A/N: In case ya'll are wondering, yes, this is "Saw: The Trials of Minato Sahashi - Retrial". I decided to rename the fic to "Twisted Wings" to see if removing Saw from the title might net me more of a readership. Some might say it's false advertising, but is it really if it's still listed as a Saw crossover? Either way, I personally like the name a lot more than the previous one and I'm pretty set on keeping it.

Also, prepare yourselves ladies and gents. This is the grossest one yet...

Do Unto Others: Part II

XXX The other day XXX

Chiho squinted through the sunshower as she pedals along the sidewalk, her bicycle tires whirring along with squeaks as they shed gentle puddle drips. Many months had passed since Uzume's termination and her illness was cured thanks to the efforts of Minato and his flock. Ever since then, she made it her number one goal to live healthily and stay in shape. It took a while for her how to learn to ride a bicycle, but Minato and the others had always been by her side since the passing of her beloved. Hell, even before then. But even if she didn't have them at hand, she would put forth the effort anyway. It's what Uzume would have wanted. Every time she got on and collapsed on her bike, it was like Uzume was right there in the back of her mind telling her to get back up and giving her the will to do so.

She squeezed the break and screeched to a halt at her front porch. She lifted her bicycle up the steps and secured it to the guard rail with a padlock and chain. She opened the screen door to her home and reaches for the inside door, only to be taken aback when someone opens it for her.

"Welcome home, Chiho. I see you're staying active as usual."

"Doctor Gordon?" she asked, but not entirely out of bewilderment. "What are you doing in my house? Is it my monthly house visit again?"

"That among other things," he answered. "Come in. There are a few things you and I need to discuss about someone very special."

"Someone special? You mean Uzume?"

He shut the door behind her as she came in. "Yes."

"Ah, welcome home." another voice coming from the living room said.

After a quick glance at the elderly man's wrinkled face as he slowly rocked back and forth in her rocking chair, she turned to Dr. Gordon. "Doctor, who is he? Why are there strangers in my house?"

"So the guest of honor has finally graced us." said a different voice, this time female. She kicks herself up off the couch and encircles her arms around her.

"Yukari? You too? What's going on?"

Yukari pulls from the hug, pats Chiho's shoulders, and leads her to the couch. "First I think you should make yourself comfortable, Doctor Gordon just made us all some tea and it should be ready any minute now."

"Is that so?" she said, raising a blonde brow.

The doc brought in a pitcher and saucer housing four teacups and set them down on the coffee table. He poured the tea into each and handed them off.

Yukari and John took sips but Chiho let hers sit.

"Don't worry, Chiho, it's not poisoned," Yukari said. "Here, let me show you." She poured some of Chiho's cup into her own and sipped it down. "There, see? Nothing to be afraid of. John's just here to speak to you about something."

"John?" she questioned the old man. "Is that what your name is?"

"I apologize for not formally introducing myself to you earlier. My name is John, and I am Dr. Gordon's employer." he said, crossing his legs as he leaned back and took another sip. "The reason I'm here is to give you an opportunity. An opportunity to confront those responsible for the loss of your Sekirei."

Chiho set the cup down and stared at him for a moment, then bowed her head. "It's alright." She said with a warm grin. "I knew deep down there wouldn't be a happy ever after for us. She was born to fight...and she went down protecting me. I'll always have Uzume in spirit."

Yukari leaned in close to her and encircled an arm around Chiho's waist, rubbing the arm up and down. "No Chiho, listen to him. Listen to everything the man has to say."

Chiho looked at her in confusion for a moment. "Is something the matter, Yukari?"

"Quite a bit." she said. "Things are...fucked up, to put it lightly."

"How so?" Chiho questioned.

"You and I are a lot alike," John went on. "Both of us were once stricken with an incurable illness and had our deaths ensured, only to be miraculously cured by MBI's advancements in technology. But despite the two of us being here, the person we loved the most in life was taken."

"Oh my. I'm sorry for your loss, John."

"My wife had a miscarriage after an accident. It left her incapable of having children. His name was to be Gideon, and he would be twelve by now."

"That's awful...I'm so sorry."

"Yes, while the incident may have been a cruel truth, the fact of the matter was something I was never sheltered from. Today, I'm going to pull the wool from over your eyes so you can see clearly again. You've been lied to Chiho. Lied to and used as a hostage."

Chiho's ears perked up at the term 'hostage'. "A hostage? What are you talking about?"

"Shh, listen to him." Yukari urged, hushing her.

John then shot a glance at Dr. Gordon, bobbing his head to the side as if giving him a signal of sorts. A quick moment later Dr. Gordon reaches a hand into the innards of his lab coat. He sits down next to her and presents a manilla folder. He slaps it on the coffee table in front of her.

Chiho looks at it then glances at John. "What is this?"

"Evidence."

"In relation to?"

"Higa's involvement in Uzume's termination."

"Wait, come again?"

Yukari pressed her further. "Look through the documents, they're particularly damning."

Chiho opens the folder and starts flipping through the images and reports. "What exactly am I looking at here?"

Yukari guffawed. "Now where to begin? Images and reports of Sekirei Uzume assassinated for one."

"Assassinate? Why would Uzume do such a thing?"

"To ensure your health and wellbeing." Dr. Gordon explained. "She had to follow orders or else Higa threatened to stop treating your condition."

"WHAT?!"

"Disgusting, I know."

"Wait, this...this can't be real! No way is this real!"

"I'm afraid it is, Chiho." Yukari said with sadness. She pulled her in for an embrace. "I'm so sorry."

"If it's real, how did you get it?"

"My subordinates fetched it for me when they stormed Higa's office the other day..."

xXxFLASHBACKxXx

XXXXXX

Following a long battle, the last of the Eastern Ashikabi's Sekirei fell before Karasuba's feet in a messy clutter of maroon blood. The Black Sekirei, fully adorned in Jigsaw's attire, pig mask and all, swiped her nodachi through the air, whisking the blood away. Behind the mask, a satisfied grin contorted her scars as she sheathed it.

Karasuba hoisted the broken bird over her shoulders and leaped up to the fourth floor of the parking garage. She approached a black van with tinted windows, where another hooded comrade awaited her. The masked accomplice stepped out from the other side of it and crossed its arms, tilting its head to the side.

Karasuba pulled off her mask. "So sorry to keep you waiting. I was having too much fun toying with her and got a bit carried away."

The pig head simply shook its head and opened the back of the van. Inside, the other Sekirei they managed to nab, laying bound and unconscious. The accomplice took some ropes from the back and handed them to The Black Sekirei.

As she took them, an abrupt scream caught their attention. A moment later, an unmasked Akitsu rounded the corner, Oosumi's limp body slung under her arm.

"My, my, you act quick," Karasuba commented. "The Ashikabi having fun with his little toy already I take it?"

"Yes, Kakizaki has been captured and is prepared for the game. However, the both of you should be more alert," the Ice Queen said, throwing Oosumi at their feet. "This person spied on our whole operation up to this point."

"Oh did he now?" Karasuba cackled, gradually removing her sword from its sheath.

"There is no need for that, Karasuba." Akitsu spoke. "He's only human."

She resheathed it with a 'hmph.' "Relax, Ice Queen. I've already had my fun for the day."

"That's not all. Not only did he spy on us," she held up Oosumi's cellphone, "he was doing so while providing intel to a police informant. I shut off the cellphone's tracking device, but the police will be closing in on our location soon. We have to move now. Forget the ropes, just throw the girls in the back."

"Why not just destroy the phone?" Karasuba asked.

"Because I have a better idea. A way to expand John's game even further…"

XXX Meanwhile, inside the hospital XXX

Mathis collected the downed Higa by the throat and began to choke. As he hoisted his weight off the turquoise carpet of his office, he could feel the rapidness of his heartbeat begin to fade almost as quickly as his oxygen supply. Higa's eyes rolled back and his face quickly flushed purple, his lungs begging to be fed with at least one more small breath, no matter how faint.

Mathis tilted the corrupt fuck's head to the side and squeezed even harder on his brittle trachea. He knew he wasn't unconscious yet; he had done things like this enough to be able to tell. He was close though, and that's all he needed. For abusing the sick and helpless, he wanted him to feel what he was about to do next.

With the swipe of his massive limb, Mathis tossed Higa over his desk and his body went barreling through the fucking window on the opposite side.

XXX Outside XXX

Karasuba turned her sight from the Jinki she held and looked on from the rooftop as Higa's body ragdolled through the largest window on the highest floor, jagged glass shards raining down like hail stones. This must have been what Mathis meant when he told her to be ready to intercept.

She let him freefall for a good thirty feet before leaping into action with the speed of a cheetah in fast motion. The Black Sekirei snatched the poor rich bastard out of the sky with all the grace of a hawk in the blink of an eye. Moments later, her heels were on the ground. Rising from her crouch, he looked down at the man, limp in her arms, then shot a glance back up at the window. Mathis gave her a nod and turned away, trudging off.

She knew what he meant by that gesture. Their job was finished, but his game had just begun. What John had in store for Higa she didn't know, but she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity for more fun.

xXxFLASHBACK ENDxXx

John took a sip of his tea and then leaned forward in his seat. "Would you like to confront them about this, Chiho?"

Chiho looked to the floor, then nodded yes with uncertainty.

XXXXXX

"What are you doing, woman? Help us! Get us out of here!" Kakizaki yelped, squirming more in the choker fastening him and Higa to the bottom of the vat.

"Oh, I see you don't remember me." Chiho enunciated coldly. "Well, perhaps you remember Uzume? Sekirei #10? I was her Ashikabi and you both used my condition to make her do horrible things!" Chiho hollered.

"Look it wasn't personal, I wasn't actually going to let you die!" Higa pleaded.

"LIAR!" Chiho shouted. "You used my condition to blackmail Uzume into doing everything you wanted! And now she's gone because of you! You heartless monster!"

"I wasn't aiming to terminate #10!" Toyotama pleaded desperately. "She jumped in the way, I swear!"

"But you were aiming for my friend! Someone your Ashikabi also forced Uzume to assassinate to keep my condition stable!"

"Look, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please give me the chance to make this up to you! I don't want to die!"

"This violence isn't necessary! Please!" Kakizaki wailed in cowardice.

"Please forgive them!" Kochou pleaded. "I don't want to lose my Ashikabi! Please!"

Another pighead stepped forward and stopped next to Chiho. They didn't take their mask off, but their voice was clearly indicative of who they were.

"I'm afraid their lives are out of Chiho's hands, Kochou." John said flatly. He looked Chiho in the eye. "Do unto others as they would do unto you, Chiho. The individuals before us are in desperate need of help, though the opportunity for that cannot come without a decision on your part." Lights on a control panel beamed to life before her.

On top were the words "Live?" in yellow letters; Below, "DIE!" was outlined in red.

"Flipping the switch to the yellow light will release the Sekirei before us from their prison and allow them to participate in a test in which they may earn back the freedom of their Ashikabis, though their survival is not guaranteed. Flipping it to the red, however, will grant them no such luxury. The choice is yours, Miss Hidaka." John glanced over at the Sekirei across from them. "If Miss Hidaka chooses to be merciful, the door leading from your cell and to the accused will open. On the latch ensnaring your Ashikabis is a combination lock. You all know the combination to unlock it. Think hard: the numbers are in the back of all your minds. The clue to their order may be found over the rainbow."

"Over the rainbow? What the fuck is that supposed to mean, old man?! Let us out, please! Look I don't know the combination and everyone else is too out of it to help us!" Toyotama pleaded.

"I can't recall any of the numbers either!" Kochou said, doing her damnedest to come up with some inkling of what they could be but failing each time.

Chiho hung her head. "I had to fight for survival my whole life, and Uzume helped make me stronger." she glared down at the bastards below her. "After what you've done to her I should show no mercy. Give no chance for survival."

"Please reconsider!" Kakizaki choked. "Killing us isn't going to bring #10 back."

"She has a name you know!" Chiho spat. "It's Uzume!"

"How are you going to live with yourself if we die?!"

She puts her trembling hand on the switch. "Day after day…" She gripped the handle and now her whole being trembled. She could hardly breathe, knowing their very lives were literally in her hands. Just like hers was with them.

"Are you okay, Chiho?" John asks, noticing tears dripping from her nose and all over the control panel. She drops to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Dammit, I thought I was ready for this…" Chiho whimpered.

Yukari crouches down and offers pats to her back. "There, there, poor girl."

"I lost Uzume to this bastard…" Chiho seethed. "I wanted to see him pay. To suffer for what he did!" An emotional explosion then rang out from her lungs. She slams her fist into the ground several times. "Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!".

Kochou and Toyotama looked at the girl's sorrow on full display. They couldn't help but feel for the poor girl, having such a hard life and losing someone so dear to her. Then the Sekirei's teeth start to rattle as Chiho rises to her feet and puts her hand back on the handle.

"Chiho, think about what you're doing." Kochou begged. "There's no coming back from this…"

"Damn you all!" Chiho then forces the handle upwards to the yellow light. "Now you'll have to fight like I had to. Let's see how strong you are."

Moments later, a machine connected to the side of the vat began to whir to life; a machine none of them had even noticed until now. Looking inside, they all noticed circular saw blades, far too many to count, spinning at breakneck velocity.

"What is that?!" Higa yelled. "What the fuck is that sound?!"

Above the vat, meat hooks began to march out dangling from a conveyor line attached to the ceiling. For moments they were empty, and confusion dangled in their minds as they all wondered what was coming. They didn't need to wait long.

The hearts of the imprisoned Sekirei dropped to their stomachs as something rounded the corner and into view: the maggot-infested, long-since-decayed carcass of a dead pig loosely hanging from a meathook.

Other than Jigsaw, everyone looked on in bewildered horror as it came loose and dropped into the grinder below. In moments it was shredded to bits and its pulpy, disease-ridden innards were reduced to sludge, releasing an odor so pungent that the urge to vomit was nigh uncontrollable. Or at least it was for Higa and his associates. The glass pane Chiho remained behind had mercifully blessed her and the room's other occupants with the luxury of not having to inhale it. Soon, the carcass' liquified remains flowed down a chute connecting the grinder to the vat itself, and seconds later it exploded directly onto Higa and Kakizaki, splashing all over them and into their eyes and mouths.

A buzzer then went off and the door of the imprisoned Sekirei unlocked and began ascending to the ceiling. Their game had begun.

Chiho remained still, frozen in shock as to what she just witnessed. John, however, simply remained silent and observed the events unfold, hands crossed behind his back like a general standing at attention, the focus in his eyes cold and calculated.

One of the other hooded individuals came forward and stared through the window into the chamber. They glanced at him, back out the window as if doing a retake to see if their mind was playing tricks on them, then back to him. "Jigsaw, how in fucks name do you come up with this shit?" She bows out of her hood, revealing it was Yukari. "No, really, first knife masks, then pendulum blades, and now this?!"

He glances at her. "My games are tailor-made to fit the personalities and ideologies of my subjects." John explained calmly as he continued to watch the test play out. After dangling from their fingertips, Toyotama and Kochou climb down into the vat, their bare feet plopping into the diseased muck. Hurriedly they made their way to the trapped ashikabi and started doing their best to pry off the lock from both their throats, John's hint at solving its riddle be damned. "Higa and Kakizaki are helpless as Chiho was, are they not? And it's only through the actions of their Sekirei that they can be saved. Remind you of anything?"

"I still don't see how maggoted pig carcasses factor into this, John…" Yukari tittered.

"I agree." Chiho choked, face flushing blue as if getting ready to hurl her lunch. She was thanking kami she had yet to eat today. "There's punishment and then there's… whatever this thing is. I think I'm going to be sick."

"Would you like to leave, Chiho?" John asked, concerned. "We don't need to stay."

"Can't you release them?" She asked, glancing up at him, immediately filled with regret at the decision she just made. "I think they've all learned their lesson." Another pig dropped into the grinder, its remains splattering all over everyone inside the vat.

John shook his head and snorted. "I'm afraid not. Unless they win the game on their own nothing is learned. They need to earn their lives back just as you did. It's only fair."

"And who made you that judge?!" Chiho shouted, stomping her foot. "You do realize this is a conspiracy to commit murder, right?"

"Don't forget what they did to you. They held you as a hostage and used Uzume as an assassin to keep you healthy. If anyone's in the wrong here, it's them. All of my subjects have a chance to live so long as they follow the rules. In your case you would have been doomed if not for Minato and they wouldn't have batted an eyelash over it once you succumbed to your disease if he wasn't there."

"The police aren't going to look at it that way, John! If you put a revolver in someone's hand and force them to pull the trigger with its barrel to their head that's still you murdering them!" Chiho reasoned. "Two wrongs don't make a right!"

"Then tell me, where were the police when you needed them? Why hadn't they arrested Higa or any of his subordinates for that matter? In all likelihood he has them all in his pocket, and even if charges were pressed he would have walked away with but a slap on the wrist."

"If they live through this they will tell the authorities! They saw my face and heard my voice too! They know I'm an accomplice to this!"

"Just tell them that I kidnapped you. Forced your hand. It was all out of your control. Given all the deaths that have been occuring attributed to me they would sympathize and have no reason not to believe you, a sweet, innocent young girl who wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Wait, you mean to tell me there are more of these things out there?! That you're the one who's been torturing everyone involved with the Sekirei Plan?! I only came here because I wanted to confront the men, not kill them!"

"I may be remiss, but were you not just struggling with the decision to kill them moments ago?"

"I was hopped up on adrenaline and blinded by rage! I'm no murderer!"

"Indeed, you proved that with your decision just now."

"I still activated the machine! That makes me responsible if they die!"

"No it doesn't. That device was on a timer. If no decision was made on your part and you decided to leave without making a choice, they all would have perished. You gave them a chance and that makes you the better person."

"Why didn't you tell me that at the start?!"

"It was all part of your test. I needed to see what decision your heart would make without burdening it with something that would have resulted in you not following what you felt deep down would be proper retribution."

"So that's all I am to you? A test?!"

The old man shrugged. "I test the fabric of human nature and allow my subjects to follow their hearts. To see if they have what it takes to survive."

"So in other words you like to play God. What do you think gives you that right?"

Another fully dressed pig dropped into the saws gave the vat's occupants a mouthful. They choked and gagged on their agonized screams.

"What's the cure for cancer, Chiho?"

"What?"

"The cure for cancer, do you know what it is?"

"MBI cured it years ago, but I still don't know what your getting at. I may not know the specifics, but I can sure as hell say it's not killing and torturing people for your own sick pleasure!"

"I've never murdered anyone in my life. I leave the decisions up to them." he replied. "It seems the knowledge of their impending death is causing you to act. To feel alive. Why is it that we're only willing to do that when a life is at stake?"

"Because they're still people and all life is precious!"

John nodded his approval and smiled ear to ear. "Ah, so you do get it. That's why life should never be taken for granted. You see, the knowledge of death changes everything and you and I know that better than anyone."

"Do we now?" she crossed her arms. "Explain."

"At some point someone sat us down and told us that we were dying. That we were on a clock with no way to avoid our fates. I'm sure it shattered your world completely, as it did mine when I received the news of my cancer diagnosis."

"Do you think cancer is an excuse for what you do to people?"

"Cancer isn't what started me and my work. It was the moment I decided to take my life. It brought meaning to it. I had literally driven myself to suicide and failed. My body wasn't strong enough to repel cancer cells, yet miraculously I had lived through a plunge off a cliff. A steel bar had impaled me through the stomach, yet to my amazement I was alive. And from that moment forward I was determined to spend the rest of my days to help those in need. To see their lives as a blessing not to be taken for granted or used to harm others. Until one comes face to face with death, they don't truly know what being alive means. They simply exist. They drink their glasses of water day after day without ever really tasting it. Do you understand, Chiho?"

Speaking of tastes, another load of pig gunk spewed forth from the grinder, causing the Sekirei inside to slip and fall on their rears. They freaked out, thrashing around in the soup of intestines and leeches.

"There's still time to make this right, John. The people out there still aren't dead. Please, end this before it gets worse!"

"Those who don't appreciate life do not deserve life, Chiho. Did they appreciate yours or Uzume's?"

"No…they didn't…" she considered. "But this is still cruel and I'm sure there are more peaceful ways to go about attaining the same result. Bloodshed doesn't need to be the answer here."

"What do you think would have changed them if I hadn't brought them here to face their demons? If I were instead to have simply sat them down in a room with you and just allowed you to talk it out? Would they have listened? Cared? Felt remorse? Guilt? Even pity?"

"I doubt it…" she admitted, tearfully. "They probably would have laughed."

"They made their bed, Chiho. Now they must sleep in it."

"Or drown in it, as it were." Yukari commented.

John sighed. "We've all done our part here. The rest is up to them to figure out. They have all the tools necessary to save themselves. We should take our leave."

"I agree." Yukari stated. "Voyeuring their suffering won't make a bit of difference."

"Don't tell me you're actually siding with this madman, Yukari!" Chiho screamed.

"As if I have a choice? He's holding my family hostage. I need to play by his rules, no matter what my feelings are on the matter. Minato will die if I don't cooperate."

"I see, so that's how it is then. And I assume I'm a hostage too now, right?"

John blinked. "Rest assured your stay with us will be brief and comfortable. I wouldn't imagine harming one as innocent as yourself."

"So I am a hostage in otherwords…"

"Regretfully I cannot let you go home until my business with the game master is complete, I'm afraid. But I'm not lying, you will not be harmed. Mr. Mathis will ensure that once we're back at the lair."

"Mr. Mathis? Who is that?"

"Someone no one wants to mess with." Yukari uttered with dread.

Chiho hung her head, defeated. "I will offer no resistance. I'm clearly at the mercy of a serial killer. And make no mistake about it, that's what you are John."

"Tell me, would a serial killer bother with reviving the dead?" John asked her.

"Revive the dead? What are you saying, you're not making sense! Haven't been since we came here!"

"I'm currently collecting the jinki. With their power I plan to set things right and bring back all those who have been terminated. That includes Uzume. Would you like to see her again?"

Her eyes flash open at the implications. "Of course I would!"

"I'll make it happen, mark my words." He turns to the hooded figure standing by the door. "Akitsu, please escort Miss Hidaka to our transport. Yukari and I will join you both shortly."

The ice queen bowed. "Of course, Master John."

"Please, refrain from calling me that."

"Yes, master."

"That's not what I meant."

Akitsu opened the door, holding her hand out the archway to usher her through.

Chiho hesitated, wary of what was to come the moment she walked through that door.

Yukari offered her reassurance. "Don't worry Chiho. If Jigsaw was going to hurt you I wouldn't be here. We'll all get through this nightmare soon, just have faith."

"Fine, just promise me that this won't be all for nothing. I want my Uzume back so badly…"

Yukari pats her on the shoulders, wiping away some of her tears. She pulls the girl in for a hug. "I promise. Everything will go back to normal after our business with Jigsaw is done. And by the end, Uzume will be waiting for you with open arms ready to begin anew."

Chiho hung her head. "Somehow I doubt it will be that simple."

"Let's go, Chiho." Akitsu said flatly.

Chiho exhaled and marched to the door. "I'm coming."

Chiho passed through the open door, Akitsu following just behind. Now only John and Yukari remained in the room.

"So…" Yukari began. "I assume there's a reason why you wanted us both to remain here?"

"I'm testing Akitsu."

"What? Again?!"

"Not in that way you're thinking. Once my subjects successfully complete one game, their lives are assured. I just want to see how she handles matters with Chiho on her own."

"Do you think she'd harm her if she starts resisting or tries running away?"

"I don't know. As I said, I want to see her actions speak for themselves without outside interference. If she is to become a successor of mine, trust needs to be earned, not simply given."

"Aha, I guess that does make sense. Do you really think she's worthy of the honor though?"

"That remains to be seen, but I do try to see the best in my subjects. They all have potential. Not all of them reach it, but those who do become better for it."

"Did you ever consider making me your successor? Not that I'd ever be interested in taking up the mantle, just curious."

"Of course not. You're too much of a loose cannon with a mean streak a mile wide. I learned my lesson after Amanda."

"Jee, thanks…" Yukari rolled her eyes, somewhat insulted by his honesty. "Amanda? Who's that?"

"My first subject that lived. She was a drug addict I saved from going down a dark path…or so I had hoped."

"What happened?"

"Amanda skewed my methods. She created tests and intentionally made them unsolvable to quell her rage and became addicted to the thrill of killing. I had no choice but to sever ties with her. I haven't spoken to her in many years, but last I heard she was rotting in a jail cell somewhere after she sloppily left her fingerprints behind on one of her victim's devices."

"That's a shame. Some people never change."

"Oh she did though."

"How so?"

"She's been clean off drugs ever since our first encounter."

"Sounds to me like she simply searched for another vice. Replaced substance abuse with murder."

"Indeed. She showed much promise, but in the end she simply wasn't mature enough to handle the responsibility."

"That or maybe you shouldn't entrust people with clear psychological problems to share your same mindset and goals."

"Hence why I said I won't make the same mistake."

"But Akitsu is clearly unstable. She did try to kill herself after all…which is partially my fault, but still."

"But she has one element that my other potential successors didn't."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Undying loyalty to those she swears herself to. She just needs to know it's appreciated before any good will come out of it."

"If you say so. I'd still be wary if I were you." she focused back to the test chamber. Toyotama was now leveraging her body in front of the grinder to halt the flow of liquids from entering the vat. As that was happening Kochou climbed back up to their former prison to see if she could wake up anyone else so they can assist in the matter. Smart. "You mentioned your intent on reviving the fallen Sekirei after we collect the remaining jinki. If these girls fail the game, do you think there's a chance we can bring them back too?"

He joins her side, peering out the glass. "That remains to be seen. But one can hope." he glances at her. "Come now. Akitsu has had enough time to secure Chiho. We best join them."

"Agreed." she yawned. "I need a nap anyway."

The two approached the exit, Yukari flipping off the room's light switch as she stepped out with him. John then slammed the door shut, sealing it behind him.

XXXXXX

"Kochou, come on! Hurry up! This crap is starting to overflow and I'm not going to be able to hold it back much longer!" Toyotama wheezed.

"None of them are waking up! It's no use!" She said, violently shaking one of her fellow Sekirei. They slumped over and Kochou was on the verge of giving up and accepting her fate. It was then she noticed something tattooed on the nape of the girl's neck. She moved away some strands of their hair with the swipe of her hand. Beneath it was the number 11 in red lettering.

It was then she remembered Jigsaw's clue.

"The numbers are on the back of your minds."

"That's it, that's the riddle!" she exclaimed. She rushed over to another Sekirei and checked their neck as well. Sure enough there was another number: 32, tattooed in indigo. She hustled back over to the entrance to the vat and looked down at Toyotama, who was just barely hanging on. "I solved the puzzle! Get ready to enter the combination!"

"I knew I could count on you! How did you do it?!"

"All the numbers are printed on the back of our necks in different colors. If my theory is correct then we have to dial them in the order they appear in a rainbow!"

"Yeah, that makes sense!" She looked up at the meathook conveyer, and her pupils shrank. A trifecta of gutted hogs were on their way. If they all dropped in at once, there was no way she could hold back the ooze. Her back was giving away as it was. Kochou needed to make haste, immediately. "Well, what are you waiting for, memorize them and get down here!"

"On it!"

She checked another Sekirei. 46; Orange.

Then another. 84; Violet

Again. 16; Green

And the last. 38; Yellow

"I got them!" She yelped. "All we need now are the numbers on our own necks and we can save them!"

In Kochou's excitement, she failed to remember that her feet were slippery from the toxic pool below. She scurried over to the prison exit too hastily and lost her footing. She slipped and slid on the sludge compressed in her toes and tumbled into the vat hard, clonked her head on the steel floor and knocked herself out cold.

Toyotama's jaw unhinged in terror all the while the three little pigs disengaged from the ceiling, fell into the searing hot blades, and spewed forth their putrid bile.

"NOOOO!"

Toyotama was ejected from the chute violently as the massive flood of filth she held back squelched into the cistern, completely submerging the two villainous Ashikabis well past the tips of their noses. By this point they had already passed out from the noxious fumes, and were completely incapable of doing anything to help themselves.

Toyotama swam through the pond of muddy innards and grabbed hold of Kochou, shaking her with all the aggression and anger she could muster. Without her, she wouldn't be able to read the number on the back of her own neck.

"Wake up damn you, wake up! Come on! They're going to drown! Don't you fail me now! We're so close!" she wailed, knowing everyone's fate was riding on Kochou coming to. "Don't leave me here alone! NOOOO!"

XXXXXX

The following day…

Saito could practically feel his skin crawl as he gazed deeply into the unhinged jaw of Kakizaki. His body was just pulled out of the vat, which had been filled with the sludgy remains of rotted pig corpses. "Poor bastard." he mused aloud. "What a way to go."

The same could be said about Higa, who was still in the process of being removed from the pudding of decay.

All their Sekirei were dead as well, two of which were in the vat with them. No injuries or signs of trauma must have meant they met their demise when their Ashikabis succumbed to drowning due to the link being severed without proper termination of their crests. The poor Sekirei's final moments being nothing but heartbroken despair watching helplessly as their Ashikabis suffered a fate worse than death before dying was something that plagued the private investigator's thoughts endlessly.

He sighed and took a step outside as the rest of his crew went about their business and collected evidence. He knew at that moment what the Jigsaw killer was after; he was systematically taking out all the major players of the Sekirei plan one after the other in an attempt to get to Minaka. He needed to be notified, pronto.

XXXXXX

A/N: My original idea was to give Higa and Kakizaki an original trap akin to an iron maiden that would have skewered them both simultaneously unless they did something involving teamwork. I just kept running into brick walls with it and decided to scrap it in favor of the pig vat from Saw III. I was worried that I wouldn't do it justice, but looking at the final product here I think I outdid myself and made the right decision. Instead of having the main focus be on the trap I instead used it as a backdrop for a character study to further develop John, Yukari, and Chiho who is now on board with the operation. Once she meets Mr. Mathis, she'll feel right at home I feel. Not to spoil anything, but Mathis is one who is deeply sympathetic to the sick and helpless in spite of how imposing and evil he may seem. Like John, he's a psychopath with very twisted morals.