Chapter Text
DAY ONE
The formal prison guard uniform felt all scratchy on Tei. Another day, another job. His debt was increasing rapidly. Despite working every second of the day into the ground, it wasn’t enough. Desperation drove him to the point of taking up a position that nobody wanted.
Being a full-time prison guard for Japan’s current MILGRAM project.
He had heard rumors of this generation-spanning program that determined the fate of murderers. Not much was known about it and it was suspected to be conducted illegally, but if it paid the bills, it paid the bills.
He parked his car outside a nefarious prison building at the outskirts of the countryside. The stone on the building was well worn, the metal gates rusted away. He shivered in the cold and made his way through.
The courtyard was surprisingly well furnished and had a cozy atmosphere. Plush velvet carpets lined the floor and the walls were lined with paintings from all eras, all parts of the world.
“Ah. You must be Tei Atsushi,” a deep voice said. Tei looked ahead and could see no one.
“Down here.”
What the—a talking rabbit? Like Monomoko? Was this a hologram?
“Oh,” Tei began. “That would be me. It’s a pleasure to meet you…?” How should he address it?
“You may call me Jackalope. I will be your supervisor.” Out of the blue, it vanished along with Tei’s surroundings. In a blink, he found himself at what must have been the rabbit’s—no, the jackalope’s office.
It leaned forward in its miniature chair into its miniature desk. “I understand you may not be fully acquainted with the rules of this place?”
Tei shook his head, flabbergasted at what just happened. “N-no. Nothing that I couldn’t discern from the job application information.”
The Jackalope cackled. Tei could see his silhouette in its reflective red eyes. “No need to worry. The rules here are simple. Welcome to MILGRAM. Currently, we are harboring ten prisoners. What these ten prisoners have in common…” it paused, as if it were hesitating. “Is that they are murderers. However, because the crimes of these individuals cannot be measured in traditional court, we have a three-part voting system implemented to determine their fate; will each prisoner be Forgiven and Innocent, or Unforgiven and Guilty? The vote is up to you.”
The former part-timer felt a knot in his throat. “I, uh, suppose that makes sense.”
“I will try to clear up any possible confusion you may have. In order to judge these prisoners by morality, you will need to know their actions. There are files—songs, to be more precise—containing the stories of their lives extrapolated from their thoughts for you. Additionally, you may glean information from interviewing said prisoners or observing them in their day-to-day life as they interact with each other. Aside from the voting, you will be responsible to make sure their behavior doesn’t go out of hand.”
Tei willingly signed up to be a prison guard, so he shouldn’t be too surprised that he’d be dealing with murderers and the like. He had gone through an entire killing game and came out absolutely shattered. Plus, he was alone and couldn’t find the other survivors. Every day waking up, he felt like he was in the deep end, but he wasn’t going to give in so soon. He needed the job.
“I promise you, I will do my best.”
Jackalope gave a prompt nod. “Good. Here is a map of the prison house and a guide to each prisoner. Each cell is labeled with its corresponding prisoner. Have fun and don’t get lost!” It tilted its head up and laughed. Its jeering, throaty voice was such a contrast to its miniscule appearance.
A map materialized in Tei’s hands. How much more bizarre could this day get? Aside from the map, the brochure contained an information section. He leafed through to it and saw the first face.
Prisoner One, Sasaki Hitomi. A portrait of a tall, thin girl with a stern disposition and wire-frame glasses stared back at him. He flipped the page.
Prisoner Two, Harada Keizou.
A short brunette man with a rattail and a wide-brimmed hat was next. He clutched onto the straps of his backpack nervously and looked somewhat remorseful.
Prisoner Three, Okazaki Hanano.
An androgynous figure with mischievous gray eyes and a mask pulled up to show their face was next.
Prisoner Four, Hama Ran.
The next prisoner had multiple tattoos on his face and neck. Probably more that were covered up by the uniform.
Prisoner Five. Hasegawa Ken.
This one had a bandaged eye. And his other eye had less life in it than a sealed vacuum. He didn’t like him, he decided. Even Prisoner Four seemed like he’d be better company.
Prisoner Six. Ouno Nanae.
Tei felt like he got sucker-punched in the gut when he saw her name. Ouno? Wasn’t she dead? Why was she here?
Prisoner Seven. Ogura Noriko.
The dots started connecting. Ouno, the first culprit, Ogura the second culprit…which had to mean–
His breath hitched and his fingers trembled so much he could barely turn to the next page. He looked for somewhere to sit, thinking he’d need to.
Prisoner Eight. Ikeda Daiki.
At that moment, Tei felt the walls collapse around him. He dropped the booklet, not even bothering to check out the other pages. The staticky image of Daiki—poor, pitiful Daiki— burned crisply in his mind as he raced to the prisoner grounds.
And quite the sight he was met with.