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The world's always been an unfair place. Shin Tsukimi knew that from the beginning, more than anything.
There were simply people born with more riches, better appearances, people who had more power and privilege. He'd accepted that a long time ago, with the small comfort of knowing there were things he could control in place of those he couldn’t. And at some point in his high school years, when a green-haired boy approached him and called him a friend, he might have actually believed it wasn't as unfair as he thought.
Pity he had to become his worst nightmare.
They would spend time together, but instead of feeling comfortable in the presence of a friend, he felt more like he was being observed. Like an experiment in a lab, except it took place in his school, in his house, in the entire little bubble that made up his world. “I want to understand you, Shin,” he would say, as if he was some sort of enigma to solve.
Eventually, he disappeared, leaving nothing but a scarf and a million questions.
But even with a life as unlucky as his, being stuck in a death game wasn't something that Shin ever expected to add to his misfortunes. Who the hell would, honestly?
And then there's the list.
Shin Tsukimi, 0.0%.
Zero point zero percent. His chances of survival. Even Gin, a literal elementary schooler, had greater chances of getting out of this mess. And even Kanna...
No.
Shin shook his head and tried to focus on investigating the paintings in the room he stood in, a futile attempt to forget the image of the girl with vines piercing through her skin, growing into flowers as her life faded away. “She'll die beautifully,” Safalin had said as the horrifying scene unfolded before their eyes.
Bullshit. They killed her, that’s all it was. Sure, he was just using her for his own advantage, but she didn't deserve that. She should have lived. They should have voted for him. After all, he was fated to die from the start.
But stupid Miss Sara had to go and ruin everything.
It was a hopeless situation with no way out, and Shin had come to terms with it. He had... right?
All it took was five words for all those thoughts to fly out of his head.
"You can still change it."
Shin froze. A habit he's developed upon hearing that voice he's heard too many times many years ago. Pathetic that he's been impersonating him for so long, and he still stiffens in fear at the sound of his voice.
"H-Hiyori," Shin stuttered, spinning around to face the floor master sitting on a couch, the patterned scarf around the man's neck matching his own. Mocking him.
"That's Midori for you!" Hiyori exclaimed in a way too enthusiastic tone. There was always something about it that unsettled Shin, even back in high school, when they were supposedly friends. He was so cheery and upbeat, but there was a coldness that came along with it. "You're Sou Hiyori now, aren't you? I would absolutely hate to steal that name from you."
"Just get to the point," Shin mumbled, a lot less intimidating than he wished he could have sounded. "What could change?"
"Your survival rate."
What?
A pang of dizziness hit Shin, and he had to cling onto the backrest of one of the couches for support. A myriad of thoughts were running through his mind, but one stood out among the rest. Could he actually live?
"What do I have to do?" Shin blurted out before he could stop himself. There was no reason for him to hear him out, no reason to trust a single word that came out of Hiyori's mouth. He was a remorseless liar, after all. He always has been. But even the slightest possibility that he could actually get out of this place alive made it all seem worth the risk.
"It's simple, really," Hiyori chuckled, a sound much gentler than his speaking voice. Almost... genuine, a terrifying thought to consider as he said the next words.
"You just have to kill Sara Chidouin."
A beat.
Kill Sara Chidouin?
15.5% Sara Chidouin?
The teenage girl who Shin had been so afraid of, who had been stronger than him in every sense of the word, who had gained everyone's trust in a span of a few days while they threw him looks of suspicion? Kill Miss Sara the Great?
"Well, I'll be off!" Hiyori stood up and dusted off his pants, casually waving as he turned to leave, as if the last few words he uttered had never been said at all.
Shin wanted to stop him, to ask him if this was some kind of sick joke to make fun of him. There was no way he actually expected him to be able to kill anyone directly, much less her. But... this could be a good thing. He did say he would kill all of them including Sara, and even if that was more of a bluff he said in the heat of the moment, Sara did piss him off.
What if this was his big chance to finally get rid of her?
His thoughts were cut off as the orange-haired girl entered the room through the other doorway. God damn it, he didn’t even get the chance to form a plan.
Surprisingly, she didn’t have her little cotton candy dog following her around this time. Good. At least he won’t get in the way. The “red thread” in their collars had been deactivated by now, but he still stuck around her almost all the time. It kind of got on Shin's nerves, but he’d rather not waste time pondering about it. Maybe because he’s a threat, with how easily he trusts Sara’s word.
“Sou, you okay?” Sara asked, approaching him, but keeping a certain distance. Her expression was serious but soft, cautious and concerned at once. And each time she would talk to him, she would always look him in the eye. It pissed him off.
“I-I’m fine,” Shin let go of the couch, realizing his grip was way too tight. He probably looked the opposite of fine, but Sara didn’t press the topic.
“Found anything useful?” she continued. If she had heard any part of the conversation that just took place between Shin and Hiyori, she wasn’t showing any signs of it.
“Not really,” he responded, trying to keep an even tone. “Bet you didn’t either, though, Miss Sara,” he added with a cheeky smile. Just because.
“Yeah, you could say that,” she said, scratching her head.
A moment of hesitation.
Just as Shin felt like the silence was too much to bear and was about to excuse himself, Sara spoke up again. “Uh… Do you have the time to look around with me?”
Convenient, Shin thought. A little too convenient, but he wasn’t one to miss an opportunity. “Well, not like I have anything better to do.”
And along the way, he’d manage to figure out how to kill her.
-
Killing a person was surprisingly hard in a death game.
Everything was annoyingly… safe. As they passed through the different rooms, Shin tried to think of ways he could take Miss Sara’s life.
The library? He wouldn’t have the strength to push down a shelf on her. The most he could probably do is throw a book at her. The police box? Would have been nice if the car worked at all. The boxing ring? He could tie the ropes around Sara’s neck, but surely she would resist and he’d end up with a black eye instead.
The locker room was the only potentially dangerous room, but unfortunately, Shin had no idea how to operate it, and there weren’t a lot of opportunities to figure it out without someone noticing.
After some time of exploring, they ended up in the graveyard, where they first met the dolls and he was reintroduced to Hiyori, a reunion he was really not looking forward to. Just a while ago, Keiji was stuck in his coffin, on the verge of being cremated. But now, it was just Shin, Sara, and seven empty graves sitting in the darkness.
That’s when Shin got an idea.
“Miss Sara, there is one place we haven’t thoroughly checked yet.”
Sara looked at him, raising a brow. “I’m sure this is the last spot. At least, from the areas we’ve got in the map.”
“Exactly. The way we entered from isn’t included in the map, is it?”
“The stairs?” Sara suggested, easily following his train of thought, and Shin nodded.
“It’s probably closed by now…” she said, hesitating for a second, “but I guess it won’t hurt to check it out.”
Shin realized he was holding his breath. It was an impulsive thought, one that was most likely not going to work. But just maybe…
Sara took the lead, as usual, heading away from the graveyard dimly lit by torches along the walls and going headfirst into the dark corridor.
“H-hey, wait up!” Shin called out, picking up his pace to catch up to her. She’d stopped just before the path completely disappeared into inky darkness.
“What’s wrong? Scared of the dark?” Shin teased.
She looked back at him, completely serious. “Hold on to me. We might get separated and we can’t be sure what’s in there.”
“What? No way.” Shin blinked, feeling heat rise up to his cheeks.
Sara rolled her eyes, pulling him by the arm before he could even complain.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but after a while of creeping through the darkness and feeling along the cold earthy walls, they reached a dead end. Sara let go of Shin to find a way to open the door, and he hated that a small part of him wished she hadn’t yet.
“Got it!” Sara exclaimed, and Shin shielded his eyes as the blinding light flooded in through the opened door.
He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust, and stepped into the stairway.
For a moment, the two of them just stood in silence, watching fake clouds float upside down in a fake blue sky. In any other circumstances, it would have been a marvelous view, and maybe Shin could have even appreciated sharing that moment with her.
Then she spoke up.
And honestly, she should have kept her mouth shut.
“Sou, I… just want to apologize.”
“Geez, wonder what for?” Shin retorted.
But Sara was unwavering. “For not listening to the one wish you trusted me to fulfill. For Kanna.”
“Is this why you asked me to come along?” Shin felt anger rising up in his chest at the mere mention of her name. “To try to get me on your side? If you wanted me to do something for you, you should have just said so, Sara.”
“I’m not asking for anything, not even your forgiveness. I just… thought I should let you know that I never wanted to use you. I care about our allies, and you’re an ally to me, Sou.” Sara shook her head. “No... Shin.”
“And Kanna wasn’t?”
That shut her up. Shin glanced at her, seeing she was looking at her feet, one hand tugging at the hem of her other sleeve. She looked so unsure of herself, so vulnerable, for once.
It made Shin frustrated. It made him feel like he could be vulnerable too, like he could let everything out right there and then, all the pent-up grief and anger welling up inside him. Like he could talk to her honestly… almost.
“I wanted to understand you,” she continued, still looking down and pacing a few steps forward. “I know it sounds stupid, but it’s the plain and simple truth.”
There it was again. A sentence all too familiar, the very same one that Shin heard all those years ago from his only “friend”.
Maybe he wasn’t so wrong in assuming that Sara was no different from Hiyori.
Shin chuckled bitterly. “If you wanted a mystery, Miss Sara, there’s plenty of them in this building.”
“What I wanted is to get to know you, for us to be allies. Real allies who can trust each other. And… I do, despite everything.”
Sara turned to face him, and for a moment, she looked ethereal with a sea of clouds and an endless blue sky behind her, like an angel. Like a goddess even, one who could bring victory for all of them, even someone as pathetic as Shin.
"I trust you, Shin."
But Sara was no goddess. And she was definitely no angel.
Shin wasn’t strong at all. Hell, even Kanna was somewhat stronger than him. But if he was good at something, it was catching people off guard.
“Okay.”
Sara blinked. “Okay?”
“We can be allies, as long as you don’t sacrifice anyone else for such a stupid reason again.”
“I promise. We’ll get out of here together, and we’re not losing anyone else.”
Another lie. Two can play at that game. Shin smiled, as genuinely as he could possibly muster, and reached out his hand. “Truce?”
Sara smiled in return and lifted her hand to shake his, and just as she did, eyes widening and realizing what was about to happen, too late—
Shin pushed her off the platform and down the flight of stairs.
Because as much as she said that she trusted him, he couldn’t trust her. Not after everything. Not without Kanna.
Everything that came after was a blur. Shin saw Sara at the bottom of the stairs, unmoving, her neck twisted at an odd angle. There was probably blood, or maybe there wasn’t. Right at that moment, Hiyori was probably watching through some hidden camera, laughing at how gullible Shin was to believe him. Sara’s friends were probably looking for her, and they would probably rush into the room at any moment, and Shin would finally be voted out. He should probably run away, but he sat motionless on the top of the stairs, gazing blankly at the false blue sky.
His survival rate probably didn’t go up. But at this point, Shin didn’t care. He killed her, that’s all it was. It was over.