Danganronpa: Corrupted Hope (SYOC) Chapter 23: Sums For Our Fallen Grace (Part 3), a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Chapter 3: Sums For Our Fallen Grace (Daily Life #03)

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggie), and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!

With that said, please enjoy!

"You stupid piece of shit!"

That was the first thing 15-year old Carter heard after telling his parents of his greatest accomplishment. Years of writing essays to Mr. Rowan, years of an increasingly growing sense of anxiety, years where Carter couldn't seem to catch a break… and yet here it was. This was the big break he was looking for. The big break where Mr. Rowan praised him enough not only for his strength and conviction in his latest piece, but enough to submit it into the national newspaper.

It was his accomplishment.

His big break.

So why did it have to be shattered so quickly?

"Holly," Eloise Franklin pointed a small, concerned look toward her storming daughter. "You know we don't use that language–"

Holly Franklin ignored her mother, shoving today's opinion article into Carter's face. She was pissed but Carter couldn't fathom why. He merely stared at the pseudonym he used to write the piece: C.R. Franklin.

"You really didn't think I wouldn't notice?" Holly hissed, thrusting the paper into Carter's face. "Wouldn't notice the shit you wrote about me, 'C.R. Franklin'?"

"I–" Carter was about to voice a response before Holly interrupted him, reading a specific line that he had written in his essay.

"'Mental health is important. It is something we should strive to care for. After my sister couldn't see her therapist because they cut her off thanks to our lack of insurance, it's been a struggle for the family to keep her at ease and no doubt a struggle for every family who's suffered a similar fate. Therapy should be seeked out for everyone in need. Not just the ones with the hard-boiled cash,'" Holly read out loud. She stopped, throwing the newspaper article down and looking at Carter in rage. "How fucking dare you?!"

"W-Wait but w-what did I do–?" Carter widened his eyes. He was completely dumbstruck. He didn't say anything bad, did he? Anything that might've caused her distress? Right? He was just being honest. This was… This was a good thing he was pointing out… right?

"What did you do?!" Holly glared, grabbing Carter by the collar. "What did you do?! You fucking outed me, you fucking piece of shit! That's what you did!"

"Holly–!" Ryan Franklin attempted to get Holly off of Carter, but her strength was much too strong and convicted.

She continued, her temperament only rising.

"In case you didn't know, because of this article, everyone thinks I'm some kind of freak!" Holly yelled. "Like I'm some sort of ticking time bomb ready to explode! You ruined my fucking life with this piece of shit!"

"I– I– I'm sorry sis, I just wanted to–" Carter tried to reason with her.

"Just wanted to what?!" Holly screamed. "Ruin my life even more?! Why were you even fucking born?! Ever since mom had you, you've been nothing but a fucking pain in my side! I hate you! You stupid little–"

"Holly, that's enough–" Ryan tried to pull Carter away from Holly, however the older sister's grip was tight.

"No, it's not dad!" Holly yelled at her father, throwing Carter down to the ground, bruising his arm. "Carter ruined my fucking life and he needs to pay!"

"I– I– Y-You…" Carter stammered.

"Fucking stay on the ground, you filthy stupid pig!" Holly screeched at him, desperately trying to kick him down, but this time, her father restrained her. He placed all his weight to make sure she wouldn't go near the boy.

Only this time, the screams and the screeches were getting too much. Holly's voice circled throughout his head. The repeating deprecating comments flooded his mind until finally… finally, he had enough.

"Sh-Shut up!" Carter yelled before increasing the sound of his voice. "I mean, SHUT UP! Y-You can't even… You can't even let me have this, can you?! Just once, I wanted to do something that everyone, even you can be proud of! But you can't even do that, can you?! You can't even be proud of your little brother, you spoiled bitch!"

"Carter!" Eloise glanced at Carter, appalled by the language he just used.

"What did you fucking say to me?!" Holly screeched, her face redder than ever.

"That's enough!" Ryan attempted to alleviate the situation.

"No no, say that again!" Holly challenged. "Say it to my face again!"

Carter clenched his fist. For too long, he's been on the receiving end of her bullshit. For too long, he was the little shit that supposedly ruined her life. For too long, he had to deal with her constant bitching and moaning.

"You're a bitch!" Carter yelled. "M-Maybe even worse! You're just jealous that I succeeded more than you ever will!"

"Carter," Eloise gasped.

But the arguments were getting more heated. Boiling to the point of no return, like a volcano that has already erupted. There was no hope and no point for the parents to try to stop this because it was too late. The quarrel had erupted into an all-out sibling war.

"Oh, fuck you, you little mousy piece of shit!" Holly screamed.

"No, fuck you!" Carter yelled back. "You're the reason my life has no meaning! You're the reason I can't even be happy! You think I ruined your life, well you ruined my life first, you bitch!"

"I'll fucking kill you!" Holly exclaimed. She pounced but had forgotten that her father had been pulling her back away from Carter.

"Holly, that's enough!" Ryan barked. "You too Carter!"

"I wish you were dead Holly!" Carter yelled.

"I wished you were dead first, fucking–" Holly responded.

"All of you, be quiet!" Eloise screamed.

But no matter what anyone did, the two siblings continued to exchange words. It was supposed to be a great day for Carter. It was supposed to be the day he finally got a win in his life. His opinion piece in the national newspaper… and yet even he couldn't get that win. Even he couldn't satisfy his monstrous sister. He could never win… could he?

"You owe me Carter!" Holly screamed and threw a fit as Ryan dragged her to her room. "You fucking hear me?! You owe me my life back!"

'I don't have to owe you shit!'

That was the first thing Carter wanted to say but instead, his mother grabbed him by the shoulder. The look of disappointment on her face said it all. That's when he remembered. Not even in his own household could ever catch a break. His sister hated him. His parents… so close to being proud could only look at him in disappointment.

It was never enough to gain the approval of your own family. Carter remembered this simple fact as he found himself moving to another state. Not before remembering those painful words from his own sister:

"You owe me Carter! You fucking hear me?! You owe me my life back!"

He remembered the article he wrote. He remembered what exactly Holly had read out loud. He remembered.

'Mental health is important. It is something we should strive to care for. After my sister couldn't see her therapist because they cut her off thanks to our lack of insurance, it's been a struggle for the family to keep her at ease and no doubt a struggle for every family who's suffered a similar fate. Therapy should be seeked out for everyone in need. Not just the ones with the hard-boiled cash.'

Holly's voice returned, repeating the same thing that had been ringing in his years as he watched the long line of cars push through the obscenely horrendous traffic to the nearest airport.

"You owe me Carter! You fucking hear me?! You owe me my life back!"

For the first time in her sorry life, maybe she was right…

(Cafeteria)

"That bastard really left us all to ourselves, huh?" Haruto grumbled to himself.

"Yeah," Jared pushed his badge and his police hat toward the end of the table, away from him. "Starting today, I'm stepping down as the leader of the group. I couldn't prevent two more deaths like I wanted and as such, I failed everyone as the designated leader. I failed us."

The choices that Jared made had rightfully received negative responses. Haruto was still in a shitty mood since his big revelation last night. So was Abigail, but that girl was always in a bad mood thanks to her lack of sleep. But Jared's absence in the Cafeteria prompted a feeling of change in their atmospheric prison.

A wind of change for the worse.

Because if someone like Jared who used to have that whole heroic mentality of trying to make sure everyone was safe and sound would succumb to working alone, then what does that say about everyone else? What does that say about the ones who are now stuck without a leader. Ones who have gathered in the Cafeteria today, hoping for a day where they can all leave…

The Cafeteria was quiet as usual but not without its gloomier aura radiating from some of the gloomier prisoners. A few sum hadn't even bothered to show up. Who else but Jared and Cassandra. (Plus Ina who was still locked in Cell #66 but).

Zuri, who seemed a little more depressed than usual, stepped forward upon noticing something left on the table. Picking it up, she blinked. It was a key and a key she was all too familiar with.

"Hey this is…" Zuri gasped before frowning. "It's the key to Cell #66. So he really has gone solo, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, well fuck him," Haruto growled. "Can't believe I looked up to that guy as a fucking leader. Jesus Christ. What kind of leader would quit like that and leave everyone else to fight for themselves?!"

"J-Jesus Christ?" Carter answered, honestly.

"Shut the fuck up," Haruto deadpanned.

"Don't get me wrong, I get it," Abigail sighed, leaning against the wall. "Jared leaving us to go on his own sucks. But at the same time, did we ever really need a leader in the first place?"

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked Abigail.

"We are our own people," Abigail stated. "We can make decisions without someone to lead us, right? Why are we just bitching and moaning about having no leader when we can just do things ourselves? I mean, the way I see it with these past incidents, they've been caused by people who made their own choice of wanting to leave. We just need to make the choice to stop giving into whatever White Collar keeps throwing at us."

"A resolve that all of us must have to avoid turning on one another, yes," Arthur nodded in agreement.

"E-Easier said than done," Carter's eyes scattered around. "S-Some of us aren't as mentally strong as everyone else…"

Haruto noticed the moment Carter's trembling eyes pointed toward him.

"Oi, the fuck are you looking at me for?!" Haruto clenched his fist.

"A-Ah, I d-didn't mean to!" Carter stammered.

"Mmm, Abigail, I think you're wrong," Barracuda stepped forward. "I think we do need a leader. Because only a strong leader can get everyone to keep that resolve mental thing that Arthur and Carter mentioned."

Abigail blinked. She was a little taken aback. The normally dumb Barracuda stepped up to make a good point? That was something she didn't really expect. Especially since the point he made refuted her point of having no leader.

"...Okay, so if we do need a leader, then who's going to be the new leader?" Holland stoically asked.

"I will," Arthur, Barracuda, and Haruto raised their hands simultaneously. "Huh?!"

"Oh wow, so we have three leaders?" Mimi blinked. "Isn't that a little too much?"

"Yes, it very much is," Arthur pointed a glare toward Haruto and Barracuda. "With all due respect, but why should this group trust either of you to lead?"

"Why should they trust you?!" Haruto pointed back.

"...Touche," Arthur smirked to himself.

"S-Smirking doesn't help your point, man," Carter stuttered.

"They should trust me as leader because I am a fitness trainer and leading is in my blood… for exercise purposes!" Barracuda grinned, raising his hand sheepishly.

"Bullshit," Haruto grumbled. "I've led basketball teams to victory thanks to my leadership skills. Pick me, damn it!"

"And I'm rich," Arthur folded his arms together. "My family may be a bunch of cheats and liars but if there's anything they know how to do, it's to lead and give hope. As a Kingston, I am perfect for this role."

"...Okay, so remind me, how is this any better without a leader?" Abigail deadpanned, looking too tired to deal with this.

"C-Can we really trust any of these options?" Carter blinked.

"Barracuda's obviously the best choice here," Maggie pointed out, avoiding gazing at her crush too hard. "The guy's got a heart of gold. And I think he's proven over and over again how innocent he really is to all of this chaos and mess. We need someone optimistic and positive like he is in this environment."

"Ah, thanks!" Barracuda chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Okay, but optimism and positivity can only get us so far," Abigail rolled her eyes. "We saw that with Kane and Jared. If we're going to have a leader, what we need is a fighter's attitude. Haruto's definitely the guy who can get that done."

"Oh shit?" Haruto blinked. "Hell yeah, now you're talking! I got someone on my side on this!"

"I think we should maybe give Arthur a chance," Zuri pointed out. "I mean, he does have the leadership qualities so…"

"Y-Yeah but isn't 'being trustworthy' another quality a leader should have?" Carter blinked.

"You can trust me," Arthur stated, plainly.

"E-Er, not sure we can," Carter pointed out.

"Well, you can," Arthur stated. "My goal as a leader is to get everyone out alive. Which also includes the blood relative I recently found out I had a few days ago."

"E-Even after she tried to get you killed?" Carter gulped. "Th-That's crazy!"

"But it shows how much effort he's going to put in, right?" Zuri tried to attest to Arthur's candidacy. "Er, Holland. Back me up here!"

Holland blinked. He glanced at Zuri before glancing at the three options. To be honest, this situation was turning childish but he had to voice his own opinion on the matter.

"...Yeah, I think Zuri should be leader," Holland stated.

"E-Eh?!" Zuri looked surprised at Holland's sudden declaration. "W-Why me?!"

"...Because you got what it takes to be a leader," Holland shrugged, speaking as a matter-of-factly. "...What else can I say?"

"She's not even an option…" Mimi blankly stated. "But... now that it's been put out there, I want to agree with Holland! Zuri is more trustworthy than Prince Arthur and more patient than Angry Haruto! I mean, she's also the one who gave Holland a second chance first! Plus, she's also smarter than Big Barracuda!... No offense."

"None taken!" Barracuda smiled innocently.

"W-Wait, but I don't want to be-" Zuri was about to say.

"Alright, enough of this," Haruto grumbled impatiently. "Who the fuck should be the leader? Are we just gonna put it to a vote or what?"

"Yeah!" Barracuda also looked slightly impatient by how indecisive the group was getting. "Who?! Me? Haruto? Arthur? Zuri?"

"S-Seriously guys!" Zuri panicked. "H-How did I suddenly get on the ballot?!"

Barracuda. Arthur. Haruto. Or Zuri. The choices for leadership were broad but eventually someone had to be chosen for leader, right?

Someone good and able. R-Right?

…

In the end, Zuri won the vote that everyone had participated in, much to her chagrin, with Barracuda in a close second, then Haruto, and finally Arthur in dead last.

"This is bullshit," Haruto grumbled. "Fucking rigged."

Arthur scoffed, grimacing as he watched Barracuda drop slightly disappointed and Zuri freeze in shock. He remained quiet, but at the very least relieved that the vote wasn't lost to a dumb gorilla and a dumber gorilla.

"Well, I guess with that settled, Zuri's going to be in charge of our Morning Meetings?" Abigail raised an eyebrow.

"I... I guess I am..." Zuri blinked, shocked that she ended up becoming leader, and not even to her consent of course!

"Yay, Zuri!" Mimi cheered.

"We'll see how long this lasts for," Arthur remarked. He hates to admit it, but Zuri had been a useful person whenever he needed to vent about his sibling troubles.

A leader had been chosen but Arthur had made the correct remark. The right question to this situation.

How long will this last for?

(Jared's Room)

Whilst the Cafeteria group had their debacle with who was to take Jared's place as leader, Jared himself remained in his room, messier than it usually was. His blue hair, unkempt from lack of sleep. His uniform wrinkled and worn uncomfortably. His evidence wall had expanded with questions about White Collar, the facility they were in, the missing students, #66, and of course, the question of whether there are means to escape.

A classic debacle of 'I don't need sleep, I need answers'.

Mentally, Jared just wasn't there. The stress of being a holder of justice was eating at him. How to do this. How to do that. It was egging him. Biting him. Ruining him. Jared rubbed his face, exhausted from the mental energy he had spent trying to come up with theories, debunking each ridiculous one from the last.

Then a knock came.

Opening his eyes tiredly, Jared wobbled to the door, though not without preparing to fight against a possible attempted murderer. After all, not many people were happy with his decision to go at this alone. Probably unhappy to the point of wanting to commit murder.

But opening the door was a face he didn't expect to see out of potential murderers, or rather, a face he was somewhat glad to see.

"Oh, Cassandra," Jared groaned. "You're here."

"Yeah, and you look like shit," Cassandra muttered, letting herself inside Jared's room. The moment she saw Jared's evidence wall and his messy room, she stopped. "Your room looks even shittier."

"Why are you here?" Jared sighed.

"Can't a girl finally feel relieved that I got an answer to why you've been acting like a pussy the past two days?" Cassandra frowned before examining the wall of theories and speculation. "Looks like you did some decorating to your room."

"Ha ha, very funny," Jared snarked. "It would be better if you just left me alone."

"Come on, even after everything we've been through?" Cassandra mused.

"I wouldn't count you knocking on my door just to theorize 'everything we've been through'," Jared pointed out. "So, tell me, why are you really here?"

Cassandra stood there, arms folded and her eyes narrowing. Truthfully, there was only one reason why she would bother going to some cop she had a free time event with, especially one who had just recently turned his back against the rest of the group. She needed an ally in the game.

Someone who could be on her side and make sure she gets somewhat of a smooth sailing throughout the game. Someone she could use to survive the Killing Game. Someone like Jared, who's solo mission to end the Killing Game could very well get her further into the game.

…But no way in hell was she going to say that. So instead:

"...You know, you really pissed me off the other day," Cassandra frowned. "At least I know why. Just wanted to hear it from your mouth."

"I said everything I wanted to say," Jared told Cassandra. "If you're thinking about getting me to change my mind, it's not going to happen.

"Please, you really think someone like me wants you to go back and play leader?" Cassandra scornfully asked. "No. I just want to make sure you remember where your heads at. There's a difference between going solo and going on a suicide mission."

Jared stared at her in disbelief. Was this the same girl he was talking to? Was this the same girl that didn't seem to give a shit about the lives that were lost before and so suddenly cared about preserving his life? What was going on?

"Why does someone like you care about whether I lose my life or not?" Jared frowned.

Because I'll lose an ally too quickly you dickhead, Cassandra thought. But instead, she said, "Doesn't matter. I just don't want you going rogue on me, okay?"

Jared pointed a stare at her. To him, it seemed too much that Cassandra perhaps truly cared about his life… Just like everyone else left. Because she was saying the same thing he often heard since he made his decision to go solo.

The police officer clenched his fist.

"Sometimes going rogue is the only answer in a lawless land," Jared clenched his fist. "You and the others don't understand. But it's the truth."

Cassandra contemplated exactly what Jared was saying, tying it into her own lifestyle. A lifestyle that was way too painful to live by the rules. So, at this point, Cassandra recognized what Jared was saying, but there was no way she was going to lose an ally to sanity, death, or the scorn of everyone.

"Okay, so what, going rogue doesn't make things any better," Cassandra frowned. "I've lived that life y'know."

Jared remained quiet.

"Yeah, big shocker," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Big bad bitch Cassandra had some mommy issues– or lack thereof –growing up and so I did some shitty things. But going rogue because things have gotten shit doesn't mean you should become a piece of shit either."

Jared narrowed his eyes, suspiciously.

"Tch, well this is a twist," Jared folded his arms. "Since when did this so-called 'big bad bitch' suddenly care so much about me becoming one in the first place?"

"Since I don't want you to go dying a stupid death, you fucking dumbass," Cassandra started to raise her voice. "God! What the hell is with you?!"

"What the hell is with me?" Jared started to raise his voice again. "I'll tell you! I'm a police officer! My job is to serve and protect and yet two people were murdered under my watch. Not only that, but I had to watch two of my former friends get executed for their crimes and two other criminals are still living amongst us right now! I… I can't afford any more bodies to drop, nor can I afford anyone else to play along with White Collar's game!"

"And yet, you're playing right into his trap," Cassandra grumbled. "You're starting more unnecessary conflict, hypocrite!"

"You want to talk about hypocrisy?" Jared frowned. "What about you? Suddenly caring about someone creating unnecessary conflict? Pot calling the kettle black, much?"

Cassandra tried to word a response. He got her there. But her fragile ego wasn't going to let him have it. She glared at Jared, furious.

"Fuck you," she hissed, before turning away. "You know what. Forget it. Don't listen to me. Go die for all I care."

The tense atmosphere never faded as Cassandra roughly pulled Jared's door open. But before she left, she had, of course, one last thing to share with the police officer.

"You know, I really thought you were different," Cassandra frowned. "But I can see now that you're as dirty as every cop I've met."

Cassandra slammed the door shut, leaving Jared behind in his miserable little room. She had the last word which not only frustrated Jared but it also… saddened him. Perhaps the only person who possibly would have sided with him in his mission… No. She never supported it. But…

Jared punched the evidence wall, letting small stick-it notes slowly float down to the ground.

Maybe she was right. Maybe going rogue wasn't the way to do this. But what other choice did he have? Because as far as Jared was concerned, there was no way for everyone to survive safe and sound without putting an immediate end to the Killing Game.

He stared at his hands.

His breath hastened in speed. It was that same feeling he had. The same feeling when he pulled that trigger that fateful day. Pulled it: once, twice, thrice. Four five six. That same haunting feeling he had hoped he could avoid all those years.

It was clear. Not only was Jared's morality starting to darken, but he and Cassandra did not grow closer. If anything, they grew further apart.

There goes your Hope Fragments now! Fuck!

(Cell #66)

Ina slowly opened her eyes.

Still the same old dirty Cell. Still the same musty air. Still in the same room she was forced to share with the cockroaches and the rats that would occasionally crawl around the sides of the walls. For Ina Hamamura, the great Ultimate Revolutionary, living in such conditions were to be expected.

Historic revolutionaries have been placed in worse; this was just child's play.

At least, with the conditions of the Cell being unlivable in general. Because what was the most difficult for her was rather the peace and quiet. Or rather, the feeling of being alone. She bit her lip. Had she been caught beforehand, perhaps Mayu would've still been alive. Both her and Yuumi.

And Mayu would have been able to join her on the other side of the door to chat with her. She chuckled to herself.

Of all the people here, she never once thought she would end up becoming good friends with a rich elitist like Mayu. And not only that, but she also never once thought she would miss the girl too. Part of it was the guilt but another of her thinks that perhaps she really did value that girl's company, even if she also considered her an agent to take down another powerful corrupt figure.

Mayu…

Ina sighed bitterly. If only things turned out differently. If only… If only it was her instead of Mayu…

She closed her eyes. All track of time was lost. Perhaps her fate would speed up if she rested some more.

At least that's what she thought before she heard a soft knock on the other side of the door. Blinking, Ina crawled over to the door, curiosity peeking to see who would visit her– Well, who else but… Ina grimaced.

"Go away," Ina frowned.

"...It's just breakfast," a different voice than what Ina expected stoically stated.

It was Holland who decided to give her food today? Blinking, she watched a tray of food slide through the small slit of the metal door. Raising an eyebrow, it looked like the menu hadn't changed one bit.

Sandwiches.

Mayu's favorite. Or rather, the only thing she kept eating since that was all they were able to make.

"I am not hungry," Ina sighed, preparing to slide the food back to Holland.

"...At least keep it for later," Holland stated, voice still unchanging.

"Hmph, why are you here today?" Ina asked. "It is usually Zuri or my accursed half-brother who delivers the food."

"...Well, I had nothing better to do, so I thought I would take up the errand today," Holland explained. "...By the way, if you move the mattress closer to the corner, the roaches and rats will have a harder time climbing out of the hole."

Ina turned to see her mattress leaning against the middle side of the wall. Sure enough, roaches were sneaking out of the corner of the wall to hopefully get a bite from Ina's tasty prison sandwich.

"Duly noted," the revolutionary remarked.

Ina leaned against the metal door. There was an immense silence between the two. In fact, Ina reckoned that Holland had already left, being the quiet enigma that he was. Part of her was glad to have been proven wrong, however.

"...Loneliness is always the worst part of being locked up," Holland stated.

"As I have experienced," Ina chuckled slightly. "You were brave to let yourself get locked up in these conditions."

"Not as brave as you…" Holland looked away. "...You are spending time here longer than I have."

He wasn't wrong there. At most, she was spending her time here at least a day or a couple hours more. She looked down. How she missed feeling a little cleaner than how dirty she was now. How she missed the actual comfort from her room. How she missed… seeing actual faces.

The loneliness was always the worst part. Yeah. Holland was right about that. So why not use this time to maintain her sanity, right?

"Would you like to have a conversation with me?" Ina asked.

She felt a warm presence from beyond the slit of the metal door.

"...I'm not opposed to that," Holland stated, as he let his back rest against the metal door. "...What about?"

"Anything," Ina sighed. "I have been suffering too much. I need to have a proper conversation with someone to maintain my sanity."

"...If I'm not mistaken, you rejected those opportunities when it was Arthur," Holland stated, emotionlessly.

"I have nothing to say to that bastard," Ina grumbled. Instantly, her desire for a conversation turned into regret. Out of all the topics in the world, her accursed half-brother was not something that she wanted to talk about.

"...He has a lot to say to you, though," Holland pointed out. "Why not give him a chance?"

"Why give a man like him to explain himself?" Ina frowned. "If a narcissistic tyrant was given a chance to explain himself, he would escape his due punishment."

"...But everyone deserves a second chance," Holland pointed out. "Even someone like Arthur, who hasn't really done anything as bad as a narcissistic tyrant… so far…"

"Can we change topics please?" Ina huffed, crossing her arms.

Holland was silent for a moment. Then he let out a sigh.

"...Alright," he stated. "But just know, I was given a second chance. One day, you will too, and you will eventually give Arthur a second chance… At least, that's what I think."

This was not what Ina wanted to hear. Anything with Arthur in it was just a topic that should be shredded to bits. In other words, in no universe was Ina going to give Arthur that second chance he may think he ever deserved. Though just the thought about second chances…

"...You were lucky, Holland," Ina stated. "You had someone to care for you while you were locked up. The only one who actually did care about me as a person was Mayu and I got her killed. How could second chances be offered to someone as selfish as me?"

Holland remained silent. He had already spotted a contradiction in her statement.

"And do not say it," Ina sighed. "That bastard cares about no one but himself."

Damn. She's good.

Sighing, Holland decided he had to approach this conversation at a different angle.

"...I get it," Holland stated. "It's the same question I asked myself after what I did… 'Did I really deserve this second chance…?' 'Did I really deserve good things to happen to me after what I did…?' Even now, I think I don't deserve any of it…"

It was Ina's turn to remain silent.

"...But now I know that it isn't about whether you deserve that chance," Holland stated. "It's about whether other people are willing to give you a chance… And if they do, you honor it…"

"Then do you really think people will give me a second chance?" Ina raised an eyebrow as she leaned against the metal door.

Holland had to take a moment to think about the answer to Ina's question. Then with a firm nod that she was unable to see, he spoke.

"It'll take time but eventually, they will, I think…" Holland stated.

"And how do you figure that?" Ina frowned.

"...I'm out here and you're in there," Holland answered stoically. He made his point, but he continued. "But even so, the blame that you'll put onto yourself won't ever go away… At least, that's the price of being given a second chance."

"Even now, you still blame yourself for your actions?" Ina asked.

"...Of course," Holland looked away solemnly. "...Not a chance goes by that I don't wish I could have taken back what I did."

"And yet you still hardly seem phased by everything," Ina retorted.

"...Years of practice I guess," Holland answered. "...I've always blamed myself for a lot of things when I was younger. Even for the simplest things. I guess I just learned to handle it…"

"Sounds quite unhealthy," Ina noted.

"...My mom thinks so too," Holland nodded. Though, the mere mention of his mother was enough to make his stoic expression shake slightly. "Hm… If only she knew what I had done here… I'm sure she would hate me."

"I doubt it," Ina snided. "You said it yourself back at our first Trial."

"...I'm sorry," Holland looked away once more. "I just... I just wanted to see my mom again. I wanted to leave and… be with her again. Even before the motive video, I missed her so much because she was the only person out there who was always taking care of me and making sure I was doing good. She always took on so many harsh tasks, even when I told her not to. She did everything for me. Even if I was nothing more than… than a nuisance for her, she was still there for me. H-How could I leave her all alone and worried for me? What kind of son would I be if I let her just worry for me?"

Holland remained silent as he remembered his own words.

"Your mother loves you so much that she was willing to sacrifice so much for you," Ina explained, though looking away solemnly. "Any parent like that would still love you despite the mistakes you have made... Unlike my father."

"...I'm sorry," Holland apologized.

"For what?" Ina asked.

"...For bringing that topic up again," Holland sighed.

"Hmph, I do not mind as much anymore," Ina folded her arms. "Though on the subject of him, do you really think someone like him could deserve a second chance as well?"

Holland didn't open his mouth right away. Instead, he took time to consider the question. Now there was a flaw in what he had said earlier regarding second chances before he shook his head.

"...A man as experienced as he is, has already rejected every chance offered to him," Holland explained. "But his son has not…"

Ina took that into consideration. But as she did, almost right on cue, Holland turned his head to see Arthur approaching and stopping, hands accompanied with a tray of food for Ina.

"Ah, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Arthur blinked.

Holland remained silent. He kind of was. Interrupting the fact that Holland and Ina had grown closer together and the fact that they have collected each other's Hope Fragments if this was a videogame. And hearing his voice, Ina's calmer and collected state turned into more of frustration.

"Yes, you are, please leave," Ina's voice ordered from behind the metal door.

"I brought food," Arthur stated.

"I already have food," Ina glared from behind the door. "Please leave. Do not make me repeat myself."

Arthur didn't even have the strength to argue. His face felt pained before he placed the food on the ground. He glanced toward Holland.

"Could you make sure she gets this?" Arthur asked.

Holland silently nodded.

With a heavy sigh, Arthur left the two to continue to do whatever it is they were doing, which in this case was just conversing with each other. And noticing the quite clear hostility against Arthur from Ina, Holland could only sigh and hope that what he said was true.

That maybe Ina would one day give Arthur that second chance…

(Ultimate Personal Trainer's Cell)

Barracuda was disappointed.

Or a better description would be, Barracuda didn't expect to be as disappointed as he was at the moment.

He just lost out on becoming the new leader for the group. Although he was happy that Zuri ended up being the one to get the role, he felt a little sad over the implication that his team trusted one person over him. Not a good feeling, especially for someone who was born to be responsible.

As such, Barracuda decided to do what he did best to take his mind off of this urging dismay. However, he also didn't expect to see another face here. Not only that, he also didn't expect that other face to be Carter, who was clearly having trouble lifting some weights thanks to his weak body.

"Whoa whoa, what are you doing Carter?" Barracuda asked Carter, rushing over to the shorter lad before his skinny arms would eventually snap off.

"W-What does it look like…?" Carter struggled to lift a 50-pound dumbbell with one hand. "I want to get s-stronger."

"Well, you can't do it with a 50-pounder!" Barracuda exclaimed. "That's dangerous!"

"Ugh!" Carter collapsed to the ground. It was clear his attempt at exercising was killing him more than the actual exercise process. The attempt was the exercise! "Th-Then what do you think I should do?"

"Always start small," Barracuda handed him a set of 5-pound dumbbells. "Then, if you think you can handle it, gradually go bigger. Fitness Training 101."

Carter glanced at the 5-pound dumbbells that ended up being way too easy for him to carry. He blinked before glancing back at Barracuda.

"Too easy?" Barracuda chuckled. "I got you!"

Barracuda took the 5-pounders and handed him a set of 10-pounders.

"This should be a bit better," Barracuda grinned. "Now just do your thing!"

Carter glanced down at his much comfortable use of 10 pounders. Then he gave Barracuda a small nod and started lifting weights.

"Th-Thanks," Carter nodded.

"No problem!" Barracuda grinned. "...But if I had to ask, why the sudden interest in exercising?"

Carter stopped doing what he was doing. Man barely started and it already seemed like he was giving up. He set the dumbbells down and sighed.

"T-Truthfully, I'm kinda scared," Carter stated. "I th-thought long and hard about everything Jared said last night. A-About everything that happened under his watch. A-And it just got me thinking…"

Barracuda blinked, listening attentively.

"I-If even J-Jared is going to b-back away from everything…" Carter trailed off. "A-And even if two p-people died under his watch, a-anyone is still at a risk of dying even under new l-leadership. Y-You know?"

"You don't trust in Zuri to help us out?" Barracuda blinked.

"T-Truthfully, no," Carter looked down, slightly ashamed. "I-I'm sorry. But I just d-don't have faith that the k-killings and the b-betrayals will stop. W-Which is why I need to get stronger. S-So I can defend myself."

Barracuda tapped his chin. What Carter said did make sense. He was right to be scared. If someone as heroic as Jared could go cold turkey, so could anyone else in the game. Although he also did vote for Zuri when asked to vote, it was not a certainty that the murders would stop.

"Well, I guess you gotta point," Barracuda tapped his chin. "Then until then, I could totally train you to know self-defense!"

"B-But you don't fight," Carter blinked.

"Pft, fighting is still fitness!" Barracuda exclaimed. "Good for the cardio and the muscles!"

"A-Ah, then if you know how, that would be appreciated," Carter noted.

Barracuda jerked his thumb toward the punching bag and the notable punching gloves that were offered for anyone who wanted to use it. Carter gulped slightly.

…

What felt like forever and torment was Carter sweating like crazy and weakly punching the bag over and over again. The typical joke is that Carter had only just started or only committed to 10 minutes of the task at hand. But I'm not typical and therefore will not make that joke. Instead, Carter had indeed been working his butt off for an hour and each punch he tried to put in was weaker than the last.

In fact, it was so pathetic as Barracuda found himself unsure on how to continue to train him except order Carter to keep punching as hard as he can. Sighing, he stopped leaning against the punching bag and folded his arms.

"Okay, stop," Barracuda stated.

"S-So, a-am I doing good?" Carter sighed.

"Well… you are putting in work, but it can definitely be better," Barracuda sighed.

"G-Gah, I'm so dead," Carter groaned.

"Ah hey, hey, it's alright," Barracuda blinked. "I mean, not everyone can be as strong as me. And not everyone puts in the effort like you did either so… Don't be too hard on yourself!"

"H-Ha…" Carter sighed, sliding his back against the punching bag itself. "Th-Thanks…"

"Need water?" Barracuda chuckled.

"N-No… it's fine," Carter sighed.

The pair remained silent for a moment, allowing Carter a moment to take a couple of breathers. Barracuda on the other hand leaned against the wall, contemplating on how to get Carter much fit than he usually is. Wasn't like the nutrition in this place was good either. But his thoughts were snapped away by what Carter had to say next.

"H-Hey B-Barracuda," Carter looked down. "D-Do you really think w-we're here because we're bad people like Wh-White Collar said?"

"Huh?" Barracuda blinked, taken aback by Carter's question. "O-Of course not! I mean, look at the people that are here! Zuri's not a bad person! Mimi's not a bad person either! You're not bad either! Sure, there are some… problematic people but I doubt they're b-bad either."

"Y-You really sure about that?" Carter sighed, looking away.

"C-Carter?" Barracuda blinked. "Are you… okay?"

"S-Somehow I'd like to think that the reason I'm here is because of what I did," Carter gripped his head. "G-God. M-Maybe none of this would be happening to me if I hadn't been so stupid!"

"Hey man, don't say that about yourself," Barracuda told Carter. Hey, that's a line he's finding himself repeating more and more often. "Look, I'm sure what you did can't be bad enough to put you into a game like this."

"...I outed my sister," Carter grimaced.

"Huh?" Barracuda blinked. "...W-What do you mean?"

"M-My older sister," Carter sighed. "Sh-She's… Sh-She's had a history with mental health problems. Sh-She's always getting mad and tormenting me. Blaming me for everything. S-She's hated me ever since I was born…"

Carter clenched his fist. Barracuda listened.

"I… I wrote an opinion piece," Carter frowned. "I thought that I was doing something good for her for once. And I wrote about how important taking care of mental health is and… and… I mentioned my sister."

"So… because of that…" Barracuda tried to think about the consequences of that.

"Because of that, everyone who knew me, knew my sister to be crazy," Carter grimaced. "And she lost everything. Her friends. The respect from her peers. People stayed clear of her. I really thought I was doing a good thing for her. B-But once again, I made her life miserable."

"You… can't really blame yourself for that," Barracuda tried to say. "And even so, your sister… from the sounds of it… was really mean to you for a long time."

"...I kn-know," Carter frowned. "S-So in the end, it was accidental v-vengeance for the abuse sh-she put me through. I had to m-move because of what I did. My p-parents were equally d-disappointed."

"...Carter, I had no idea," Barracuda frowned.

"Y-You know the kick of it all?" Carter turned to face his larger companion. "W-When my sister lost everything, it… felt good."

Barracuda widened his eyes.

"You can't mean that, can you?" Barracuda asked.

Carter glumly looked down.

"...It only feels good for a moment," Carter frowned. "Before I remember that I owe my sister for ruining her life. G-God. I messed up big time. S-So in a way, I guess my sister got her just desserts… with me stuck in here and her still suffering out there because of my m-mistakes."

Barracuda said nothing. Could this be the reason Carter isn't as vocal as he usually says he was when he could freely speak his opinions about certain matters? Who knows? Barracuda was too dumb to put two and two together so instead, he clenched his fist.

"S-So what?" Barracuda folded his arms. "S-Screw your sister! Even if you did something like that, I still say there's no reason for you to get put in a place like this!"

Carter looked up toward Barracuda, glumly. He was sweating, but for what reason? What was he getting so worked up for? Unlike him, Carter was smart so he could piece two and two together that there was something wrong with something he had said.

"...B-Barracuda," Carter slightly gulped. "D-Did you do something as bad as I did too?"

Barracuda looked away. He remembered what he had told Maggie yesterday. His face, downtrodden as he remembered it all too well.

"...I left," Barracuda tipped his head down.

It was quick. Vague. Maggie blinked. She didn't push for more. She left it simple, open in case he had more to share. But he didn't. Maggie frowned. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe herself actually. To think that she still held onto that desire– then again, it had only been three days –that she would ever be with someone like him.

To think that he would trust her enough to tell her what exactly was on his mind and in his heart. To think that she could finally get the satisfaction she longed for in her twisted game of catching mice.

"...I see," Maggie said nothing more. She pursed her lips. "But that can't be it, right? I mean, I cheated on my boyfriend with countless affairs. You leaving doesn't mean–"

"...No, it is," Barracuda clenched his dog tag necklace tightly. "I left. And leaving is against the law… Heh. I'm a criminal in my own country."

"I–" Barracuda was about to say before an important voice interrupted the two's delicious Free Time Event.

"Attention all prisoners," came the voice of one Monohebi. "Please report to the Auditorium for a special announcement from your warden and my master, White Collar. Attendance is mandatory. That is all. See you soon."

Carter and Barracuda glanced at each other. Then without warning, the larger male stumbled away, leaving his Ultimate Cell and a very confused Carter behind.

With that heart-to-... Well with the exercise, one could suppose that Carter and Barracuda grew closer together...?

(Auditorium)

Once Monohebi made the announcement, ten people instantly gathered at the Auditorium, waiting for what else White Collar had in store for them. It took a moment before finally the other two slowpokes arrived. Two slowpokes named Ina, who was locked up in Cell #66, and Zuri, who had the key to Cell #66. As they scuttled to their group, White Collar examined each one of the remaining prisoners closely.

…Then his mask widened into its signature sinister grin, eyes narrowed. He saw it. He knew it. The effect of his Killing Game and its aftermath was working all too well. He saw the level of disparity in their eyes. The hopelessness sinking in. What little strength they still held out for their escape slowly diminishing by the second.

"Hm?" White Collar perked his head, curious. "You are all so quiet today. Normally I would expect a rude outburst or remark from one of you and yet nothing. Perhaps you've all accepted it. Accepted that this game cannot end without a clear victor at the end…"

"...Is that really all you want?" Ina, surprisingly, was the first to speak up. "A victor for your game?"

White Collar said nothing in that regard. Seizing the chance, it was Abigail's turn to speak, though she was rather nonchalant about it all.

"Just get it over with," Abigail frowned. "Admit it. The reason you called us out here today is to force us to play the Minigame."

"My, my, aren't we intuitive," White Collar chuckled behind his mask. "You've caught me, Miss Ellsworth. It is indeed that time again."

"A little early, don't you think?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"With how much excitement the last case ended up being, why can't I start this next Minigame earlier?" White Collar grinned, sinisterly. "After all, it is my game."

White Collar pointed the sharp end of his cane toward Arthur. Twirling it around, he slammed it onto the ground, letting a loud CLANG to continuously echo throughout the Auditorium. Haruto spoke up next, feeling rather impatient.

"Well what stupid videos did you get for us this time?" Haruto growled. "Because as far as we can tell, I think we all get the gist of your game."

"Y-Yeah!" Zuri stepped forward, looking at White Collar, disapprovingly, taking her role of leadership very seriously, except for the fact that she was literally facing off against the Devil himself. "We all know better now to vote Trust."

"...Except Cassandra," Holland pointed out.

"Hey, fuck you!" Cassandra retorted, looking slightly offended. Only slightly because she already knew she wasn't trusting anyone in this shithole. No reason to since she's been nothing but hateful since they began this game.

"It seems they still have their fighting spirit, Master," Monohebi shook her head, distastefully. "To think they would insult you for your lack of originality."

"I hardly care for such petty remarks, Monohebi," White Collar commented. "But yes, as Monohebi may have hinted just now, today's Minigame will be a little different."

This piqued everyone's curiosity. Did this mean they were no longer doing that damn Prisoner's Dilemma Minigame? And if not– the dread began to sink in –just how different will this next Minigame be. The fear for the unknown was becoming real to them as some of the prisoners began to grow a little nervous.

"A-Are we not doing P-Prisoner's Dilemma again?" Carter gulped, thinking it best to ask.

"No no, you are all still doing Prisoner's Dilemma," White Collar chuckled sinisterly. "But I think the best way to put this is… Hmm. Why… it's more of a special, bonus round of Prisoner's Dilemma."

"Special, bonus round?" Mimi repeated, looking confused.

"History lesson time," White Collar leaned against his cane. "As Ultimate students, you are no doubt the bearers of stability for the future. You are the Hope that everyone inspires to follow. The Hope that must lead and pave the way for a better tomorrow for the future generations of the world. With that in mind, do you all know just how much the current twelve of you are worth to the world?"

There was a notable silence. No one knew what exactly White Collar was asking. Slowly raising his hands, confused, Barracuda tried to come up with an answer.

"Er… a lot?" Barracuda answered.

"Six million dollars, to be exact," White Collar answered, patiently. "However, as we add your four deceased compatriots, together that would be eight million dollars. Yes, all 16 combined would equate to eight million dollars! How lucky you all are to be gifted so much worth to the world!"

"Yeah, and because of this game, you lost two million dollars," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "What's this all about?"

"Pop quiz," White Collar grinned. "If all 16 of you equate to eight million, and the current 12 of you equate to six million… How much is each individual here worth?"

White Collar narrowed his eyes as he tested the intelligence of his peers, none of which were happy that they were called in by the Devil to do some math.

"...Five hundred thousand dollars…" Holland was the first to solve the problem. "Each person here is worth five hundred thousand dollars."

"And that is how much your life is worth in this pitiful world," White Collar mused, shaking his head. "So much more than the common man. You all might as well be royalty! Ah… I forgot. One of you is… and yet they are on the same level of price as the rest of you. How embarrassing, isn't it, Mister Kingston?"

Arthur looked away, not wishing to be reminded of his ties to the Kingston Family.

"Look, I don't know what the point is with all this math and history talk, but can we please get whatever you have planned for the Minigame, over with?" Maggie looked pretty impatient by what was going on.

"...Impatient, are we Miss LaDroubi?" White Collar chuckled. "Very well. I'll get straight to it. You are all worth an equal price over your head. Five hundred thousand each. Six million in total. And luckily for you all, I have six million dollars… right here, right now…"

On cue, Monohebi dragged a mega-large suitcase onto the stage. Dropping down onto the ground and opening up the latches, a mountain of cash in US dollars peaked from the open suitcase, shocking the prisoners.

"W-Wait, are you… bribing us with money to get us to kill each other?" Zuri looked surprised.

"Bwahahaha!" Haruto burst out laughing. "Didn't think you would get desperate like that, but here we are! You really think money is gonna get us to kill each other?!"

"I believe half of us here don't even need the money," Arthur rolled his eyes. "What a waste of time this was."

"I never did say this money was for you, did I?" White Collar leaned against his cane again, a little offended that these kids were dissing his next well-thought-out motive. "What you see here is merely a cultivation of everyone with us today. In other words, this money is your lifeline. Which leads us to our special, bonus round of…"

"Prisoner's Dilemma," Monohebi finished her Master's sentence. "Today's round of Prisoner's Dilemma is a round we like to call, 'Bounty Hunter'. The rules are simple and generally the same as your typical Prisoner's Dilemma game but with a few tweaks. Each player starts with a price of 500,000 dollars over their heads. But depending on how the game plays out, that price will either lower or rise."

Monohebi played the nearby projector to showcase a diagram of what she meant. Shown on the board was each player's profile picture, each with a notable price of 500,000 dollars labeled beside their faces.

"During the game, like any other typical Prisoner's Dilemma game, you will have the option to select between Trust or Distrust against your opponent," Monohebi explained. "If both players choose Distrust, both players' prices will remain as is."

For example's sake, the projector showed Abigail and Arthur pitted against each other. When both profiles showed the word 'Distrust', as Monohebi stated, nothing happened to the number beside their names.

"If both players choose Trust however," Monohebi continued. "Both players' prices will drop to 0 and the added money will be given to Master White Collar and myself."

"Meaning that money will belong to us now," White Collar shrugged, leaning against his cane. "And we will be one million dollars richer."

The projector this time showed Abigail and Arthur's profile showing the word 'Trust'. Once that happened, the '500,000' by their names moved down below them, and added together forming the number, '1,000,000', and being delivered off to a chibi White Collar emote. The chibi White Collar emote celebrated and the numbers by Abigail and Arthur's profile were replaced with 0s.

Monohebi then reset the board to how it was originally.

"However, if one player chooses Distrust and the other chooses Trust …" Monohebi continued to explain. "The player who chose Distrust will dump all of their money onto their opponent."

"Meaning the player who chose Distrust will be worth 0 dollars and the person who chose Trust will be worth one million dollars," White Collar clarified.

As shown, Abigail's profile chose Distrust while Arthur's profile chose Trust (totally out of character by the way) and suddenly the 500,000 by Abigail's name was added onto Arthur's price. Abigail's number was replaced with a '0' while Arthur's was replaced with '1,000,000'.

"O-Okay, so we're just giving each other money basically?" Carter blinked.

"Giving each other money?" White Collar deadpanned. "Mister Franklin, this is a Killing Game, not a charity event. I would've thought the name, 'Bounty Hunter', would've clued you into the consequences of receiving that price on your head…"

Almost instantly, the dread set in. Bounty Hunter. Price tags over their heads. One million dollars. They knew all too well where this was going now and Jared was the first to respond, looking rather pissed.

"You can't mean–" Jared clenched his fist.

"Whatever your price tag is by the end of this game, is how much you are worth to the Killing Game!" White Collar declared, extending his arms out like the cross. "In short, if you kill someone with a price of one million dollars on their heads, you get exactly that! One million dollars!"

"N-No way!" Zuri gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

"Which means, if you kill someone with five hundred thousand on their head…" Holland grimaced slightly.

"You get five hundred thousand and if you kill someone with 0 on their head, you get nothing," White Collar explained. "It's as simple as that."

"Then we just all vote Trust and we can all end up with 0 dollars!" Abigail exclaimed. "That way, no one will get tempted by the prices on our heads!"

"I-It's not like anyone would want to kill someone over money anyway, r-right?" Mimi gulped, shaking in her boots.

"Money is the root of all evil," Ina looked away. "You would be surprised to see even the nicest of people fall for greed."

"Oh, and here are some more things I must clarify," White Collar gave a sinister grin. "Unlike other motives, this motive is special. Because as soon as you kill someone, that money will be delivered right away to whatever bank you associate with! No need to wait for a Trial! Kill someone, and that money is yours!... Though of course, there would still be a Trial but then the question will be… 'Is it worth the risk?'"

That news further thrusted the knife of shock deeper. As soon as someone dies, they get the money. No Trial or anything? That was already plenty for the motive… but the next thing White Collar stated somehow made it worse.

"And one final thing," White Collar's grin widened. "Whatever your price tag is by the end of the Minigame will remain… throughout the entirety of the Killing Game! So even if you survive the next Trial… that price on your head is still valid for the high, high price of one million dollars."

"Please kill someone with a high price over their heads," Monohebi pleaded nonchalantly gesturing to the suitcase of six mill. "We do not wish to stuff six million dollars into this suitcase again."

"Y-You're mad!" Carter yelled, clutching his head. "N-No! W-We won't play! W-We won't! Y-You can't force us!"

"Actually, we can," White Collar sighed, shaking his head. "You either play the game, or we play with your rotting mutilated corpse. Your choice."

"Fucking sadistic asshole," Haruto grumbled, clutching his fist.

"Now that we've explained the game…" White Collar turned to his snake companion. "Monohebi. Will you do us the honors?"

Monohebi slithered further up toward the stage. She switched the projector screen to showcase the new pairs and most noticeably, the number of pairs were getting smaller. The pairs themselves? Well:

"Pair A: Abigail (500,000) vs. Haruto (500,000)

Pair B: Arthur (500,000) vs. Ina (500,000)

Pair C: Barracuda (500,000) vs. Maggie (500,000)

Pair D: Carter (500,000) vs. Zuri (500,000)

Pair E: Cassandra (500,000) vs. Jared (500,000)

Pair F: Holland (500,000) vs. Mimi (500,000)"

"Now then, you have ten minutes to prepare yourself for this special round," White Collar declared, extending his arms out like the cross. Then he gestured and nodded to Monohebi.

"Ten minutes until Prisoner's Dilemma: Bounty Hunter begins," Monohebi announced.

As soon as Monohebi announced the beginning of the discussion period, Abigail and Haruto shared a glance, both of them knowing full well what they were going to choose. After all, the two were the most vocal of the group against White Collar's next motive and both saw this as an easy decision on both parts. Or at least, they would like to think so.

"So, you're choosing Trust, right?" Abigail raised an eyebrow.

"Fuck yeah," Haruto answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away. "Er, are you?"

"Yeah," Abigail looked away as well.

Pause.

"Oi, can we actually say that we are while looking at each other?" Haruto mumbled. "Doesn't feel like either of us are being honest."

"Look, there's no reason for me to want one million dollars," Abigail sighed, rubbing her arms. "I already come from a rich family. Don't really want to add any blood money to my family's history of bloodied money."

"Damn, kinda deep," Haruto turned to face Abigail, looking at her with slight sympathy. "But I can relate. Dad's already rich. Don't really gotta make that bastard richer than he already is."

"So, we can both agree that we both don't need the money and therefore we don't really need to put a red target on each other's back, right?" Abigail also turned back to face Haruto.

The two glanced at each other. It didn't take a moment before the two turned away once again. For some reason, they were having a hard time looking at each other in the face. Could it be? Could it be that they weren't exactly being honest here?

"Yeah, agreed," Haruto confirmed, albeit a little quietly.

The two continued to look away. It was an odd reaction. As if both of them were thinking of many reasons to choose one option over the other. Or maybe it was something else all entirely and everyone is just thinking weird.

…

Such was the case of Arthur, who watched Abigail and Haruto's interaction with a slightly piqued interest. They were sure acting odd. Perhaps they were going back against their word about what to vote for. Bloody hypocrites. So, adamant about not playing the game and yet here they were, contemplating on playing the game…

Arthur glanced back at his opponent. Ah yes. His opponent. His little sister. Half-sister.

She definitely didn't find it amusing that she was paired up with Arthur, of all people. No doubt, White Collar and Monohebi did this on purpose to ensure someone got to choose Distrust. Both she and Arthur recognized it in fact.

"I know we do not see eye to eye at the moment," Arthur bit his lip as he approached his sibling carefully. "But can we both agree that our current circumstances were undoubtedly orchestrated by White Collar?"

"...And what of it?" Ina avoided glancing at Arthur. "I know you, Arthur Kingston. You will try to manipulate me into voting Trust just so you can vote Distrust and force a big threat to your survival to become a big treat for the blackened to enjoy."

"I-Ina, what?" Arthur widened his eyes. "How could you– I wouldn't do something like–"

"Save it, half-brother," Ina folded her arms, a pained expression on her face. "The Kingstons are a selfish breed. You are no different."

"I– Ina please," Arthur tried to walk closer to Ina. "I won't vote Distrust. I promise you. I will vote Trust. And you should too so that we can–"

"There is no 'we', half-brother," Ina spoke with a distasteful tone. She gave a glaring look toward the snowboarder. "There never was. Even now, you are trying to beg for your own life."

Arthur blinked. He tried to hold out his hand but was instantly rejected with a swift turn from Ina.

"Forget it, I have already made my decision," Ina frowned.

She walked away to the nearest Voting Chamber leaving her half-brother standing there, dumbfounded and completely dejected. Will there ever be a time where his half-sister would ever accept him?

...

Well, this was awkward.

It was just yesterday that Barracuda and Maggie had that moment together and although everything seemed fine and dandy for the most part, Maggie was nervous. She wasn't entirely sure if Barracuda would trust her or not, especially with the shit she had pulled and said to him. Barracuda on the other hand was nervous as well, though less than how Maggie felt.

Barracuda wasn't exactly a distrusting person. He was probably the most positive person here. And it really did seem like he was fine with being friends with Maggie even after everything. So, what was Maggie worried about? This would be a piece of cake. If memory serves correctly, they had no trouble hitting Trust in their very first Minigame together, so what gives this time?

"H-Hey, Barry, you'll choose Trust, right?" Maggie nervously asked.

"Huh?" Barracuda blinked, looking at Maggie with an incredulous glance on his face. He was confused. Why was she doubting him? "Well, why not?"

"You know," Maggie twiddled her fingers together. "Because of everything that's happened between us. I just thought that maybe…"

She trailed off. She didn't want to think about it. She'd love to admit it but she fucking loved Barracuda. Fucking loved him. And probably not just because he's some muscular giant that Maggie would love to touch and bury her face in all day, but she really did like how innocent he was and how kind and supportive he was despite everything.

Perhaps that was what scared her… The thought that Barracuda might…

"Hey, Maggie," Barracuda blinked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. We're all good now so you don't have to worry about anything."

His thick Russian accent was quite reassuring, Maggie had to admit. She looked at the gentle giant, before quietly nodding. Her heart beated faster but she was quite relieved.

It was foolish of her to doubt the person she was definitely the closest to in the game. Foolish of her to even consider it. She smiled at Barracuda before noticing looking slightly nervous.

"Er, but you will…" Barracuda started before rubbing his chin. "Nah. No. You wouldn't."

"O-Of course not!" Maggie declared. "I'm trying to make up for how I've been acting. Not ruin it!"

"Haha, fair enough!" Barracuda laughed.

The slight tension eased as Barracuda and Maggie felt a little more comfortable with each other. Yeah, this round was going to be an easy choice for the both of them. Easy choice for the both of them!

...

Carter knew full-heartedly that he could trust Zuri. She seemed nice. She was willing to advocate for an attempted murderer and opt for him to get a second chance. She was also very outspoken towards White Collar's methods. Overall, Zuri was nice. And nice people were often the most trustworthy in this game.

But with the announcement of the motive, Carter was curious. He had to be sure that Zuri wouldn't suddenly be someone to backstab him. He had to be sure that Zuri would Trust. He had to. So why not go and ask her the big question?

"H-Hey, Z-Zuri, you'll choose Trust, right?" Carter asked, nervously rubbing his arms.

"Of course!" Zuri optimistically responded, before narrowing her eyes slightly. "Only if you choose Trust though. Will you choose Trust?"

"Y-Yes!" Carter stammered. "A-Absolutely! P-Positively!"

"Why are you stuttering?" Zuri looked at Carter suspiciously.

"W-What?" Carter gulped. "I-... I always s-stutter!"

"Yeah, I know," Zuri smiled softly toward Carter. "I was just messing with you. But yeah, I'm choosing Trust. So, you better choose Trust too Carter. In the long run the money's not worth it."

"Y-Yeah, you're right." Carter weakly agreed. For a moment, he really thought she was going to pull a fast one on him. "N-Not worth it at all, heh."

He spoke sheepishly as Zuri smiled at him. She was confident that she was going to make it out of this decision. Carter, less so, but that's just Carter, so who cares?

...

Well, wasn't this a pleasant surprise?

Cassandra and Jared saw that they were pitted against each other.

So much more awkward than Barracuda and Maggie...

Now, under normal circumstances, Cassandra would choose Distrust because she really didn't trust anyone here. Anyone except, maybe a pint of Jared. Even after their little fight, she still had a dilemma: could she still trust Jared?

Now, under normal circumstances, Jared would Trust because he didn't want to play the damn game. Unless it was Arthur or Cassandra, he would've chosen Distrust in a heartbeat. However, with the aftermath of his resignation and his insistence to do things alone, even with his earlier chat with Cassandra, there was still a dilemma: would he dare to select Trust for Cassandra?

Cassandra and Jared glanced at one another, but neither dared to say anything first. Of course, since Jared was in his more angsty phase, Cassandra forfeited her title as the hard-to-talk-to role and started their topic of discussion.

"So, you and me," Cassandra stated bluntly after a heavy sigh. "Voting Trust or Distrust?"

"Good question," Jared sighed, folding his arms. He would tip his hat down if he could. "Really up to you."

"Fine, then vote Trust and I'll vote Trust," Cassandra said, albeit a little quickly.

"Yeah, you really think I'll believe that?" Jared raised an eyebrow.

"Come on," Cassandra folded her arms. "I meant what I said in your room. I don't want you going rogue. I'd say that's enough to keep both of us from having a target on our backs."

"Or, you could be lying," Jared frowned. "Look. Even if you say that, you still haven't really proved that I could trust you. In fact, you don't even trust anyone. So why waste our time discussing it anyway?"

"Because is it so hard to think that maybe I'm telling the truth and will choose Trust?" Cassandra smirked.

"Yes," Jared bluntly deadpanned.

"...Fine," Cassandra relented. "Think what you want but I'm choosing Trust."

Jared fixed his tie as he grimaced slightly at his predicament. For the past two Minigames, he felt as if he had no choice but to choose Distrust. This time, it was like Cassandra was offering him a choice. One choice could be really bad. The other could be really good. Kinda like a red pill, blue pill situation.

He watched as Cassandra walked off to a Voting Chamber. With a sigh, Jared began to think to himself. What would be the best thing to do right now? After all, it's not like he couldn't play the game…

Choices.

...

Holland seemed surprised to see that his opponent this time was Mimi. He wasn't the type to be confident about his chances but with the fact that it was Mimi… Well, Holland couldn't help thinking that perhaps his luck was changing ever since Mimi made that spell on him.

Also, Holland wasn't the type to believe in cuckoo nonsense like magic but who knows?

Seeing Mimi as his opponent, however. Perhaps it truly was destiny. Perhaps it truly was a sign that his luck was turning for the better. That Mimi's Second Chance spell was actually working its magic. At least, that was what Holland believed this to be.

Standing amongst Mimi, awkward and unsure on what to say. Mimi looked at him awkwardly as well but much to his surprise, she made the first step to approach and talk to him.

"Let's choose Trust, okay?" Mimi gave him a bashful look. She held Sailor Penguin close to her, squeezing the inanimate toy tightly. "And if you don't then, the spell I put on you will be broken! So don't even think about it!"

Mimi pouted at the idea of Holland breaking the number of mantras, chakras, and spell slots she had used on him.

"...Yeah, of course," Holland awkwardly stated. "I'll vote Trust… Unless… Are you going to vote Trust too?"

Of course, he wasn't going to choose Distrust, but the doubt in his mind started to form. However, Mimi wasn't that type of person. She was the type of person who would Trust anyone, everyone, and literally… Well. She was in the category of Barracuda and the late Yuumi. Naive, bubbly, oblivious, and trustworthy type of people.

But how long would that last?

"Of course, I will!" Mimi hugged Sailor Penguin tightly. "Are you going to vote Trust?"

The doubt snapped as Holland glanced back at the young witch.

"I… just said I will," Holland mumbled.

"Then we have no problem!" Mimi beamed. "We will Trust each other! Trust! Trust! Trust!"

Holland blinked to himself, glancing at the chanting young girl. He grimaced slightly. He had to keep it together. He had to tell himself.

He was given a second chance. Redemption. A chance to prove that he can grow from his mistake in Chapter 1. He owed it to everyone. To those that were alive… and those that had perished…

...

"Ten minutes have passed," came the voice of Monohebi. "The Minigame: Prisoner's Dilemma: Bounty Hunter will begin now. Please step inside the Voting Chambers within the next two minutes. Anyone who is not inside the Voting Chambers within the next two minutes will be unable to participate in the Minigame and thus, their vote will automatically be set to Trust by default. At least one person of every pair must vote otherwise, both members of the pair will be punished. That is all. As a reminder, please step inside the Voting Chambers within the next two minutes."

Hearing Monohebi's announcement, the prisoners hurried to snag a Voting Chamber.

Everyone had scanned their eHandbooks over the Handbook readers, letting the red lights flash green and waiting for the doors to open. Once the doors opened up, they hurried in.

…

Two minutes passed.

…

The doors closed. Everyone made it inside the Voting Chambers. Two simple options were still there on that Voting Tablet: Trust or Distrust.

…

Once the votes had been cast, the Voting Chambers opened back up for the prisoners. One by one, they exited as a projector was turned on. Another round of the Minigame had been completed. Now, it was time for the results.

"Here are the results for the Minigame: Prisoner's Dilemma," Monohebi announced. "Results have been accumulated thanks to the votes submitted by our participants. Thank you for playing the Minigame and good luck."

"Pair A: Abigail (0) [TRUST] vs. Haruto (0) [TRUST]

Pair B: Arthur (1,000,000) [TRUST] vs. Ina (0) [DISTRUST]

Pair C: Barracuda (0) [DISTRUST] vs. Maggie (1,000,000) [TRUST]

Pair D: Carter (0) [DISTRUST] vs. Zuri (1,000,000) [TRUST]

Pair E: Cassandra (500,000) [DISTRUST] vs. Jared (500,000) [DISTRUST]

Pair F: Holland (1,000,000) [TRUST] vs. Mimi (0) [DISTRUST]"

When the results came, Abigail and Haruto continued their little game of 'Who Will Look at the Other First.' They had both chosen Trust, meaning both of their numbers have now depleted down to zero, White Collar and Monohebi have become one million dollars richer, and the two also weren't targets of anyone's greedy time.

"So… you picked Trust," Abigail trailed off, rubbing her eyes slightly.

"Yeah, what about it?" Haruto crossed his arms with a small grumble. "Ain't a big deal. We both kept our word. That's all there is to it."

"Mhm," Abigail merely responded. "Easy decision."

She glanced at Haruto for a moment. It was most certainly not an easy decision. Abigail wasn't too sure on what to think of Haruto as a person in general. The past few games, she's picked Distrust. This time, she did not. She picked Trust. Did this mean that Haruto was someone she could trust?

Not all the way. But he was definitely an individual she could probably stick with during the Killing Game. Who else would go so far as to break his own leg to escape this hellhole. So, his heart's got to be in the right place.

Right?

Similarly, Haruto was having thoughts too. He didn't expect Abigail to be someone who chose Trust. Flags waved over him saying it was a bad idea to pick Trust. The flags were wrong. And now maybe, just maybe, Haruto probably made the best decision he's made of the three Mini Games played.

Nevertheless, the two Trustees felt a slow relief knowing that they were no target to whoever decided to try to off one of them this time.

...

Arthur. Trust. One million dollars added to his name.

Ina. Distrust. Zero dollars replaced by her name.

Ina had to blink several times to see if she wasn't just imagining things. Arthur Kingston really chose Trust. Why? Why?! She clenched her fist. As if her frustration and anger toward Arthur couldn't have been more apparent, now she was furious. She stormed up to her grim-looking half-brother with heated steps.

"You!" Ina jabbed a finger at his chest. "Why did you choose to Trust me?! You knew that I would choose Distrust and yet you–! You–! What game are you playing here?!"

Ina kept poking his chest before he grabbed it. He held her hand, gently and sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"There is no game, Ina," Arthur frowned. "I told you. I intended on choosing Trust."

"Why?!" Ina yelled, both confused and furious. "Why would you do that?! Have you lost your mind, Kingston?!"

"...And why are you so heated up about this?" Arthur perked his head at Ina, curiously. She kept insisting how much she disliked him and even showed her distaste of the Kingston family and yet here she was, complaining about putting himself in the shooting range for her. He glanced away. "Is it a crime to even suggest that I do care about you?"

Ina clenched her fist. She bit her lip.

"We're family Ina," Arthur placed a hand on her shoulder. "And I truly do care about you–"

Ina slapped Arthur's hand out of the air. Her face was clouded by a wave of negative emotions, most of it remained in the territory of anger and frustration with the rich snowboarder.

"Do not," Ina said. "Just... You do not care."

"Why is it so hard for you to believe that I–" Arthur pointed a stern gaze toward her but was interrupted once again.

"You do not care!" Ina yelled. "Kingstons never care! Leave me alone!"

Arthur blinked. Did he just do something wrong? He watched as Ina stormed away to a different corner of the Auditorium, waiting for Zuri to escort her back to Cell #66 so she can remain locked up from the rest of the gang. The snowboarder grimaced slightly.

"But I do…" Arthur grimaced.

Why was this so hard?

...

Zuri blinked.

When the results appeared before her eyes, she had to wonder for herself… Did she actually get outplayed by Carter? Did she actually think that she could trust the nervous wreck that was Carter? Did she really think that?! Did she really think Carter wouldn't distrust her enough to betray her expected results like this?!

Zuri slowly turned to Carter, a little hurt by the implications of what was happening here. She noticed Carter's shameful look as he avoided eye contact. The Ultimate Bassist was not having any of that.

Storming up to Carter, her betrayed look was a sight that he dared not gaze at for even a second.

"Why Carter?" Zuri softly said, hurt. "Did you… Am I not that trustworthy for you? Not enough for you to go and play along with White Collar's game like that?"

"...I– I'm sorry, Zuri," Carter looked slightly pained. "I t-trust you. I do… I j-just…"

"Then why…?" Zuri frowned. If he trusted her then why did he go and… Wait. No… Her eyes widened in realization. "C-Carter. No. You didn't choose Distrust for the motive, did you?"

Carter said nothing but the silence spoke more words than she could ever care to hear. She understood. Carter fell for the motive. And because of that, he was sitting with 0 dollars to his head, and she was sitting with one million floating around for any fish to take the bait.

"S-Sorry," Carter frowned. "I just… One million dollars. It's a lot of money. It c-could really help with…"

"That's no excuse to play with my life like that!" Zuri looked close to tearing up. "If you were even remotely sorry, you would be coming up with a better excuse than that. I… I can't believe I trusted you, Carter."

"I… W-Well… Th-That was your mistake…" Carter's face scrunched as he turned away. She wouldn't understand anyway. This was for the better. That money. It really could help a lot with his current predicament.

The look of disbelief on Zuri's face pained him even further. Perhaps this was what Holland felt when he was outed as an attempted murderer. As for Zuri, she clenched her fist slightly, disappointment filling her face. Wiping away any tears before they formed, she walked away from Carter, but not before mumbling something that the Ultimate Opinion Columnist was able to hear.

"...You really can't trust anyone in this game, can you?" Zuri frowned bitterly, walking away from Carter.

"Z-Zuri… I…" Carter tried to call out. Futile. The damage was done. And now he was one ally less than he originally had… which wasn't a lot.

...

In the end, the discussion hardly mattered. Neither Cassandra nor Jared looked pleased by the results. Cassandra should've realized. Jared wasn't dumb and even after some thoughtful consideration, choosing Distrust was the best possible outcome. Not only that, but Jared already knew there was no way in hell Cassandra would choose Trust. Not even if it was against who was arguably Cassandra's closest 'ally' in the game.

"So, you chose Distrust," Cassandra stated. "Even after I tried to convince you that I was choosing Trust."

"Not like you were being convincing, anyway," Jared noted with a frown.

"Y-Yeah, well, maybe you haven't considered that I only chose Distrust because I didn't know if you were really going to choose Trust," Cassandra glared, folding her arms.

"Nope, you wanted to choose Distrust in the first place," Jared said. "But I guess I can't blame you at this point. You just don't trust anyone in general."

Cassandra was silent. The nerve of this cop to think he had her all figured out. So, what if she had been a little honest with him before? It didn't mean squat now that he was acting a little out of it.

"And what about you?" Cassandra frowned. "You don't seem to trust anyone either."

"...Then that puts us in the same boat," Jared merely said.

With their price tags kept on that same number, '500,000', Jared and Cassandra were practically still up as targets, just half of what someone amongst them would be looking for. With their dilemma cleared up and the decisions made, now it was just the question: Now what?

What would Cassandra and Jared do now? How will they interact now knowing what both of their current stances are with each other?

Cassandra herself was rather disappointed at the things Jared was saying as well as how unfazed he was about the results presented to them.

"Yuumi and Mayu's deaths really fucked you up, huh?" Cassandra mumbled to herself.

Jared heard it. He clenched his fist, tightly.

Cassandra sighed before looking away.

"Guess I can't rely on anyone in this damn game," Cassandra continued to mumble. "Back to square one…"

Jared didn't hear that part. But he did think that Cassandra was totally badmouthing him. Such a thought deepened his frown and heightened his foul mood.

...

Holland stood there, dumbfounded.

He should've listened to that doubt in his mind, but he didn't. He should've realized that this was what was going to happen, but he didn't. Mimi chose to betray but he didn't. He chose to trust. He chose to trust her and yet…

"...I…" Holland couldn't even think of anything to say. He turned to Mimi, his stoic face slightly twitching, showing that this betrayal was a shock even to his unchanging face.

"I'm sorry," Mimi looked down. "I… I didn't know if I could trust you."

"But the spell…" Holland tried to point out.

"Yes, but how do I know that you won't choose to break it?" Mimi frowned. She sighed. "I'm sorry Holland. But I really thought you would betray me."

Holland blinked. He examined her body movements. The way she stepped back… Holland knew almost instantly that despite the second chance he was given, that still didn't mean that people trusted him. Of course. How could he be so blind to something that obvious? Just because he was given a chance didn't mean others would trust him so easily.

And he understood this betrayal all too well with a small nod.

"...I see…" Holland looked down, his face stoic. "...I understand…"

Mimi squeezed Sailor Penguin tightly.

"Are you mad at me?" Mimi looked disappointed.

"...No, I understand…" Holland stated, with a sigh. "...I get it."

He was met with a small nod and a small quiet, child-like voice.

"I'm sorry," Mimi mumbled apologetically. "I really wanted to Trust you. But I guess, now I can."

Didn't change the fact that Holland was now more of a target for murder than ever. But what other petty thoughts Holland might have had, he kept to himself. Instead, he took a deep breath and nodded toward the fairytale writer.

"...Yeah, you are right about that," Holland nodded, stoically.

To Mimi, she was relieved. At the very least, he remained civil and understanding about it. That was enough to make Mimi feel a little relieved that Holland wasn't going to go batshit on her. But as she glanced back at the board to see the results of her actions:

...

Holland (1,000,000) [TRUST] vs. Mimi (0) [DISTRUST]

...

Now it was her turn to feel the regret of her own actions…

...

And unfortunately, no result was much worse than...

Maggie felt her heart shatter into a million pieces.

There was no way this could be true, right? There was no way. No way that… Maggie couldn't even dare to look the approaching gentle giant in the eye at a preconceived notion of betrayal. Unless it wasn't betrayal. Unless it was a mistake. It was a mistake, wasn't it?

"B-Barry, you–" Maggie stuttered. She slowly turned to Barracuda, the color on her face slowly draining. "T-Tell me you didn't… Tell me you didn't betray me like… Did you?"

Barracuda was the one who couldn't look Maggie in the eye. That's how she recognized it to be true. How she recognized the ugly truth. The look on his face was equipped with shame. This was no accident. He purposely chose to Distrust her.

"B-Barry, say something, you–" Maggie began to shake.

"I'm sorry Maggie," Barracuda merely said.

"S-Sorry?" Maggie stammered. "S-Sorry? N-No, Barry! You couldn't have! What do you mean by 'Sorry?' I thought– I thought we–"

"I know you're upset," Barracuda bit his lip. He hated to see Maggie so distressed like this. "But I had to think about…"

Barracuda trailed off. He knew full well nothing could excuse his actions. He played the game. And now thanks to that, his price tag dropped down to 0 and Maggie's increased to one million dollars. She was now a target. All thanks to him.

"H-How could you Barry…?" Maggie felt a tear wallow its way out of her eye. "I trusted you…"

Barracuda said nothing.

"How could you Barracuda?!" Maggie yelled, storming up toward the fitness trainer as she pounded him against the chest repeatedly. Barracuda could feel little of how much she was hitting him. "How could you?! I trusted you! I trusted you!"

"M-Maggie, calm down," Barracuda tried to get her to stop wailing on him. "Look. Maybe it's for the best. I mean I just did what I thought was–"

"Was right?" Maggie asked, absolutely heartbroken. "How could you even think this was the right thing to do? You led me on! You used my own feelings against me! You made me think that we were okay enough to trust each other and yet you– you–"

Barracuda said nothing.

"You… You really used me," Maggie stepped back. The reality set in for her. "Are we even friends anymore, Barracuda?"

"Of course, we are!" Barracuda tried to reason. "Er, we still are, r-right?"

"This is all my fault," Maggie hugged herself. "This is all my fault. I should've never fallen for it. I should've realized nothing would've been the same after what I did. Heh, I guess you did get your revenge on me after all…"

"M-Maggie, look, I had to alright, I just–" no matter what Barracuda response came up with, everything sounded horrible. At this point, everyone else's dramatic reaction to their own results became replaced with looks of intrigue over what was happening with Barracuda and Maggie.

Not just intrigue though. Shock. Confusion.

Because the realization that Barracuda, one of the nicest people here, would choose Betray and to Maggie, his closest friend, was nothing short of a surprise. And soon, it wasn't just Maggie who was questioning him on his choice. Haruto jumped in too.

"Hey, what the fuck, man?!" Haruto growled. "You chose Distrust?! Why?!"

"Yeah, you… you would never do something like that," Zuri widened her eyes, though still affected by Carter's decision.

"I– I–" Barracuda widened his eyes. The reality of what he did started to set in. Good boy Barracuda had not only betrayed the one person who cared so much about him but also the trust that everyone had instilled into him into doing the right thing.

"Did you really need the money that badly?" Abigail pointed her tired eyes toward Barracuda.

Suddenly, the voices meshed together. Barracuda began to shake. It's that same feeling again. That same feeling he had gotten back in the last Trial. The feeling of panic. The guilt. The pain. He clutched his head, his eyes null of any personality or emotion once again.

"N-No!" Barracuda yelled before pointing his finger at the rest of his peers frantically. "I– I– I just chose Distrust like the other half of you! I didn't trust Maggie after what she said to me! W-Why am I the only one getting yelled at?!"

There it was.

The room was dead quiet. Maggie folded her arms, eyes close to tears. She was clearly hurt. And if she really wanted to continue the tradition of these Minigames, she would totally go ahead and give Barracuda a slap across the face right about now. But she didn't.

Because Barracuda had a point.

And everyone else recognized that too. For Maggie, the point was assuming Barracuda could still trust her after her little revelation of how she truly felt about him. And for everyone else, it was the fact that there were a handful of people here who were willing to paint a target sign on their opponent's back.

Said people looked away, ashamed.

Then the silence was broken by the one who instigated this game of Trust and Distrust in the first place. Yes, the man himself, White Collar, stood firm and tall, leaning against his cane in amusement over the discourse of the round's results. His robotic laugh echoed throughout the Auditorium.

"What's so funny?" Abigail glared at White Collar.

"Isn't it obvious?" White Collar mused. "I mean. The hope you all desperately cling to over not playing along with my games and here you see that even some of the nicest of the bunch could be corrupted into betraying the ones close to them."

White Collar's piercing red eyes gleamed toward Barracuda and Mimi. Then, he gave a noted sigh.

"Although, I do wish we had a little more money than the one million we received from Mister Walker and Miss Ellsworth's agreement," White Collar noted in disappointment.

"Yeah, fuck you!" Haruto cheered.

"But nevertheless, I wish the rest of you luck," White Collar announced, extending his arms out like a prophet. "The bounty has been appropriately placed on your heads and you also know who is your ally and who is not! This Minigame couldn't have gone as splendidly as it did!"

"H-How much longer?" came the tired voice of Jared.

"Oh?" White Collar perked his head toward Jared.

"How much longer are you going to keep us here, damn it?!" Jared yelled. "How many of us have to die until you finally let us go?!"

White Collar remained quiet to Jared's question. He hummed behind his mask. Then he pointed the sharp end of his cane toward the police officer.

"Well, that depends entirely on every single one of you left, doesn't it?" White Collar noted.

"What do you mean?" Cassandra frowned.

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean," White Collar stated. "Repent. All of you haven't repented! And I will make every single last one of you repent for your sinful existence."

He was met with both fearful and frustrated faces. Then fixing his tie, White Collar turned to Monohebi with a firm nod.

"Until then, Monohebi, if you will," White Collar ordered.

"Of course Master," Monohebi tipped her head down, obediently.

Then the usual pre recorded announcement came to dictate the current time of their imprisonment:

"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi announced. "It is now midnight. Curfew hour begins now. As such, all prisoners must report to their confinements. Anyone who is caught outside of their confinements will be punished accordingly. Be sure to review the rules on the Rules App of your Handbook. That is all."

Frustrated, some people began to leave the Auditorium to head back to their room, most of whom were unhappy with the bounty that had been set on their heads. Ina also prepared to leave, attempting to go as soon as possible to avoid Arthur trying to speak to her. She glanced toward Zuri, who was still at a loss for words for everything that transpired today. The Ultimate Bassist scanned the room, her eyes fixated on someone before hearing the voice of the little Kingston sister speak to her.

"Please escort me back to my cell," Ina told Zuri.

"Um, one second," Zuri told Ina before rushing over to the person she had yet to see all day. "Jared!"

Jared, who was halfway from leaving, turned to see Zuri. He grimaced. He wasn't ready to face any of his peers who were affected by his abandonment of his role but Zuri wasn't going to let him leave so quickly. The Ultimate Bassist had blocked his path away from the Auditorium with a small frown.

"Not now," Jared frowned. "Please move…"

"Jared, please," Zuri frowned in return.

"...What do you want?" Jared avoided glancing at Zuri.

Zuri held up the key to Cell #66 that was left behind at the Cafeteria.

"You left this behind hoping one of us would take your place as the new leader, right?" Zuri asked the police officer. Jared said nothing in return. "...That new leader is me. And I just wanted to say… Please. Please don't do anything crazy."

Zuri looked at her former leader with a solemn look.

"The others might not accept it, but just know that if you ever go back to our group, you're free to take the leadership role again," Zuri assured the police officer, handing him back his badge. "People really looked up to you. So I'm saying this again. Please don't do anything crazy. Okay?"

Jared remained silent. His face was downcast. He moved past Zuri, but not before leaving her with some simple words.

"Good luck."

Zuri watched her former leader leave the Auditorium. Shortly after, Arthur left, who had taken the hint that Ina didn't want to be interacted with at the moment. Turning back to the Ultimate Revolutionary, she frowned slightly.

"Shall we?" Ina sighed.

"...Yeah," Zuri glumly looked down.

And both ladies became the last to leave the room. The only thing left on Zuri's mind was her status as leader...

And how will she manage to deal with the fact that she's a big target for the next murder and the drama that rising with everyone else...

DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE

Man, these updates been going slower and slower! Sorry about that but here's Daily Life Part 3 for Chapter 3! Definitely a chapter I was looking forward to writing, wrote, and then had to do some stuff cause I'm still on summer break DX Meaning, I'm getting hassled to do all kinds of stuff instead of writing! Hopefully that comes to an end starting the last week of August - first week of September!

Trial is still in the works! But heads up for the next few updates! They are gonna be hella slow cause I still need to get the mystery and Trials all figured out! I have ideas but I want them to be good and solid before I start writing more for Daily Life. So please be a little patient with me for the future of Chapter 3! I doubt the mystery will be as promising as Chapter 2 but hey, we'll see what I come up with!

Do leave me reviews about what you think about the chapter or the characters and stuff! I love to read those! Any criticisms? Share them with me and I will go and edit them shortly! Other than that, Chapter 3's climax has just occurred with yet another Minigame :D And boy is the drama getting real :D

Hope you all look forward to what's next to come! We are nearing the inevitable :D

Prisoners Remaining: 12

Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular) [0]

Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7) [1,000,000]

Barracuda - The Ultimate Personal Trainer (Weekaro) [0]

Carter Franklin - The Ultimate Opinion Columnist (armadas) [0]

Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate ? (ExtraMeme) [500,000]

Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Former Basketball Player (theotakureader101) [0]

Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi) [1,000,000]

Ina (Hamamura) Kingston - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping) [0]

Jared Ceartas - The Ultimate Police Officer (Otterplay) [500,000]

Maggie LaDroubi - The Ultimate Supermodel (Project Drama) [1,000,000]

Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan) [0]

Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45) [1,000,000]