First, I should point out that while Dai's execution was created by the person who sent him in , I modified it a bit near the beginning to fit the specific situation that preceded it. And Nanako's execution is entirely my own. I hope it is a bit more fitting this time.

Second , this chapter is shorter than normal. This is because I decided not to advance Reuben's side of the story just yet, otherwise too much would be given away too soon. Advancement will happen in the next trial though. I hope you enjoy the chapter despite that.

Nothing happened for precisely 5 seconds, apart from Dai circling the room. Then, Arisa screamed in terror, and tried to flee, and all hell broke loose.

Dai waved the knife around in a way that was both crazy and precise, attacking his classmates with no inhibitions as they all tried to run away or protect each other. It would seem that many of Akaya's deductions were correct- he was short in stature, and definitely not athletic, but he didn't need to be. Nobody had expected him to go manic, and this surprise, along with the fear, became an advantage for Dai. And he loved all of it.

Monobear sat on his throne, grinning and chuckling as he watched the madness. His beady eyes shone, and his paws gripped the arms of the throne tightly.

"Do something!" Shika begged him at one point, her eyes wet as she stumbled out of the way of Janus, who was attempting to use his body to prevent Dai from reaching Suzu. "Please, do something! Stop him!"

If I was there, I'd try, Shika-san. Woah. Where did that thought come from?

"Why? Why should I? This despair, it is so delicious!" Monobear chuckled. "Besides, at that time, nobody helped u-OOPSY!" Monobear covered his mouth with his paws, as if about to say something he didn't want to reveal.

"What are you talking about? Who does 'us' refer to?" Kyouko demanded, neatly sidestepping some other students. She was ignored, but Reuben was pleased that someone else had picked up on what he had noticed. Not that any of them would have even known he was watching them in the first place.

"But at this rate, we're all gonna die!" Shika wailed. A few stray teardrops flew out of her eyes. She practically tripped over Arisa , who swore and ducked as Dai swung at her with one hell of a backhand.

Monobear appeared to consider this. For a very, very long time. In that time, more chaos occurred, and Reuben was pretty sure that he saw Eirik spit out a blood-stained tooth. He even thought that Akaya may have been knocked unconscious.

How long will this go on for? How long?

Eventually, Akihito managed to sneak behind Dai, and restrain him long enough for things to quieten. Then, with a swift movement, he knocked him over, sat on him to prevent him from getting up, and wrestled the dagger from his hand. He put it on the floor, and shoved it so it spun out into the middle of the circle and remained there.

"Give it up, psycho!" Akihito said angrily, wiping blood from a cut on his hand onto his trousers. Dai mumbled something in response. Akihito simply sat and waited for a while, as if he was taking a coffee break rather than restraining a murderer. Then, as his eyes watched the surroundings, he noticed Akaya. She actually was unconscious, and her slumped figure was on the floor nearby. Occasionally she seemed to begin to wake but never quite get there , but from this distance , nothing else seemed to be wrong. Apart from the fact that she was unconscious.

"Kiyomizu-san!" he jumped off Dai and ran to her side. "Kiyomizu-san!"

Dai sat up slowly, groaning but still looking pleased with him. Kyouko approached him, legs bruised and jacket torn, but with no other (visible) injuries. Her expression was unreadable.

"Don't move. "She told him. "The game is up. There's no point in delaying the inevitable." She edged closer, and her look changed subtly, as if she was restraining herself.

Dai grinned.

"The game, huh? Yes, it is a game. And an interesting one. It's a shame I couldn't play for longer…will it please you, Kirigiri-san? Will my punishment please you?" Dai laughed manically. Kyouko regarded him silently. Clearly, she didn't think his question warranted a response. Then, she turned to Monobear.

"Start the voting." She said simply. People began to move back to their stands. The scene shifted slightly to show Akihito and Akaya.

"Kiyomizu-san! Wake up, Kiyomizu-san!" Akihito shook her shoulder and poked her cheek to try and get her to open her eyes. But apart from stirring slightly and groaning, she was unresponsive. Then Reuben noticed that she was bleeding slightly, and that her leg was at an odd angle.

"Dammit. Could've used Kobayashi-kun's help!" Akihito muttered. Janus and Suzu wandered over, both looking worried.

"I think we need to get her in a more comfortable position, no? At least until today's depravity is long finished and we get to the infirmary." Janus commented. Suzu handed over her cardigan. Akihito took it, but seemed unsure what to do with it. Suzu smiled sadly and took it back, folding it into a bundle and then kneeling down so she could put it under Akaya's head. She pushed some hair away from Akaya's closed eyes gently, and looked at her childhood friend.

"The votes have come in! Our wonderful, wonderful culprits today are Nanako Tamuro –AKA Kami Tarumi, and Dai Yoshida!Let the punishments begin!"

Nanako glared at everyone (Eirik glaring right back at her), while Dai stood up. A large grin overtook his face.

"Well, well. What will be will be." He sneered at all of them , and went into the middle of the circle to pick up his knife again when all of a sudden a large chain appeared out of nowhere , and snaked itself around Dai's leg. Then, it dragged him away. Surprised (and no doubt angry at having his dignity stripped from him) , Dai tried to turn to glare at Monobear , but he was being dragged away too fast.

The execution begins. Reuben thought grimly.

Now, the scene was merely showing Dai, who was being dragged down a long, long corridor. Eventually, it ended at door, which closed with an ominous noise the minute Dai has gone through it. Reuben soon noticed that the door bore the title of the execution on it with suspiciously blood coloured letters-"The interesting case of the Monobear natives." The focus remained on this title, and then all of a sudden, Reuben was watching a random beach scene , where a random bunch of Monobear lookalikes were dancing…around a pot..? No, a cauldron. With a fire burning underneath it. When he caught a glimpse of someone inside the pot, he understood.

Dai was being boiled alive.

Reuben felt strange as he watched Monobear ( the real one) appear and pour more and more liquid into the cauldron (pot?) , as Dai struggled and eventually gave up. He felt strange as Monobear put out the fire and Dai's skeleton was revealed. When all the Monobears started to eat the resulting stew, Reuben paused the video and rushed into the bathroom.

But when he got there, he found that he couldn't throw up.

Breathe. Just breathe.

He paced the bathroom a few times, and then washed his hands for no particular reason before returning to the video.

The scene quickly returned back to the remaining students, and soon it was obvious that they were watching the execution via a TV screen.

"What…the hell…was that?" Akihito asked. He had stood up at some point, but was standing very near to where Akaya was still knocked out. Suzu, Janus and Shika were also by her side, and the others had all gathered nearby (although Nanako was distancing herself noticeably).

"Upupupu! That was the first dose of today's ultimate despair! Are you ready for the next?"

"Ready? You serious, bear? How could we ever be ready for something that damn crass?!" Arisa demanded.

"And surely it can wait? There are people requiring serious medical attention here." Janus protested.

Monobear giggled girlishly.

"Well, whatever. Honestly, teens these days are so ungrateful!" Monobear groused. "Okay, now, now it's time for Kam-I mean Nanako Tamuro's execution!"

"Don't even think about dragging me with some poxy chain! " Nanako said. "I can walk myself, you know."

Even with that protest, Monobear dragged Nanako away (expect that he didn't make use of a chain this time). And so, it all started again.

Nanako disappeared, and the TV screen that Dai's execution had been displayed on flickered. When the image settled, it was showing Nanako walking down a red carpet, cameras flashing everywhere. She seemed to have forgotten that she was about to die, and was revelling in the attention. Even if the so called audience was half made of Monobear clones and half made of random (cardboard?) cut-out people.

Letters in a retro film-poster style font briefly imposed themselves over the image before disappearing. They read 'Box-Office hit" according to the subtitles. Then, after a few more seconds of Nanako parading herself, the scene changed to inside a cinema, where the cut-outs and clones sat, watching a film. The film appeared to be nothing more than a compilation of clips of films Nanako had participated in, but when it finished, there was a large amount of applause, and the real Nanako came out, stood in front of the scene, and bowed.

Instantly, roses and other flowers were thrown at her. Nanako accepted this as her due, and seemed happy. Until the flowers suddenly seemed to turn into knives and darts. All of a sudden, Nanako panicked, and tried to dodge them. She didn't always succeed, but they didn't hit her anywhere fatal. This continued for a while, and Reuben thought that she would just bleed to death, until all of a sudden she took a misstep, screamed , and fell out of view. When the camera zoomed in, it showed that she had fallen through a trap door. As soon as this was shown, the 'cinema' fell silent, and no more weapons were thrown. Then, there was an excruciating wait (although a glance at the clock showed that mere minutes were passing) before Monobear (probably the real one, but it was hard to be sure) , came out carrying a crumpled , bloody pile of skin , bones and clothes. The pile was Nanako. The audience broke into another round of applause, and money appeared out of nowhere at the Monobear's feet. He picked some of the notes up, and grinned evilly. Then the scene changed back to show the others as they watched in mute horror on the TV screen.

It was at this point the video ended. Reuben sighed, and turned off the computer, his tired mind trying to process it all.

Again , I apologise for how short this is.