'Leo? Hey, Leo!'

The female voice sounds clearly in my head. A young girl, with long, blond hair and blue eyes is looking down at me, with a kind smile on her face. I smile back. She's so beautiful... I do not know who she is, but for some reason I feel... odd in her presence. A strange emotion is building up inside my chest. It's... not an unpleasant feeling. The girl pats my head. I like that. I don't want her to stop.

I don't want her to go because I know she's never coming back.

'Leo! Can you hear me? Come on, Leo, you have to wake up! LEO!'

My body spasms as I open my eyes and take a deep breath. This is one of the few moments in my life in which I am absolutely confused and completely disoriented. I have no idea where I am or why I am there. I just know that, somehow, I am alive. I can feel the emptiness of life making its way back into my body. The dream that I was having up until now quickly fades from my memory, never to return again.

'LEO! Oh, thank God you're not dead!' the girl next to me yells happily and quickly leans forward, wrapping her arms around me. I do not think I like this sensation very much. Then again, my body feels incredibly stiff and heavy, most likely as an after effect of the sedative, so I can not really sense much anyway. Ah, yes, sedative... So the dart I was shot with didn't contain poison after all. I suppose I was lucky. Still, I am in no condition to do anything right now. My body refuses to move, and it will probably remain nearly paralyzed for at least another hour.

The girl finally lets go of me and leans back. I recognize her big, brown eyes immediately – Saki Enomoto, from my class. She puts on her always-genuine smile and looks at me.

'I thought for sure you were going to die! We didn't know what was in those darts, and even though I told Akio not to use them, he still, um... Y-you know!' she giggles nervously and brushes her hair behind her ear. Hmm, so Akio Hayashi was the one who shot me... That is... very interesting.

Since I wasn't killed in my sleep, I can safely say that Miura's group is not here, which means I will only be able to eliminate two contestants instead of the three I wanted. Well, I suppose beggars can not be choosers. If I was more careful, I would not have ended up here in the first place.

'Uh...' is the only sound my mouth makes when I try to talk. My jaw feels stiff and cold, like it had just been anesthetized by a dentist. This is far from normal... I should have snapped out of it already. I am guessing I was hit with an overdose of anesthetic after all.

'Don't try to talk' she says, looking obviously worried. 'I don't know how strong the stuff he hit you with really is. It... might take a while for you to recover'

I must admit, her ability to state the obvious is astonishing as always. Still, I can tell that she means well. That, as well as her badly hidden crush on me, make her easy to manipulate. For some inexplicable reason, she has been attracted to me ever since I transferred. I have never shown any signs of interest towards her, yet she never appeared to take the hint.

My vision finally clears up, even though my body still feels stiff, slow and numb. I attempt to rub my eyes with my hand, and quickly realize that I can't do that. Both of my hands are handcuffed to a pole in the ground.

'Oh, um... S-sorry about that...' her face turns red.

It is obvious that it wasn't her idea in the first place. Hayashi most likely requested that I be restrained before regaining consciousness.

'I didn't want to, really! Akio said he didn't trust you, and that he'd kill you if you weren't tied up!'

'I see' I force a smile. Well, "force" isn't exactly the right word. Faking a smile has become so natural to me that it takes practically no effort to place one on my face. There is no other way, I will have to manipulate Saki and have her remove the cuffs. Even though I know how to remove them myself, I lack the proper instruments to do so right now. And even if I did manage to break free, my weapons are gone. I quickly scan the room with my eyes in an attempt to find them, but they're not there. For all I know, Hayashi might be keeping them close to him. I will not stand a chance against him unless I retrieve them first.

'B-but don't worry!' she smiles gently. 'Even though you can't go anywhere, I'll be right here with you so that you don't feel lonely, okay?'

I wonder how long my "arrest" will continue. I am not sure for how long I was out cold, but in any case, there are no more than a few hours left until the end of the game. If a winner has not been selected by then, all of the contestants will die, and perishing in this fashion would be most... anticlimactic, especially after all my efforts to win. Which means that, if I want to have any chance of success, I will need to escape within the hour, no matter how recovered from the sedative I am. But how do I go about it? I suppose I can tell Saki that I love her and try to convince her to choose between me and Akio. If I play my cards rights, I will be able to manipulate her into releasing me.

The second method that comes to mind is to try and free myself from the cuffs using an object nearby. Anything will do, as long as it's thin enough – a hairpin, a needle, a paper clip... Even a toothpick has a chance of working, as long as I don't break it while working. After I'm free, I should be able to kill Saki and get my weapons back. This sounds like a good plan, except for the obvious flaw – chances are, I won't be able to find anything I can pick the lock of my cuffs with. But it's still worth a try, and for that purpose, I need to get her out of the room.

'I appreciate the thought, Saki' I force another smile. 'But maybe you should let Akio know that I am awake?'

'Huh? Ah, right, of course! I almost forgot!' she smiles cheerfully and stands up. 'I'll be back in a bit, okay?'

I nod, then watch her as she walks over to the door and leaves. Now is my chance. I don't have more than 10, maybe 15 seconds to procure a lockpick. I lean against the metal pole I am attached to and forcibly push myself on my feet. My head is spinning and I can barely move... I can't see anything resembling a long, thin object around. In fact, there don't appear to be many things around at all. If I could guess, I would say I was locked in a basement... A very clean and well-kept basement.

I shake my head and squint my eyes. I try to focus, but it simply isn't working. And even if I could adjust my vision, I would still probably fail to find something useful, as the only thing that surrounds me is concrete. Hmm, there are some boxes in the distance. I wonder if I'll be able to stretch out and reach them. There could be something I could use inside. I sit back down on the floor and outstretch my leg. Gh... Not even close. I push myself forward a bit, but my dizziness is playing tricks on me, and I fail to properly determine the distance between me and the boxes. Okay, I think I almost got it... Just a bit more...

*BOOM*

I jump. That was most definitely an explosion from upstairs, and a big one at that. If I had to guess, I would say we are under attack by another group... Or maybe just one other individual armed with grenades. If I fail to liberate myself, I will die, and that would be most unfortunate considering my circumstances. I lie back down on the ground and attempt to reach one of the boxes with my foot. With quite a bit of effort, my toes manage to touch its side... Okay, now if only I can turn it around...

I hear footsteps approaching from the staircase in front of me. Whoever intruded inside the house is quick and efficient. I have little chance of survival now. I do not know how the intruder is armed, but even if the only weapon they carry is a simple knife, they would kill me before I can ever find a suitable lockpick, unlock the cuffs and escape. The only thing I can do is return back to my original position, sitting down against the metal pole, and anticipate the attacker. If I am lucky, then they would be willing to negotiate. Escaping and killing them after that would be elementary. But chances are, they won't risk having me around.

I carefully listen as the steps become louder and louder. Soon, a black shadow forms on the wall in front of me. I am not afraid. If there is a way to save myself and kill the intruder, then I will probably find it. If not, then there is nothing I can do anyway. The mysterious intruder takes another step forward and finally exposes herself.

'I really messed up again...' Saki cries out and wipes the tears from her face. I sigh.

'I heard an explosion upstairs' I explain. Saki sobs out a few times, then approaches me and sits down next to me before laying her head on my shoulder, against my wishes. Not that I would object, of course. Whatever happened, it left her emotionally wounded and really shaken up. This is the perfect opportunity for me to earn her trust and have her release me.

'I'm so useless...' she says through her tears. 'I can't do anything right... And now everything's ruined because of me again...'

I turn my head around and look at her. Despite her cheerful smile earlier, she is now genuinely upset. This girl changes her moods at the drop of a hat...

'What happened?' I ask the obvious question. Saki takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

'Akio is... w-was trying to find a way to remove the collars... A-and...'

Ah, I see how it is. He attempted to remove his own collar, yet failed to do so and activated the failsafe mechanism, which automatically made it explode, right?

'We got some of the bodies from the shore yesterday... T-the student council... He tried to study their collars, but just as he was about to finally remove one, I distracted him... I'm so worthless...'

Well... that was unexpected. It appears that I have been giving... Akio a lot less credit than he deserves. Indeed, experimenting on the bodies first would make a lot of sense. That would mean there is room for mistakes, while also reaping the benefits of cracking the code. All the reward with none of the risk. Even though they have lost their test subjects, I'm sure they have made significant progress in studying the devices around our necks already. I need that knowledge...

'Tell me more about Akio' I ask outright. As expected, Saki doesn't even blink.

'It's a really funny story, actually...' she smiles nostalgically as she begins to tell a story that is quite different from what I asked about. 'This happened around... 10-11 years ago. You know how most hospital have these double rooms that hold two patients at the same time?'

Not really. To my knowledge, this is not how Western hospital functions. To be honest, I have never stepped into one. When I was sick, I was treated at home.

'Well, normally, both patients need to be of the same gender, or else it doesn't work! I mean, can you imagine how embarrassing the physical exams would be for a girl if some weird boy was right across the room, watching? Well, that's exactly what happened! Both of us were assigned to the same room, for some reason! It took the hospital two weeks to figure out their mistake, even though both of us had checkups every day!'

I let out an inaudible sigh. This information is of no relevance to me.

'But by the time the doctors realized they messed up, we didn't want to be separated! Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do about it, so... Y'know how some hospitals have, like, these small parks... Or more like gardens? I dunno, whatever! My point is, we started to meet there every single day just to hang out! Neither of us had any friends at that point, so we quickly became inseparable!'

Saki removes her head from my shoulder and looks at me, with gleam in her eyes and a large smile. Her tears are gone without a trace.

'After we were discharged, we continued to meet almost every day! Honestly, Akio's a lot closer to me than my biological brother is! No matter what we did, no matter where we went, no matter what we became, we were always together. After a few years, he got interested in mechanics and started to research them, while I, well...'

She lifts her hand up and looks at it sadly.

'My disease began to seriously take over. I started to lose muscle control, which meant all kinds of disasters for me and the people around me. You have no idea how many times I've screwed things up for him! I don't even remember all the times I've spilled food on his clothes, or completely destroyed days of his work because I decided to tinker with the wrong piece of equipment, or...'

So he has a soft spot for Saki. That's good to know.

'I tried to be like him... He taught me a lot about mechanics... I experimented with arts, sculpture, anything that would help me improve my muscle control... I tried to improve myself. I don't want to admit that this disease has defeated me. But...' she looks back at me. 'It has... Right now, I'm having a lot of trouble walking without a cane, and my hands are more or less useless when it comes to stuff that involves precision. And, since they took my cane away... I am not leaving this house'

I look down. An obvious solution to the problem would be to find a stick to help her walk, but considering Saki's knack for stating the incredibly obvious, I would say that she already tried that. On the other hand, I can think of another solution...

'I will carry you out' I explain. Saki jumps up, a bit startled.

'W-what? But...'

'Do not worry about it' I force another smile. 'The rules of the game discourage any sort of teamwork. After all, why would you do it if you know only one person will survive at the end? But... If we managed to find a way to play outside of the rules, then they would become invalid'

'Y-you mean...' Saki gasps when she finally realizes what I'm thinking. 'N-no way! You want to try and remove the collars!'

I nod.

'But that's impossible!' she objects. 'We had two collars to work with, and both of them exploded!'

'Indeed, yet Akio almost managed to remove one, right? The only reason he failed is because you distracted him'

'This... This won't work' she shakes her head. 'Akio would never agree to do it! He wouldn't risk killing either of us by accident!'

'I agree. He wouldn't risk it. But he's not the only one who knows how to take these things off, isn't he?'

She flinches.

'Excuse me?'

'You watched him remove one of the collars, right? And you admitted you have studied electronics. I am sure that you can do it'

Saki bites her lip and looks around nervously.

'I really don't think this is a good idea... I-I mean... I can't control my muscles properly! One wrong move, and you go boom! And trust me, I'll make a lot more than one wrong move!'

'It's just a risk we'll have to take!' I yell out. 'Listen to me, Saki! I know you're scared, and so am I, but the end of the game is approaching quickly! If we don't take these things off right now, we're dead anyway, and I'm sure neither of us has any intention of actually playing by their rules. It's worth a shot!'

The girl starts breathing heavily, trying to decide what to do. Ultimately, she nods.

'Go take the tools' I ask her. 'I am counting on you'

Saki stands up and begins walking towards the stairs, her entire body trembling like a leaf. A few minutes later, she comes back with a nice set of screwdrivers and a scissor. The girl kneels down in front of me and picks up a screwdriver.

'If you die, I'll-'

'I will not die' I assure her with another fake smile. 'Now do it'

She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her hand is trembling slightly. Whether this is due to her disease or due to nerves, I can not say. I close my eyes as she's working, mostly because I feel that my gaze is distracting her. I can hear her whimper quietly as she's tinkering around with the device on my neck and letting out a frightened gasp when she thinks things are going back. Surprisingly, the removal doesn't last long – after less than two minutes, the cold metal falls on the ground, making a loud sound as it hits the concrete and liberating me from the chains of the rules.

'I... I did it! Oh my God! I did it!' Saki yells out as she drops the screwdriver and scissor on the floor and covers her mouth. 'I can't believe it!'

'I can' I smile. 'Good job, Saki. I am very proud of you!'

'Wait till Akio hears about this!' she giggles happily. 'I should go and remove his collar too!'

'Not yet' I stop her. 'Let me take yours off first. We do not know when exactly the game will end. The last thing we need is for the time to run out and to lose the only one who knows how to take them off'

'R-right, I suppose that makes sense...' she nods, not doubting my words for a second. I have earned her trust.

'But... I can not do it with my hands tied behind my back'

'Oh, of course!' she smiles and reaches inside the pocket of her skirt, then takes out a small key. 'I am so sorry, I totally forgot about that!'

Less than five seconds later, the cuffs are off, leaving me completely and absolutely free. I rub my wrists and stand up. The effect of the anesthesia has passed completely by now. Saki hands me the scissors and a screwdriver without hesitation.

'Do you think you can handle it?' the girl asks.

I look into her eyes. She is not as concerned as she needs to be.

'Of course' I respond with a smile. 'Just tell me what I need to do'

'Right!' she smiles back. 'Um, okay... See this tiny wee screw riiiight here?' she points at her collar. 'It's painted black, so it's REALLY hard to see, but it's there. Just unscrew it with the tip of the scissors to open the panel!'

'Of course' I nod and grab the scissors tightly by the handle.

With one swift move, I jam the blade straight at the center of Saki's collar.

The explosion is loud, but not especially powerful. Though I suppose it did its job, as her head is barely hanging onto her shoulders. The girl promptly falls back and lands on the concrete floor, dead. I grab the scissors, still stuck inside her neck, and pull them out, then carefully head up the stairs. Just as expected, the house above me isn't especially big, as it only contains three rooms. The first two I check are empty.

The third one is not.

Three corpses, each killed at least a day ago, are lying on the ground. The heads of the two student council members, Mikado and Hakamichi, are almost completely destroyed by the detonation of their collar. The third body is almost completely untouched. It would have even looked alive if not for the pale complexion of his skin. It is not easy to recognize this third corpse – Akio Hayashi, one of the first victims of the game. I shot him to death a few minutes after I killed the student council.

My weapons – the MAC-10 and the army knife, as well as the rifle with sedative arrows, are lying beside them. I arm myself, taking the rifle as well. Before leaving the room, I take one last look at Akio's body. I feel... pity. But at least I feel something. This game is already having a positive effect on me. I have no intention of quitting, even when I am no longer bound by its rules.

STUDENT #1: AKIO HAYASHI – DEAD

STUDENT #12: SAKI ENOMOTO – DEAD

4 REMAIN