With Yan leading the pack, his gang trekked down the southern road, along the H row on their maps. Shiro had arranged a meeting place at the south easternmost intersection, where Yan arrived first, then Magoichi, despite Yan leaving almost last of the entire class. Shiro had wondered what exactly Magoichi could've been doing that got him held up, but he shook it off as a simple matter of getting lost. Magoichi never was the most street smart kid in the class.

They'd been on the move ever since those gunshots they'd heard ring out a few minutes ago from the direction of the park. None of the boys had gotten a weapon with any sort of practical use. Shiro received a knife, but it was all rusted, corroded, and unable to cause any sort of damage, aside from maybe tetanus. Yan got a couple of wooden stakes, which, if his classmates were vampires, could've been helpful, but sadly, this wasn't the case. And Magoichi received a string of piano wire, perfect for strangulation, but not well enough in a case where other students wielded guns and knew how to use them.

So the boys had been heading on their way to the one place they were sure they could find a decent defense. In sector A2, barely still on the map, there was a police station. Surely whoever controlled the program wouldn't have wasted their time going through the sites in order to remove any outside weaponry. Surely they'd want it to be more interesting, and give many students a chance at winning. The police station might have helmets, bulletproof vests, guns especially, plus they could easily camp out there and have a well fortified place where they could be safe until the game was over.

They'd turned a corner and still saw no one, surprising given how many students were in the game, even with the possible three killed by the shooter. It was a very long road, from one end of the designated area to the other, but they were determined. It was hard to follow the road in the dark, but they made their way, following the central yellow line. There were quite a few cars parked along the roadways, but they saw no point in trying to steal one…the area not big enough to drive through anyway.

"Mag…what took you so long? Yan met up with me first…but you left before him. Did you see anything about that gunfight?"

"Huh, wha? No. I was just looking around for someone, that's all. I didn't find her though… "

"Her huh? Trying to get some before ya die? Alright my man!"

"Shut up man…it's not like that."

"Oh come on…whoever she is…you know you wanna ram 'er."

Shiro raised his hand for a high five, which Magoichi half-heartedly gave him. Yan ignored his cronies and continued on, noting by the massive building with the red cross up ahead that they were getting close, the police station maybe 2…3 blocks away. With Shiro and Magoichi in tow, the trio marched on, watching out at the sides of the road to make sure they weren't being followed or spied upon. As it came into sight, Shiro ran right up and burst through the doors, not caring about any inhabitants that may have been lying in wait.

"Bang."

Shiro turned to see a girl sitting in the dark, only the hem of her skirt visible through the shadows. Still, he could see well enough to notice the barrel of a gun looming towards him. As he backed away, Yan entered, not noticing the immediate danger, blocking the doorway to prevent Magoichi from following.

"Shiro you idiot. What if someone saw you? You're lucky you've got me or you'd be dead already."

"Bang."

The feminine voice spoke again, this time causing Yan to notice her presence, and he too moved out of the glaring sight of her gun. Yan and Shiro backed up against the wall, trying to keep the gun trained on the other, and not themselves as the girl stood and walked forward, holding up the flashlight she'd been given in her free hand. It was Lasi Lasura, and she held the two boys at gunpoint, complete oblivious to Magoichi standing in the doorway. She couldn't stop smiling.

Magoichi, still unaware of Lasi, just as much as she was of him, entered to find the two frightened boys with their bodies plastered against the station wall. He looked at them oddly and turned around to see exactly the cause of the commotion. Lasi now had her pistol pointed at him.

"Bang."

She repeated the line a third time and began to laugh, lowering the weapon as she adjusted her headphones from their position around her neck, back firmly over her ears. She looked back up at the trio and put the gun safely back in her bag, pulling out an opened bottle of water and taking a hearty swig. The boys, particularly Magoichi, watched, as the fluid flowed down her throat, causing a slight bulge in her neck on the way down.

"So why're you guys here? Looking for weapons? Or maybe you're like me…you're just used to run-ins with the police, and this is like a home to you. Not that I'm like that…I'm just throwing out suggestions."

"We were just looking for some weapons…that gun yours?"

"Yeah…got it in my pack. There's nothing here but a few empty jail cells…no weapons…no nothing. Sucks huh?"

"Yeah. You're not playing, are you?"

"Me? Hell no…I'm not crazy. I may listen to rap, but I'm really not violent. You guys can hang here with me. I'm not planning on fighting…Miss Kamana forgot to specify a time limit I think. So I plan on livin' for as long as possible."

Yan took a few steps forward, no longer feeling in any danger, yet still suspicious of Lasi. She had always kinda hung around, there, yet unnoticed. It was only because of Magoichi that she was even allowed to stay with the group. Yan's eyes darted to her bag, the weapon concealed inside, while she stood before them, humming softly to the beat of her music. It was now or never, and Yan certainly didn't trust anyone who would hold him at gunpoint.

Yan rushed forward and before Lasi even realized what was going on, he had the strap of her bag enclosed in his gripping fist and swung it around, unzipping at the same time to pull out and aim the pistol she'd only recently brandished at him. It took less than a second, yet all three in the station were shocked by his action. With finger on the trigger, he waved the weapon at Lasi, whose attention to her music was broken for the first time since having her CD player snatched away by Kamana.

"You said there were cells, right? Well go pick one out Lasi…because I'm not letting someone like you to run free…someone's already been shooting, and it could be you for all I know."

"W-w-w-what?"

"You heard me…get going."

Yan moved closer, grabbing Lasi by the hair and pulling her along, deeper into the station, until he saw a row of three small rooms, each featuring a set of metal bars. He grabbed a set of keys off one of the desks and thrust them into the girl's hand, holding the gun against the back of her head until she successfully managed to pull the iron gate open. From there he shoved her in, watching as she hit the ground hard, frightened at the rough, almost beastly behavior of the soccer star.

"Yan…what the hell are you doing?"

Magoichi had followed and grabbed Yan by the back of the arm in an attempt to make him cease and desist. Lasi was his friend, or at least he considered himself to be her friend…he didn't know if the feeling was mutual, nor did he care. Yan shrugged him off at first, ignoring his words and preparing to lock the gate and seal in the danger that only he could see or feel.

"Yan! Answer me man! Don't do this to Lasi. She's not playing the damn game man!"

Magoichi pulled on Yan again, trying to get him away from the girl. Yan did not want to be touched or bothered…and he turned the gun on Magoichi, breathing heavily. He was a rich boy at heart, he got what he wanted, and this situation certainly wasn't something he wanted. He was not in the right frame of mind at all to handle making decisions involving life and death. He saw Shiro staring at him from the corner of his eye, just watching, not bothering to interfere.

"Whoa man…think about what you're doing. You're…you're letting them get to you. C'mon Yan, put the gun down…let Lasi go…she didn't mean any harm…just a joke man…"

"If you're gonna take her side I'll just put you in there too Mag…I'm not gonna die…and I'm not taking any risks. She had a gun, and she…she was gonna…gonna wait 'til we fell asleep…wait 'til we were nice and vulnerable…and she was gonna use it."

"Yan…what's with you man…you're losing it."

"I'm losing it? You heard the gunshots just like I did…someone is already playing and you know it. She could be playing too…you and Shiro are the only ones I trust, but if you're gonna fall in with her, then I guess it's down to just Shiro."

Magoichi stood dumbfounded for a moment at his once glorious leader, a powerful influence in the classroom, now degraded to the level of a crazed lunatic. The Program really did change people…that's why it was always said that there were no real winners. He felt a deep respect for Yuji at that moment, for somehow managing to keep his sanity despite all he must've gone through. Still facing down the barrel of Lasi's pistol, now within the hands of his former friend, Magoichi moved into the cell with Lasi, helping her up onto the bed, as Yan slammed the gate shut.

"You okay?"

"I'm f-fine…I wasn't planning anything…honest…I didn't mean to make you guys think I would kill you. I don't wanna play…I just wanna get out of here."

"I know…I know…"

Yan walked away from the exchange between his two prisoners, nodding at Shiro, who was still quiet and out of the way, a drastic change from his usual persona.

"Watch the door Shiro…just…watch the door…"

And Shiro did…Yan always having had things under control before. Shiro was simply willing to obey, even if he was a loudmouth, Yan always had his back, on and off the field. And so now, he trusted his leader's judgment, despite his only personal feeling of what was right and what was wrong. Yan made his decision, and Shiro would simply have to live with it.