"How many do you think were him? How many were Sefi? At least three…maybe more…plus the first six…how many is he going to take down Yuji?"

"First off, Yuri wasn't Sefi…that was Kezika and she got what she had coming to her for playing the game the way she did. She probably would've gotten Ino too if Sefi hadn't beaten her first. You're lucky to were behind her in that hallway."

"Yeah…but lucky…Ino's dead now…her and Yuri are dead now. Ariana too. It's not right for girls like them, who never did anything to hurt anyone, to have to play this way."

"Girls like you?"

"Yes. Like me. I'm not like Bustaka, I'm not some skank that will do anyone or anything. In fact, I'm proud to be a virgin. And I'm not like Kezika…I'm nice to people. And I'm not like Gorasa because that girl is all kinds of messed up."

"Hara Hara Hara…you just don't get it. This is the program…you have no choice to become a girl like that…and if you don't…you're not gonna last long. I might not always be there to protect you Hara…and neither will Yo."

"Yo? What about him?"

"Hara, don't try to play dumb, it doesn't suit you. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's not that hard to realize with the way you act around him. It's like someone brained you with a frying pan and you've got a concussion that just won't quit. You don't even speak in coherent sentences sometimes."

"That's not true!"

"Yeah it is…you talk like those zombies from that old game write…four itchy tasty and all that."

"No I don't…and so what? I'm not the first girl to ever have a crush. I'm not even the only one in our class."

"And you do realize that he's too much of a fool to even notice you, right? He's too busy going after the newly single Aria Istili to worry about anyone else."

"She's not good enough for him…"

"She's better than the trash she was with though."

"Whatever Yuji…I don't even like him. He's just another dumb guy."

"Believe it or not madam president, dumb can get you pretty damn far in this game…brute strength can be a huge advantage."

"That how you won?"

"Something like that…"

"What…the tough guy can talk about my love life, but not his past? Sounds kinda unfair to me."

"I saved your life, unless you'd rather have a broken spine and lie in the road while Sefi Rasu showered you with bullets. At least you wouldn't feel much of it."

"Don't say stupid things like that. Don't be an ass."

"Don't get involved with my past."

"What? You act like a badass saying you won the Program before, you disappear and show up just happening to save me…and I can't wonder just a little bit about you?"

"When you left the school, I asked you to wait…you had the chance to find out right then…and you ran."

"Of course I ran. The guy who knows more about this game than our teacher asks me to stay behind and wait for him, and you think I'm going to stand there and welcome my death? You obviously know I'm not stupid…why would I risk my neck for you?"

"Because you're NOT stupid. People at the end are already down on the others because they can hide out by the door and pick us off one by one and if you'd thought it through you would've realized that."

"Oh I'm sorry. I've never exactly done this before. Maybe next time I have to kill all my classmates, I'll do a better job."

"Hey, don't joke. I said those exact same words before. And they're true."

The conversation grew quiet after that, Yuji staring off into space as Hara tried to think of some response. Yuji was so strange…like he didn't care about anyone but himself, and yet here he was, talking to her, after having risked his life against a machine-gunning madman to catch her from a three story vertical drop. Now he acted almost like he didn't want her around. Very confusing to her indeed…she still wondered how, if she'd followed the announcements correctly, the Program had possibly gotten Kawada twice in a row, and now Yuji twice in a row, in a span of only four years.

"So you're not gonna tell me about your first time playing?"

"No I'm not."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have to open up to you Hara. I may have a use for you, but that doesn't mean I have to talk to you."

"A use for me? What am I, a weapon you can't fit in your little duffel bag? How about hell no?"

"Heh…you really don't get things sometimes. So much for a smart elected official."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing…nothing at all."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me about your first Program then."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"No! What do I have to do to make you shut up?! Do I have to go out there and find Yo just to calm your ass down? 'Cause I ain't goin' out there now…not yet at least, not until I'm sure Sefi's been taken down, most likely by your pseudo-boyfriend."

"Stop talking about Yo! Stop avoiding the subject!"

"Here…I'll do the next best thing to risking my ass for Tanaka."

Yuji unzipped his original pack and pulled out a carton of cigarettes, the brand Yo smoked. He whipped out a lighter and lit one of the tobacco-filled sticks, holding it to his lips and inhaling deeply before blowing a cloud of smoke right in front of Hara's face. She was definitely starting to get annoyed by the way he was acting, with complete disregard for her emotions. She snatched the cigarette away, threw it to the ground, and stomped it into the bakery floor, glaring at him.

"No need to get miffed Hara…it's not like I'm calling you out on the lie you told about being a virgin."

"What did you say?"

"C'mon Hara…why the hell else would someone like YOU be after someone like YO?"

"That's none of your god damned business."

"Seems I struck a nerve. Maybe now you'll lay off about my past, huh?"

"It was a one night stand, okay? The bitch just broke up with him…I don't see why he keeps going back to her."

"Maybe…it's because he a made a mistake, and he wants to fix it."

"What about me?! I gave up my fucking innocence to him. And you know what? Not even a phone call…it's been eight months…and not once has he called…he barely even acknowledges my existence."

"And yet you still chase after him. You remind me of a girl I used to know…you just can't seem to grasp the fact that guys are inconsiderate assholes that have one-track minds. They see one girl and that's the only one they want 'til she's dead. Even beyond that. Doesn't matter how beautiful YOU could be, or how smart, or any other remarkable trait you may have, he'll still want Aria more."

"Hmph…when did you become a psych major?"

"You learn some things being around a group of kids that kill each other. You can tell the ones that have experienced loss before, like you."

"No shit…I just had two of my friends die while I lived."

"Not that…someone else. Family or something."

"Hmph…right again. My half-sister died about a year ago, she was older…by a year…she was the black sheep…because she was a bastard child. Mom always hated how she never tried as hard as I did in school."

"Go on."

"After you haven't told me anything about your past? Why should I tell you anything?"

"Fine, I played and I won. I killed…seven people. Your turn."

"Well…it must run in the family, because my sister was obsessed with this guy in her class. She had a trashcan filled with horrible love notes…crappy poetry and all that. He never noticed her…and one day, I came home from school and my parents were crying. She'd killed herself…strung herself up with a rope and jumped. We moved a few weeks later, after I finished the year. Mom couldn't bear to live in that prefecture anymore…gave her bad memories. So we moved here…for my final year of school before college. Talk about bad luck…but I guess you already know huh? Transferred here for a second term."

"Yeah…I see their faces whenever I try to close my eyes…Genji and Okahito…my friends…I used to be a total nerd before this…and I killed them before they killed me. Then there was Azuna…Itaki reminds me of her, just a bit…and Hiroki, Taichi, and Ryuuto…I don't really feel sorry for those last three."

"That's six…who was the seventh?"

"A girl…a lot like your sister…it was just us in the final 2…she'd had this major crush on me, but when the announcement came…she knew I was playing…and she didn't want me to have to know I'd killed her, when all she wanted to do was love me. She killed herself and gave me the win."

"Who was she?"

"Her name? Etaki Liguna…and looking back…she's one of the most beautiful creatures I've ever laid eyes upon…"

"Etaki…Liguna…was my sister's name…she kept the name of her father…my mother always said it was so she'd forever stain our family name. I…we lived my entire life up until this year in the Okinawa prefecture."

"Last year's Program was in Okinawa…that's where I was…born."

"You…were the boy?"

"Hara…"

"You killed my sister…"

"No…"

"You killed my sister."

"No…Hara…"

"You killed her!"

Hara screamed and pounded on Yuji's chest with both fists, her hands large enough to be noticeable, but small enough that they didn't cause any real pain. Her hair swung back and forth and she did her best to intimidate and act violent, but she couldn't keep it up. She collapsed, unable to stop herself, ruining what little makeup had survived the past twelve and a half hours of her life. Yuji shook her in an attempt to calm the hysterical female to no avail. Running out of options, he pressed his lips to her forehead, wiping tears away with both hands and whispering softly, much like a mother would.

"Please stop crying…I'm sorry Hara…please…"

"How could you kill her and save me? Why Yuji?"

"I didn't know Hara. How could I have known? But I didn't kill her…this Program did…it ruined both of our lives…and it's the reason we were put here in the first place…please you have to believe me."

"You killed my sister…Yuji…"

"No Hara…the fuckers that came up with this fucking idea…killing kids on TV…they killed her…please don't cry…be strong Hara…you have to be strong…you can't let people know you'll cry or they'll go after you first."

Hara sobbed and inhaled sharply, her fingernails digging into Yuji's shirt as if needing some kind of outlet to vent her pain. Yuji's hands never released her, knowing how sometimes you just need someone to be there, someone to hold you. He kept pecking her forehead every so often, her breathing more sharp as she neared the end of her outburst. She reached up to wipe her own eyelashes free of liquid, and Yuji took on the task for her, doing his best to smile, never having thought in a million years that he'd ever have to come back into this sick game again, and while there, meet the baby sister of a girl he'd beaten to win his first time around.

"Hara…listen to me…what I did…it haunts me…it's haunted me for this past year…I can barely sleep anymore without seeing her face. And I'm gonna die before I make that same mistake again…you hear me?"

Hara shook her head, not wanting to listen to his words. Her heart controlled her body now…her mind was simply taking a back seat to the action. She didn't want to believe him, she wanted to blame Yuji…but she couldn't…she knew what he had gone though…she had seen it too. She would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, just thinking about her sister. Yuji had seen her die…he had seen the body…Hara never had…for all she could've known, Etaki could have simply run off, left the family entirely…and she would never have known. Yuji…his suffering would've been far worse than anything she could have felt.

"Hara…please understand…"

Hara opened her eyes and looked into his own…dark and empty…his soul lost long before…the tragic story of his life. In Hara's eyes…Yuji saw her sister…frightened and timid beneath the front she put on for everyone else to see. Hara wanted to pain to go away…the painful memory that dug into both of their minds like a rusty dagger. Her hand reached up and touched his cheek, finding the faintest trace of a tear…nearly dry, but the evidence still there. Yuji blinked to hide his own sadness, and leaned in, kissing her eyelids and removing the sad, salty tears that had accumulated. Both competitors took deep breaths and Yuji made the first move, pressing his lips to Hara's, with her kissing him right back…both of them wanting nothing more than to forever make each others' pain go away.