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By now, they were hurting themselves to get clear chips. Winning the game wasn't enough. They paid for their victories in blood and flesh and bruises. Sara sat on the edge of her bed and examined the fresh gash on her thigh, fingers hovering near the frayed pieces of skin .
What if someone saw it happen? Did it matter? The others would notice eventually , right? Everyone else was sporting an injury of some kind. Someone would see past the bags under her eyes and realize that they were wrong to ever trust her.
There was a far-too casual knock on her door. Sara opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. The words wouldn't come to mind anyway.
"Oh? It's so unlike Miss Sara to keep her door unlocked while she's out."
Sou's faux-polite voice came through clearly, like he figured she was there. She felt her stomach drop, realizing he was right. She hadn't locked up, and he already knew.
Before she had time to think of a better plan, Sara got on her feet and made for the other side of the room. She'd never be able to lock it in time, but she wanted to try.
"Pardon me, I'm coming in."
She came to an unsteady halt as the door opened. Sou offered only a glance of acknowledgement at first. He stepped in and closed the door behind him, making a point to snap the lock shut loudly.
He turned back with a sly smile, gesturing to his handiwork.
"Much better, right? Now no one can bother you," he said, with much of the same acidity as usual. She couldn't even pretend to be in the mood for this.
"What do you want..?"
"What an accusatory tone! Is it so difficult to believe that I'm concerned about your well-being? Well, maybe it is. Ahahaha."
She chewed the inside of her cheek in silence, waiting for him to say anything else about his intentions. That didn't happen. It was her fault for expecting a straight answer.
"If you don't need anything, please leave. I'm not feeling well."
At those words, his eyes seemed to flash with amusement.
"That's not surprising, considering that nasty cut you got." He pointed to his own legs, head titlting curiously . "I thought it must be really bad for you to run back to your room so fast, but I guess I worried for nothing." Sara tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but couldn't. She looked down at the floor. She wished he would stop, but he didn't.
"...It's not even bleeding, is it?
If he knew, why did he have to be so cruel about it?
"It's not anymore," she lied, voice hollow. "So, I'm not dead yet. Sorry if that's disappointing."
The silence of her room was preferable to his scorn by a huge margin. Sara took a breath, urging herself to do something. The best she could manage was continuing to make her way to the door. Once close enough, she reached past Sou for the handle. "If you're satisfied, then..."
Before she could even try to show him out, Sou caught her wrist and held her in place. When she looked over to object, he was still smiling, but it was genuine this time. Devious and predatory. She couldn't get out the rest of her sentence.
"Oh, I won't be satisfied for a while yet, Miss Sara. Are you sure that wound is okay? Maybe I should look at it for you."
She felt his fingertips brush against the outside of her thigh. They trailed upward, under her skirt, as if searching for evidence. Blood, wet or dry. A bandage of any kind.
There was none; only skin. Their bodies had shifted closer, but she couldn't bring herself to move away. To give him the satisfaction of a genuine reaction.
"Why are you doing this, Sou?"
"Who knows? Maybe I really like to watch your face twist up like this. You look a lot less intimidating up close, you know. More human."
He finally pulled back, leaving her to watch as he let the other shoe drop.
"...But you're not, are you? Miss Sara, how long have you known that you're a doll?"
Sara wrung her hands, gripping tight enough to hurt. To pinch her palms and make her fingers ache. He didn't bother waiting for her to answer.
"Based on how downtrodden you look, it must have been right when you got that cut. You haven't had a very long time to process the horrific reality of it all."
He was right. So far, she'd felt a new crushing sense of isolation. Guilt that the others had assumed the best of her. Anger that her life was suddenly worth less than before, even though nothing had changed.
"That must be awful. Although, now that I've had my fun, I can get around to the point of my visit." She flinched as Sou gave her head a few patronizing pats, but he got her attention back.
"The others will hate you for sure when they find out, because being a doll makes you a prop. Set dressing for the game, an obstacle in the way of the rest of your friends' survival. That's human nature, so you can't even blame them. It needs to stay a secret."
"I know that..." The words came out quiet. Sou didn't acknowledge them, if he'd heard at all.
"Which is why you have no choice but to look for a new ally, right? Lucky me that none of you ever looked that closely at my collar. It would have complicated things if anyone but me bothered to use their eyes once in a while."
Tugging down the thick pile of his scarf, Sou tilted his head to show Sara more of his neck. At first, she wasn't sure what he was trying to say. Upon closer inspection, however , the creeping realization came to her.
"I may have panicked when I woke up and went overboard trying to remove it myself..."
The skin around his collar was punctured and thin in several places. Like he'd twisted and pulled too hard, and scratched himself badly trying to get his nails underneath . No wonder they didn't notice. It was the kind of injury that should have had obvious bruises and traces of blood.
But, like her, there was none. His pale skin was unblemished as ever.
"...And this was before I even met up with the rest of you. Can you imagine how confusing that was? It wasn't until we learned more about this place that I understood."
They were both dolls, and hadn't known it. Machinery with someone else's face.
Her feelings weren't real. The depth of her agony after losing Joe was manufactured . Pointless grief for Mishima and Kai, neither of whom had ever actually been her friend. But, someone like her was nearby after all.
"Look at you. Not so high and mighty now, huh?"
Whatever his intentions were, Sou still wasn't being honest. She watched as he spoke, noticing how animated he now seemed. He had a twisted way of showing it, but he was relieved . Being an outsider was easier when you weren't the only one. Her existence felt more tangible than it had several minutes ago. That was something.
"You aren't better than me, after all," he continued, not needing a response to keep slinging insults. "We're exactly the same. What does that feel like, I wonder ?"
Before she even realized it, Sara had thrown her arms around his middle and buried her face in his chest. She didn't mind that his entire frame stiffened in surprise. He didn't try to push her away.
"I... don't feel any different than I did before," she confessed. "I still want to survive no matter what. I can't die here, and I don't want you to either."
Hearing him stutter uncertainly, she loosened her grip and looked up. Brow furrowed, he seemed torn between embarrassment and his newfound sense of superiority. Like having the upper hand taken away so soon was disappointing.
"Y-Yeah..? Good, because I don't want to die just because you can't stop feeling sorry for yourself."
There was a pause in the conversation. His cold hand tentatively cupped her cheek, eyes wide. The flush in his face looked very human.
"Between the two of us, we might have a real shot..."
Her eyes had already started closing when their lips pushed together roughly. His other hand had moved to grip the lapel of her jacket, pulling her snug against him.
More emotions that she couldn't process surged through her skin. The kiss was a lot of other things he hadn't admitted to feeling. Grateful, needy. Starving for any kind of touch.
Still spiteful, but sweet.
After several seconds of her arms hovering uncertainly between them, Sara let her instincts guide her . After all, they were the only thing that really belonged to her now.
She gripped his shoulders and allowed him to stay in control. A hasty attempt to take a breath ended with his tongue pushing into her mouth. Something that sounded like blood pumped in her ears. Even the little bit of lightheadedness was nice.
Most importantly, it felt real.
Sou didn't pause, grip tightening as he kissed a wet trail down her neck and over her own collar. Passing over it, like it was no longer something to be afraid of. He sucked the spot where her artery would be.
The longer they went, the more certain she felt. There were things that she wanted too. He couldn't make her forget those things.
"Sou, I..."
He finally relented in his affections, pulling back to see what she wanted to say. When the words failed to come out once again, he chuckled humorlessly.
"Ah, I got carried away. Now's not a good time, right?"
For what felt like the first time in weeks, she managed to smile.
"Probably not, but..." Taking both of his hands in hers, Sara gave them a resilient squeeze. "Let's see what we can do to save everyone, okay?"
He let out an exasperated sigh, but it looked performative. Something he only did because it was expected of him at this point.
"Can't have you without your fan club, can I? Fine, we might as well try."