"No Nao, huh... Seems the second floor was a bust." Keiji crosses his arms. Sara and I are holding Gin's hands and I'm carrying his plushie who he told me is called Mew-Chan.

Gin is spacing out a lot, he needs a while. "Well, not exactly. We found Gin after all. We also have two more rooms to search." I point out. "That's true." Keiji admits. "Do you two think Nao is safe?" Sara asks. "Jeez, I hope so..." I sigh. "If she's on the first floor, then I'd guess so. Probably... But her heart's gonna need mending." Keiji rubs his neck. Sara looks like she's had a eureka moment. "Come to think of it, you also said...there was someone you looked up to."

She's right!

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" I look to Keiji, now curious as fuck. "...Did I say that?" Keiji awkwardly plays with the band of his collar. "Yes." Sara and I say in unison. Keiji looks at us weirdly for a second before chuckling at our similar mindset.

He doesn't answer the question though and just looks away.

"Do you not want to talk about it? You don't have to if you don't wanna. We just want to know more about you." I explain. Keiji laughs and pats my head. "Hahaha! You're really as sharp as a tack." He says. I narrow my eyes at him. "Thanks...? I'm not a dog, ya know... I like this, though." I crack a smile. Sara gives Keiji a serious look. "(F/n) is telling the truth. We wanna know more about you, Keiji. I wanna know more about you." She says. Keiji fiddles with his collar again and looks away. "Huh, now that's strange..." Sara crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow at him. "Trying to evade the question again?"

Daaaaamn Sara

"Ooooohhh she caught you red handed bruh..." I point to him. Keiji looks pretty shocked. That shocked expression turns into one of admiration, though. "Wahah... Got it. I'll do this." Keiji holds out his hand in front of us. "If we survive this Main Game thing, I'll tell you two."

Well that's...unexpected...

Sara makes a surprised noise. I hand Mew-Chan back to Gin and shake Keiji's hand. "You got yourself a deal, sir." I give him a nod. As I step back, I see Sara is looking down while holding Gin's hand. "So you're saying...we're really going to do the Main Game...?"

The realization hit like a wave.

Some of us could really die in who knows how long.

Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks?

How long will we even be here!?

Will we starve to death!?

...

Will I...die here?

I start breathing heavily. Keiji puts a comforting hand on my shoulder and I try to calm down by listening to his voice. "Doubt it'd be easy to avoid. These people aren't gonna allow that. And once it begins... Everyone'll be serious." There's a moment of silence before Keiji laughs dryly. "And myself... I don't wanna die either." I try to steady my breathing. "No one...wants to die..." I simply say. "I'd...hate to die too." Sara mumbles.

It's moments like these that make me happy Gin's zoning out and not listening to this conversation...

"Like (F/n) said, nobody wants to die... It'll be an ugly struggle, that's for sure... Maybe we'll all come to hate each other." Keiji sighs. I turn my head to look at him. "I don't want you to die Keiji! I wouldn't even want my enemy to die if I had a choice!" I tell him. He smiles and ruffles my hair. It calms me down a bit. "But if you two survive, regardless, and you're still curious about me... I'll be fine with telling you two and you two alone."

That leaves Sara and I speechless.

"I'll definitely...look for a way to sidestep the Main Game." Sara has a determined look on her face. I clap my face a bit to snap myself out of my miserable state. "And I'll help in any way I can." I tell them. Keiji nods. "Right... Just be ready." He looks to me. "Especially you." I stare at him for a couple seconds before smiling gently. "...Ok..." He pats my back and I step away.

I grab Mew-Chan and Gin's hand again. Sara leads the way into the "Mir" room. It's a creepy room with a wall in the middle. It's got two sides that look similar but have a coupl differences in them. "Oh I know what this room is! It's a mirror puzzle! We have to make the sides look identical." I tell them and let go of Gin. "I'll be right back, stay here." I hand Gin Mew-Chan and go downstairs into the Red Room to get the painting from it.

Surprisingly, I didn't see anyone on my way to and from the Red Room.

I walk back into the "Mir" room with the painting and hand it to Keiji. "Put it on the empty space over there." I instruct him. He does as I said and puts the painting on the wall. "See? It's a mirror puzzle." I tell them. Sara nods. "I see... Let's do this puzzle later then. We still have to look for Nao." She says. "Point taken." I admit and we head out of the "Mir" room.

We walk into the yellow "Sp" room. It's another spring! It doesn't have any water, though. "Hey, it's another one of those penguin looking things." I point out.

"I'm not a penguin..."

"Aaaaaand I'm out." I do a 180° turn and point to the door. "Agreed." Sara says. "Yep..." Keiji adds.

We get the fuck outta that room.

"Alright, let's see if Joe had any luck with the 'Nao hunt'." I propose. "Lead the way." Sara says. "Me? Guess we're changing things up." I laugh and Sara rolls her eyes. We walk down the stairs.

The Central Hall is pitch black.

You can see some faint neon blue in between the tiles which helps a little. At least you can see where the halls are...barely...

"Okay what the fuck happened to the lights?" I say and I feel Gin grab my hand and hand me Mew-Chan. I think he's finally snapping out of his traumatized state. "That's strange..." Sara mumbles as she tries to see in the dark. "Where to?" I ask. "Let's try the Bar." Sara says. "You got it, chief." I jokingly salute her. I lead the way to the Bar sinse I can see the best in the dark thanks to all the wandering around at night I do. Gin is holding my hand, I'm holding Mew-Chan, Sara is holding my arm and Keiji keeps close to us.

It feels kinda weird. But hey, I'm their guide around the dark now I guess.

We walk into the Bar finally.

...

It's empty.

"Well, shit. Where to next?" I ask Sara. "Let's try the Blue and Red Rooms." She suggests. I lead them all the way there. We check the Red Room. Surprisingly, it's still lit up in here. All thanks to the candle. I get Sara's hand off me and walk up to it. I grab it. "This should help. Gin, sweetie, you'll have to hold Mew-Chan now. I need a free hand for the candle." Gin just nods as I hand him his plushie. "You can grab back on." I offer and Sara complies. We walk out.

The candle is barely doing anything but it's still an improvement.

We check out the Blue Room. It's also lit up, but this time thanks to the electricity. "Weird... I guess it's not a power outage..." I mumble.

The kidnappers wouldn't allow that to happen, I'm pretty sure.

"Where to, Sara?" I ask. "Pink Room...?" Sara more asks then suggests. "Works for me." I shrug and lead the way.

The Pink Room is also empty.

"Where the hell is everybody!?" I shout, flabbergasted. "They couldn't have just up and vanished." I scratch my neck. "Let's check out the Hidden Room. It's the last one to check." Sara says. "Alright..." I sigh. We walk into the Hidden Room.

There's someone laying on the ground there!!

"Oh my God!" I let go of Gin's hand and get Sara's off me. I run over to the body and check who it is.

"Sou!?" Sara and I yell. I shake him a bit. "Sou! Can you hear me!?"

Nothing

Gin starts shivering and leans against Sara while hugging Mew-Chan. "...Ahhh..." He whimpers. Keiji walks over to Sou's body and flips him onto his back. He checks for a pulse and breathing. "...It's okay, he's breathing. Hey, get a hold of yourself." Keiji rubs my shoulder and I try to calm down. "He's...limp..." I simply say before standing up and walking over to Sara. "Check the surroundings, you two." Keiji instructs. I only nod. "R...Right!" Sara says. Keiji looks to Gin. "Gin, could you look outside the room with me?" The boy doesn't say anything, he just nods and walks out. Keiji follows him.

I try to steady my breathing while Sara walks up to the desk and gasps. "The laptop is gone!" She says. "What!?" I screech out and run up to her. She looks underneath the desk and I follow. Sara is about to look away but I see something so I grab her hand. "Hold on...you see that?" I ask. I reach towards the back of the desk where there's a familiar faint, green glow. I pull it towards us.

It's...a similar card to the one we found earlier!

I flip it.

"Sacrifice...?" I mumble out.

Clear as day, the word on the card read Sacrifice. There's a purplish-blue skull on it.

Not comforting...

"Sara. (F/n)." We hear from behind us.

Sara snatched the card from me and put it back before I could react.

I turned around.

Sou is there...smiling...

Staring at us...with dead...fish-like eyes...

....

You know how you get so scared, you can't even scream...?

This is it.

I feel tears spill from my eyes.

"S...Sou...! You've come to!" Sara says nervously.

I feel my heart thumping like never before.

"Ugh...!!" Suddenly Sou grunts, grabs his head and turns away... I also hear the door open and Keiji walk in, Gin trailing behind him.

I just keep watching Sou. "Oww... Did I pass out...?" He asks.

I can't even speak. I actually thought he was about to hurt me. I can't snap out of this!

"You got whacked in the back of the head. Doesn't seem to have caused bleeding, though." Keiji informs him. "That's awful... Who would do that...?" Sou asks. "Ack... I've been had! The laptop's gone..." He complains. "It must have been stolen... Did you see what was on it?" Sara asks. "...I didn't figure anything out. Not the password...or what data was on it..." Sou admits.

It's a good thing he's too concerned with his head to notice my expression. That goes for everyone in this room. They don't even notice my face.

"Oh well... It must've been inconvenient for somebody. So somebody used the confusion to steal it." Keiji shrugs. "Somebody...on the first floor." He adds.

Sara finally looks my way and sees what a mess I am. "(F/n)! (F/n), are you okay?" She covers my view of Sou and his of me which causes me to snap out of it. I try to move my mouth uselessly, but no words come out. Sara wipes my eyes with a tissue she remembered was in my pocket and helps me stand up. She hugs me and moves on with the conversation so no one asks about me.

"Let's find Nao first." She suggests. "...Hold up. Joe's searching the first floor. We shouldn't be hasty just yet. We'll round everyone up... We should take the time to sort things out." Keiji says.

I wonder if he's going to question my state?

He just casts me a brief glance before stepping outside the room.

Guess not...?

Or maybe he's saving the question for later...?

You never know with this dude!

It's silent for a while but then Sou speaks up which causes me to flinch, cling to Sara and stare away from him. "Hey, miss Sara... Were you and miss (F/n)...looking at something earlier?"

I can only assume he's got the creepiest fucking expression on his face right now.

I hear Sara swallow quietly. "...No, we weren't looking at anything. We were just searching for the laptop." The lie she says sounds convincing enough but if Sou heard me mumble the word Sacrifice, it's over.

"...Huh, I see." He sounds...cheery... I think he's seen through her lie and he's just pretending to believe her. Yikes.

I pull away from Sara and walk up to the door to grab Gin's hand. "...Let's go to the others." I whisper. Sara runs up to me and grabs my other hand. She give me a comforting squeeze. I squeeze back as a habit but my emotionless expression doesn't change.

We join up with Keiji and Sara leads the way to the cafeteria, I hear Sou following behind us with Keiji.

God, I don't want him here! He terrifies me!

I try to compose myself and I also notice the lights are back on.

We keep walking as I take in deep breaths. I need to stay strong. We walk into the cafeteria. "Oh, miss Sara and company." I hear a voice on our right. It's Kai! "K...Kai!" Sara exclaims. "Yes, I am Kai." He looks over at me. If he noticed my red eyes then he's doing a good job not bringing it up. "...Is something the matter?" He asks simply. "We were just talking about all meeting up." Keiji tells him. "Come to think of it, Joe was saying to come gather in the bar." Kai informs us.

Wait what?

I tilt my head in confusion and Keiji just does a curious "Huh...". Kai clears his throat. "The lights are restored, so at last I can move. Shall we all go together?" He asks. "Sure, dude. More the merrier." I give him a small smile. Sara begins to lead all of us towards the bar.

I'm slowly but surely going back to my normal self. I just have to remember to never be alone in a room with Sou again because I do not trust that fucker as far as I can throw him!

We walk into the bar and Joe immediately runs up to us. "Sara! (F/n)!" I breathe out a sigh of relief. "Joe!" I smile and he gives me his signature grin.

I feel so much better already.

Sara gives him a hug. "Joe! Did you found Nao!?" She asks as she pulls away. "S...She wasn't on the second floor!?" Joe asks as he holds Sara in his arms. "Ya mean she's up and vanished!?" Q-taro exclaims.

Oh you good sir are gonna feel my wrath.

"Q-taro! You were supposed to watch the stairs! Where the hell were you?" I walk up to him and cross my arms. "...Oh no..." Kanna mumbles, probably not wanting a fight to happen. "Just what is going on...?" Kai questions.

Of course, Keiji steps in the middle of all of us and gets our attention. "Err, well... Now everybody calm down..." He holds his hands out. "Well can Q-taro at least explain what he was doing that made him leave the stairs?" I ask while staring down Q-taro. He actually looks kinda panicked to my surprise. "...Erm. Who is the person tied up there?" Everyone looks at Kai who's pointing at the man Sara and I found with his ladle.

He's conscious!

"Hmph, such an annoying bunch..."

He looks AND sounds pissed.

G r e a t

Now I'm able to get a better look at him. He has blue, yellow and pink hair along with pink eyes and a prisoner looking outfit. He's also got a ball and chain tied to one of his wrists.

An interesting character for sure.

"You all...plus this "Nao" makes everyone, right?" The man in stripes asks. Sara makes a surprised noise as she hears him speak. "Hey, ya woke up." Keiji comments. "To answer your question... From what we know? Yeah, that's everyone." I awkwardly input. The man fidgets in the ropes he's tied in but still grins. "...Remove these ropes. So long as you don't want me to crush you..." My eyes widen and I cross my arms. "Now that's just rude." I say, already annoyed.

I can tell he's gonna be difficult to work with.

"This guy's...a little riotous. That's troublesome..." Joe mutters to Sara and I. Nobody says anything for a while. "Heh... All chicken, are you...?" The man chuckles. I feel Sara grab my shoulder and we step up closer to the guy. "Um... Do you have a second?" She asks. "He's kinda tied up Sara..." I point out.

Before Sara can react, the man start staring at her suspiciously. "Hm...? You..." Suddenly his expression grows fearful and he backs up even farther into the wall behind him.

"Eee... EYAAAAAAAAGH!"

Well that was out of nowhere!

I put my hands out. "Whoa! What is it?" I ask. He keeps panicking as he looks at Sara. "Why is SHE walking around freely!? Hurry, hurry! Somebody capture her!!"

Okay am I missing something? I feel like I missed an episode... Also, do these two know each other? Sara doesn't seem to know this guy!

"W...What's this all'a sudden!?" Q-taro asks. "I know! Oh yes I do! This girl is bad news!" The stripes guy warns. "C...Calm down! Could you start at the begining?" Sou asks. He looks more curious than confused. "...And could you drop that weird tone of yours?" Reko scoffs.

That's when I notice she's holding my hoodie! Reko's the best! I'll get it back from her in a second though.

To everyone's surprise, the guy seems to listen to Reko. He goes back to his cocky, arrogant demeanor. "Hmph... Look at me, getting so disconcerted." Q-taro huffs. "Is this guy playin'a joke on us...?" I think almost everyone is getting frustrated with this guy. One of them is Keiji. "Listen, we don't have time to spend on you. But...I'll allow a little time for inquiries. We'll decide whether to untie you after that." Keiji rubs the bridge of his nose as if it'll stop a headache from forming. "Say again...!? Hmph...! Do not try to act superior, blonde rascal!"

This new guy is able to change personalities quicker than I can get into a new fandom, I swear.

"Oooh, scary. You two handle the questioning." Keiji looks at Sara and I. "Whaaaaaat!?" Sara and I screech out on surprise. "We're doing that too!?" She asks. "Why do you think that's a good idea!?" I make wild hand gestures from how confused I am. "Mr Policeman's shakin' over here." Keiji says sarcastically. "Damnit, Keiji..." I sigh. He laughs and ruffles my pats my head. "Talk to me when you two are ready."

Sara and I step back. "Soooo...what do ya think?" I ask. Sara shrugs. "Good cop, bad cop?" She asks jokingly and I snort. "Nice pun. I'll take good cop." I tell her. Sara giggles. "Okay, bad cop it is for me." Reko walks over to us and hands me my hoodie. "Here. I got it back as promised." She grins. I put it on and give her a hug. "Thanks, Reko." She gives me a nod and a smile before walking away. 

Sara and I step up to Keiji. "You two ready?" He asks. We nod. "Okie-dokie. Then we'll begin."

[QUESTIONING]

We step up to the striped guy with straight faces and keep our hands by our sides.

The man stares us down. "Just so it's clear, us three are equals. Don't think I'll obediently listen to you." I sit down cross-legged on the ground and Sara crouches down with a confident air about her. "If you refuse to even talk... I have no obligation to untie you." She says matter of factly. "W...Wait...! They're really chafing me! These ropes...!"

The guy tries to go back to his cocky and cool demeanor but it doesn't really work. "I get it... I'll tell you a little..." 

Well that was easier than I thought it'd be!

I nod at him and place my head against my palms. "Can you tell us your name?" I ask. "...It's proper for you to give your names first." He retorts. "Alright. My name is (F/n) (L/n), call me (F/n), and this is Sara Chidouin." I point to her with my thumb. "Just Sara is fine." She adds. "And you're..." I motion for him to introduce himself. "...I am...Go...Gonbee Yamada...Call me Gonbee." I hear Q-taro snort behind us. "...'Swone old fashioned name." This sets Gonbee off. "As if yours isn't Cubetaro Hamburger!?"

I have to cover my mouth to not burst out laughing, but it's so difficult holy shit.

"That's Q-taro Burgerberg to you!!" Q-taro grits his teeth. I try to calm down until I'm only smiling. "What's your job, Gonbee?" I ask. "My occupation is...err...well. A salaryman." I tilt my head at him. "...Really now?" I ask, not buying it. Sara raises an eyebrow at him. "...Dressed like that?" As soon as he saw we weren't buying his very obvious lie, he started to get tense again. "Urk...!!" I put my hands on my knees. "Dude, you look like you just broke out of prison. Just tell the truth."

To my surprise he starts laughing.

"Fool... Japanese uniforms don't use this pattern! And the pajamas are vertically striped." He smirks at me as if I'm an idiot. I just give a blank stare as Sara scoots over to me and glares at Gonbee. "...You sure are knowledgeable on the subject." She comments threatingly. Gonbee starts to sweat yet look pissed off at once. "Why, you...! A trap!?" Kai walks up beside us and inspects Gonbee. "Hrm... This person seems quite tiring."

Wow. Even Kai is letting him have it!

"True, I was imprisoned for a somewhat long time after borrowing from people a bit too much..." Gonbee mutters. "...Larceny, then." Keiji confirms. "Surely even you've accidentally perma-borrowed a video game or two, right!? That said... I was doing my time diligently, as a model prisoner! And yet suddenly, I was brought to this place...!" Gonbee steadily becomes more and more angry as he speaks.

I need to calm him.

"Is there something you'd like to say or ask us?" I offer. "Untie these ropes quickly, pigfaces!" Gonbee growls. I feel my eyes widen and my feelings get shattered. That hurt... But now I'm pissed!

Sara hugs me in a way Gonbee can still see my face. I can hear Sara start sniffling. "So mean..." She mutters. I see Gonbee starts to grow panicked and unsure. "Oof... Crocodile tears, yes!? It's no use!" He curses under his breath. I glare at him. "I went too far...!" Gonbee panics.

Suddenly Sara lets go of me and rubs her face. "Then would you talk to us?" She asks. I look at her wide eyed. "I knew those were fake tears!! No I won't!!" Gonbee yells. I take a deep breath. "You did hurt my feelings but I'm willing to forgive you." I say but he just grunts in annoyance. I sigh.

Back to pacifying this dude...

"Please calm down, Gonbee." I put my hands up to show him I mean no harm. He narrows his eyes at me. "...I'm always calm." He says simply. "We're not your enemy here. Could we please stop arguing?" I ask.

Please let him say yes!

"Hmph... True, all it does is make us hungrier. Yet...I don't care for these methods. This is no equal conversation." Gonbee points out. Sara sighs and crosses her arms before standing up and staring down at Gonbee. "You want your ropes untied, right? You know what I'm trying to say, don't you?" She asks. The striped man laughs. "Hmph... A threat? I thought you meant no hostility?" Sara rolls her eyes and starts doing various hand gestures with her right hand as she talks. "Flip your thinking. If our positions were swapped, Gonbee, do you think you'd untie me?" She raises an eyebrow.

Gonbee turns nervous again and starts sweating.

"...Very well. I suppose I can tell you a little more..." He sighs. I turn to Sara. She sees me looking at her and kneels down. "What should I ask about now?" I whisper. "Try to ask both about whether he knows the kidnappers and why he hid in the locker." She whispers back. I nod at her and Sara nods back before standing up once more.

I turn back to Gonbee. "Why were you hiding in that locker in the first place?" I ask him. "When I awoke, I thought to myself... Yikes! This is a big yikes! ...Indeed."

I should use the word "yikes" more. It's funny.

"A speaker said something about a trial, but it was all foolish. I had already committed myself to hiding. I locked the red door and lay in wait for a long time! Just like a tiger...waiting for its prey...!! However... Several times, I did hear nearby sounds too dreadful for this world." He looks down at the ground.

Huh...now he's piqued my curiosity.

"What were they?" Sara asks. "...Don't try to feign innocence." Gonbee growls at Sara. "Huh...!?" Sara's superior facade drops as she reveals her confusion.

The fuck is he talking about?

"Just put a hand on your chest and think..." Gonbee chuckles. Sara and I share a confused look. "Ask the other question first." Sara instructs me. I nod. "What do you know about the kidnappers?" I ask. "Hmph...I have zero information. Before I was brought here... I had rare plans for a visitation. But when I entered the visiting room, no one came. By the time I started to find it odd, my senses were already fading." Gonbee sighs.

Damn...that's rough. Not only is he a prisoner, but he also got kidnapped!

Speaking of which, I didn't even know it was possible to kidnap a prisoner!

"Well, is there anything else you'd like to say or ask?" I question. Gonbee turns his head to Sara. "Sara Chidouin... How many have you laid hands on...?" Sara raises an eyebrow. "W-What do you mean?" Gonbee rolls his eyes. "I know your crimes... It's no use playing dumb."

God, his cocky attitude is really starting to piss me off. I can even see Sara's eye twitching, so she seems to feel the same way.

"You've talked some, but if you won't tell me the important parts, we can't untie you. Too bad." Sara shrugs. Gonbee starts thrashing in his spot. "Gah... Surely I've answered at least a few of your questions!" Sara pretends to think about it. "Then I'll cut just a little bit of your ropes." She says. "What's the point if they're not untied!?!? ...Grrrrrrrrrrh."

Okay this guy is getting really frustrated. I need to calm him.

"Gonbee, please calm down. It's not doing anyone any good." Gonbee gives me a weird look. "Whaaat?" Sara sighs and kneels down again. "I think you've made some mistake, Gonbee." He looks like he's offended but is trying to be chill about it. "Foolish... This perfection, mistaken...?" I rub my eyes. "Where? I don't see it..." I mutter so only Sara can hear me. She snorts but covers it up with a cough.

"That's right. It's because you're so perfect that it's easy to assume you're mistaken." Sara tries to have a straight face while saying this but it's not going well. "A blatant lie!! Don't belittle me!!" Gonbee yells at Sara. I think this makes something snap in Sara because she stands up, grabs her waist and grits her teeth. "This is going nowhere!! If you don't answer us properly, I'll do something terrible to you!!" She yells at Gonbee.

Wait what

Gonbee also seems to get freaked out.

"Oogh...! Something terrible...!?" I swear I heard him gulp. "I'll do...this!!" Sara reaches into her pocket but she doesn't have time to get anything out because Gonbee scoots away from Sara and closer to me as if he wants to run away. He's shivering like a leaf! "Do what...!?!? Don't tell me... You'll sh...shoot!!"

Oh my God...

He heard the gunshots from Russian Roulette!

He sees me looking at him in realization and shock so he changes his tune. He tries being logical. "Hold on!! Haste makes waste, y'know!?" He chuckles awkwardly before sighing and going back to his cocky demeanor, he's still sweating though. "...Hmph. I'll tell you. What you wish to know." With that Sara awkwardly nods at him and kneels down. "Sounds... What exactly did you hear?" She asks. As Gonbee is about to open his mouth I move over next to him. "You heard gunshots, didn't you?" I ask. He looks at me a bit shocked. "Yes... The sounds of a gunfight."

This fucking idiot thinks Sara is dangerous because of a misunderstanding!

"Say what!?" Q-taro shouts. "My ears caught it... 9 gunshots... As many as 9 people...died...!!" Gonbee says. I facepalm so hard my hand and head hurt. "You fucking idiot... Ow..." I mumble. Keiji chuckles from behind us. "What (F/n) is trying to tell you is that, that was Russian Roulette." He says. I see Sara's thoughts finally click. I snort. "Girl, you are slow. I figured out what the sounds where once he said you'd shoot him." Sara awkwardly rubs her neck as a faint pink appears on her cheeks.

Gonbee completely ignores my insult from earlier and continues telling his story. "I waited for the shots to cease, and opened the door to see the situation... And there she stood!! The killer wielding a gun...!! And she and her friend over here stubbornly chased me...!! Sara Chidouin!! It was you!!" Gonbee glares at Sara. Joe steps up towards us rubbing his forehead in confusion. "Err... So you were scared and hid, got in a panic because of the gunshots... Then saw Sara with the revolver, foamed at the mouth, and fainted?" He asks with a raised eyebrow. Gonbee looks at him wide eyed. "Don't give such a biased summary, guys!!"

Good Lord this guy's a moron. Well, not really but still.

"We're in the same situation. Will you help us?" Sara asks him. "...Did you hear what I said? Who would assist the likes of..." I cut this idiot off and stand up. "Okay, enough! I'll explain this whole misunderstanding to you, you dumbass." I pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance.

I then proceeded to tell him what has happened so far with all of us, including Russian Roulette.

His face is so confused and shocked it's priceless.

"Say again...!? All of this was a misunderstanding...caused by my too-superior insight!?" He asks flabbergasted. I go to correct him but sigh and give up. "Sure! Let's go with that!" I say, completely exhausted from dealing with this guy. Gonbee looks down. He's clearly embarrassed but trying to cover it up. "Understood. Untie me." I go to do just that but Keiji grabs me by the shoulders forcibly. "You gonna help us?" He asks. Gonbee just laughs. "Hahaha. You're all fools." I cross my arms, amused. "Pffft. Look who's talking." I say. He glares at me and proceeds to then ignore me.

Fucking rude.

"Who would assist someone they don't even know after hearing about the Main Game? Someone among you will certainly turn traitor...! And only soft hearted fools will die."

As much as I don't like this guy, he's got a point. I also got an idea of who's gonna be the stinky bitch to do just that.

Gonbee looks around the room. "It can't be only me thinking that... Correct?" He asks. I sigh. "I mean... You got a point..." I say. It hurts my soul to admit it, though.

In no time at all, I see Joe walk past me and kneel down next to Gonbee.

He then proceeds to untie him!

"Joe!? What are you doing!?" Sara asks. Both guys stand up and Gonbee rubs at his free wrist. "...What is this meant to be?" He asks. Everyone looks at Joe who has a pretty stern face on. "...I've given up on suspecting my allies."

I'm sure Gonbee's response is the same as everyone's thoughts.

"...Hah?"

Joe crosses his arms. "I just can't imagine it! That there's a bad guy among us..." Gonbee looks amused. "Mwaha... Given up on thinking, eh... What do you know about them? Hahaha..." Joe puts his hands back on his waist and shrugs. "Well yeah, I dunno anything, but... It's what my heart says, so what else can I do? I'm not smart anyhow. So I'm gonna believe in this feeling."

...Why is such a cinnamon roll trapped with us?

I smile and shake my head. "Damnit, Joe... You're awesome." Joe just laughs and nods with a pink face. "Thanks, (F/n)!"

I wish more people were like this dude.

"...Hmph... You say such cheesy things. Oh well. As thanks for untying me, I'll let you go without retaliation." Gonbee gives Joe a smug grin. "So...no will to help out." Keiji sums up. "I refuse... But I won't intervene. So long." Gonbee gives us all a dismissive wave before making his way out of the bar to God knows where.

Joe walks up to Sara and I while rubbing his neck. "Man... Being called cheesy sure is making me embarrassed..." I look up at him and give him a smile. "I like your cheesiness. You're fine." I assure him and pat his shoulder. He gives me a sheepish smile.

I see everyone in the room is looking at this awkward yet tender moment. Keiji even laughs, genuinely! I let out a giggle as well. The mood sure has turned lighthearted thanks to Joe's embarrassment!

This is...really nice...we needed this!

I look over at Sara to see her smiling at Joe as well. Her face suddenly falls though as she seems to realize something. "You okay?" I ask. Sara just nods. I look over at Keiji to see him look normal again. "Now then, should we go search for Nao all together?" He asks.

Oh right... That's still a thing...

There goes that nice moment... Damnit...

"Y...Yeah, that's it! Let's split up and search!!" Reko seems to have also snapped out of her happy daze and turns serious. "S-Sorry... I'm still not feeling great. Is it okay if I rest...?" Sou asks while clutching at his head. "Maybe it would help if you DON'T touch the spot that hurts." I comment. Sou seems to realize the truth of my words and lets go of his head immediately. Reko sighs. "Aw, hell... Gin, Kanna, you guys rest here too." She tells the kids. Kanna nods at Reko. "...O-Okay..." Sou sighs and fixes his scarf. "Guess we'll hold down the fort here, Gin...?" He looks to the boy.

Gin surprisingly shakes his head.

"I...I don't wanna, meow...!" Gin pushes Sou away, making the man stagger back and almost trip. He then steps up to Sara and I. "Big sis Sara, big sis (F/n)... I want you to take me, woof..." He says. 

This is kinda strange... I don't think he feels comfortable staying here with Sou, but I can't blame him! I don't trust the guy for all he's worth. 

I rub his head. "Okay. Let's go search for Nao, sweetie." I give him a smile. Gin hugs my waist. "...Thanks...meow." Keiji walks up to us. "Alright then. Let's go."

With that everyone heads out, except for Sou and Kanna.

--------------------------

[Author's Note]

Y'all, I was scrolling through pinterest again.

LOOK AT SARA! LOOKING FAB LIKE THE QUEEN SHE IS!!

She looks so cute and pretty, I wanna see her actual sprite in those clothes!

That's about all I wanted to share honestly lol

How the hell are we at almost 3K reads!? Where'd all of you lovely people even come from!? ;-;

Love you guys so freaking much ❤️

Kaja is finished here ^^

[Word Count: 6100]