Sara's POV

"Hey. Get up." I heard a voice. 'Was it talking to me? Am I dead? What about Joe?'

Slowly opening my eyes, I shielded them from sudden brightness. Everything around me was blurry. Except for a figure in front of me. He had on some casual clothes, had dull yellow hair and dead, dark grey eyes.

"Hellooo?" He asked. "You can't sit there stupefied forever, miss."

"Eh...?" I squinted hard at him, trying to see if I recognized him from somewhere. I didn't. "Where is this...?"

"Beats me..."

"Ah..." I closed my eyes. 'I'm alive... I'm not even hurt...'

I let my eyes adjust. We were in a dark blue room. It looked more like an in-real-life blueprint than anything, but it was a room. And there were also...!

'People!!'

"Who the hell're you guys?! Where even is this?!" a punk lady complained. Her voice sounded scratchy, like she loses her voice on a daily basis.

"Like we've got any idea ourselves! Calm down, lady!" a huge red-headed giant rolled his eyes at her.

"Is there no one here who can explain?!" a woman in overalls asked in a worried voice. Her long hair from far away looked messy and tangled, as if she woke up with bed hair. But then again, Joe always looked like he woke up with bed hair. 'Joe...' I quickly searched for my friend in the big group of people.

"Just what is going on...? How troubling..." a man with long locks of shoulder-length hair said. He wore a red and yellow apron and was holding something behind his back. There was a certain solemn look on his face I couldn't quite place.

'What in the world... is happening?'

"Now hold on a second... We should confirm what each of us knows." the blond man stated.

"That's all well and good... but I don't even know where this is!" The woman in overalls said.

"I had quite a terrible experience earlier... So I can't remain calm... Mwahaha." a man in a suit suspiciously says.

'Stay away from him.' I made a mental note to myself.

"Huh?" I muttered quietly, finally finding a familiar figure. "Joe...?" I said his name so quietly, I couldn't even hear it myself.

'He's also wearing... one of those collars...'

With a shiver, my hand started crawling up to my neck. There was... something... I gasped, feeling the same collar on my neck. I started tearing at it with both of my hands.

'Can't... get it off...!'

'Everyone here has a collar on them!' a sudden realization crossed me.

The discussion around the blond man continues. Joe is there too, but he can't get a word in. Looking right, I notice an especially restless woman.

"Graaah!! We've been abducted! By some crazy assholes!!" the punk lady aggressively swears.

"Be quiet, meow!! Don't scream in my ear, woof!!" a strange child wore what looked like a blanket with cat ears, held a kitty pillow, had a cattail and huge cat mitten gloves. It looks like he's been abducted from a sleepover with him and his friends roleplaying as cats. A strange child for sure.

"H... Hey now... Fighting's no good." my ears pricked up at a British accent.

(A/N: Alright, so if you don't know my channel, I gave Sou a British accent just for the fun of it and I've been told it strangely suits him? So yeah, just wanted to clarify why he gets this accent)

There was a man who wore a dark green beanie, with turquoise hair sticking out from one side. His neck was cuddled in a red-pink scarf with monotone polka-dots. I kinda wanted to wrap up in his blanket-scarf too, but I would be considered as strange as cat-boy if I walked up to a random stranger and cuddled up with him against his scarf.

I could feel tension in the air. 'I could really use some jasmine oil, I was told it decreases tense and heavy atmospheres.' I made a confused face at myself. 'Since when was I an expert on aromatherapy?'

(A/N: who here understands the joke?)

Some slightly calmer people were talking on the left.

"What's goin' on? Feels like we're wrapped up in something outrageous." the red-haired giant spoke.

"Yes, it would appear so." the man in the apron put a hand on his chin. I narrowed my eyes down on him.

'Huh... have I seen this person somewhere...?'

"...Ooooh..." I shook off the feeling and looked at a girl with light green hair and a light blue hat. The hat, if anything looked like a bucket flipped upside down, but I knew better than to say anything. She seemed terribly frightened, I wonder what happened?

The discussion is still going on around the blond man. My head was finally starting to clear.

'There's... eleven people here. Including myself... All of us were wearing collars...'

I finally noticed what was out of the ordinary, which went into my list of unordinary things in this room. 'Why isn't Joe coming over to me? Has he not noticed I'm awake?'

Usually, for ignoring me in such a stressful and weird situation, I would run up and give him a good punch, but I promised myself I would be nicer. I started walking toward him.

"Joe!" I called him over. He looked over at me as if scanning me over and raising his eyebrows to know he got my full attention. I gave a sigh. "Good.... So you're okay."

Joe again didn't say anything, squinting his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows like he was trying to remember how to talk.

"...Who're you?"

I staggered back as he said those two words. "Wh...!!" Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

'What kind of joke is that...'

"What are you saying?! I'm Sara! Did you forget your own friend's face?!" Remembering the conversation we had while walking home, I added, "I'm hurt, man... that seriously gets to me..."

I don't know why I added that, maybe it was to confirm to myself that I knew the person standing in front of me.

Joe was silent, his neutral expression was starting to freak me out.

'Don't tell me... He's seriously saying he doesn't know me or something...?'

Joe's POV

'That fearful look in her eyes. She usually wouldn't care if I forgot her completely.'

Keeping my face as neutral and confused as possible for a little longer I couldn't help it anymore. I grinned at her. "Could it be the Sara who's a terrible swimmer?"

"Whuh..." Sara was registering my joke. "J... Joe! This is not the time for jokes!"

"My bad, my bad! Hahaha!" I gave out a laugh. For the terrible situation we appeared to be in, a laugh was good. Sara didn't seem to enjoy the joke though.

The man with blond hair who wanted an awful lot of attention to himself looked over at us. "Hmm... Joe and Sara, eh... You two are friends?"

I wanted to punch him for eavesdropping on our conversation and fishing out my name.

'What is wrong with me?' I took a step back at the action I'd wanted to make.

"Eh?" Sara questioned as if reconsidering our friendship because of my joke. "Y... Yes, we are..."

"Thanks for that... Joe wasn't speaking up, see? Must've been wary of something... Wouldn't even tell me his name."

I wanted to ask him his name in return, but I smashed my teeth together so as to not say anything. Sara had looked at me in confusion. I could tell she wanted to say something but didn't voice her thoughts. I wondered if she had "glued" her teeth together like me.

"Alright, everybody, listen up." The blond man started what seemed like the sixth speech in the last fifteen minutes. "I bet we're all thinking the same thing. What is this place? Why was I brought here?"

'I might have to narrow that last question to why you specifically were brought here.' The more that guy talked, the less I trusted him.

"And about all you know who you are."

"What are you getting at, I wonder...?" The man in the suit, who seemed to be the oldest person in this room asked.

"How about we give introductions? Should ease the suspicion a little, at least."

"Introductions, you say?" the man wearing an apron spoke. He seemed to be the calmest person here. Or maybe because his facial expressions are minimized to the absolute minimum.

"Not a whole lot else we can do." the blond man responded. "Am I right, Sara?"

'That's it. He's getting all buddy-buddy with my friend. I have to get to the bottom of this.'

"Huh? You're asking me?" She pointed to herself.

Looking over at Sara, I was pleading with every inch of my body for her to make one of her spiteful hurting comments to that blond man and staying away from him, but Sara, ignoring me, just nodded.

"True... I want to clear up the situation."

'Is this what I get for making that joke?'

"...See, the calm ones know what to say."

'And now he's buttering her up.' I started to imagine the blond man taking a butter knife and smothering butter on Sara's arm, but it was rather a weird thing to think of, especially at this time.

"Okay, once you're ready, it's introduction time. Just tell me when, Sara." the blond man said.

"We could start now..." Sara said.

"Ahem... So then, I think we should all get to know each other a li'l more."

"Myeow so? Mom tells me not to give personal info to strange guys I don't know, woof!" the weird cat child says.

"Stupendous! A level-headed child who does as his parents teach him!" the man in the suit shakes his head in utter fear. "Yet, this is indeed an emergency... Hrmmm. Then we adults must prove that we are not suspicious characters... Mwahaha..."

"Waugh... Super suspicious, woof!"

"Nothing for it. Well, where should we start?" the man in the apron stated.

"Hey, you can just keep it simple. Name and occupation... Just take turns sayin' em." the Blond man spoke.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Sara nodded.

"That's the ticket."

'Now he has her under his belt.' I bit on my lip to not say anything.

"Mm, got it. The wary ones can be for later." The blond man looked directly at me. "Raise your hand if you don't mind blabbin'."

The man in the suit stepped forward. "Hello, I am Kazumi Mishima. I teach at a certain high school... Mwahaha..."

"Ehh? You're a school teacher, woof? The world's going to the dogs, meow." the strange kid responded.

"Boohoohoo..." Mishima said childishly. Is he actually... a teacher?

"...Name's Reko Yabusame. I'm a singer-songwriter." the punk lady that I found so familiar spoke. That's why she's so familiar!

"Oh! I think I've seen you in magazines! You're the Reko Yabusame?!" I blurted out, forgetting my cover of no talking.

She gave me a disgusted look. "...Dude. Is this the time?"

"Sorry..." I stammered, slightly embarrassed.

Sara's POV

'Did... did Joe just... say sorry to someone?' I thought to myself in shock. Never once had I heard that word leave his mouth. Usually, it was "alright", "fine", or "my bad", but I didn't know he was capable of saying that word.

"...I am Kai Satou. I'm a rather unremarkable homemaker." the man in the apron spoke.

"What's with the stuff behind you?" British beanie man pointed at Kai.

"It's a frying pan... and a ladle... and a spatula," Kai said, proving the face he spent lots of time in the kitchen. If I were to walk into a kitchen I'd use it because my stalker would be after me and I could bunk him over the head with a pan.

"I... I didn't mean it like that." Beanie man put his hand over his face.

"Q-Taro Burgerburg!" the red-haired giant spoke up. "I'm a baseball player! Second-string, though!"

I didn't know much about baseball, so I couldn't comment.

"Hwoooah... That's why you're so big!" the woman in overalls said. Someone snickered at her comment.

"A hundred ninety-three centimeters! And strong to boot, y'hear!" Q-Taro bragged.

"...Seems no one else wants to talk." The blond-haired man said. "Well then, Sara, how about you try asking things to people you wanna hear from?"

"M-me?" I was shocked at the comment.

"Yep. Unlike me, people aren't wary of you, right?" He looked directly at Joe. Why was he targeting him?

"I understand." I nodded.

'I don't want to question people, but...' I looked at the frightened girl with a blue hat. 'I'm kind of worried about her. I'll start with who I'm most concerned about.'

I looked at the frightened girl. "Oogh... Hic..." was all she muttered.

'She's not in condition to talk.' I told myself.

"Are you okay...?" I asked her, sitting down on the ground to be on level with her.

"Aaaaa... ooooh..."

"Don't be afraid, I won't do anything..." I gently placed my hand on her trembling back.

"Aah...?" She was silent for a few long moments. "Sniff... T-thank you very much..."

Seems she's calmed down a little. I'm going to ace being a mother. I joked.

Standing up, I looked at the blond man. "What about you?"

"Huh? Did I not introduce myself?" he asked with a confused look. "My name's Keiji Shinogi. Workin' as a policeman."

"Huh? Police?!" Joe exclaimed. To be completely honest he got so unusually quiet I forgot he was in the room.

"You got it. So don't trouble your friendly policeman. Well, not that I'm really that sort of cop."

"T... Then you should've mentioned it sooner!" Joe wasn't giving Keiji a break.

"I got abducted in the middle of an investigation. It was tough to find a chance to spill it."

"Shouldn't have been wary... Dammit..." I couldn't tell if Joe was making fun of Keiji or mad at himself.

"Wonder if we got caught by that criminal group..."

"A criminal group?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"A group of petty thieves. I doubt they're related to this, honestly."

"Is your coworker not here?"

"Sure isn't." Keiji put a hand on his neck.

"So it's not like everyone came in pairs..." I muttered.

"And what did you say you were?" I turned to Q-Taro.

"Q-Taro. Yeah, I'm a ballplayer, but if you work out too much and hurt' cherself, you'll never hit the big leagues."

'Even among this bunch, this guy stands out...'

"What country are you from?" I asked.

"I don't got a clue where I was born neither! Had parents, but off they went 'fore I could remember 'em." Q-Taro responded. "Still, my nationality is Japanese! Dunno about dialect, but it's a mix. Ain't nothing can't be fixed if you talk it out!"

"Incidentally, I do believe baseball has positions...?" Beanie man announced.

"I'mma pitcher. Confident in my batting too, an' I was lucky enough to go to Central League!"

"I don't really follow but... Does that mean you're both good at throwing the ball and hitting it with the bat?"

"...W-well... Yeah, tha's right."

'I don't know about baseball either, but he seems pretty proud of his strength...'

"I was all happy after a long-in-coming comeback game, so I went drinkin', then don't remember a thing." Q-Taro continued. "Then when I wake up, I got a collar on in this place. Like I'm a dog or somethin'! Such a bummer! Can't believe I can't get this thing off!"

'Even his strength can't remove it...' I thought, suddenly realizing how bad the situation was.

"Alright... and what about you?" I looked over at Kai.

"Hm... My best meal is Eggs Benedict." the homemaker put his hand on his chin again, as if he was trying to remember if he could make something other than that meal. I won't lie, Eggs Benedict sounds really good right now.

"A chef, huh?" Q-Taro specified.

"No, not a chef, but a homemaker. Akin to a house-husband."

"Same difference if you both make tasty food!" Q-Taro laughed.

"I suppose so..." Kai thought, then nodded. I narrowed my eyes on him again.

'I feel like... I've met this person somewhere.' I thought to myself. 'Then again, it would be pretty awkward to say "Hey! Do you know me from somewhere?" to a total stranger.'

"Where did you get those utensils?" I asked.

"Oh, the frying pan and whatnot. They were in the room I was in earlier."

'I wonder if he had to cook a perfect meal in five minutes so that he'd get the key to escape.' I found myself making a light joke.

"So you got them after arriving here," I confirmed.

"Yes, that's correct. I felt like they would offer protection." Kai said, before seeming to realize something and raising his eyebrows. "Ah... It didn't even occur to me. Would you... like to use one?"

"Huh? For protection?" I looked around the room. Who would I need protection from? I eyed Keiji, who was too deep in his own thoughts to catch along with the conversation.

"Yes, I'll offer anything but the frying pan..."

'Or you could've just said 'no'.' I scoffed. "Then I'll pass."

'I felt like I met him somewhere... But talking to him, it doesn't seem that way at all. Is it just my imagination?'

"Perhaps... I should discard my cookware." Kai suggested.

"Hmm... but it could be useful for something." I countered his thoughts. 'For what? If someone wants a meal?'

"At least... I bet I could make Eggs Benedict..." Kai looked off into the distance, hand on chin again. 'From what? Yeah, I'd remember if I met such a weirdo...'

Realizing the conversation was over, I looked over at Reko.

"Yeah, just like gaudy guy said earlier, my band's made enough of a name to get into magazines."

"Don't call me 'the gaudy guy'..." Joe made a pained expression.

"We'd finally made it to the starting line, The whole future sketched ahead of us..." Reko seemed to pay no attention to Joe.

"Um... is that makeup... for performances?" the woman in overalls asked.

"Like hell! The fan's'd weep if I went on stage looking this plain." Reko rolled her eyes. She wasn't wearing that much makeup. Just lots of eyeliner that formed into black tears under her eyes. It looked cool I guess, was this her everyday wear?

"I finished a new track, so I had plans to meet with my bandmates... then this shit happens!" Reko says, clearly outraged but trying to stay calm.

'A session, I guess.' I decided it was childish to ask what instrument she played, and I wasn't ready to be made fun of like Joe.

"You can't contact them?" I questioned.

"Naturally, all my stuff's gone." Reko snarls. "My precious bongos, my phone, my wig, it's all gone!"

'So she plays the bongos.' I assumed.

"Goddamn kidnappers! If you threw out my stuff, I'm going to beat your ass so hard...!"

"I-is now the time to worry about belongings?" the woman in overalls asked.

"Some of that stuff is as important as my life!!"

"I-I'm sorry!"

'All her stuff was taken... huh...'

"What about you?" I turned to Kazumi.

"Incidentally, I teach Japanese and art... Mwaha..." He responded.

'Could this guy be any weirder?'

"Huh... a school teacher? Can't picture it." Keiji says.

'He does look like the stereotypical crazy science teacher that blows things up in classrooms.'

"Indeed, I hear that often..."

"I've got no way to say it, but you're suspicious from every angle." Keiji shrugged.

"You truly don't have any right to say that! Apologize to the professor please!" The woman in overalls spoke up.

'Professor? Does he teach her?' I wondered.

"Whoa now. What's this, little miss?" Keiji asked, biting on his cheek.

"Pardon. You see, she's a former student of mine. Please forgive her..." Professor Mishima lightly bowed his head down.

'Former student.' I corrected myself.

"He's a really good teacher! Please don't judge a book by its cover!" the woman in overalls was continuing to stand up for her former teacher.

"I suppose my appearance is shady after all. How shocking." Mishima didn't really sound shocked.

"Well, don't have much else to judge on. Don't know about you either, little miss." Keiji defended his statement.

"I'll introduce myself...! There's nothing guilty about us!" the woman in overalls really didn't know how to stand down.

'She must really care for him.' I glanced at Joe, who was watching the argument like a game of ping pong. 'How nice.'

"It's time to cool down, yes." Mishima agreed.

"Professor," I spoke up, slightly cringing at the words. It didn't feel right. He wasn't my professor. But it would be better for me to earn his respect. "Do you have any ideas about this incident?"

"Hrrrmmmmm... I don't... recall earning anyone's ire..."

"I see..."

"Of course, there's been times where I was disliked by students... but." Professor Mishima went silent. "No, no student could cause such an incident... So I'd like to believe... For after all, as you can see, I have students who come visit me after graduation... Mwahaha. I believe we made it through The First Trial thanks to our combined knowledge, as well."

'The First Strial...?!'

"Okay. And who are you?" I turned to the woman in overalls.

"My name is Nao Egokoro! It's thanks to Professor Mishima that I attend an art college now!" the woman spoke. "The Professor is a good person! Please believe me! Saraaaaa!!"

"I-I'm not especially doubting it..." I said, suggesting a small smile.

"Yep, it's Mr. Policeman here who suspected him." Keiji waved his arm in the air.

"Then please, repent!" Nao said, slightly aggressively.

"Sure, Professor Mishima's not suspicious." Keiji nodded. Mishima looked slightly uncomfortable that everyone was calling him a professor, but I don't think he seemed to mind.

Keiji on the other hand didn't look like he meant it when he said that last line.

"S... So you understand! In that case, my work here is done..."

"What happened on The First Trial?" I asked her.

"The First Trial? It was terrifying..." Nao started. "It was a game where we were tied to beds... and we had to escape with just one key..."

'That's the same thing we did...!' I thought in shock. 'So everyone had the same First Trial...'

"I... Professor Mishima instructed me to use the sandpaper on the key... then I unlocked his restraints. "Honestly... It's thanks to him I was able to stay calm..."

'Professor Mishima did something useful while tied to his bed. What did I do? Give Joe a harder time because I started babbling? Saving up for what to tell my parents because I didn't trust him to save me? I don't even remember half the things I said...' Something clicked as I thought of the phrase. 'Trust. Was that a game that evaluated trust...? Why... would the culprit make us do that? ...Were they watching? Watching a despicable game... that toys with people's lives...!!'

"Sara... Are you okay? You look angry..." Nao brought me back to the present.

"Ah... I'm fine." I quickly wiped off the anger from my face.

"I don't like Keiji, but I kind of like you, Sara."

"Eh?" I asked. Talking in front of the policeman himself? Bold move.

"Please take good care of your friend!"

"...S-sigh..." I closed my eyes.

"Well, I know who you are but if you could give an introduction to everyone that would be nice." I turned to Joe.

"Yeah sure... Uh, me and Sara are high school classmates." Joe spoke out. "Sara was being harassed by a stalker, so I walked home with her that day."

'Not that kind of introduction!' I felt my face heating up.

"Then, there was an incident, so I called the police, but... I heard Sara screaming, so I ran upstairs. And there stood that damn stalker!"

'Huh?!'

"That's the first I've ever heard of that!" I said, slightly hurt.

"Heheh... Didn't have a chance to mention it."

'A detail this important?!'

"So, I worked up all my courage to punch the guy.

"'Course, I'm awful at fighting, so... Since I don't remember winning, I guess I lost." Joe's expression turned serious. "That's why... I know that the stalker is the culprit in this case."

"Interesting... Go on."

"Sorry... that's all I got. Since I fainted..." Joe said apologetically. "Then again... this isn't a stunt just one jerk stalker could pull by himself. It's an organized crime. Right, mister cop?"

"...Could be."

Joe went silent. "Wonder if there's one among us..." he finally said. "A collaborator with the culprit, playing the victim to blend in...!"

"...Eh?!" Hearing Joe say that, I understood. Why he'd been so wary... and acting so strange.

"Hahahaaa!" Keiji suddenly laughed, making us all turn to him.

"What is it? You wanna laugh?!" Joe finally snapped. "You can't say there isn't..."

I've only seen him angry once before, he usually lets a lot of things slide. I could see the hands on his hips slowly forming into fists.

"You sure are funny... Hahaha!" Keiji clearly didn't get the warning, or he didn't care because he thought he was off fighting limits since he was a cop.

"I hate this guy...!" Joe spat out, baring his teeth.

'A collaborator with the culprit? Maybe there could be something like that.' I found myself supporting Joe's theory.

"Ah... I should introduce myself too soon, huh?" Beanie man shrugged.

"Fine, I can read the room, woof! It's, you know, the mature response, meow!" The strange kid spoke up. I looked at him, lightly nodding so he could start his introduction.

"My name is Gin Ibushi, woof! I'm a sixth-grader, meow!"

"Great introduction, kiddo," Keiji said. I couldn't tell if he was trying and failing to make Gin feel better, or he was being sarcastic. I definitely knew what Joe thought at that comment.

"Don't call me a kid! I introduced myself because you guys don't seem like anything special, woof!" Gin objected.

"Do you remember anything about why you were brought to this place?" Joe asked.

"Woof... nope." Gin shook his head. "Mom was coming home, so I stayed up to wait... And I heard the intercom, so I thought she was back, and opened the door, meow. A different grown-up was standing there, meow! ...Don't remember anything else, woof."

"I see..."

"Gin..." Joe stared.

"Don't give me those looks, woof! I'm a strong boy, meow!" Gin purred.

'He's acting tough, but he must be scared...'

"You're a tough kid." I nodded.

"Of course, meow! Don't think I'm just a regular kid, woof! I'll definitely make those kidnappers pay, meow!"

"Hm... You might just be right, Gin." I nodded. "We'll have them make up for what they did."

I gave him a pat on the head.

"Mya..." Gin closed his eyes and meowed. Then he thought for a bit. "...Woof! You seem nice, big sis Sara! I'm okay trusting you now, meow!"

"B-big sis...?!" That question shook me. I've been an only child, so no one's ever called me that before.

"...Huh? It's not big bro, is it, woof? Maybe I got it all wrong, meow..."

"That's not the problem!" I quickly shook my head.

'If I had a little brother, I wonder if he would talk to me like that?'

The conversation seemed to be over and I turned to the only unnamed mysterious person in the room.

"My name's Sou Hiyori. Err... well." He looked a little uncomfortable. Just a job hopper. Ahaha..." a red blush spread on his face from embarrassment, which he tried to hide in his scarf.

"So living hand-to-mouth, meow?" Gin asked.

"H... Hey, don't put it like that... It's not a ton, but I've got savings." Sou tried to laugh it off.

"Why wouldn't you introduce yourself at first?" I questioned.

"Naturally, I was wary like Joe was..." Sou turned to the side and tucked his head in his scarf. "Plus, saying I'm a job hopper... Is a little embarrassing. Ahaha..." He smiled.

"Just make up some lie, meow! You're honest to a fault, woof!"

"H... Hey now, I don't know about that... You can't trust people like that, right?"

'He's always smiling... Even more than Joe, if that's even possible. He seems kind, or maybe more timid.'

"Ahaha... C-come on now... Don't look at me so pitifully..." He smiled again. "Miss Sara, you seem steadfast and strong. I'm jealous."

'Why?' I thought looking over Sou. He wore a blue jacket that wasn't zipped, underneath he had a white shirt. But even though the jacket was supposed to puff out, he still looked unusually skinny for a normal male. His small bony fingers were holding up his scarf as if he were afraid someone would take it from him, or it would fly off him. Was he not getting enough food to eat?

"Actually, I wanted to ask something... Do you have any ideas about the incident?"

"Gosh... I feel like you're asking in such a "first things first" way." Sou grinned. "Ideas, huh? I've got none. I apologize for arguments right away, so not that... Haven't even left enough impression on anyone to be hated by someone... Some days I think that I don't show enough gratitude to my parents, but... They just spoil me so much... Man... I've got to become more independent already... Uh, sorry. I can't remember anything much."

"Well... neither can we." I don't know what it was, but the more he talked, the more I felt sorry for him. It was sort of like a hypnosis. I wonder if he knows he's doing it or not.

"...Right."

"Don't sweat it!" Joe hopped in.

"Once you get home, go find a job, meow!" Gin supported. Some people seem to have fallen under his hypnosis already.

"Urgh... Job hunting... Steady work..." Sou said, more to himself than anyone.

'Looks like he's being crushed under not only an immediate fear but an unsteady future... Alright. That seems to be everyone but...' I turned to the terrified girl.

"Are you okay?" I sat down in front of her again. "If you've calmed down, could you talk to me?"

"...Um..." the frightened girl stumbled over her words. "I'm Kanna Kizuchi..."

'She's able to talk now?' I thought.

"Kanna, could you tell me more about yourself?"

"...okay..." Kanna thought of what she could possibly tell me. "...Uh... I'm in middle school... And... erm, uh..."

"It's okay, you don't need to rush."

"...I was coming home... with my big sister... We were eating ice cream..." Kanna said. "We were walking along and talking... about what to have for dinner... Suddenly, some scary people came out from a black car parked on the road..."

"I see... that must've been frightening." I nodded.

"Yes..."

'Her sister... What she says makes it sound like both of them were kidnapped, but... I didn't hear anyone with the same name as her. Or come to comfort her. Just a hunch, but I feel like it would be bad to ask about it now.'

"You weren't with your sister?" I asked anyway.

"With... her..." Kanna wasn't making any sense. Where was her sister then? "I was with her... Sister... My sister..."

Kanna went quiet for a moment. "...Ahhhhh... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!! She's dead!!"

My blood ran cold.

"My sister! Why?! How?! It's my fault! My sister!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Kanna wasn't done screaming.

~~~

"Sara, how's Kanna looking...?" Reko asked.

"It looks like she's passed out..." I said.

"Dammit, this is some messed up shit... She DIED?! What the hell'd this poor girl do, huh?! Does this culprit even got a heart?!"

A few people reached up to feel their heartbeat.

"Seems like... this wasn't some joke or prank..." Sou said thoughtfully.

"I... I don't like this... This is too awful... just too..." Nao shook her head.

"Hey everyone, don't lose your cool. You've got your friendly policeman here." Keiji wasn't much help.

"Hey Keiji, you're the reliable one here! What should we do?" Joe asked.

"...You've sure changed your tune." Keiji looked Joe up and down. "Well, first things first. Why don't we confirm what each of us has found in this place?"

"That sounds like a good plan..." Kai said thoughtfully.

"Zat's just what I was thinking of saying! See, I've picked up this thing." Q-Taro slammed a box in the middle of us.

"It's a huge box, meow!" Gin observed.

"Bet you could fit a whole watermelon in there..." Nao nodded.

"Was this... from the First Trial?" Sou asked.

"Yep. Though I mean, bringin' this box was the first point of this trial..."

"Say what? Did some people have different First Trials?" Joe asked.

"We can discuss that later. First off, let's open up this box." Keiji said.

"It ain't gonna. It's got these keyholes, see?" Q-Taro pointed to three keyholes in the center.

"Sara, do you have any ideas?" Keiji looked at me.

"Wha...! Me?" I asked.

"I just like catching you off-guard." Keiji smirked. Joe let out a barely audible growl.

'That's a lousy reason...'

"Joe, you still have that key, right?" I looked over at him.

"Yep!" He grinned, handing a red and green key over to me and dropped it in my hand.

'This is it!' The key fits perfectly into the hole.

"Can we use our key too?" Nao asked, pulling out a key from her overall pocket.

"Let's try it." I nodded. "Oh... and I wonder if Kanna..."

Pinking up the red key from Kanna's clothes, I went to put it in.

'It's not whittled down, but I'll give it a shot!' The other two keys fit perfectly!

"Alright, this might be dangerous, so leave it to the policeman." Keiji made his way through to the box. "And it's open."

"What's inside?" I asked, trying to peek over his shoulder.

"Ahhh... you might not wanna look."

Unfortunately, I saw it before Keiji could speak. Inside was... A person's... head...

"Waaah!!" I stumbled back.

"Noooooo!!" Nao saw it too.

"F-for real?" Joe's jaw dropped.

"...!" Q-Taro couldn't talk.

"Wait..." Sou reached inside and pulled the head out by its hair. "Isn't it just a doll?"

He checked it from all angles.

"Huh...?!" Joe clamped shut his mouth.

"Oh, you're right." Keiji looked disappointed. "Hm? A letter?"

Find my body

Bring me back

For I don't have arms or legs.

"Find her body...?" Keiji looked confused.

'Yeah, this person got real poetic while writing this. Very creative.'

"Where could it be?" Kai raised his eyebrows.

"Do we need to find it, meow? This could be a trap, woof!" Gin asked.

"That's true, I don't think there's any need to do what the letter says." Sou agreed. "Think it's time to search outside this room?" He suggested.

I found myself nodding.

"I-isn't that dangerous?" Nao asked.

"I wanna go back home... Can't stand to just sit still here." Q-Taro objected.

"L-lets move in groups!" Joe suggested.

"So that no one does anything suspicious... right?" Keiji confirmed.

Joe didn't say anything. I could tell something was on his mind.

"Sniff... I'm scared... If there's some other horrible device like the First Trial!" Nao said.

"Me and Nao will look after Kanna." Reko suddenly said. "If you guys're in danger, hail ass back here."

'Who should I go with?' I found myself looking at Joe. On any other day, I would've wanted to stay away from him, but I needed to discuss and get things right with him. I want to know what happened at the house. And I wanted nothing more than to be with someone trustworthy.

"Joe, could you come search with me?" I walked up to him.

"Sorry man, I'm goin' with Keiji!" He grinned.

"Huh? Oh... I see." I looked at Keiji, then realized. He was going with him because he was suspicious of him. "It's fine. Yeah. See you around." I turned on my heel and walked away. I was so caught up in the feeling of Joe's eyes burning my back that I almost ran into someone.

"Ah, miss Sara, could we search together?" Sou gave me an uneasy smile.

"Eh?" I asked, confused.

"S-sorry. If you can't trust me... That's fine..."

"It's not anything like that, it's just..." I found myself trying to search for a reason that wasn't there.

"Oh I'm glad to hear that. I trust you too miss Sara." He smiled again, showing his pearly white teeth. "But throwing around a word like 'trust' just makes you look suspicious, huh."

"No, no... It's not like I really distrust you, Sou."

"Alright, let's get searching around. Don't have any big spills, guys!" Keiji said. "And be sure to share any info you find!" I watched him and Joe go into one of the rooms as I gave a sigh. 

A/N: Yayyy! You get an extra-long chapter! Don't worry, about half of the next chapter is going to be Joe's POV and how he keeps his eye on Keiji. So basically when they all split up the building blows up and then they all DIE. The end.

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