Sina has seen people die in the Borderlands, but she has never been so close. The realization that Ichika is dead comes when Sina rolls her friend on her back and those empty eyes stare into nothingness. She couldn't promise her that she would survive, and she couldn't safe her. Ichika actually died because of her, since Sina was the one bringing her to the backyard.
Thanks to Chishiya there are no tears left to cry, but the pain is still there. Though there is one more thought bothering her, barely leaving time for emotions. The shot was aimed directly for Ichika's heart, and it came from a distance. Which means that the murderer most likely is a…
"Sniper!" Sina shouts out as she rolls to the side, just in time as another bullet buries itself into the ground. Right where she has been just a mere second ago. She crawls back to the container and tries to ignore the stench, but surviving is more important now. While she can't see the rooftop from here, it also means that the sniper hopefully won't see her too.
The burning heat growing inside of her is already familiar to Sina. She has felt it before in the last game with Chishiya, when she was ready to die to save his life. But this time, the plan forming inside her head is not for Chishiya.
She is done with running away. This has to end now, one way or another. Ichika didn't deserve to die, and the least Sina can do is revenge her friend. And while she doesn't have high chances of surviving, she won't go down without a fight. Not this time.
Considering the location of the backyard and the fact that Ichika has been shot in the back, the sniper has to be on the rooftop of the annex. Sina is done with just waiting for the Witch Hunt to end. She will do her part now.
It is a miracle that she makes it through the staircase without facing one of the militia guys. But they are probably busy now with chasing the remaining people closer to the fire, and Sina swallows down the bitter taste as she sees the blood everywhere.
So many people have died in vain, this infamy has to end now. The smell of burnt flesh is everywhere, and the fire has reached parts of the lower floors already, causing Sina's lungs to burn as she heads up the stairs. But it's still only the main building burning, and there is a connection to the annex via the rooftops, so she won't have to worry about a way down.
She doesn't even bother to look around as she enters Chishiya's room this time. It still hurts to be here, but Sina manages to push all thoughts concerning him to the back as she searches through the tools lying on his desk. The water pistol is gone, and she honestly wonders what he has made out of it.
There has to be something useful! Something that could help her against the sniper without dying instantly. Sina grabs the taser and stuffs it into the hoodie's pocket, hoping that it is fully charged this time, but her eyes catch sight of something else.
Why on earth did Chishiya pick the water pistol but left a real gun back in his room? And if only the militia has access to real weapons, where did he get this one? Sina carefully touches the cold metal. Will she be able to use it against a skilled shooter when the moment comes, even though she has never held a gun before?
With no time to hesitate, Sina takes the gun too and hurries up the last stairs to the roof. The sky is full of sparks from the bonfire, and it would have even been beautiful if it wasn't burning because of dozens of dead people.
This time, she doesn't head to her favorite place to sit down but instead to the edge that faces the annex. The gap is not wider than a meter probably, and Sina manages to jump over it without much effort.
But to her surprise, the roof is empty. The only things remaining are a sniper gun resting at the edge of the roof – and a modified water pistol.
As she carefully glimpses over the edge, Sina can spot something in one of the pools. It seems to be a body, though it's hard to recognize because the water has turned red from blood. Though it does look like one of those black-white shirts Niragi likes to wear.
Of course, it's no surprise that Niragi has been the sniper. He has been the one killing Ichika, but it seems that someone already took vengeance for her. And the water pistol tells her who it was.
No matter what Sina does, Chishiya always seems to be one step ahead of her. No matter if it's the surveillance room or the rooftop, she seems to miss him by a hair's breadth. At least she can be definitely sure now that Chishiya is still here. And if she is being honest to herself, Sina doesn't mind to live on for a bit longer without having to face Niragi here and now.
The fire in the main building seems to spread quickly, and it won't take too long until it reaches the annex. There's no way the Beach will be able to survive this, but at least there haven't been any shots in the last minutes. Maybe the people have gotten back to the basics and stopped killing each other without a sense?
Sina takes the annex' staircase, but this time way more cautious. Time left to clear the game is 15 minutes, and she doesn't want to be shot so close to the end.
She hides behind one of the stone pillars in the annex' lobby as she watches the grotesque scene in front of her. The remaining players have gathered again, though it hasn't been out of free will for sure, and compared to the mass of people who have gathered just two hours ago, it is frightening how many people have died in such a short amount of time.
Most of the players she sees are covered in blood or even hurt themselves, and they're scared. With good reason, since Aguni's men are threatening to shoot them with their guns. The witch hasn't been found yet, and even the militia is scared now that they might lose the game.
"Kill them all."
Aguni's voice is cold as ice, and while Sina is still hidden from curious eyes, she knows she won't be able to get out of here unnoticed. It's either being shot or waiting for the remaining minutes to pass and then being killed for game over. She is just relieved that Chishiya is nowhere to be seen, because Sina can't believe that he has died. He has to be somewhere alive, probably observing everything from a distance like he always does. Sadly she can't see the gallery from her position, but she wouldn't be surprised to see him there.
But what does surprise her is that Aguni's men hesitate to obey his orders. Those men, who have dirtied their hands with the blood of dozens of innocent people, stand there now with shaking hands and broken willpower. Everyone has had enough of the killings. Everyone except Aguni.
He won't hesitate to kill every single one in this room if no miracle happens. But what kind of marvel is there left to happen in their hopeless situation?
"Stop it already!"
Sina as well as most of the other survivors can't believe who enters the lobby now. It's Arisu, together with that Tatta guy and two other girls, and while he looks pretty beaten up, he is alive. Chishiya would be surprised for sure.
While she is glad that Arisu is still alive besides being used by Chishiya, the way he now faces Aguni is nothing but suicidal. Aguni has a loaded gun and is obviously angry enough to kill a whole city, and Arisu doesn't even have a weapon. Yet he tries to convince the new Number 1 that it would be better to search for the witch together… That guy really has courage.
But that doesn't safe him from being battered up by Aguni, and Sina flinches with every hit he takes. Did Arisu really think he could talk to Aguni rationally?
It is when Usagi accuses him to be the witch that causes the other people to speak up too. Sina had considered it too before, and maybe it's not too obvious at all? Maybe Aguni really is the witch and thus trying to kill everyone?
"Yes. I'm the witch." Those words leave Aguni's mouth, but Sina doesn't believe him. No, it's too easy. Even though time is running out, confessing now would be dangerous. The real witch would try to stay unnoticed until the last second of the game is over. But why would he pretend to be something that would get him killed?
Arisu again rises to face him, and with the blood running down his face and the way he still stands despite his broken body, he almost has something heroic. Sina doesn't get most of the things he says now, but she does understand that Aguni and Hatter were no enemies in the first place, they actually were friends. Yet something had happened causing a rift between them, and that's why… Aguni killed Hatter?
It seems far-fetched, yet Aguni pauses as if he wants to listen. Sina almost expects him to confirm all of it and to finally explain what this whole killing-nonsense was about, but of course Aguni only continues to beat Arisu up. Though this time, he is stopped by other players. People are tired of violence and are finally acting up, and Sina understands what is going on inside of them. She has felt the same after Ichika died – the urge to do something instead of only watching or running away. With so many people working together there might even be a chance to still win this game, and this is when she decides to step into the room too.
"I was also someone who killed my friends. I understand the pain in your eyes." No matter what happens, Arisu just won't stop getting up again. As if he wanted nothing more but Aguni to kill him; or does he really think that man will listen?
"You killed your friend. And so you wanted to kill everyone at the Beach, because they were the ones who made your friend go crazy. Your broken feelings. The game master made use of them! That's why this is a Hearts game!"
"Shut up!" Aguni pushes Arisu away again, but surprisingly it seems as if his hits lose force. And is that a tear on his face?
But Sina, too, starts to understand. Hatter was a god to those people, but he also suffered under the weight of being the leader of the Beach. Maybe it really made him crazy, and who else would there be to blame for him than the players causing all that?
Of course no one other than Aguni can be blamed though for Hatter's death if it really is true. But Sina knows that sometimes, people get lost so deep in the dark that they can't find a way out anymore, and the only way to ease their pain is to pull others down into the abyss with them.
That doesn't justify Ichika's death or the death of all the other people, but it is a start, now that the militia guys realize it too. Though it leaves one more question: if Aguni is not the witch, then who is it?
It shouldn't have been surprising that Arisu seems to know the answer for that too.
"You can always see the game master's characteristics in a game. In a Hearts game, it always makes a fool out of everyone. Maybe… there really was a way to end the game without killing everyone. A solution where no one has to die. There's a witch candidate that makes it possible. It is possible if the witch is Momoka herself."
"But… that would mean, Momoka killed herself." Sina murmurs to herself, and others have the same thought. She has been sure that there was a solution where no one had to die except the witch, but she hadn't assumed that the witch could be dead already. That would mean not a single death would have been necessary at all.
"Ichika…" She didn't have to die at all. Who else is out there, burning to ashes because one person has fallen for the darkness? Sina dares to step forward to look for familiar faces. But there is almost no one left, and she can't see Kuina anywhere. She prays to whatever existence might be listening that Kuina has made it at least, while Sina searches the upper gallery now that she can take a better look.
The moment she sees his figure, Sina realizes that she hasn't been ready to face him yet. Chishiya actually is there, leaning on the handrail and looking down at what's left of the Beach. That bastard even has the audacity to wave down at her while she is fighting with her emotions. She is so happy to see him alive and unharmed, but at the same time she is so incredibly mad at him for almost leaving her and not even helping her during the Witch Hunt. For a moment, Sina even considers to take out the gun and scare him with a warning shot or throw the taser into his face so he learns that what he did was definitely not okay.
But before she can reach into the hoodie's pocket, hell breaks loose inside the lobby once again.
Aguni has just started to randomly attack people, only that this time, they're fighting back. It looks almost funny how three players cling to his back at once and he still manages to shake them off somehow. He has gone completely crazy now, there's no way he can return from the darkness.
Sina wants to stop him, but he's moving too fast and she'd never be able to aim properly with all those people attacking him from all sides. Though when a young girl in a yellow shirt steps up, it seems there is no need to stop him anymore.
"Listen up, everyone! I'm the dealer of this game."
Before Sina can even understand what she has been saying, the girl drops down dead – killed by a laser beam straight through her head.
Everyone goes silent, trying to comprehend what that just meant, but the next surprise is not long in coming.
Kuina and An enter the lobby, and Sina almost wants to cry seeing her friend up and well. Both of them bleed from several wounds, but they're alive and that's what matters. An is holding up a knife, most likely the one from Ichika's chest – how comes no one, not even Sina, has noticed it was missing? – and proves what Arisu has been guessing: that the fingerprints on the knife were reversed, concluding that Momoka actually killed herself.
Momoka is the witch.
The witch has been found, and Sina is still alive. So the killings can come to an end finally, and she is one of the winners.
She looks up to the gallery once more, but Chishiya is gone. Again.
But she notices something else: the fire is spreading quickly, and they are running out of time. Momoka's body has to be brought to the bonfire to clear the game within three minutes unless they want to die, and Sina is kneeling down to help the others carry her to the outside.
It almost feels like a bittersweet victory – until the shooting starts again. And this time, Sina doesn't manage to dodge aside early enough.
