~Y/n pov~

"It's... starting all over again..." Kanna cried.

"You... What's the transgression Miley mentioned?!" Alice's voice boomed.

Gashu acted clueless, "Transgression? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Understand that if there truly is a transgression, it should become clear in your discussion. Supposing one is discovered, it will be addressed."

Alice growled, "Don't mock us, would you?! You're the one deciding what counts as one, surely?!"

"Maybe we should get Safalin to make sure you don't do anything weird..." I suggested.

"Very well, if that will satisfy you."

"Please... Be our impartial judge." Keiji said to Safalin.

"Now then, let the second Main Game..." Gashu's announced.

~*~

An extremely heavy air dominates the space. Everyone was silent.

Shin was the first to break the silence, "...Keeping quiet's only making time pass, guys. Let's at least decide our fate by our own hand, okay?"

"Aah... sniff..." Kanna whimpered

"It's okay. We've walked this road before, haven't we?" Shin smiled softly at Kanna.

"Then an' now... It's totally different...! / We're allies by now!! We've spent way more time together...!!"    Q-taro exclaimed.

"Then will you die?" Keiji stared at him.

Q-taro fell into a stunned silence.

Keiji continued, "Let's find our resolve. You said that in the first Main Game, right, Q-taro?"

"Everyone, the card designs have been displayed in the rulebook this time. So be aware that you cannot judge using knowledge of the designs as in the first Main Game. Well then. Please spend this cruel and dense time to your heart's content." Gashu quietly sat down in a chair. And... once again... the Main Game began.

~*~

"First, let's discuss to get four candidates. Who should survive, and who can die..." Keiji started the first discussion.

"Hmph... Keiji Shinogi... Are you a fool or what? Have you forgotten that unlike the first Main Game, there have been many card trades? There's no need for worthless suspicion. We can reason out the Sacrifice and Keymaster." Alice huffed.

Keiji sighed, "...If everyone speaks honestly."

"For how much you talk of allies, are you not being rather suspicious...?" Alice remarked.

"At the very least, the Sacrifice can't tell the truth, now can they? So it's fine to start with finding four candidates." Keiji explained.

Shin nodded, "Uh-huh. Because those who aren't candidates can be honest."

"Yep. And also, if we prove what everyone's cards are right now... Voting... is gonna be hell..." Keiji placed his hand on his neck "It'll be pure blame-throwing. "That guy should die," "this guy should die"...  It'll be cruel, and leave no trace of any bonds we've got."

Alice looked away, "I get it. Very well. If it'll protect your pitiful bonds, then I suppose I'll go along with this. And thus, allow me to say... Sou Hiyori!! You are the most suspicious of all!!"

"Huh...?" Shin faked a look of shock.

"Please, wait! Sou has contributed so much to helping us escape!" Kanna cried.

I stayed silent, wanting to see how it played out before intervening.

"...Yet it doesn't change that he can't be trusted. Everything from his history on is unclear! Unless you yourself speak your true colors, I will continue to..."

Shin cut him off, "Then I'm fine being the first candidate."

Alice was silent.

"After all, I.....am the Sacrifice." Shin confessed.

"What's that about?! Were you listening?! Talking about roles is for later...!" Alice shouted, this voice getting quieter at the end.

"Was there a rule against confessing your own?" Shin smiled.

"So I see..." Keiji murmured.

"Sorry, Keiji. I just didn't feel comfy letting you take the initiative. I know! I'll nominate the next suspicious person! How about that?" Shin smiled again.

Sara panicked , "You can't! An approach where whoever's chosen nominates the next person is just...!"

"Huh? Are you panicking, miss Sara?" Shin provoked.

"I'm not panicking...!" She lied.

"I nominate Kanna."

"Eh...?!"

My eyes widened in shock....he's got a plan, however I'm not sure what it is. All I can deduce is it's pretty risky.

"Everyone should already understand this. She's easily tricked, timid, and lacks ability. What does she even have besides sympathy?" Shin insulted Kanna.

The green haired girl was silent.

"Wasn't it you who tricked and used her?!" Alice yelled.

"...So, you're giving Kanna time to vindicate herself." Keiji commented.

This confused Shin, "Huh?"

"Sure thing. Let's have a discussion about Kanna's actions during the Death Game. So that we can trust her." Keiji nodded to himself.

"Kanna Kizuchi typically acted with him... Only Sou Hiyori can prove her actions." His eyes darted to me, "Y/n L/n was also there. Do you know something?"

Shin grinned, "Let's see... Kanna was dead weight the whole time. What a hindrance..."

"Hin... drance...?"

I decided to play along, "Oh yeah. She was just dragging us down. I didn't want her to feel bad so I made her think she was useful."

Kanna let out a small cry.

"Hmm... Kanna looks like she's pretty shocked to hear that." Keiji stated.

Kanna stared at me with glossy eyes.

'Play along.' I mouthed to her.

She sniffled slightly before nodding.

~*~

"Kanna... At first, she just holed up in Sou's room."
Q-taro started, "Though... Later in the trading phase... Did seem like she was acting alone."

"Is that true?" Sara questioned.

Q-taro crossed his arms, "But well, through said latter half... I was knocked out, so I hardly got a clue."

~*~

Kanna finally retorted, "Kanna... Kanna...!! She isn't a hindrance at all!! Sou's saying mean things just because he can do hacking, but... Wasn't Kanna the one who did hacking first?!"

"Eh...?"

"Ah..." Kanna jumped.

"H-Hold yer horses!! How d'you mean that?!" Q-taro exclaimed.

"Ermm... u-um..."

"...Sheesh. You never make yourself clear." Shin pulled his scarf up.

"Speak in a little more detail, if you can." Alice told Kanna.

"Kanna... did some hacking way before Sou did any of his hacking!" She exclaimed.

"Err... what kind of hacking was it?" Keiji asked curiously.

"I figured out a password... Breaking into someone else's things... That's called hacking, right?" Kanna's tone became more question at the end.

"Does this mean Kanna is adept with computers too...?!" Nao exclaimed.

"You can't call something like that hacking. ...Don't misuse words you only just learned." Shin sighed.

Kanna ignored him and began to explain, "Sou had been fretting about it since yesterday. He was going "I don't know the password!" taking his beanie off and putting it on... Suddenly, I looked at Sou's hands, and was struck by how clean he kept them even in these circumstances... And then, I had an epiphany. That there might be traces from the password being typed... So I figured out the password from finger marks left on the keys."

"No. Kanna obviously isn't smart enough to do that. She just watched me guess the password." I cut in.

"Eh?" Sara asked.

Shin nodded, "It's really concerning. We don't have much time for discussion..."

"Then how about you explain everything yourself, Sou?" Sara interjected.

"Ahaha, I am explaining. ...Explaining what a useless girl Kanna is." Shin laughed.

~*~

"Um... Kanna, could it be that you didn't use the laptop to hack... But rather, you solved the password for the laptop itself?" Nao asked.

Kanna thought for a few seconds before answering, "...Yes."

"When did you solve the password?" Sara asked.

"It was before the trading phase began."

"Hold on a sec!!" Q-taro exclaimed, " Don'tcha think that sounds funny, Sara?!"

"...That it does. It's unusual. Because we thought Sou shared the laptop so that he could learn the password from us." Sara said.

"Then there was no reason to join forces...?!"

"That's wrong! Sou wanted an opportunity to reconcile with everyone..." Kanna smiled lightly.

"Kanna... Sorry to say, but there was another reason." Keiji cut in.

"Eh...?"

"Sou, you were trying to look inside the "Sara" folder on the laptop, weren't you?" Keiji hit the nail on the head.

Sara jumped, "To look in the "Sara" folder on the laptop...!"

"Yep... That's gotta be it." Keiji placed his hand on his neck, "The "Sara" folder had a separate password, which was the name of Sara's mother."

"Y... You gotta be kiddin'!! Sou!! You accepted my deal without sayin' nothin' about this?!"

Shin laughed, "Ahaha... What of it?"

"Why, you...!!"

"Hold on a second! What deal is this?!"

"Ahaha... Don't sweat it. It's just between us."

"I don't think so. I thought it was strange from the get-go... But it seems there was a deal going on behind the sharing of the laptop."

~*~

"The two talked to each other, separated by Sou's bedroom door... Kanna and Y/n heard it too...Sou said "That's not a bad deal"... And he also said "Maybe we'll reconcile"... So Kanna got really happy..."

"Kanna's not lying, I was there too." I commented.

"I mean... I had a responsibility, y'know. When the token-gathering Sub-Game started, I... I gathered more tokens than anybody to survive. Even the laptop I'd managed to get my hands on... I handed it over in exchange for Sou's tokens... I was possessed by the need for tokens back then, y'hear...?!" Q-taro reasoned.

"Is that really the only reason...?"

"O... Obviously... You think Sou blackmailed me or something? There ain't nothin'..."

"I didn't intend to hear him out, but Q-taro was so serious, I just couldn't turn him down. ...And it turned out to be a good trade."

Sara stared him down.

Shin chuckled nervously, "Don't give me that scary look. You benefited from getting to see the laptop for free, right, miss Sara?"

~*~

"There's... this video I've been curious about. So there's a certain someone I suspect a little..." Nao mentioned, "Actually, this video... When I first watched it, I was too scared to look... So I used the fake Professor Mishima's monitor to play it again."

"What sort of video was this?" Sara asked.

"U-Umm... well... It's possible it was just faked, right...? So I don't want to say anything irresponsible..."

"I won't know unless you tell me."

"W-Well, look... It's that video I watched with you before, Sara..."

Sara seemed to know what she was talking about.

Gin spoke up, "Actually, while I was searching the dark first floor, I saw a weird video, meow..."

No one said anything so he continued, "There was a guy with glasses... and something like an axe swung at his head... T-Then he... said big sis Sara's name...Of course, I don't suspect you or anything, meow!! I got scared and left the room right away, but... I'm sure that was a victim video, meow...I got scared and left the room right away, but... I'm sure that was a victim video, meow...Woof... Did you see something similar, big sis Sara?"

"Nao, you're talking about this victim video, aren't you?" Sara concluded.

"..Yes. That's exactly right." Nao exclaimed, "There was a woman tied up by chains... And this terrifying device started up...! And just like that... the woman died...!! And... there was a man in front laughing... From behind, he... He looked like... the policeman...!!"

Keiji looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"To me... it looked like he left the woman to die..." Nao continued.

"...Huh. A shocking story..." Shin mocked.

"But...! It could always be a forgery!"

"Then why don't we ask? Keiji, is that video real? Or do you deny it? ...I'm doubting you so we can believe you." I grinned mischievously.

Keiji fell silent.

~*~

"Please... tell us everything, Keiji." Sara demanded.

"The video... is real. The victim video that Nao saw... And it... was also my First Trial... The woman's name... was Megumi Sasahara. She was my boss ever since I joined the force."

~*~

"I'm Keiji Shinogi. I've been assigned here starting this week. It's good to meet you."

"Good to meet you too. I'm Megumi Sasahara. ...I suppose this makes me your trainer."

"Well, well... Pretty impressive for your age, Shinogi."

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

"...But you might be a bit too serious. Even if you have stamina, you have to think about how to spend it, or it won't last."

" Um... I heard you were rather elite, Miss Megumi. Why would you, err... serve as a trainer for the likes of me?"

"Heehee... I wonder, indeed. ...I have high hopes for you."

"Yes, ma'am."

"But... then came the day of my nightmares... I... shot a person. The criminal in a certain case..."

"Miss Megumi..."

"...What?"

"Why am I... not being punished...?! I've...!! I've killed a person...!!"

"In self-defense, yes."

"But.. the criminal wasn't even holding a weapon!!"

"...That's just what the law says. You've done nothing wrong."

"Miss Megumi... I heard you made a backroom deal...!"

"...So what?"

"...Get back to your duty. You're police."

~*~

"Wahaha... She's the benefactor who protected me.
I'll never forget it. I owed her the worst kind of debt... Left her to die...? No... I... But... I killed her... Megumi..." Keiji forced out a laugh.

"Mr. Policeman...! Get a hold of yourself, meow!!"

"...Sorry for keeping quiet, everyone. Truth is, your friendly policeman's not a policeman anymore......If you vote for me, I won't complain."

"No...!!" Sara yelled.

"Umm... Everyone... Speaking of voting, I think it's about time to decide... Who you'll vote for, and which four should enter the final vote..." Safalin announced.

"No way!! That was way too quick...!" Sara complained.

"Well... You need time to work out the card trades this time, you see..."

"Precisely. Choosing a victim without a satisfactory discussion is not an outcome we desire either."

"Then what to do...? Q-taro, Sou, Keiji... I can't rightly say you're not suspicious..." Alice commented.

"H-Hold up! Don't we need one more person, though?!"

"We gotta suspect someone again, woof? Sniffle... Then... maybe it's better to think of who to leave out from the final vote, meow..."

~*~

Time is up. Please select the four who will remain for the final vote. Enter your votes, please.

Keiji - 3 votes
Kanna - 2 votes
Sou - 3 votes
Nao - 2 votes

Somehow, I made it so no one voted for me....though who voted for Nao?

~*~

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2376 words

A/n the main games take so long to edit