Joe's POV

"You prepared for the discussion?" Keiji asked Sara. She looked at me, then back at him.

"Yes." Her answer was short.

"Remember, I'm always on your side," Keiji reassured her.

'Okay. We have two people going for Sara already. This is going great.' I congratulated myself.

"Alright, let's discuss who's gonna take the role of the Challenger," Q-Taro said.

'It's going to be Sara. It has to be. I'll do everything in my power so Sara is the Challenger.' I kept repeating similar phrases as if it was going to make the chances of that happening higher.

"Sara..." I tapped her shoulder. "You know what's up! Show Q-Taro what makes you worth trusting!"

"But what would happen if you were to be the Challenger?" Sara pointed to me.

"Huh? Why? I'd be awful at it. No Sara, it's gotta be you." I shook my head and dismissed the conversation.

"We gotta have the one we can trust most to be the Challenger, I'm thinking," Q-Taro said.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Sara nodded.

"No objections here, right? So let's talk it out." Q-Taro said. "Straight to the point: I got experience handlin' guns. So leave being the Challenger to me."

My heart sank. 'No, don't give up. We can still win this.'

"Is that true?" I asked, part of me hoping he shakes his head and says 'Nah, just joking'.

But this really wasn't the time to joke around so I hardly doubted that.

"Yep, I hate lies. I got real acquainted with shootin' when I went to the US!"

"So you're saying you've had training?" Keiji asks. "I'll keep it simple too. Q-Taro, even if you do have experience, I can't trust you."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Keiji's on our side, we'll definitely win this. Especially with his tactic of buttering people up and having them warm up to him. Q-Taro didn't have a way to answer that. "...Really now?"

"Sorry." Keiji didn't sound sorry.

"The mood has become tense..." Kai noted, putting a finger on his chin. "...Hrm... I am undecided. It pains me to put the responsibility on miss Sara."

"She'll be fine!" I picked up. "Sara's got a mind of steel! Just call her Steelmind!"

"...Steelmind...?" Kai asked.

Sara closed her eyes in regret.

"Well, Sara? Can you think of any rebuttals?" I asked confidently.

She thought for a moment. "...I'll think about it."

"Ask me if you're not sure!" I smiled. "We'll stress about it together!"

"We don't have enough time. Time to build up trust, that is." Keiji said.

"...Precisely." Kai agreed. "And it appears you're very trusting of miss Sara."

"Oh, you can tell?" It didn't really sound like Keiji cared.

"If I may offer my interpretation..." Kai looked over at me, then Sara. "Perhaps it's because Sara and Joe are acquainted? Because those two can vouch for each other, you concluded they could be trusted, yes?"

He'd said Sara's name so casually... like he's said it a thousand times before. My blood ran cold. Maybe that's because he had said Sara's name a thousand times before.

~~~

"Well, he's tall," I remembered Sara saying when she first told me about her situation a couple of months back.

"Sara, everyone is taller than you." I laughed.

"No, he looked taller than an average adult." Sara wasn't in the mood to laugh. She never was. "He had these long locks of hair. About to here." Sara drew a line a little below my shoulder. "If I didn't look twice at him, he looked like a girl."

"Tss. Lame." I said, suddenly pretending to be interested in my fingers.

"You say that while having that tasteless hairstyle." Sara grinned, ruffling my hair.

"Hey! Don't touch it!" I ruffled her hair as well.

"But really. It was scary." Sara and I calmed down.

"What color was his long princess hair?" I asked. Sara snorted.

"I don't know. Black? I said before, it was dark. I didn't see much. He was just standing there, following me. I ran home as fast as I could and shut the doors. Joe..." she looked at me. "I was scared."

~~~

That was the first time I'd walked home with her. And I have been until today. Kai's description matched perfectly with what Sara was saying. His hair was a bit shorter than where Sara pointed to, but he could've easily cut off an inch or two. His hair was dark, and he looked pretty tall. Kai is... Sara's stalker...

"I see... However, there's a piece missing from your story." Kai's voice brought me back.

'I can't let him know that I know. I can't let Sara know. She'd freak out, and that's not good. I have to keep her calm.'

"Oh yeah?" Keiji asked, lifting his head up.

Kai didn't respond.

"What do you have to say, Kai?" Sara asked.

"Well, I'm not confident in holding a gun myself. So it's a question of who I would want to do so." He looked directly at Keiji. "Of course, there is someone here who would be suited to such a task. But for some reason, he's not presenting himself as a candidate."

My findings of Kai being my friend's stalker instantly vanished as I looked at Keiji. He looked at the floor, unaware Kai was talking about him.

"Whatever the case, if he refuses it, I have no desire to ask him... How troubling." Kai continued.

Sara, with an overwhelmed expression, turned to me. 'Don't let her know. Don't let her know. Don't let her know.' I kept repeating in my head.

"Don't look so nervous! Put on your usual bigshot attitude!" I forced a smile. Sara would know something was wrong if I didn't smile.

"Who do you even think I am...?" She asked me in return.

"The Godfather of Sonobeno High School!!" I laughed.

"Urgh... Can you think about this seriously?" She asked.

'Be serious.' I repeated to myself.

"I just feel like... everyone's arguments are sound. I have... no rebuttals to make." She sighed.

"True... thinking about it logically, you don't have much to stand on, Sara." I agreed, turning serious.

"In that case, how about you have two people's statements duke it out?!"

"Duke it out...?" she questioned.

"Yeah! Pit opposing statements against each other to advance in the discussion!" I nodded.

'Why do I sound like a tutorial for a game?' I thought for a second but decided to shrug it off.

"So you're saying to borrow the words of others... I'll give it a try!"

"Listen, not a lot of people in this country who can handle guns. My experience is valuable, ain't it?" Q-Taro spoke up.

"We don't know what the game entails... But if it requires skill with guns, then yes." Kai said.

"Right! I ain't thinkin' a single thought about keepin' my own hide safe! I'm just considerin' the best way to beat this game!"

"I... I do get what you're saying, but..." I interjected.

"You guys gotta think about it rationally!" Q-Taro ignored me.

"...It's not like we're not thinking either, okay?" I growled as to not make myself look nervous.

"Q-Taro, even if you do have experience, I can't trust you." Keiji suddenly said.

"...Urk." Q-Taro thought for a bit. "Whyzat?! Ain't experience important for this?"

"It's because I can't imagine this game requires skill with a gun," Keiji said.

"...Say what?" Q-Taro was just as confused as everyone else.

"Look at the room. Aren't these dolls curious?" Keiji pointed to the purple dolls. "I'm betting, they're dummy targets."

"Dummies?"

"Shoot a human, or shoot a doll... That's probably what the game is about."

'Where is he going with this?'

"What's important is a cool head," Keiji said, looking at Sara. "The targets can't move from the chairs anyhow."

"I'm always cool-headed... Believe it or not." Q-Taro tried to defend himself.

"Even when you're pointing a gun at someone?" Keiji said quietly. "It's an awful thing, when the person you're looking at could die by your hand. You ever experienced that?"

My heart rate picked up as I started gathering the pieces from the puzzle.

"I trust someone determined to save her friend more than an amateur with average training."

"...I get it." Q-Taro suddenly said. "Maybe I might not be up for it. But still! I got more to say!"

"Suppose I'll listen..." Keiji sighed.

"Keiji, doesn't that mean we should have you be the challenger?!" Q-Taro pointed at the police officer. "You must've been in tons of gunfights in your line o' work!"

Keiji didn't say anything, but stared at the ground. He didn't look so threatening anymore.

"T-That's true." I picked up, letting curiosity get the better of me.

"Indeed. I was wondering about that myself." Kai nodded. "Why the policeman, who would be most suitable, is not recommending himself."

"...Guess you would think so, huh..." Keiji muttered.

"If I'm gonna put my life on the line, I want the most dependable person I can get," Q-Taro said. "If it ain't me, then it's Keiji... You're the only one."

"Keiji... what's the matter...?" I said, furrowing my eyebrows.

The policeman didn't say anything.

"We won't know if you keep quiet!" I pushed.

"If you refuse, I wish to know the reason. At this rate, it will prove an issue..." Kai said thoughtfully. "...We cannot end the discussion in this state."

"Keiji," Sara said. "Why do you want me to do it so badly?"

"'Cause you're cute." Keiji tried the same compliment again. "How many times are you gonna make me say it?"

'Is he being serious right now? You're putting your life on the line and you want Sara to do it because she's cute?!' I looked over at Sara. 'Well, I'm not going to deny that fact either.' I shrugged.

"Keiji, why are you staying silent?" Sara tried another question.

Keiji looked in the other direction. I had a bad feeling that if she pressed him any more mister policeman was going to have a panic attack.

"Keiji..." Sara said, in a slightly more aggressive tone. "Answer me!!" she yelled out, her eyes filled with fury, like they were going to be caught on fire.

Keiji jumped back, clearly not expecting a high school girl to yell at a cop.

"Woah." He said, trying to put on a normal expression.

"We're all being serious! If you don't talk, we won't know!"

He was silent for a moment. His lips formed a smile. "...Hahah. Hah hah hah hah! What are you, my mom? Hahaha! ...Wahah..." He fell silent again. "Ahh, that was a good laugh. Alright, I'll explain."

His face turned grim. "...I shot a person. Since then... I haven't been able to fire a gun."

That answer made me stagger back. But then I looked back. He's a cop, he's supposed to shoot people. It's his job.

"...Huh?" Sara seemed as shocked as me.

"I know it's pathetic. Should've been prepared for that when I became a detective."

'Detective... so he's not even a policeman...' I picked up on his words. 

"But... if something like that happened, wouldn't it make the news...?" Sara seemed suspicious of his statement.

"Reality's not only what comes to the surface." Keiji looked away. "...That's all. It's the truth."

"I shot a person... Since then I haven't been able to fire a gun." Sara repeated what Keiji had said.

"...Sheesh. Look what you've made me say." Keiji muttered. I was betting he was gonna make a compliment on how cute Sara is, but the punch didn't come. "But... well, I guess it's a load off my shoulders."

"What do you think?" Sara turned to me.

"Well, Keiji sure is acting strange if you ask me." I nodded.

"At this rate, the discussion can't advance..."

"When that happens, try talking to people so you can extract new statements from them!" I said.

'And now I sound like a tutorial guide again.' "Your clingy questioning might just lead to an important statement!"

"Which is exactly the thought process that let me extract a new statement already." She gave a sly grin.

"Wha?! You were just teasing me, Sara?!"

"Got 'im." she whispered with a smile.

"Grrr... Don't give me that cocky look!" I narrowed my eyes.

'Maybe I should rethink this whole Sara Challenger thing.' I joked to myself.

As soon as Sara turned away I smiled. It's good that she got me distracted from this whole situation, if only for a moment.

"Under normal circumstances, I would never press someone this deeply..." Kai said.

'Unless you're stalking them.'

"But our lives are on the line." He concluded with his usual expressionless face as he looked at Sara. There was something sparking in his eyes I didn't quite understand, but I wanted him to stop looking at her like that.

"Listen everyone, but ain't it clear? Handles guns, and cool-headed! Most suitable!" Q-Taro said.

No one paid any attention.

"...Zat the truth?" Q-Taro looked at Keiji. I assumed he was talking about the Keiji-with-a-gun situation.

"Yeah..." Keiji nodded.

"On the job, right? Did the one you shoot... die?"

'Obviously.' I thought.

Keiji didn't say anything.

Q-Taro didn't talk in return. "Traumatic, I bet." he finally said.

"...Real sorry I can't live up to your expectations." Keiji looked up at Q-Taro, who was a few inches taller than him. "Ever since then, pointing a gun at someone makes my head go weird. Can't stop sweating."

"Wouldn't wanna make you do it then." Q-Taro nodded.

'So clever, making him back out of it so he can take the job as Challenger for himself.'

"S... So then you'll count on Sara! Right, Q-Taro?" I said, dragging him away from his victory.

Q-Taro fell silent as he stared down at Joe.

"H-Hold on! I'm still uneasy!! It's our lives what's on the line, right?!" Q-Taro objected.

"Huh?! Q-Taro!!" I bit back on my teeth to collect my thoughts before I said anything stupid. I couldn't let it happen. Sara had to be the Challenger.

Sara's POV

'I've managed to convince him this much with everyone else's words...' I thought.

"Sara..." Q-Taro looked at me.

'But in the end... I'll have to persuade Q-Taro myself!!'

"Use your words, and prove to me... that you're worth trustin'!"

Everyone cleared as me and Q-Taro stood opposite each other. I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes.

"Can a high-school kid handle this?!" Q-Taro shot first.

"My age or being a high schooler shouldn't matter!" I shot back.

"Then if a grade-schooler like Gin were here, would you have him do it?" Q-Taro asked.

"I mean..." I was put to a stop.

"Obviously we want someone with experience!"

'That was a failure!' I looked at Joe. My friend smiled and nodded. He was confident in me. So I have to be confident in myself. I'll win this.

"We should leave it to Keiji!" Q-Taro pointed at the poor police officer.

"Keiji's trauma means he isn't even able to point a gun at a person!" I called back. Keiji didn't look very happy we were picking on him.

"But... even still..."

"Would you put your life in the hands of someone who wouldn't trust himself?"

"...!" Q-Taro didn't have anything to say to that. "Dammit, that's true!"

"You really got confidence?" Q-Taro asked.

"I do!" I nodded. "I can say this much loud and clear! I'm confident I can save everyone!"

"...! No value in trusting your life to someone with no confidence!" Q-Taro agreed. "If even this doesn't freak you out, there's nothing to sneeze at!"

"Are you fine with putting everything on, Sara?!" Q-Taro shot. That one was easy to get.

"Joe and Keiji have acknowledged me from the start!"

"Grm..."

"And even now, that still hasn't shaken! Q-Taro, please believe in me too!"

"Urghhh..."

"She might even end up shooting her own friend!" Q-Taro pointed at Joe, whose eyes widened that Q-Taro could say such a thing.

"That's exactly why I definitely won't mess this up!" I looked over at my friend. "Not only Joe, but Q-Taro, Keiji, Kai! I won't let any of your lives be taken!" I pointed to each of them as I called their names. "Q-Taro, right now... You can't possibly feel a stronger determination than me!"

"...!" Q-Taro was taken aback once again. "...You got a point there. To me, you're strangers I just met, all of ya." He thought for a second. "Can I bet on... your desire to save your friend...?"

We both looked at Joe for a second.

"Please..." I turned to Q-Taro. "count on me!"

Q-Taro shook his head. "What a weird-ass high-school girl! Pant... Gasp... I'm exhausted..."

'Me too... I haven't strained my voice so much before.'

"Bein' honest and arguin' is kinda refreshing, though!"

"Huh...?"

"Well, the discussion is settled down. Shall we have our vote soon?" Kai asked.

"Right. Sorry, know you two are tired, but let's get started." Keiji says.

"Sara," Joe said right away.

"Sara," Keiji agreed.

"Q-Taro," Kai said, messing with his ladle.

"I'm allowed to vote for myself, right?" I asked. Everyone just shrugged. "Sara then."

"Sara." Q-Taro finished off the vote.

"Well... seems it's decided," Q-Taro said. Everyone looked at me.

"There'd be no objections, right?" Keiji made sure.

"Hahaha! Naturally!" Q-Taro made a thumbs up. "Sara, ain't hardly any kids these days who make 'emselves as clear as you. I feel like I can bet on ya!"

"Q-Taro...!" I exclaimed.

"What a cool thing to say." Keiji smiled.

"Man, lookin' at you guys just makes me feel like I'm being selfish."

"Alright, good luck with the rest, Sara! It's all riding on you!" Joe smiled at me, giving me a pat on my shoulder.

"...Right! Leave it to me!"

"Well then, shall we take our seats?" Kai asked.

'Kai... Now's not the time to think about the meaning of Kai's vote... Things are just about to get started!'

Joe sat on the bottom chair, the only one that was empty on the level floor. Keiji sat on the most left, followed by Q-Taro and Kai. Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the man in the painting.

"Yo. That took forever." The Meister said. "Is it okay for me to give you the rules now?"

I nodded.

"You found the gun and the bullets in the room earlier, right?" The Meister continued. I took out the gun and three bullets. "And you also found dummy bullets in a different room. You've got three live bullets and six dummies. That's the total of nine bullets you can load into the revolver." He said as I got out the circular chamber. "You gotta fire all nine bullets into everyone - human and doll - in any order you like. Also, the bullets are fired in clockwise order... But once you load 'em, the barrel'll spin and stop! Which means the starting bullet is a mystery."

I looked over at the four people I would have to fire at. Joe's eyes were tightly shut and he was muttering something under his breath. Keiji and Q-Taro had bewildered looks on their faces. Kai only raised his eyebrows.

"If you fire all the bullets and all the humans survive, you win!" The Meister ended on a happy note. "I call it "Russian Roulette"! ...'Cause that's what it is. You want another quick summary of that?"

I shook my head.

"Alright! Then let's begin! First, load up the gun how you like it!"

'Okay, I have to think rationally.' I looked at the chamber of the revolver. And the nine empty slots for bullets. 'If I put all three live bullets clustered in the same spot, then I won't have to guess which is a live one and which one is a dummy.' I loaded the three live bullets in a row. 'My strategy?'

I looked up at my friend, and three other strangers I've never met.

'Don't let anyone die.'

"I'm ready!" I said, clamming the six dummies into the six empty slots.

"You okay with that?" The Meister asked, as if criticizing my way of loading in the bullets.

"Yes." my answer was short but confident.

"Alright, lock in the barrel!" I did as he said. "And let the barrel spin!"

Shaka-shaka-shaka-shaka-shaka...

"It stopped! Now fire in any order you want! Of course, shooting the same target twice or discussing with the targets is against the rules! And there are only three real bullets! It's easy!" The Meister looked like he was enjoying himself.

'This is one thing I can't mess up...' I was on my own.

I looked up at the single doll on the "second floor". To test my gun, I shot at it, shutting my eyes. There was a gunshot.

After a second, I looked at the doll. The doll was unharmed. I let out a breath. 'That was a dummy.'

Training my gun on Keiji, I softly lowered my gun. I'm gonna really regret it if he... The look in his eyes told me everything.

Just shoot. He closed his eyes.

Aiming straight for his head, I pulled the trigger, shutting my eyes. A gunshot sounded again.

"Whew... feeling numb." I heard his voice. Opening my eyes, Keiji survived. 'Two dummy bullets'.

Next, training my gun on Q-Taro, I aimed as best as I could at his head, and fired, shutting my eyes. I wanted him to say something before I opened my eyes again.

"Pant... Pant... Now I'll be okay!" Q-Taro survived. 'Three dummy bullets'.

Taking yet another risk, I pointed the gun at Kai. His facial expressions didn't shift when I pointed the gun at him. Shutting my eyes, I pulled the trigger for the fourth time.

"Bravo..." I heard his monotone voice. Kai survived. 'Four dummy bullets'.

I looked at the only person left. I swallowed. I couldn't shoot him. Not now at least. I shot at the doll on the very far left. It was unharmed.

I let out a quivering breath as I aimed the gun at Joe. He had a rare, solemn look on his face. He looked up at me and gave me a soft smile. Closing his eyes he barely noticeably nodded.

'I can't. I can't.' I closed my eyes as well.

~~~

"Hey Sara, is everything alright?" my friend Joe sat next to me in the chair.

"Nah I'm fine." I crumpled to the ground. "I'm going to fail exams..."

"Well, that's not fine. What are you having trouble with?" He took the papers I was studying under from me and scrolled through them. "What? Linear functions? Pythagorean theorem? Data analysis? Which ones?"

"Everything..." I banged my head on the table. "Maybe if I hit my head on the table hard enough I'll die and not have to worry about exams..."

"Hey! Hey! Sara! Stop that." Joe grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me toward him away from the desk. "Here, how about I'll go over to your house, and we study every single topic you don't understand. It'll be good for me too! You in?"

"... Alright, Joe. Thank you. You're a good friend..."

"Joe... listen, um... can I tell you something?" I asked, shaking his hand.

"Sure, one second." Joe signed his name on his assignment and went to turn it in. "What's up?"

He swung his hand through mine and locked it in by placing it on his hip. "What did ya wanna say?"

"This is serious..." I lowered my voice as we moved through the halls out to lunch. "Joe... I think... I think I have a stalker..."

Joe's eyes widened in fear. "No way! Who?" He said loudly.

"Shush!" I hissed, looking around. Everyone was so included in every conversation no one paid any attention to us. "He's been following me for the last month... I don't feel safe!"

"For the last month?" Joe looked at the floor ahead of him, biting on the inside of his lip.

I nodded.

"Tell me who it is, I'll go and beat the crap out of them!" Joe nodded vigorously.

"You suck at fighting." I squinted my eyes at him. "Plus it's dark when I see him, he follows me home. I never get a good look at him. Well, he's tall."

"Sara, everyone is taller than you." He laughed.

"No, he looked taller than an average adult." I shook my head. "He had these long locks of hair. About to here." I took my free hand, the one not taken captive by Joe, and drew a line to the middle of his biceps. "If I didn't look twice at him, he looked like a girl."

"Tss. Lame." Joe said, looking at his fingernails.

"You say that while having that gaudy hairstyle." I grinned, ruffling his hair.

"Hey! Don't touch it!" Joe smacked my hand away and ruffled my hair as well.

"Cute!" a girl said, looking at us.

"Yeah yeah, you too," I muttered under my breath. "But really. It was scary." We both calmed down.

"What color was his long princess hair?" Joe asked, earning a snort from me.

"I don't know. Black? I said before, it was dark. I didn't see much. He was just standing there, following me. I ran home as fast as I could and shut the doors. Joe..." I looked up at him. "I was scared."

Joe was silent for a couple of seconds. "Everything will be alright," he said, nodding.

"Hahh... Phew..." We were out of breath. "We made it home."

"I-it's okay. Should be fine now that we're here." Joe calmed me down even that same day.

"Joe..." I looked at him. "I'm scared... I'm so scared... Am I going to..."

I didn't want to finish my sentence. "What if he kills me someday?"

"I'm not gonna let that happen, okay?!" Joe said. I looked at him. There was a promising look in his eyes. I had to trust him.

"Joe..." I tried again, but he interrupted me.

"Call on me! Anytime!" he grinned. "I'll come with a boatload of freshmen!"

I stayed silent. 'That guy was staring... And it seemed like... He was trying to talk to me...?

"Well, your parents are waiting, Sara!" Joe said, hinting at the fact he wanted to go home. But now I saw he wanted to see me safe.

"...Yeah." I nodded.

"Hey, Joe..." I swallowed. "Thank you for walking me home. Be careful..."

"...Yeah! See you tomorrow... At school!" Joe began walking to his house.

~~~

That same person, who's always been there for me, no matter what, was sitting in a chair opposite of me, waiting for me to shoot him. Without giving it much thought, I shut my eyes and pulled the trigger. I didn't want to open my eyes. But no one said anything. And there were no gasps either. Was this just another prank from Joe? Why would he want to do this to me? After what felt like ages, I finally decided to open my eyes.

"Aaaaa... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." my hands shook as I dropped the gun from my hand. I shook my head, not believing what I was seeing. I couldn't form thoughts. The image imprinted in my mind before I could try and stop it. In front of me was... Joe... slumped in his seat... blood leaking out in rivers from his head. He was absolutely coated in it. His neck, hair, the chair... Shutting my eyes and opening them again, I saw my friend. 'My dead friend. The friend that wore his hair in a gaudy way. The friend that stuffed dog keychains in his pockets because they were cute. The friend that laughed at me when I fell down from a traffic cone.' I had difficulty talking. I couldn't breathe. I did the only thing I was able to do. Crumbling to the floor, I put a hand to my mouth to stifle a sob.

'My best friend... was gone... forever. Why had I been so selfish to want to be the Challenger? I should be in Joe's place right now. This is my fault...! If I'd been more caring toward him... If I'd just appreciated our friendship more... And Ryoko? What was I going to tell Ryoko? My friend would never forgive me for that. Screw this game that we're trapped in for someone's entertainment, screw the passing seconds. I've just... Lost my best friend. Someone who was there when I needed him most. He's gone forever now. Nothing I can do can bring him back. I had only one chance, and I wasn't careful enough. And now I'll carry this guilt with me until I die. And now... I can never take back what happened. Not the amount of times I called him gaudy, not the number of times I wanted to run away from him and have him leave me alone. Why did I only start to value our friendship right now? If I just had more time... I just needed more time... But no, I decided to shoot. And I can never take that bullet back. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never...'

"Hey, are you going to shoot, or what? I'm getting tired of waiting!" Q-Taro said.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes. I was standing in the same position as I had been. Joe's eyes were still shut. He's... not dead...? What...? I took a step back. Joe opened one eye, and closed it again with a sigh, hanging his head. Taking a breath, I aimed at the doll farthest to the right. Farthest away from Joe. Green liquid came spurting out of the doll's head, knocking it off.

I heard a distressed noise coming from Joe. 'Was that... a warning?' I thought to myself, shooting the second doll. Green liquid came out of it. And the third. All three doll's heads have been blown off.

'The last bullet.' I pointed the gun at Joe and pulled the trigger.

"Hehehe... my heart was about to explode." I heard Joe's voice. Opening my eyes, Joe was alive and well. 'Joe survived.'

"Oh..." The Meister said, clearly thinking over whether it was a good thing or not that we won. "Ohh... Ohhhh! Fantastic! Now that's a job well done!"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief in unison.

"No complaints here, you win! Seems a puzzle like this was a piece of cake for you! Truly brilliant! You deserve a hand! And so..."

Something fell from the ceiling, landing right in front of me. "Here's my right hand."

"Ahhhhhhhh!!" I jumped back in surprise.

"Hahaha!" The Meister laughed. "Be glad! And accept it! See ya!"

"Grr...!!" I said, furious. I wanted to throw the gun with all my might at the painting, but something told me to save it. Putting the gun in my skirt, I watched as everyone got down.

"Sara! Well done!" Joe grinned at me, showing his teeth.

"Joe...!" I threw myself onto him, giving him a tight hug.

"Um... yeah. Thanks almost for not blowing my brains out." Joe hugged me back. "That bullet almost got me if you hadn't shot it at the doll!"

I retreated from the hug, giving a nod.

"I changed my mind on you! Honestly, I regret makin' light of you!" Q-Taro gave me a fistbump.

"Miss Sara, that arm..." Kai walked over to me. I don't think he wanted any high fives or hugs.

"It's artificial. ...What a cruel trick! It came falling down from above!" I scoffed.

"I'm supposing I don't get a hug?" Keiji asked. I turned around to face him. "Anyway, find my body, wasn't it?"

"Ah...!" I understood what he meant.

"Seems relevant on the note with the doll's head."

"So, it would be a good idea to take it along?" Joe asked.

"Guess we gotta. I'll carry it in this box." Q-Taro put the am in the box.

'H-he stuffed it in so crudely...'

"Okay, we've got a clue of sorts. Let's get outta here."

"Sou never came back, did he?" Joe questioned.

"Huh... wonder where he went." Keiji scratched his head.

"Did we lose 'im?" Q-Taro asked.

"Oh well, I guess... Sara, you were with Sou, right?" Joe turned to me. Before I got the chance to answer, he grinned. "It's dangerous to be alone, so I'll search together with you."

"Joe... thank you."

"Heheh! Wow, honest for once!"

"I'm always honest." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

I was relieved that we'd be able to walk together and talk about what's happening. Though I'm pretty sure part of that conversation was going to be "where did that hug come from?" It's likelier for sharks to start walking on land than for me to hug someone. I guess sharks already started walking.

"Well, we'll be heading out." Keiji walked in the direction of the exit.

"Ah, hold on! You got a second...?" Joe ran after Keiji.

'He left...'

"Miss Sara." Kai walked over to me.

"Hm?" I've realized it was rude to address an adult like that, so I slid out of the situation. "Oh, hello Kai."

"Earlier, I neglected to thank you." He told me. "Allow me to state my gratitude for taking such an important role. Thank you very much for saving us amid such great pressure."

"Ah... Don't mention it." I smiled.

"Miss Sara, you're no average high schooler." He stated. "Keiji noted that you're clear-headed... But what's truly superb is your heart. Indeed, you have a mind of steel. However, overdoing it brings harm to yourself. ...You must not shoulder too much."

"...Right." I nodded. 'That's definitely weird for him to say I'm not an average high schooler.' "Come to think of it, Kai, why did you..." 'I never overdid anything. I hadn't done this before.' "...Kai..." 'He's saying these things like...' "Ah..." 'He'd taken note of them...' I stared at Kai.

"Miss Sara? Is something wrong?" Kai asked, his expression not changing. "Is something the matter?" 'As if he'd...' My surroundings faded away.

'Why now... Why did I only just notice...? Why did I remember? He'd said those things like he'd... memorized them... heard of them before... Kai is... Kai is... That stalker...'

A/N: and then their conversation went like this:

Sara: "Kai... you're... that stalker..."

Kai: "Finally. Thank you for noticing me after long years of stalking. It was nice knowing you, but I can't let my victims know who their stalker is." 

And after that he tried to kill Sara with a ladle. And she DIED. The end :)

Also this is my favorite chapter so far, I really loved how this was written :D

It's a Lolbit Show