.
“Nao,” Sara said, long and forlorn, her expression crumpling. “I’ve finally confirmed it, at least to myself. You’re the Sacrifice, aren’t you?”
“M-Me…?” Nao choked, quivering in place. Kanna could see her in a new light, with the clarity of unfiltered honesty; the college girl was falling apart at the seams.
Reko gasped sharply. “sh*t, Sara, you ain’t saying-!?”
“This roster,” Sara tapped the four papers, “contains the complete list of all ‘candidates for victory,’ in regards to the Main Game. Even Kanna Kizuchi, who never survived a trial, is still listed here! Nao, I’m not sure just why you’re here, but I can say… that you were never meant to be. That’s why… Gashu would never give you a fair chance.” She swallowed. “Just like Joe and Kai.”
She straightened, eyes blazing with fury. “That’s your crime, Gashu! You intercepted the Sacrifice to eliminate Nao, the only non-candidate left alive!”
Slowly, a wide, ebullient grin stretched across Gashu’s face. At once, he seemed twenty years younger. “Yes… That’s what I had been hoping for, Miss Chidouin!!” He cackled again, setting Kanna’s teeth on edge. “You’ve wrapped it all up most marvelously! No one but you, Sara! None! This is the day I’d been waiting to see!”
“sh*t, you son of a bitch,” Reko growled. “f*ckin’ piece of sh*t, braindead old fossil!! What the f*ck’s wrong with you!?”
“H-Hey, Reko, I’m,” Nao stuttered, touching the other woman’s arm. “Please calm down… It’s going to be alright, isn’t it?” She smiled nervously, turning to face them all. “I’m… I’m really sorry, everybody. J-Just… when I got the Sacrifice, I… I just froze up. It was like somebody had glued my mouth shut, no matter how much I wanted to just clear it all up…” She rubbed her arm tiredly. “I just couldn’t. I’m sorry…”
“No,” Shin said. “Anybody would’ve done it. Sorry to have caused you so much trouble.”
“Hey, Gashu,” Keiji said, pitch-dark. “You mind explaining what all of this was about? ‘Candidates,’ the Death Game, anything? I’d like to know why my life’s at risk.”
Gashu’s expression cleared, the age settling back into his wrinkled flesh. “... Mister Shinogi. No, any of you. Have you ever had doubts about your upbringing?”
A seven year old girl, poring through her almost non-existent family history at the request of her curious older sister. Nothing but a faint conversation. “Tsukimi was the family name. Said they already had their hands full with a son. Didn’t want the girl.”
Not ‘couldn’t keep.’
“What,” Kanna whispered, “does that have to do with anything?”
“That’s is all you shall hear from me.”
“Aw, don’t be stingy, y’bastard!” Q-taro bellowed. “You owe us, after all this bullcrap!”
“I suppose justice should be metered out, shouldn’t it?” Gashu hummed. “Very well. I’ll do as you say.”
“S-Seriously?” Shin breathed. “A retrial!?”
Kanna wanted to believe, more than anything she had ever begged for before, more than she had prayed for her sister’s life in the hospital, blinding florescent lights and saline and antiseptic stinging her senses.
“I didn’t say anything about that, now did I?”
But Kanna could recognize patterns. Cold, ugly dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Internally, she wondered how she could explain herself to Sister.
“Wh-What’s that supposed to mean!?” Sara yelled, voice cracking with overuse.
“You’ve overlooked a very important detail of the code of conduct, Miss Chidouin. A transgression, altering the course of the Main Game, may leave the results of it null and void, creating a need for a retrial.” He produced a slim pistol from his breast pocket, and Kanna couldn’t hold in the panicked gasp. “Or, the transgressor may be punished by death.”
“Bullsh*t! I’m callin’ your bluff, asshole!!” Reko howled. “There’s no f*ckin’ way you hate us enough to kill yourself!! What’s this stupid f*ckin’ game mean to you, anyway!?”
Gashu’s expression did not change as he leveled the pistol’s barrel to his temple. “I shall fulfill my duty as per the code. I am doing you no wrong. The Main Game shall continue, and the survivors shall persevere.”
“Stop, stop it, stop!!” Gin begged. “Suicide’s never the answer, woof! What’s so bad about a retrial, Uncle Crabstache!?”
Gashu ignored him, staring straight at the gawking, speechless Sara. “Please, seek victory.”
Kanna’s ears rang long after the bullet sent his body to the floor.
“No way,” came Sara’s voice, long and lost. “He…?”
“What?” Shin mewled, pupils blown wide. “That’s not… No, no, no!! You,” his face twisted in animalistic rage, “you can’t be f*cking serious!!”
Kanna chuckled. She felt oddly light, off-balance and dizzy. “That’s what I get for hoping, huh? I don’t know why… I never see it coming. This is really how it ends? That’s so,” her voice cracked, “p-pathetic.”
“I,” Keiji wiped his forehead dry, “I’ll admit, I didn’t see that coming. These people will do anything, won’t they? He must’ve had this all planned from the beginning.”
“S-Safalin,” Sara said, turning to the crying doll in the room’s corner. “This is an emergency! Stop the game!”
“I,” Safalin frowned, stepping past Gashu’s corpse, “I can only act as a substitute. Punishment was metered, so the Game cannot be stopped. I’m sorry…”
“You can’t be serious!!” Nao wailed. “There’s nothing you can do!? This- This isn’t fair!!”
“It’s all within the rules, Miss Nao,” Safalin moaned. “If I stop the Game, then all of us will die.”
“Just let us start from the beginning!! Redistribute the roles, anything!!”
“There’s nothing I can do.”
Nao’s breathing hitched, her hands running through her wild red hair, pulling straight through the tangles.
“N-Nao…” Reko seemed stuck in place, stricken.
The atmosphere of a sunny day and fresh asphalt and a hospital room and a trendy, pristine office settled over Kanna’s shoulders.
“I see,” she sighed. “I shouldn’t have tried so hard to fight fate. I’ll keep you company, Nao, even if we’re going to different places.”
“Kanna,” Sara whispered, and Kanna didn’t flinch.
“Sara.” She met the older girl’s gaze tiredly. “Looks like this’ll all wrap itself up, huh? I’m sorry about Nao. You two are friends, right? It’s horrible to lose a friend.” She smiled. “That’s why I don’t mind if you vote for me. If anyone deserves to, it’d be you.”
“I…” Sara trailed off, disquieted.
The silence returned for a long, almost blissful moment, despite the stench of dread poisoning the very air.
“Hey,” Shin said, right as the others began to shakily reach for their voting tablets. “Won’t anybody vote for me?”
“What?” Kanna choked, stomach acids freezing solid, leaving her throat cold and defective. “What are you saying? Have you gone crazy!? There’s no reason to vote for you!”
“That’s not true!” Shin spat. He took a deep, steadying breath. “Please hear me out, everyone. When I took that Sacrifice from Kanna… Wanting her to not kill anybody else, that wasn’t my only reason.” He looked down, chewing on his lip. “It wasn’t an act of suicide. I stole it because I didn’t want her at risk, if things went sour. I wasn’t trying to be altruistic… I was just thinking, ‘maybe Kanna and I can get out of here.’” He met their gazes hesitantly. “That’s why you should vote for me. If Kanna dies now, I’ll have no reason to save anyone but myself. I don’t know what I’ll do, and… that scares me.”
“Shin,” Kanna whispered. “That’s normal! You just wanted to live! I’m the one in the wrong!! Manipulating the cards, framing Kai for Mishima’s death… Surely, I deserve to be punished for that!? Don’t think you’re solving anything by acting suicidal!”
Shin closed his eyes. “If anybody here votes for Kanna, I’ll never forgive you. I’ll do everything in my power to kill every last one of you. Is that incentive enough?”
“He’s bluffing!” Kanna pleaded. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying… Please, don’t listen to him! Vote for Kanna, please!!”
“Th-That’s an awfully childish quirk for a killer,” Reko said bemusedly. “sh*t, I dunno what to think! Just- Just let me get my head on straight, goddammit!”
“Think about it, Reko,” Shin continued, through Kanna begging him to just shut his mouth already. “Kanna’s a child prodigy. A genius who got us closer than anybody else to escape with nothing but a couple days and a laptop. What have I done for any of you? When you voted for Kai, even if you didn’t really want him dead, you had no choice, because it was the only logical decision to preserve your own lives, right?” He spread his arms out, a hint of panic lacing his voice. “Well, it’s time to do it again!! Please, protect Kanna, even if you hate her! She’s too young to die for her mistakes!!”
“NO!!” Kanna screamed, tears falling freely. “That doesn’t mean anything!! Evil is evil, no matter how old you are! You all understand that I can’t be allowed to live, right…?”
The heat of their gazes was searing, like Kanna’s flesh would melt beneath them. A fitting execution, she thought deliriously. Sentence to be exposed before the world as the fraud she was, dragged through the mud and slaughtered.
Shin was her family, no matter how recently they truly met. How many things about him would forever become enshrouded, never to be understood and appreciated. How long until he was buried in her conscience, choking her with every move she made, smothering her with unreachable love?
“Everyone, please vote!!” Safalin begged. “I can’t wait any longer! If you want to live, then please…”
Keiji sighed, low and tired. “Alright. I’ve weighed my options. Sorry, Shin, but Mister Policeman’s voting for you.”
“What!?” Kanna gasped. “That’s- That’s not what you were saying not half an hour ago!!”
“Opinions change, Hiyori,” he replied. “Hopefully yours will, too.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” Shin said. “Nothing at all…”
“sh*t…” Q-taro breathed. “I mean, I know I went off on the little brat, but…” He ran a hand down his face, stretching the skin taught. “Killin’ a kid to save adults? I- I jus’ can’t do it. No way.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no…” Kanna bit down on a fingernail, tearing it painfully. “Have you all lost your senses!?”
“sh*t, I was right, straight from the start, wasn’t I? Hiyori… was just a scared little kid.” Reko stared at the ceiling listlessly. “I’m… sorry, Nao. I can’t let Gin or Sara die.”
“It’s… okay,” Nao whispered, tears dripping into her gasping mouth. “Gashu… I knew, right from the moment he pulled that gun… The bullet was really meant for me…”
“Thanks, Reko,” Shin grinned, eyes still clamped shut. “You’re a real pal. It’s high time I throw in a vote for myself as well.”
“Four…” Kanna whimpered. “Nao, please… You’ve got two votes! Even the playing field!”
“I,” Nao stammered, staring at her voting pad, “I…”
“Gin, you too!” She whirled on the boy manically, staring as he bounced in shock. “It’s an easy choice, isn’t it? You hate me, don’t you?
“And Sara…” Kanna gasped, vision clearing as she stared her first and final enemy in the eyes. An enemy who had argued and fought and clawed to save her, save her brother, even after she had stolen her best friend from her, knowing just how sharp the agony of loss lashed against a person’s back, neck, head, soul. “You too. You’ve got the right to my life. I’m laying it down, right here. Please…”
“B-Big Sis Sara,” Gin mewled. “Wh-What are you gonna do? I-It feels unfair to vote for the Hipster now…”
“It… doesn’t matter what I do, Hiyori,” Sara said, head low. “No, Kanna.”
“I’m voting for Bucket Weirdo!” Gin announced suddenly. “Big Sis Nao, I know you’re really scared, but… won’t you lend her your votes, mew?”
“G-Gin!?” Sara gasped.
“Eh?” Shin growled. “What the hell’s your angle, brat!? There’s no reason for her to do that!!”
“You’ve already got four votes, Hipster! Big Sis Nao is…” he sniffled, hiding it beneath his face mask. “She’s already done for, mraowr… Watching you die so one-sidedly too, with Bucket Girl begging us to stop… I-It makes me wanna cry, woof! Big Sis Sara standing there all unsure of herself just isn’t right, arf!”
“G-Gin…?” Kanna rasped. “Y-You… for my sake?” She giggled weakly. “I knew you must have hated me…”
“Don’t gimme that crap, Bucket Weirdo! You’re the one whose asking for votes, woof!”
“Dammit, Gin!! Think about the burden you’re putting on your ‘Big Sis’!” Shin yelled, eyes wide. “You’re putting our lives in her hands alone! It doesn’t matter how strong you think she is, she can’t handle that sort of burden! No one should have to!! You’re taking a fair majority vote and turning it into a- a- an adjudication!”
“I don’t even know what that means, woof! But I do know that there was never anything unfair about this to begin with!” He swallowed, losing steam. “I- I mean… if Big Sis Sara doesn’t want to… it’s not like I’ll force her, meow… I- I just thought…”
“Gin,” Sara said thickly. “It’s okay. Making that choice… Nobody has the right to do it.”
“But… you have to vote either way, Sara,” Nao murmured. “Giving Shin a fighting chance… Maybe that’s one last impact I can make. I won’t live either way, so… I’m not afraid to do it anymore. Sara, our votes… you aren’t controlling us or anything. This… is what I want. To make things fair, even if only a little…”
Nao voted.
“A-Alright, woof…” Gin swallowed. “I’ll do it, Big Sis Sara. I’m not scared, mew. If you want to vote first, then…”
“No,” Sara said, eyes shimmering with tears. “No, I won’t throw away Nao’s decision like that. Not Shin’s life, or even Kanna’s. I’ll do it… so vote for Kanna, Gin.”
“O-Okay…!!”
Gin voted.
“No, no, no…” Shin swallowed, hands shaking uncontrollably. “Sara, please, don’t do this. I can’t watch Kanna die…”
“And is it any fair for me!?” Kanna sobbed. “You’re spitting on everything you stand for if you vote for Shin, Sara… Please…”
“K-Kanna…” Shin chuckled weakly, hands running through his hair. “I’m really putting you in a tough spot, huh? That must’ve been scary… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” she hiccuped. “D-Don’t talk to me like a little kid… You should k-know better…”
Sara took them in, eyes smoldering with something silver and agonized.
Sara voted.
Nao - 0 votes
Q-taro - 0 votes
Hiyori - 4 votes
Shin - 5 votes
“Sara,” Shin breathed, long and low. “... I knew you’d see reason. Thank you.”
“NO!!” Kanna wailed. “Why!? Why him!? I instigated, I tried to control you all like- like a big puppet show!! Why would you-? Why…?”
“Kanna,” Shin hummed, stepping away from the podium. “Come here…”
His hands were clammy and cold, but his bony arms carried warmth as they wrapped around her, rubbing small circles in her back. She sobbed.
“L-Let go of me,” she hissed. “I hate you. I never wanted to feel like this again.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re a moron.”
“I know.”
“Y-You knew it’d hurt me and you still-” Kanna choked, finally returning the embrace. “I’ll never forgive Sara for this. Never.”
“You should. It’s not her fault.”
“I don’t care.”
“Now you’re just being stubborn,” his voice cracked, and Kanna could feel him begin to tremble.
It hit her, then, that this was the last. It was over for Shin Tsukimi, and Kanna would live on, sapping the strength and vitality from another loved one until they had nothing left to offer her, dead and decayed.
Shin’s grip strengthened.
“I’ll,” Safalin murmured, “give them a moment while I announce the results. Indeed, the Keymaster was Q-taro Burgerburg, the Sage was Keiji Shinogi, and the Sacrifice is Nao Egokoro.”
“So Shin is going to die either way,” Nao said. “I see.”
“I’m sorry, Nao,” Sara apologized. “I just… couldn’t…”
“It’s okay. I wanted you to have the choice, after all.” She smiled softly, sniffling. “I don’t believe that my votes were in vain. Because they still meant something to me.”
“Nao,” Reko whispered hoarsely. “Goddammit. You’re too f*cking good for this, God,” she wound back a steel-toed boot, sending it smashing into her podium, “DAMMIT!!”
“These last few days… have been the most horrifying of my life,” Nao said. “But despite it all… I’m glad we met, Reko. Do you think, maybe in another life, we could have been true friends?”
“Don’t f*ckin’ say that…” Reko shuddered. “We already are; will be. I’ll find you, Nao. Wherever you end up, I’ll…!!”
“Thank you,” Nao whispered. “I’m sure the professor… would be overjoyed to meet you for real.”
“We’ve delayed this Game far too long already,” Safalin moaned regretfully. “It’s time for the Sacrifice card to play.”
“Dammit, stop!!” Reko howled. “What do I gotta give you to make you stop!?”
“Miss Reko, you’re dear to Nao, are you not?” Safalin asked. “Take this.” She hands the agitated woman a silver detonator.
“Reko!” Sara screamed. “Don’t take that!”
“This is…”
“An instant death switch.”
“Y-You f*ckin’...”
“Unless you wish for her suffering to be long, I’d suggest you take it.”
Reko stared at it, running the metal between her fingers.
“Begin,” Safalin whispered, and steel restraints came to life around Nao, dragging her to the near wall and pinning her against it.
She screamed in horror as it began to constrict around her gut.
“Nao!”
“D-Don’t press it,” Nao begged, even as she gasped breathlessly, the metal band growing tighter and tighter around her waist. “R-Reko, I don’t want to die, please…”
A steady stream of blood began to leak from her open mouth.
“D-Don’t…” she moaned breathlessly, tears streaming from bloodshot eyes.
The band pulled into the wall, crushing Nao’s stomach as it retracted. She gurgled, struggles ceasing.
Nao expired, falling limp against the tile.
“I- I couldn’t…” Reko whispered. “Not when she was begging for her life. I…” Her expression grew thunderous. “Is this how it felt, Alice? Having someone’s blood on your hands?”
“R-Reko…” Sara whispered. “I-”
“Not now, Sara,” Reko hissed. “I don’t feel much like conversation right now.” She shut her eyes, growling. “... Sorry.”
“It’s okay… I don’t know if I could have done it either…”
Kanna wondered what it said, that she couldn’t look away. Atonement for running from her former victims, maybe. Nao had been a target, the living piece of Hiyori whispered, persisting. It was for the best she had gone.
But Kanna knew, more sober than ever before, that Nao had never been a threat. Not Joe or Kai, either. They were just distractions, who ASU-NARO pointed her at like a rabid attack dog, trained well.
“Well,” Shin said. “Guess it’s time to go.”
“N-No,” Kanna whispered, clammy fingers fiddling with her scarf. “I can’t accept that.”
“Kanna?”
“Next… is Shin Tsukimi,” Safalin called, and her efforts doubled.
“Back up,” came Q-taro’s voice, cold and hateful, ringing low baritone. “Now.”
“G-Gashu’s pistol?” Safalin asked, and Kanna didn’t care enough to look over. If the baseballer was buying her time, then she would give him everything she owned.
“I’ll shoot you dead, woman,” the giant growled. “You kill that man, and you’ll be joinin’ him in the daisy-pushers’ club.”
“You’re wasting your efforts, Q-taro. Nothing will change, no matter my fate.”
A step of a high-heel. The click of an empty barrel.
“Wha…?” Q-taro swallowed. “Jus’ one bullet!? Right from the start, he…!?”
“Do you see? It’s sad, but we’ve never been friends, Q-taro. Not even aquaintances. You have your role, and I have mine.”
Kanna found it, even as it slipped in her damp grip. “Look up,” she pleaded.
“What are you-?”
“Look up!”
Shin obeyed, a befuddled expression on his face.
But it didn’t fit. His collar stayed.
Of course, Kanna thought as her expression crumbled. Of course the generosity she received could never be shared. Each collar fit a different throat, hers the smallest of all.
Helplessly, she cupped Shin’s face. “I, I…” There was one last thing she could give to him, but what peace would it bring? “Shin, you- we… You’re my… I- I never meant-!”
“Kanna,” he murmured, grabbing her hands in his own and pulling them away from his face. He gripped them tightly, as if afraid she’d disintegrate, or maybe that he, himself, would. “I understand. You got that? Beat yourself up about this, and you’ll really tick me off.”
“You moron,” she sobbed. “I can’t promise that.”
“I know.” He raised his head, looking over the five remaining faces. “Hey, everybody… Sorry about causing all that trouble. Take care of her for me, okay? I won’t ever forgive you if she gets hurt.”
“Shin…” Sara called helplessly, a defeated slump to her posture.
“Activating,” Safalin said, and Kanna was burning, “collar device: Bloodletting.”
Shin gagged at once, clutching his throat with one hand, and pushing Kanna away with the other. “Th-This…” he rasped, like he was speaking with two separate tongues.
“Incisions have been made in key locations around your throat. May the blood of the chosen one bless the coming trials of his fellows…”
Kanna backed away, watching like another helpless face in the crowd as Shin collapsed to his knees, retching. His meager strength quickly faded as his chest heaved painfully.
“I don’t wanna watch, mew,” Gin bemoaned. “There was really no way around this…?”
“Sh-Shin…” Kanna staggered forwards, feeling her brother’s chest rise and fall weakly as blood cascaded down his frame, staining his neck, clothes, and her hands in equal measure.
“K- K-” he attempted, but she knew it was pointless. He had said her name for the last time.
“Shin?” she whimpered. Why did it burn? When Sister had died, it had been colder than the grave, like dirt had been shoveled into her stomach, and she could never make room for anything else, the soil filling it completely.
Now, it was as though Shin’s blood had lit a fire in her veins, consuming her from the inside out.
She wanted to tell him that she was the sibling he had wanted to find, that his goal had been met. She wanted to tell him that she hated him before she could love him, and loved him before even that. She wanted to ask about their parents, if they treated him well, if they had a good, just reason to give up their daughter to that miserable orphanage, where her favorite hobby had been to trace the stains in the walls and ceilings, imagining faces and places in their stead.
She wanted to ask to take care of her sister, when he found her, because Kanna would never see her again, no matter how long she spent atoning for her sins.
But she couldn’t speak, her throat burning away, jaw melting and unhinging and falling loose.
Shin pawed weakly at her hand with his own, and she held it in two full fists, pressing her searing forehead against his freezing hand and hoping it was some small comfort; that he could parse even a glimpse of feeling from her.
But there wasn’t any magic spell for her to be able to tell. There wasn’t any perfect thing to say.
Shin’s grasp went slack.
“K-Kanna…?”
Hiyori stood, ramrod straight, fingers curling and uncurling and burning burning burning-
“Hey, are you still with us?”
Curling and uncurling and the blood was sticky and unclotted and it smelled like five yen coins.
“Bucket Weirdo?”
Kanna fled, the tails of her oversized, wrong-fitting scarf flailing behind her.
“Kanna…!” Sara said, stumbling frantically into the common room and spotting the girl sat upon the couch, head bent low enough to reach her knees.
“You…” she said blankly, setting Sara’s nerves on edge, “sure are quick to change how you address me.”
“I- I…” Sara swallowed, unsure if anything she said could set the younger girl off. “I’m sorry. I’ll still call you Hiyori, if you want.”
“It’s fine. Do whatever you want. That’s what you’d do anyway.”
“That’s not true, K- Hiyori,” she said, trying to convey her honesty with everything she had. “I’m sorry. Shin- he…”
“I want to hate you,” the girl breathed, as light as snow, hands trembling in undersized fists. Sara could probably fit both of them in one of her own. “I want to hate you so badly… but I can’t do it. I understand.”
“About Shin,” Sara risked. “I didn’t want him to die, but…”
“But my death would have been bad for you, huh? Because you want to escape?” Kanna - Hiyori - raised her head finally, cold, bloodshot eyes meeting hers. “That’s exactly what I thought when I slipped Joe the Sacrifice; when I framed Kai. Ugly urges I never thought I could really act upon. But it was easy, even if I was nervous and scared. Actually doing it was so easy. It’s living with it afterwards that’s so hard.” Hiyori leaned back on the couch, laying flat and dirtying the armrest with her shoes.
“I hope you’re ready for that, Sara.”
“... What,” Sara began, lost for an answer, “what are you doing in here, anyway? If you wanted to be alone, wouldn’t your room be better?”
“I don’t want to go in there,” the response came, and the tear-rasped vehemence of the tone told Sara she had touched a sore spot.
She winced. “S-Sorry…”
“... I was in Safalin’s lab. She has a machine in there that’s supposed to take away all your bad memories.”
“K- H-Hiyori!?” Sara hissed, remembering at once Safalin’s insistence that she had ‘cured despair.’ Like she could ever forget anything about Joe.
“I didn’t go through with it. If Kanna got rid of all the bad memories, she’d have nothing left of Shin. That seems worse than watching him die over and over again, somehow.”
“I’m sorry, Kanna. I really am. I won’t patronize you by saying I understand, but… I just wanted you to know that. It was never about an eye for an eye.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Hiyori - Kanna? -said, rolling over. “If Kanna goes blind, it just means she won’t have to see any more horrible things. That sounds nice.”
Sara remembered all at once that even if she and Joe had been only high schoolers, Kanna Kizuchi had been even younger.
‘Looking for villains,’ she remembered, ‘is just dumb.’
Kanna often had an uncomfortable dream. Sat in the sun with her hat removed, sweating and miserable under the heat.
Cars passed like bullets in a firefight, doppling loud like mosquitos in her ears.
Mother and father sit next to her, drinking lemonade and cola with mouths that drip away in gooey flesh, mixing with the fluids.
Sister is staring, dark, gentle eyes glistening with longing. A fractured, enormous glass structure is across the road, in the shape of a wedding chapel or an ice cream parlor or a hospital.
Kanna tries to ask her to stay. Her tongue melts against her lips. She puts a finger to it, coming away sticky with peachy syrup, more and more droplets pouring upon her quivering hand, dripping down and down until her vision scatters in all directions at once from her gelatinous pupils.
Sister frowns with properly formed lips, saying nothing.
Dark monoliths rise to cover the sun. The land grows cold, but does not frost.
Then she is shoveling dirt into an empty grave; pale, skinny hands ill suited for the task, wrapping tightly around a splintered handle.
Hiyori, the true Hiyori, leans down and offers her a cup of tea that she knows to be scalding hot, and that she knows the contents of will not reach her throat.
Her chest rises and falls and rise and falls and she wakes up, either covered in sweat with a stabbing pain in her chest or unfeeling, choking until the cold guilt of no emotion at all in the low hum of her room’s air conditioning, feet away from a spot as empty as that grave.
A girl called Hiyori by her fellows woke up on a comfortable, unfamiliar couch, aching in jagged hotspots spanning every second bone in her body.
But Hiyori had vanished in the night, yet again, matching a girl named Kanna’s lost siblings.
The room was quiet and the fireplace crackled. The lost girl nestled wordlessly into the blanket covering her (where had that come from?), watching the flames flicker, one and twice and three times, chest filled to burst with the very soot.
