"Yo Souda! The hell'dja run off to?" Nekomaru's booming voice greeted the four of them upon returning to the group, namely to the others. The time was nearly sunset, and after this it'd be close to curfew. Still, one more paintball match to end the day.

"Eh? I-I had some…shit to do…yeah…some shit."

"Who cares! Show Ibuki how you made that armor! She wants to jump like a frog into spaaaaace!" The mechanic looked down to his weird gauntlets, steadily removing them but even then he bore a slight grin from their fascination with his armor.

"…it's a long story; I might make you some when we're done here." The others continued to ask the mechanic questions pertaining to either how he made the armor, or even asking him to make them a set of it, giving Hajime some hope that Souda would eventually get over Sonia.

Not today of course, but maybe now before they left the island to go back to the academy.

"Aaaalright students!" Usami appeared again, standing before them all on the sandy beach. "Here's the last match of the day! This time it's much like the airport one but with special conditions!" Before anyone could ask what she meant they were all armed not with the P-Rifles from earlier but in fact small handgun like things.

…Fuyuhiko was the first to respond, and not happily either.

"…okay why the fuck are we gettin' these weedy little pistols now?"

"Fairness, Fuyuhiko! You're all fighting on the beach now! Limited cover, and limited visibility since it's almost dark! So, no P-Rifles, as it'd be too easy to eliminate a classmate from across the beach!" Hajime could see the logic in that…barely; working to inspect the handgun and seeing he had the same paint from before.

"So…same hour of gameplay?" Chiaki finally spoke up, seeming more alert than before…it was clear she was a night person. "Or is there a catch to this one?"

"Well, since it's awful late, let's try thirty minutes. You all need dinner after all! Though here the goal isn't to just be the last one standing but also have the most eliminations."

Made sense.

"Once I blow the horn you all go have some fun and end the day with a smile, okay?" And with that everyone dispersed, though this time Hajime thought it'd be wise to not stick close to Chiaki, as he had done the other two games.

She seemed…off…like sticking close to her was an easy way to get his ass kicked.

Usually Peko or Akane gave off that vibe…and at rare intervals Mahiru…

"So how long until we die?" Souda asked Nagito, the two of them hiding behind a dug out trench in the sand. They had a…cease fire going on between them; namely because Souda didn't wanna get ghosted by Nagito and the luckster was just…not in the mood to shoot him. In the close distance they could hear gunfire and paintballs hitting either trees or people.

"Judging from the fact Nekomaru and Akane have teamed up…I'd say we have twenty-seven seconds."

Souda just sighed.

"Nice." They did hear some moving, and Nagito was the first to look before green paint splattered against his head, causing him to fall back and hit the sand.

"What the fuck?!" Souda didn't even get a chance; a green paintball splattered against his head as well; the mechanic hitting the sandy ground as well.

"…who just shot us?"

"Not sure…but that hoodie looked familiar…"

"…she's finally playing the game isn't she?"

"Yeah…welp no idea if one of us gets punished so…here's hoping it's me."

"Ha! Fuck you Teruteru!" Fuyuhiko laughed, watching the fat cook go down from the paintballs he fired at him. It was seven minutes into the game, and already a lot of them were downed and out.

He actually had some confidence the point would go to him for this round-"

"OW!" His lower back stung, and he reached his hand down to pat the spot…green paint.

He was taken out.

"…well fucksticks." The yakuza sighed, well this was predictable. He didn't get torn up over losing; least he was having fun shooting his friends.

…rather shooting them without the risk of there being blood everywhere. He did dab his thumb onto the paint on his back and hold it up to his eye…something about it seemed…familiar.

"…huh."

Five minutes to go, and the only ones who remained were Hajime, Ibuki, and lastly Hiyoko. The dancer was currently firing at a tree Hajime was hiding behind, whereas Ibuki was just…aiming at her; probably wanting to do some sort of joke when she was noticed. The reserve course student's best idea was to just wait until Hiyoko ran out of paint and then he'd be able to shoot her.

…or rather that was the plan…

She hit the ground, face first, as green paint stained the back of her head. Ibuki only had a second to react before she got the same treatment.

And it was at that moment Hajime realized that not only was he alone, but he was clearly not the last man standing…the sudden click to his right told him that.

"…you finally got serious, huh Chiaki?" Despite the view of the gamer aiming her paintball gun at him, it was still something both adorable and at the same time good to see. Her head tilted a bit, as her eyes drifted to his own firearm.

"You could shoot you know," She muttered, still in her tired voice. "Win the game and get the point…why don't you?"

"I…don't really have the guts or confidence to shoot you." He admitted, shaking his head. "Doesn't really seem right."

"Hajime, remember what I said at the airport?" She stood only a foot from him now, gun at her side a bit…as if she were giving him a sporting chance to actually win. "You still need to try your best. This isn't some sort of war video game with no respawns and the risk of death…it's just friends shooting each other with paint. No one will hold it against you for getting them, and no one will hate you for winning…I won't hate you for shooting me." A grin formed on her face, the very grin that always made the teen forget his problems and even brighten his day. "So go ahead, and give me your all."

"A-Alright, I think I can, I think-ow!" The mere second he lifted his arm to aim for her shoulder, she had fired at him seven times in the chest before he could even comprehend what was going on; landing on his ass and leaning his back against the tree.

"…was all that just a ruse to get me to try so you'd shoot me easier?"

"…somewhat." She stifled a yawn, somehow tired after all the napping she did over the course of the day, before seating herself next to him; leaning on him and dropping her gun. "But…it's glad to see you tried."

"Before getting shot." He corrected, hearing the others approaching along with Usami.

"And the battle for the First Island has concluded!" Above her a scoreboard formed, with all their names on it. So far there was a tick mark for Mikan, Sonia, and now Chiaki, so it was a three-way tie for first. "Now you all can go rest up and spend the evening doing what you desire. Tomorrow we move this ultra-fun game to the Second Island, and see how fun much fun we can have there!" And with that she was gone with a poof, leaving them to converse amongst each other…and to go help up Hiyoko; she was still stick and clearly not getting up anytime soon.

But, at least the game was going okay so far, and though he was nowhere close to winning Hajime was having a blast; as long as he was with Chiaki he'd give it his all, and enjoy this game to the fullest.

"Okay, we're going with a new rule," Fuyuhiko spoke, catching everyone's attention at dinner time in the hotel. "The punishment shit will only happen during the first match…cause…we can't really get Souda and Nagito today without Usami noticing." He ignored the cry of joy from the other side of the room. "But hey, Second Island…anyone got any idea how it'll play out."

"I bet it'll be all sortsa fun for Ibuki!"

"Could be a suitable environment to unleash the hounds of hell upon you all for your insolence, especially you, large breasted demoness from the third circle of Hades!"

"You get shot in the crotch and you're still pissed, funny." Akane muttered over a mouthful of meat, Nekomaru shrugging.

"Could be a good place to really push everyone to the very limit, and to see what you all really got."

"And I could finally accomplish something without being taken out in a flash." Fatkuya noted, busy munching away on his bacon wrapped chicken…courtesy of Teruteru. The cook himself waltzed out of the kitchen, bringing with him another plate of freshly cooked food for everyone to dig into.

"Mmm, dun know 'bout you guys, but I could really see some fun things on the next Island, if ya catch my drift~"

No one wanted to.

"I've only been to the other island once or twice before," Sonia chimed in, obviously enamored with the thought of the fight being taken there. "Maybe once the first match is done I can explore it properly and see its sights."

"Oh yeah, for sure!" Souda was still on about her…but glad to see he didn't keep his eyes on her the entire meal; working to make another spring boot like he used for Akane. Peko was as silent as ever, but Fuyuhiko did whisper something into her ear that brought a grin to her face.

Hajime took this all in from where he sat next to Chiaki, and he made sure to first stop the gamer from falling out her seat asleep before thinking on again. Usmai might cook up some new methods for them to all fight…and he wanted that.

Keep the game interesting, and keep it fun for everyone. The second Island was known for its deserted look and the few things there…could be fun to see just how their battle there would play out.

And who would ultimately win this game, and not only get the special prize Usami spoke about, but also have full dominion over everyone.

…he was praying Mikan didn't win.

(Glad everyone's enjoying this story. I read the reviews and tried to make Chiaki more active during the last match, although I think I made her more akin to being overkill instead but…all in good fun. We're on to the next Island now; think like Fusion Frenzy and now we're on the next bout. After here it's on to the Third, the Fourth, and then the final island, where everything comes to an end.

Scoreboard so far:

Mikan- 1

Sonia- 1

Chiaki- 1

As you can see, not many, but the second island should put some others on the board…ironically with there being fifteen fights there runs the risk of it being a tie but I'll avoid that as best I can. Anyhow, leave a like and a review, and I'll work on Dangan Hunters in the meantime while letting this story circulate more and be enjoyed; the fact that the first island showdown has concluded is a good way to cover that.

Have a good day everyone, and be sure to leave a like and a review too!)