Chapter Text
“I love ya Sara! You’re my best friend!”
Sou could hear the conversation and the tears of joy being shed by the girl he’s thanking for killing him, but he couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even open his eyes.
Maybe this is what death is like , he thought to himself drearily. Sitting in one spot forever, alone with his thoughts, the endless wounds of being shot all over burning his flesh. That would suck. But he didn’t really mind dying in this instance. To protect the life of a little girl, far more worth saving than he was, he’d do it all again. With that peaceful thought he listened to what could be part of his deaths aftermath or maybe the last words he would ever hear Ms Sara says “Thank you Joe…”
Ms. Sara was a lucky one scoring a friend like that. He could feel jealousy at the highest percentage wielder once again. But she was going to live. He wasn’t. This outcome was all he could hope for despite the clawing to avoid it.
“... And thank you… Sou.”
Ms Sara gently rested her fingers on the back of his neck and… oh god, even that was too much.
He began coughing. Sara practically shrieked while he clutched his sides, and blood left his mouth before he fell back in a heap on the ground. So much for dying with dignity.
“Sou?!” Ms Sara’s voice was close but the black dots on his vision were blocking up his view of her “Sou! You’re alive!”
He’s… alive?
He blinks a few times hoping to affirm it. While he does, Ms Sara comes into clearer view and she’s… crying? She looks so overcome with joy you wouldn’t think she’s the girl who told him with a smile and baggy eyes that she wanted him to die.
“What’s going on in here Sara Chidouin?!” He hears Alice’s voice and notices stripes in the corner of his eye “WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! Shin Tsukimi?!”
“Sou?” He hears Kanna next “Sou! You’re okay?!”
“Okay is… kind of a stretch…” He slurs out, feeling horrible stabbing pain with each syllable but talking to Kanna one last time was a nice luxury until…
“Um…”
Yep there it was. His eyes drifted up to Safalin standing in the doorway “I’m going to need him for a second.”
Well, his time was up. He was fittingly, finally blacking out from the pain as the other 3 jumped to his defense. But, no point saving that which was doomed.
……….
Or… was there?
Because when he woke up gasping for breath in the medical office it was not what he expected the afterlife to look like. He looked down at himself. Covered in bandages. Who the hell did that? Ugh and his neck…
His fingers ran across cold skin before they met lukewarm metal. The collar was back. Tighter than ever if that neck pain that wasn’t there before was anything to go by. Most likely to keep him from getting it off again.
But… if he had it back on, why wasn’t he dead?
He looked around the room more. Ms Sara was present with Kanna sleeping on her lap. Were they… waiting for him to wake up?
Kanna was at least halfway understandable. They spent all that time together, so it made sense she got a little attached. But Ms Sara? After all that antagonizing and admitting to her face that he had tried to get her killed she had some modicum of concern for him? No, there had to be some other reason. He tried in his head to think of why, some reason he’s alive and Ms Sara and Kanna are here for him. Some… reason.
“Knock knock. It’s your friendly policeman.”
His eyes went wide, and his previous deductions were out the window when he heard the voice at the door.
“You…” he hissed looking at the man at the door sporting blonde hair that was obviously dyed and sunken in eyes that lacked life “What do you want?”
“Jeez, someone’s hostile.” Keiji sported a carefree smile, cricking his neck to the side “So much for wanting to work together huh?”
“Any chance of me wanting to work with you died when you voted for Kanna.” He did his best intimidating stare but he was still woozy from injuries and he was pretty sure the other could break him in half like a toothpick if he so desired. He was trying to be Sou Hiyori, but how could that work when he already told him and everyone else who Shin Tsukimi was.
“Fair, fair.” Keiji laughed and Shin was livid at how carefree it was “I’m not here to beg for your forgiveness or anything. Just thought you’d like to know what happened.”
“... Proceed.” He muttered indignantly. As much as he was pissed at the piss colored head of hair facing him, he did want to know how he somehow scraped by his 0.0 percentage yet again.
“Well… apparently Safalin got a message. From the next floormaster.” The words sounded blasé and dull, as they always did whenever that damn detective talked. It was the kind of talk that didn’t let you hear what was going on in his head through his tone of voice. He knew someone who talked like that, led him along knowing nothing of what his plans for him were, but this guy didn’t even put in the effort of sounding saccharine. It always set off alarm bells in his head. This man didn’t wield the same power as Sara Chidouin but his wildly high percentage spoke volumes about him. “Apparently someone is very eager to kill you themselves.”
… What?
“Wait, what are you implying?!” He shouted an octave too loud, and too quickly without thinking.
“I don’t really get it myself to be honest.” Keiji replied “But since you survived and since you’re slated to die anyways, the next floormaster wants to do it himself. I don’t know what you did to piss him off so much.”
What DID he do? Was it that customer he didn’t give a discount? Did that Karen somehow have connections to the death game and now she was going to punish the convenience store clerk who stuttered out that the manager was busy? Why was he entertaining that stupid thought?
“Mm… Sou?”
His eyes darted to the side to see Kanna looking at him with wide eyes. Sara seemed to be opening hers with a yawn as well.
“... Did I wake you up?” He sunk down “Sorry about that.”
Sara looked at Keiji, then at Shin her eyes lighting up when she saw the latter.
“Sou! You’re alive!”
“... So what happens if I survive the floormaster?” Shin asked this time keeping his voice level, and calm.
“... Just killing you before the main game starts.”
Shin wanted to break into his hands moaning, but Sou held back that desire. Still, it was hard forcing any emotion out that wasn’t pure unrelenting fear, so he kept his face neutral.
“... So I’m just on borrowed time.” He summarized. Funny how despite it all, he had a glimmer of hope when he woke up that maybe he had cheated death and once again, he realized that was pointless.
The others in the room were quiet. He could see Keiji’s neutral displeasure. Ms Sara’s grimace. And Kanna… he couldn’t even see her face it was turned so far to the ground. Hadn’t he put that little girl through enough?
“... Sou…” Sara started talking in that authoritative voice. The calm collected voice of an adult coming from a high school student, the voice that had killed everyone to survive in simulation after simulation one after the other. The voice that broke into teary shakiness as she told him just how badly she wanted him dead for everything he did to her. “... I’m not going to let you die.”
He didn’t want to let the shock show on his face, but Ms Sara made a look that told him she caught on to it.
“Sou… you’re one of our allies now. You can work with us. We can find an exit!”
Sou held his breath.
Maybe I should’ve believed in everyone.
Shin trembled with disgusting weakness at the girl he saw break down crying with happiness when she found out he wasn’t dead.
“I don’t understand why you care.” He curled his lips with sour intent “You hate me.”
“Sou!” Kanna scolded like he was the immature little kid.
“... I don’t hate you…” Sara said “I did. For a long time. But I don’t think you’re the monster I thought you were. You went ahead to prove it.”
“Like Kanna said!” Kanna yelled “Sou isn’t a bad person! Him and Sara worked together! And… he gave her a chance to talk to Joe one more time…”
“You’re… difficult.” Sara said “You’re a loner who’s quick to play mind games and you can be confusing at the best of times.”
“Sara!” Kanna shouted.
“Gee. Thanks Ms. Sara.” He replied sarcastically “Any other compliments?”
“My point is…” Sara rolled her eyes “If you could stop that and just work with us… I think we could really form bonds. Bonds strong enough to get us all out of the death game alive.”
That was really stupid. Perfect, just do what thousands upon thousands of simulations that worked down to every detail of their personalities didn’t. She was the person with the highest percentage of victories, the most blood on virtual hands, the one who somehow had everyone ignoring the most concrete proof he could present of her suspicious nature because they liked her. And she was just telling him everything would be fine when it clearly wasn’t. What bullshit.
Still he couldn’t get out of his head, the sound of her sobbing at the AI of Joe, how she screamed in pain when she thought he was dead, her pure raw emotion of a high school girl, this 15.5% was of a kid and he had been so afraid of her every step of the way.
“Don’t make promises you don’t know if you can keep Sara.” Sou felt himself jump to defense once again as Keiji spoke “We don’t know what the kidnappers have up their sleeves.”
“... But…” Kanna looked down “Sou was gonna help us escape…”
“He’s in no condition to do that right now.” Keiji remarked coldly.
“Then… Sara!” Kanna teared up “You should’ve voted for me! Then maybe-“
“No!” Shin shouted at her feeling tears build up in his eyes. After everything, after he threw himself away protecting her, she was gonna keep insisting like that?! “Stop trying to sacrifice yourself Kanna! Can’t you see that people want you alive?!”
“But…”
“Kanna…” Sara put a hand on her back “Please don’t talk about sacrificing yourself anymore. When I thought you had the sacrifice card... I was scared. You’re a kid. Way too young to be sacrificing yourself.”
“Well you are alive because of her noble sacrifice.” Keiji reminded the girl.
“Keiji!” Shin hissed at him.
“I’m just saying.” He smiled “Don’t go sacrificing yourself in anyone’s place Sara. Wouldn’t want your cute face getting hurt.”
“But Kanna is fine?” Shin glared.
“... Okay fair point.” He laughed. He LAUGHED. “I guess like you’ve got your attachment to little old Kanna, I’ve got my attachment to Sara.”
“And why is that?”
“Cause she’s cute.”
Sara faked barfing noises. It actually made Shin giggle. But then Keiji joined in and it wasn’t funny anymore.
“But I mean it Sara. You play an important role to us. Don’t go letting yourself die on us.”
“I appreciate it Keiji, but can you not devalue Kanna?” Sara asked “Especially when she’s right here.”
Sou glared at Keiji. Just daring him to say something else.
“Kanna… Kanna doesn’t mind too much.” The little girl smiled “Kanna knows… she…”
“You are important to us Kanna.” Sara stroked her back “You aren’t useless at all.”
She was able to comfort that little girl's heart like she really was her sister. He could see why she’d prefer to take her with her if she won the sacrifice bet over him. One held her tight, assuring her of her worth. The other spent a Main Game telling everyone to vote for her because she was so useless, when she didn’t even have the sacrifice that assured she’d survive by getting their votes.
He just kept his mouth shut at this moment. Maybe if it was just him Kanna and Sara he would, but he knew he was going to spill with pure unadulterated begging of Kanna to consider her worth if he opened it, and he was not going to let weakness show in front of Keiji.
So… He supposed Ms Sara was safe to him?
The moment flashed across his mind, Sara high fiving him in the computer room, a moment of bliss, escape, survival , a chance to be himself again. Then another moment where she came to him with a broken voice pleading with him “ save us…” and he felt nothing but pity for the teenage girl he had sentenced to death. Ashamed at himself for failing her and everyone else, ashamed at how he was committing an indirect murder once again, and what had he become?
“Ms. Sara… thank you. For everything.”
Kanna positively beamed at that.
“I should be thanking you. Talking to Joe again lifted a weight off my shoulders.”
“Did it now…?”
“If I may interrupt this touching conversation…” Keiji cricked his neck “Sara. You and me. Can we talk?”
“Sure.” Sara smiled at Kanna putting her hands on her shoulders and keeping her eyes on her as she stood before looking up to Keiji and walking out the door “Whenever you’re ready.”
Shin watched Keiji go ahead ready to turn around until he noticed Sara turn back.
“And Sou- Shin… really… thank you… I’m glad you’re one of us.”
Shin felt his jaw dangling close to the floor at that.
“Sou…?”
“Kanna!” He looked down to her “Never try to sacrifice yourself like that again!”
“... Ehehe.” She giggled.
“Wh-what’s so funny?”
“I’m just happy that you care about me so much Sou.”
“... Ah.” He was going to have to fix that one detail that lead to her saying that. “Kanna?”
“Yes?”
“Call me Shin.”