Danganronpa: Corrupted Hope (SYOC)

by SilverMark16

Sixteen people wake up and find themselves in a large, abandoned prison facility with no answers as to why they're there. Instead, they're forced to play a dangerous game of Life and Death. A game known only as a Killing Game, hosted by a sinister man calling himself White Collar and his pet snake, Monohebi.

25. Sums For Our Fallen Grace (Part 5)

Chapter 3: Sums For Our Fallen Grace (Daily Life #05)

---

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!

---

Victor Marakovich collapsed to the ground.

He couldn't take it anymore. Any more of this physical pain and abuse and he was going to die in the Russian snow. He laid on the ground, roughly breathing as he failed to complete his normal set of push-ups. Victor had heard how torturous the Russian military was, but he never would've imagined it to this extent! But the money... He needed the money though! Military work pays well and yet he was so overworked that he couldn't do it today. Three years of military service and he couldn't do it today. No. He can't do it. He won't do it.

No more.

No more!

"G-Gah," Victor coughed as he remained flat on the floor, feeling the cold yet soothing Russian floor. He felt the Russian wind blow across his bare back. The feeling of frostbite slowly chewing away at his skin by the second. And yet somehow it was far better than doing another set of his torturous tasks…

"So is this how the legendary Barracuda does his service as a dutiful son?" came the raunchy voice of Ruben Nikolayev.

The older and larger general-looking Russian man who spoke only in his native tongue pressed his cold sharp cane onto Victor's back. Victor barely moved. He wasn't going to. He needed just…

"Just a few minutes, General, please," Victor begged.

Ruben started to laugh, glancing toward two other smaller yet also militaristic men behind him. As they gave him the Soviet salute, Ruben gestured to Victor, a harsh laugh echoing toward his weakened state.

"Victor Marakovich," Ruben laughed, putting a hint of distaste toward the male's name. "The supposed man whose will is like a violent Barracuda. Yet, look at him, comrades. He's no more than a fish out of water!"

The Barracuda.

That was the nickname he was given by his father. Because out of all of his brothers, he's the one who would do anything to protect his family. Whoever even thinks about harming his family, he would fight back, like a barracuda would when attacking its prey.

That was the reason he was the Barracuda. Now look at him. Reduced into a fish on the platter.

"Your father said you would be a great help to the military," Ruben leaned down to the floor to whisper into Barracuda's ear. "Yet for the past three years, all you've done is disappoint me."

Barracuda clenched his fist. He had no strength, but if he did, he would've gone ahead and stood up for himself.

"You owe so much for both your family and your country," Ruben harshly stated. "You owe the entirety of Russia your devoted service and yet you fail to even do a simple task like complete the assignments I give you. You're a disgrace to your family, Marakovich."

Barracuda wanted to scream. He wanted to bite back.

But he couldn't.

Not like this. Not with the wind worsening by the second.

Ruben turned to his comrades with a flick of his head. He gestured to Barracuda with a disappointed glance.

"No dinner for Marakovich," Ruben ordered his comrades. "If he wants food, he'll have to scrape the leftovers."

"Da!" his comrades saluted. "And what about Marakovich, now?"

Ruben turned back to the quite literally frozen, Victor Marakovich. Spitting on his face, Ruben turned back to his comrades before preparing to leave.

"If Marakovich wants to hug the floor, he's free to do so," Ruben stated. "For the next two hours."

He couldn't take it anymore.

He watched Ruben and his comrades leave. Watched how they just left him to freeze in the Russian cold. He shivered.

He had enough.

No amount of money was worth anything to endure–

But then he remembered Ruben's words:

"You owe so much for both your family and your country. You owe the entirety of Russia your devoted service."

He hugged himself on the floor, slowly feeling tears trail down his face. He wasn't smart. He wasn't strong. And he couldn't even fulfill his duties for his family.

Could he really be considered the great-willed Barracuda then?

---

(Abigail's Room)

Abigail woke up in cold sweat.

Her breathing was hot and heavy. Her heart, beating faster than even the fastest equestrian in the county. It was yet another nightmare. Another new day, another new haunting memory that desperately resurfaced from her area of suppression. Abigail rubbed her face, feeling the comfort of her own bed.

How much longer could she take this?

---

Abigail got dressed up and left her room a little later than usual. Judging from the complete silence upon passing by the Cafeteria, the Morning Meeting seemed to be heavily delayed, perhaps in accordance to the hectic chaos last night. Even the other prisoners needed a breather every now and then. So much so that the Morning Meeting might actually start as more of an Evening Meeting or something like that…

But how could she blame them, though?

Jared, the one they thought they could trust, ended up becoming more and more reckless with the way he was handling things. Abigail could see the good intentions in his heart, but the bad outweighed the good. If this was how far Jared was going to go to make sure no more bodies dropped, she would hate to see how far Jared would go if bodies did end up dropping.

How much blood would he truly shed to make sure people stayed alive?

Abigail didn't know. She just wandered aimlessly throughout the halls of the facility.

The Ultimate Revolutionary Cell was still out of order.

As well as the Prison Lounge.

If Abigail had to guess, Monohebi and White Collar didn't even have what it took to refurbish old areas that had burned down.

She sighed.

Lives were lost in that fire. The first of their own, in fact. She grimaced. That was when the nightmares started. The sight of seeing someone…

…dead.

Abigail shuddered, hugging herself. Her skin ran cold all of a sudden. These were thoughts she didn't want to have. She carried on, moving past the Prison Lounge and Cafeteria.

---

(Auditorium)

Abigail shuddered once again.

So much has happened just in this one Auditorium alone. It was one of the first areas that they had wandered into after escaping near-death. It was the place where each announcement was made, each worse than the last. And just last night, it was the place where Jared's crisis occurred.

She tiredly stared at the stage before noticing something on the ground.

…

An eHandbook?

"Huh," Abigail confusedly sounded. She was relieved she had something that took her mind off of everything. Picking up the eHandbook, she opened it to reveal a series of information as eHandbooks usually do:

Name: Jared Caertas

Gender: Male

Ultimate Talent: Ultimate Police Officer

Birth Date: June 16

Height: 5'11

Weight: 155 lbs

Blood Type: O+

Abigail stared at the screen for a lot longer than she needed to before grasping the idea at hand. Jared's eHandbook was left behind at the Auditorium. Her guess? He probably left it here after Haruto knocked him to the ground last night.

Didn't even have a chance to pick it up after everyone escorted him back to his room.

Abigail stared at the screen for a bit longer. Part of her knew it was rude to pry but she wanted to pry. She wanted to know who exactly Jared was. She wanted to know…

…Was Jared always like this–

"H-Hey, what are you doing?"

Abigail jumped and turned to see Carter, a blue tarp folded and neatly draped over his shoulder. Turns out, he probably woke up much earlier than she did. He pointed toward Jared's eHandbook in her hands.

"I-Is that…" Carter was about to ask before Abigail hurried up and sighed.

"It's Jared's," Abigail answered. "I was thinking about giving it back to him. Y'know, once the Morning Meeting starts."

"A-Ah, I see," Carter looked down. "I wasn't sure if there was going to be a Morning Meeting today. I woke up early for th-that but no one was there at the C-Cafeteria today."

"I see, so they're probably taking their time," Abigail sighed. "Guess yesterday was just as hard on everyone else… Speaking of which, how are you feeling?"

"A-Ah, a little cold," Carter shivered slightly. "B-But aside from that, I f-feel p-pretty fine. J-Just didn't think that elbow thrust J-Jared did to me would hurt so much… M-Man, I'm pathetic…"

Carter looked down, completely depleted from energy.

Abigail supposed that the young man felt more depletion emotionally rather than physically. Carter wasn't the strongest knife in the drawer, but she had to admit, it was pretty brave of him to try to step in despite being so weak.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Abigail advised. "Things like strength take time and practice."

"...N-Not even sure if we will have that here," Carter glanced away. Abigail blinked. He seemed sad. Perhaps he remembered just how crappy their situation truly was at the moment… Sighing once again, Carter continued. "I'll see you later. If there is a Morning Meeting, l-let me know what you guys discussed."

"And where are you going?" Abigail blinked.

"B-Back to my room," Carter rubbed his forehead before walking away, leaving Abigail with Jared's eHandbook.

Holding the eHandbook in her hands, could this be the moment she could check for what was going on with Jared? Abigail bit her lips before deciding against it. Whatever was going on with Jared… Should come out of Jared's mouth, not an invasion of privacy. She pocketed his eHandbook and headed toward the Cafeteria…

---

(Cafeteria)

When Abigail returned to the Cafeteria, some people had started to gather in. Keeping the eHandbook she had found pocketed; she examined the gathering of people:

Arthur, Barracuda, Cassandra, Haruto, Holland, Mimi, and Zuri.

Narrowing her eyes, there was one person who should've been here but wasn't. Best to ask now.

"Where's Jared?" Abigail pressed.

"In his room," Arthur sighed.

"And you're not going to monitor him?" Abigail raised an eyebrow. "What if he pulls the same stunt he did last night?"

"Chill out, Abs," Haruto held his hands up in the air. "Look, as far as I can tell, Jared isn't gonna be doing any shit for a while. Dude has been as down as Maggie has been. Lack of energy and motive to try anything else."

"Seriously, Haruto?" Abigail groaned inwardly. "That nickname again?"

"Plus, there is the matter that he is no longer in possession of his eHandbook," Arthur pointed out. "He lost it during last night's scuffle. Which means, he will not have access to any of the weapons in the Evidence Room."

"Then obviously his eHandbook must be still in the Auditorium, right?" Zuri blinked. "Maybe someone should go and get it. Before someone decides to use that to…"

"I would have loved to, but unfortunately, the eHandbook is missing," Arthur shrugged.

Abigail blinked.

What was Arthur talking about? The eHandbook was right there in the Auditorium. Was he blind or did he not look hard enough or what? In fact, Abigail had it with her right now. So why would he say…

"...Why would you say that?" Abigail asked, curious. "Did you go there and check for yourself?"

"Course I did," Arthur nodded. "When Jared mentioned he lost it, the Auditorium was the first place I went to check. It wasn't there."

"Maybe you didn't look hard enough?" Mimi suggested. "I could help you with some special magical spectacles that can help improve your eyesight!"

"...Glasses?" Holland glanced toward Mimi.

"Y-You can call them that, I call them magical spectacles!" Mimi pouted.

"Oh, ha ha, very amusing," Arthur rolled his eyes. "But I assure you, go look for yourself. The eHandbook is not there. Meaning, either he lost it elsewhere…"

"Or someone already has it," Zuri twiddled her fingers nervously.

"Well..." Abigail raised her hand slightly. "I do have it with me right now..."

"What?" Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Did you perhaps get to the Auditorium before me and took it for yourself?"

"Actually, I found it apparently after you went to the Auditorium to check," Abigail noted. "I assume you're just blind cause it was sitting there, right next to the stage. Isn't that hard to miss in fact."

"But that can't be possible," Arthur narrowed his eyes further. "I went to the Auditorium! It wasn't there! I swear it!"

Arthur seemed... very adamant about that. He had already left Jared's room to find the eHandbook. He didn't find it. But when Abigail entered the Auditorium, she found it right there where he had previously searched.

What… exactly did that mean?

Did someone just take it and then placed it back where they found it?

If so, why?

"Geez, maybe you really do need glasses then," Haruto remarked.

"Don't make me out to be some idiot!" Arthur coldly glared at the former basketball player. "I know it wasn't there!"

"Pft, maybe I should've gone to check then," Haruto frowned.

"Hey guys, knock it off," Zuri seemed tired of this debacle between the two. "Arthur says he didn't find it. Abigail found it. Either Arthur just didn't see it or maybe there's something else going on in the background. I... I really think we need to be on our guard today. The fact that Jared's eHandbook was unaccounted for a specific period of time has got to have spelled out some sort of danger for everyone."

"Crap, then I gotta find Maggie as soon as possible," Barracuda exclaimed.

"The bitch doesn't want to talk to you," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "With any luck, the moment you come closer, she'll be leaving."

"Cassandra sticking up for Maggie?" Mimi blinked. "That's a plot twist!"

"Ladies have to stick together at times when they need it the most," Cassandra smirked to herself, feeling quite proud.

"Whoa, you're a lady?" Haruto feigned a small gasp.

"Oh, go fuck Abbygail's depressed donkey why don't you?" Cassandra glared at Haruto, taking huge offense to what he said.

"Eh, you can do that?" Barracuda blinked.

"Don't think about it and move on…" Holland told Barracuda.

Regardless of what was going on in the Cafeteria, what mattered was that someone out there had a chance to potentially 'borrow' Jared's eHandbook… Abigail currently had it in her possession but right now, her working theory is that someone out there had long used it and put it back… Or Arthur really was just blind. There were many possibilities, but the worst-case scenario was the fact that someone may have used it.

Abigail was going to have to check the Evidence Room log sometime later…

…

By the time 3:00 PM rolled around, the Morning– Er, Evening Meeting, had begun to conclude, with people slowly dispersing toward wherever they needed to be.

"Be careful guys," Zuri pointed out. "And stick together, alright?"

The Evening Meeting had concluded and soon, even Abigail had left. This left Zuri alone with… Holland. Ah.

There was a slight awkwardness between the two as they noticed each other's presence. Immediately, they were reminded of last night. Of what they had… almost did.

"E-Er Zuri…" Holland was about to say before Zuri flushed red.

"H-H-H-Holland," Zuri stammered. "S-So why are you sticking around? I-Is it because you need something from me? I-If so, what did you need? I can help you with so many things b-but I'm r-really in a big hurry so–"

"...Ah, you can…" Holland was about to say.

"G-Gotta go!" Zuri immediately said before dashing out of the Cafeteria.

Holland blinked. From his perspective, it looked like she was avoiding him. He stared at his hands. He felt his heart beat louder than it usually did. His pulse, changing into a more upbeat tempo.

D-Did he make some sort of mistake yesterday?

W-Was she…

His usual expressionless face fell for just a moment as he completed his thought.

…W-Was she uncomfortable with him?!

That can't be true…!

---

(Ultimate Equestrian Cell)

Using this Free Time, where else would Abigail go but her own Ultimate Cell, right? She decided to take out the eHandbook she had found on the ground. Jared's eHandbook. It was still on her mind. The consideration to peek inside Jared's privacy. Would she finally decide to go for it? Get the chance to see what the hell was up with Jared nowadays?

"So, you're gonna be keeping that eHandbook all day or what?"

Nope! She would not!

Abigail found herself caught red-handed as she glanced back toward Haruto in surprise. She stared at Haruto for a few seconds, hugging the eHandbook close to her. What was she going to do? Lie? Tell the truth? What would Haruto think…?

…

"You want to check what's inside Jared's eHandbook?" Haruto blinked.

"I wanted to understand why the hell he went all ballistic yesterday," Abigail sighed. "The guy was someone we trusted back then. Now he's just… a psycho.'

"Look Abs, from what I see, the guy got all crazy due to him wanting to play hero," Haruto sighed in return. "I respected him back then but now, I dunno. He's gotten a little unhinged. I guess… I guess he's been letting this game kinda tear him apart."

"Is that really all it is?" Abigail asked.

"...Jared told me something a while back," Haruto folded his arms. He knew it wasn't his place to tell but if this was going to help ease Abigail's curiosities about what the heck was going on with Jared then…

---

"...I stare at it as a reminder for what not to do as a police officer," Jared frowned, looking away.

"...You shot someone, didn't you?" Haruto pieced it together quite quickly. He scratched the back of his neck, slightly confused by what was so wrong about a police officer shooting someone. "But that's kinda the norm for police officers ain't it? So why are you-"

"It was the first and only time I shot someone," Jared lowered his police hat to cover his eyes. "After that, I… never used a gun ever again. It's required for all officers in the force to carry one but… I just don't like using them."

Haruto raised an eyebrow at Jared. It was strange seeing a police officer so disturbed over shooting someone. At least, that was based on Haruto's understanding. Clearly, there was something more to the story but it was best to try to ease whatever fear Jared had.

"...Did they deserve it?" Haruto asked Jared.

It took a moment for Jared to think about the answer to that question. Did Warren Nizens deserve it? Did that womanizing, psychopathic serial killer deserve every bullet from that gun that day?

"...Yes, yes he did," Jared coldly responded, looking down with a frown. "One hundred percent..."

---

"Afraid of using a gun?" Abigail looked confused before rolling her eyes slightly. "Didn't seem that way to me with the way he handled things yesterday."

"If I have any hope for the guy, I'd like to believe all the stress of being a cop is getting to him," Haruto frowned. "So… I'm planning to keep a close eye on him starting from now. If the man wants to find a way to kill White Collar again, I'm going to be standing in his way."

"I guess that's a good thing…" Abigail still looked off in whatever distance was possible.

From Haruto's perspective, Abigail had been feeling off this entire time. Acting strange. Looking a bit more exhausted than usual. In fact, he didn't even know why Abigail was suddenly so curious about Jared's problem. It was almost as if she was… distracting herself.

"...I wanna ask you something and you better answer me honestly," Haruto grumbled. "How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" Abigail glanced back at Haruto in surprise. "F-Fine. Why do you ask?"

"I said to answer honestly," Haruto pointed out. "You really don't think I can't see it for myself? You look like absolute shit. I know you're always fucking tired all the time but today you look even worse. Like, holy sh–"

"O-Okay, I get it," Abigail rubbed her arm. "I didn't get my beauty sleep. You don't have to rub it in."

"You never get any beauty sleep," Haruto remarked. "Seriously. What's wrong? You just have a problem sleeping in general? Cause, I'm sure there's some medicine for that in the Infirm–"

"It's just a bad case of night terrors," Abigail frowned. "That's all."

Abigail didn't want to say more. She didn't want to dive into her past that much. And Haruto… surprisingly stopped pressing her so hard on the topic. Why did he care so much? That was the question she wanted to know. But she felt Haruto's eyes remain on her. Maybe it's time she finally told someone…

"Just… night terrors," Abigail looked away.

"You must be getting them a lot," Haruto noted. "When did they first start?"

"The night after Titus and Kane died," Abigail answered. That was exactly when the nightmares started. The visions. Her memories twisted and… corrupted. "Seeing Titus's corpse and… Kane getting brutally executed like that. It reminded me of something I didn't want to be reminded of…"

Abigail glanced around her Ultimate Cell.

"Then, this place opened up and the dreams just got worse," Abigail frowned. "I already have trouble sleeping but it's been getting worse and worse. God, I'm so fucking tired of everything now. Haunted even. The only thing I can do is distract myself but even then I know they'll just keep coming back."

"Does this have anything to do with your Mom?" Haruto asked.

He remembered that conversation he had with her. Remembered just how similar they had it rough in their supposed happy wealthier lifestyle…

---

"...Let me guess, you have a parent that's forcing you to do something you don't want to do?" Haruto asked.

"You say it like you know it from experience," Abigail stopped doing what she was doing and looked back up toward Haruto.

"Course I fucking do," Haruto muttered. "Dad was a mean son of a bitch trying to get me into business shit. Trying to groom me to be the guy to take over the family business."

"Rich dad prick, huh?" Abigail perked her head before giving him a sly smirk, jerking a thumb to herself. "Rich mom prick."

"Oh?" Haruto looked down at Abigail, curiously. "Your mom's the one who's forcing you to do all this Equestrian shit?"

"Right on the nail," Abigail looked back down toward Haruto's bandages without much of a care in the world. "Damn prissy bitch she is."

---

Even the wealthy kids have it rough…

"Everything has to do with my Mom," Abigail clenched her fist tightly as she sat down. "She's the reason my life's been so shitty. She doesn't care about anyone but herself. Her family image. Even now, even if she's out there with some search party trying to find me, she's probably making some big deal out of it. Hosting parties and fundraisers to find me. Just using my disappearance as some publicity stunt. I doubt she even gives a shit about where I am or my wellbeing…"

"You really think that?" Haruto sat down next to her.

"I know that," Abigail grimaced. "I used to have friends, Haruto. I used to have friends I could relate to and do stupid shit all the time. But… We took it too far one day."

Abigail remembered them well.

Jude.

Ruebel.

Dylan.

She remembered how much they loved to drink, smoke, and do the craziest shit she never got to do when she was part of the Ellsworth Estate. All the fun improper stuff that her prim and proper mother would have hated. How good it felt to rebel against her selfish mother…

"We drove onto the wrong side of the highway," Abigail hugged her knees as she reminisced about her past. "And got into this huge accident. Jude. Ruebel. Dylan. Those were their names…"

Abigail hugged her knees tighter.

"Dylan and I were the only survivors," Abigail looked down. "But I think it would have been better if Dylan did die too. His life is even more Hell since the accident practically destroyed half of his brain."

"But you got out without much of a scar in sight," Haruto noted.

"Why do you think that happened?" Abigail hatefully stared at the ground. "My mom got every doctor in the damn hospital to operate on me and made sure I got out without a scratch. All with her damn money. Jude, Ruebel, and Dylan? None of them were rich. So, by the time they got me off without a scratch..."

Abigail's eyes started to tear up.

"And you know what else that bitch did?" Abigail rambled on, angrily. "She painted everything like they were the bad guys. That I wasn't a part of it. That I was a victim of their stupidity. That everything was their fault and not mine! All because she wanted to save her image as an Ellsworth! It was my fault that they died, and she won't even let me take that responsibility! Won't even let... the family name take responsibility for what happened to them. If my mom hadn't gotten every doctor to operate on me, maybe they'd be alive. Maybe Dylan would be better than he is now. If I had just been a little more responsible and not gone drunk driving with..."

She wiped those fiery tears from the corner of her eyes.

"I fucking hate her," Abigail gritted her teeth. "She never cared about me or how I felt. Or even how Ashlen felt. All she cares about is herself and her stupid status."

Haruto noted the name Ashlen but said nothing regarding that. He let her have this moment as he sat next to her. Abigail continued to stare at the ground as she scooted closer to Haruto. She was trying to effectively calm down. There were so many emotions she was keeping bottled up. Just once though. Once. She wanted to be comfortable. Comfortable feeling that she can be at peace with everything's that happened in her life. At peace with everything that's happening... now...

Haruto, meanwhile, blinked in surprise as he attempted to move, as to not make her feel awkward.

"No," Abigail ordered. "Don't move. Just let me… I just… Can I…?"

"You want to use my shoulder as a pillow?" Haruto guessed what she wanted.

Abigail timidly nodded.

"Go for it, Abs," Haruto sighed, giving her a more sympathetic look. Poor girl needed some rest from everything.

"I told you not to call me that," Abigail looked amusedly annoyed. "If you want to give me a nickname, at least something like Abby would work well…"

"Pft, like I would do that," Haruto scoffed, teasing her slightly. A good chance to make her feel like she wasn't alone. "If I wanna call you Abs, I'll call you Abs."

"Tch, jerk," Abigail slightly blushed.

"Alright, snob," Haruto rolled his eyes, slightly blushing as well.

Abigail's head was much more comfortable on his arm than he would like to admit. Plus, he's never had a girl rest their head on his shoulder! And Abigail? She never rested her head on anyone's shoulder before! A new experience for both of them…

And a sign that the two of them grew closer together!

---

(Zuri's Room)

Zuri began to mope.

---

"E-Er Zuri…" Holland was about to say before Zuri flushed red.

"H-H-H-Holland," Zuri stammered. "S-So why are you sticking around? I-Is it because you need something from me? I-If so what did you need? I can help you with so many things b-but I'm r-really in a big hurry so–"

"...Ah, you can…" Holland was about to say.

"G-Gotta go!" Zuri immediately said before dashing out of the Cafeteria.

---

Her blood pressure rose to an unnatural degree.

Her heart pounded loudly.

She buried her face inside her knees. 'Gotta go'? 'Gotta go'? Was that all she could say to him? How could she say that? Why was she so… so…?

Zuri's room had a light green tint, which was appropriate given her main color and the fact that she is the Lime Leaf of the Dream Palms. But however, the bed that she was cradling on was usually very neat and tidy. This time, the blanket was unkempt and tossed over into an unnatural manner.

Basically, Zuri was having a crisis and that crisis's name was Holland.

For some reason, she couldn't get that man out of her head. That hoodie. Those expressionless eyes. Those expressionless heterochromatic eyes… Was he always heterochromatic? Zuri was starting to ask really stupid questions.

The fact of the matter is that she was stuck feeling warm whenever she was near him. Lightheaded. Excited. Feelings she hadn't felt in a while and most certainly didn't think she would feel in this Killing Game…

It made her nervous.

Scared.

She hoped he didn't get any wrong ideas (but let's face it, he's going to get the wrong idea anyway). She wanted to talk to him. Speak to him and let him know why she had to run off like that. Make an excuse for her actions.

…But the thing that was stopping her was how easily flustered she got when she was around him. When did that even start?

Oh yeah…

Yesterday.

When she and Holland…

…

Her mind went back to that image of her and Holland slowly inching closer together. So much so that their lips almost made contact. Her face went fully red and she squealed to herself, burying her face further into her legs. She wanted to try to go for that again! She really did!

But how could she after she just ran away like that, like a coward?

Gosh.

Could it be? Could it be that she was really… Really in…

She wanted to finish the thought. She needed to. But she couldn't. Aside from the thrill of finding someone she truly cared for, her mind was telling her it was a bad idea to even attempt to pursue this. To even go for someone who supported them so much… in a terrible environment like this.

But Zuri was no realist when it came to what she wanted to do.

She knew that much. That was how easy it was when she chose Dream Palm over everything else. Dream Palm over what was promised to her as "a better life". She hugged herself tighter. She thought about it. Dreamed about it.

What it would be like. What it would be like to… Share that lip-to-lip contact? No no. Can't think about that. Too embarrassing! Maybe start small! A hug? N-No… Th-That seems a little too small.

Hands.

How would she react if she got to touch his warm… hands.

She remembered how soft and warm his hands were yesterday when he wiped away those tears. The thought made her blush once again. Once again, blushing… until finally she felt tears form from the corners of her eyes.

"...I– I really like him, don't I?" Zuri muttered to herself. "S-So why…?"

A knock on the door snapped her away from thinking about Holland. She hurriedly wiped those tears before hurrying to the door. Opening it up, she half-expected to see Holland…

…So, imagine her surprise and slight disappointment when it was instead Arthur, who could only give her the most dangerously cold glance he hasn't given to anyone in quite a while.

"A-Ah, A-Arthur," Zuri blinked. "Is everything alright?"

"Tell me you have it," Arthur clenched his fist. "Tell me you have it…"

"H-Have what?" Zuri blinked.

"The bloody key, damn it!" Arthur yelled. "The key to Cell #66! Where is it?!"

Zuri was taken aback by Arthur's yelling. She backed away, a little frightened by how vocal and frantic the usually calm and composed snowboarder was. She trembled slightly. She's never seen Arthur this mad before, but as the leader she needed to regain her composure and stand her ground. Leaders were supposed to handle those under stress… right?

"I-It should still be with me," Zuri tried to stay calm and not show weakness as she reached into her pockets.

…

It wasn't there.

The key.

It wasn't there…

"W-Wait," Zuri widened her eyes. "W-Wait. The key. W-Where… N-No."

Zuri patted her shorts, doing everything she could to search every nook and cranny of her own clothes, in hopes that the key would miraculously show up.

But it never did.

And now, the very vocal Arthur started to look stressed. He was no longer angry. No longer frustrated or cold. No. Zuri saw him in a state she and anyone else would never see him in. At least, not to this degree:

…Fear.

Arthur was afraid.

"H-Hey, what's going on?" Mimi walked over after hearing the commotion.

With no response, Arthur hurried off, pushing past Mimi, who in return widened her eyes in shock. She truly hasn't seen Arthur this desperate either.

"H-Hey, Zuri, what's going on with–" Mimi blinked.

"A-Arthur!" Zuri called out, ignoring Mimi and chasing after him.

Mimi blinked.

Rude that she was just shoved aside and ignored. But the curiosity in her piqued her interest. Soon, she too began to follow behind Zuri and Arthur.

But where?

---

(Cell #66)

Why, here of course!

6:15 PM.

Arthur was of course the first one there, with Zuri and Mimi having just arrived at Cell Block S. Once they entered this peculiar Cell Block, they found something surprising and shocking. Something that was really out of place for Cell #66.

And that was only one thing:

The door to Cell #66 was unlocked and open.

Arthur stood there, frozen in place. His fists tightened as he let his eyes wander inside the Cell. There were cockroaches. The rats. The mattress. The half-eaten food that was handed to Ina for breakfast. And speaking of Ina, this was why Arthur was so frantic. So… scared…

Ina was missing.

"W-Where's Ina?" Mimi widened her eyes. "N-No. No way. Y-You don't think she… She escaped?!"

"A-Arthur?" Zuri glanced at Arthur, sympathetically. The poor man didn't say a word, but Zuri could easily tell that he was concerned for the safety of his half-sister. "A-Are you… okay?"

"Oh gosh, oh gosh," Mimi started to hyperventilate. "W-We have to find her! She could hurt someone! Maybe worse! She might even–"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, you half-grained witch!" Arthur turned suddenly; his eyes furious at what Mimi was implicating.

"Eep!" Mimi jumped, hiding her fearful face behind her witch hat. "I– I– I'm sorry!"

"A-Arthur, you need to calm down!" Zuri exclaimed. "Let's just figure out how she got out and find her. If you're worried that she might actually hurt someone, I'm sure she isn't going to do anything like that."

"O-Of course she wouldn't," Arthur tried to cool off. "B-But what if something happened to her? What if… What if she's…"

"D-Dea–" Mimi was about to say, peering from behind her hat, before Arthur turned to her once again.

"Be quiet!" Arthur yelled at her. "Don't say that! There is no way she…"

"E-Eep!" Mimi hid behind her witch hat once again. "B-But you were going to say it first…"

"Arthur, calm down," Zuri sternly told him. "We'll find her, alright? She's going to be okay. As I said, we need to remain calm and focus. Find out how she got out. Okay?"

Arthur didn't say anything in response. He avoided eye contact. Avoided any thoughts of what could have happened to Ina. Where she had gone to. If she was truly… No no. Avoid those thoughts, Kingston! She's okay! She has to be. She just has to be!

He stepped inside the Cell, hoping to dear God that maybe Ina was just playing hide and seek with them.

An idea that was so ridiculous that even Arthur had to know how stupid that sounded. But he was desperate. Desperate for his half-sister to be okay. Desperate enough to come up with wild delusions. Desperate enough to make excuses that she was okay. After all…

Cell #66 would be a terrible spot to play hide and seek in.

Zuri's heart sank when she saw what was lodged inside the keyhole of the door. Eyeing it closely and taking it out, she couldn't believe it…

It was the key to Cell #66.

The very key that she was supposed to keep an eye on. The very key that she was supposed to keep on her at all times. The very key that had somehow escaped her possession and found itself lodged inside the keyhole of Cell #66.

"This is the key," Zuri whispered. "But why…? And how…?"

"D-Did you somehow lose the key, Zuri?" Mimi widened her eyes. "And if so, then that must mean that whoever found it, used it to release Ina back into the wild! Like a lion, ready to kill his brother over the throne!"

"I… I would sure hope not," Zuri bit her lip.

If that was true, then that meant she was a lousy leader. That key was something leaders were entrusted with. Or rather, that was the tradition since the last leader was Jared and he pretty much passed that down to whoever would be the next one. Of course, that was her. And she couldn't even do a simple job to make sure the key was safe and sound.

Was it because she was so distracted as of late?

Was that why she…?

"I just don't understand how I lost such an important item in the first place," Zuri frowned slightly. "I mean, it was in my pocket the entire time and I never even took it out once. The only and last time I've ever taken it out was…"

---

"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.

---

Zuri widened her eyes.

Could it be?

Could Jared really have?

Given his actions yesterday, that theory might hold some water. But that also meant the key was gone for an entire day and a half if he had someone snatched it with some sleight of hand trick. Gone… and she didn't even notice.

Zuri didn't want to believe that.

There was no way Jared could've taken it. The only thing she ever gave back to him was his badge so…

It couldn't be Jared who released Ina.

But… who did?

"...No…" Arthur's voice alerted Zuri and Mimi to turn to inside Cell #66. "No. No, no no no no no no."

"A-Arthur?" Mimi curiously asked. "W-What's wrong?"

"I…" Arthur couldn't form a response.

Instead, the rich snowboarder, stricken with more anxiety and worry, turned to reveal what he had found on the floor. And that heightened the situation much more than it needed to. In Arthur's hands, was nothing more than:

A syringe.

"Is that…" Zuri widened her eyes.

"Th-That's a syringe," Mimi gasped. "Then that would mean…"

"...I… I don't want to know what it means," Arthur hugged himself, desperately. "I can't… I just can't…"

"L-Let's not jump to any conclusions, okay Arthur?" Zuri advised the snowboarder. "We don't even know what was in that syringe. For all we know, it could be like some sort of knockout drug or something."

"Or poison," Arthur pessimistically stated. "Whatever it was, it was already injected into Ina. There are barely any traces of the substance that used to be in this…"

As soon as he said it, he realized just how awful it felt to come to that conclusion. How awful it felt for him to even imagine what might have happened. How awful… So awful…

Arthur dropped to the ground.

Never in his entire life had he felt so… so helpless. Useless was how he felt when he constantly got rejected over and over again by Ina. But helpless? No. He was a Kingston. Kingstons always had a plan for everything, no matter what hole they found themselves trapped into. But this was a hole that was 66 feet deep. A hole that Arthur truly felt had no way out.

His mouth began to quiver. His eyes trembled ever so harshly.

Zuri could see it now. The Arthur Kingston that had kept himself so emotionally contained. In a way, it reminded her a lot like Holland, but the fact remained that he was at a low point. A much lower point than she expected when she saw a tear trail down his cheek.

"I can't lose her," Arthur remained on the ground, placing his hand over his eyes. "I can't lose her. I can't lose her. I just can't lose her. I can't."

This was a sight that Zuri and Mimi weren't used to seeing this side of Arthur. Especially Mimi, who used to see Arthur as a rather cold individual who sent Yuumi to her death. She's never forgiven for that, but to see him down on the ground in despair.

Even she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Arthur, look at me," Zuri squatted down to his level. "You won't lose her. We'll find her and she'll be fine. I promise. But right now, you have to get up."

"Sh-She… Sh-She…" Arthur winced as he felt his hands getting wetter from every tear that started to form. "W-What if she isn't? What if she…? I… I… I can't lose another sister. There is so much I haven't told her. So much I imagined we could do if we had escaped…"

"And you still have a chance," Zuri assured him. "But you have to get up and stop feeling horrible about all this. Every second you stay down like this is a second wasted of you finding her."

Arthur gritted his teeth. Zuri was right, but he just felt so weak. So emotional. The ice prince who was so cold towards others… now finally letting the ice in his heart thaw. Zuri and Mimi saw the truth now and wished that Ina was here to see this:

How much Ina truly did mean to Arthur.

"I… I can't move," Arthur tried to breathe. "I'm scared, Zuri. I'm scared that if I do move... That if I do find her… She'll be…"

"You can't think like that, Arthur," Zuri placed a hand on his shoulder. "You have to keep believing. Ina is a strong girl. You know it. I know it. Mimi knows it. Whatever happens, she'll be fine. Okay? So, for her sake, please… Just…"

Zuri hated to repeat herself. But she had to if there was any chance for them to quickly find Ina…

"Get up Arthur," Zuri adamantly pressed.

"Hey!"

Mimi perked her ears. She heard it. Zuri heard it too. Arthur took his hand off of his eyes as he had heard it too.

"Is that?" Mimi blinked.

"Someone! Help! Where the fuck is everyone?!"

"That's–" Mimi widened her eyes.

"Cassandra!" Zuri exclaimed, finishing Mimi's sentence.

Cassandra? What did she need? Zuri glanced toward Mimi, who merely nodded in return. Mimi was the first to leave Cell Block S and up the stairs to where Cassandra was yelling: Cell Block C. Zuri on the other hand had to stay behind. She glanced back down at Arthur.

"We need to go now, Arthur," Zuri looked at rather slightly broken Arthur. "Are you going to get up or stay down?"

Arthur said nothing. Everything Zuri had told him was exactly what he had to do. He slowly got up, but he still felt weak. He was still scared. If Cassandra was yelling for help, he could only feel fear of what she may have found…

"Let's go," Zuri nodded toward Arthur, grabbing him by the hand in order to escort him to Cell Block C…

---

(Cell Block C)

When Mimi, Zuri, and then Arthur, reached Cell Block C, they certainly didn't expect themselves to bump into Abigail, Haruto, and Holland. And from the looks of it, the three didn't expect to see Mimi, Zuri, and Arthur join them as well.

"Ah, so you heard Cassandra call out for help too, did you?" Abigail asked, looking slightly less tired thanks to her well-needed conversation with Haruto.

"Oi, what the hell happened to Kingston over here?" Haruto raised an eyebrow, noticing how red the rich snowboarder's eyes were.

"Er, long story," Zuri sighed.

Holland raised an eyebrow at this. But something caught his eye that he wasn't too happy with. Zuri's hand was on Arthur's. For Zuri, it was because she had to drag the sucker along for the ride. But to Holland, it just made him slightly envious…

Envious?

That's a new feeling that Holland didn't think he would feel.

"Did you guys find out where Cassandra is?" Mimi asked.

"We just got here," Abigail pointed out. "But if she calls out again…"

"I'm in the fucking Therapy Room!" Cassandra's voice called out again. "Get your asses in here and help me out here!"

"You heard the loud bitch," Haruto cracked his knuckles. "We gotta go! Come on!"

With nods of agreement from everyone except Arthur, because he was still a little distraught over what may have happened to Ina, the entire group entered the Therapy Room. And the scene that awaited them was something that truly…

…

Truly… chilled them to their bones.

---

(Therapy Room)

…The Therapy Room was… clean. Not too messy. Nothing really out of the ordinary. That is, until the smell of blood drifted into the air. The smell of blood radiating from a body that Cassandra was currently tending to at the doorway of the Therapy Room. In fact, this was the first thing anyone should have seen when they stumbled through the Therapy Room's doorway:

The sight of Cassandra tending to a fallen Barracuda. There was blood seeping from his chest. The palm of his hands was also coated with blood as he groaned and coughed out blood. And most horrifying of all was the weapon that was used.

A spear.

The spear that was attached to the speargun.

Essentially, the speargun had been shot and lodged into Barracuda.

"B-Barracuda!" Mimi screamed out.

"Took you guys long enough!" Cassandra exclaimed, her voice noticeably shaking but still annoyed that it took too long for reinforcements to arrive. Her hands were on the spear, as she tried to wiggle the spear out of his chest. "Now give me a hand here and help me get this thing out of him!"

"What happened?" Abigail rushed to Barracuda's side, attempting to help Cassandra pry the weapon out of his chest.

"How should I know?!" Cassandra sighed, looking visibly frustrated. "I came in here, all curious because I heard this idiot making some noise. Then, once I come in, I see him bleeding all over the place."

"...From the looks of it, someone shot him with this speargun," Holland mused, holding up the speargun.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Cassandra rolled her eyes.

Holland was joined by the rather depressed Arthur, who examined the speargun intensively, and by golly was there some stuff on that speargun that should be examined. By stuff, I mean blood. Because that speargun was almost nearly covered in blood.

There was blood on the grip of the speargun. Following the chain connected to the spear lodged inside of Barracuda, halfway through it was yet another bloodstain. And finally, the spear itself, which was completely covered in blood, most definitely because of it being lodged inside of Barracuda.

"Ack, i-it hurts–" Barracuda groaned miserably.

"Oi, big guy!" Haruto rushed to his side. "The fuck happened here?!"

"I… I…" Barracuda clutched his head.

"Bombard him with questions later," Cassandra exclaimed. "We need to take this thing out of him and move him to the Infirmary!"

"Y-Yeah," Zuri nodded before rushing toward the Infirmary.

By the time she got back, in her hands was a generous case of bandages to contain the blood. She started to unwrap them, taking a deep breath and glancing toward everyone else.

"Okay, I got bandages to make sure he doesn't lose too much blood," Zuri took a deep breath. "Who is going to take the spear out?"

She looked at everyone. A lot of them winced. Almost all of them were a little sheepish when it came to blood from the looks of it. That is, until Holland stepped forward to– Nope. Haruto stole the moment.

"I'll do it," Haruto took a deep breath. "I got the muscles. I can pull it out in no time at all!"

"O-Okay," Zuri nodded her head slightly. "Just be very gentle–"

"Hwah!" Haruto took out the spear as quickly as he said he would and tossed it to the side.

"AGHHHHHHH!" Barracuda screamed in pain as more blood was seeping out of his chest. Seeped? No. More like pouring. Some blood even sprayed onto Haruto himself.

"H-Haruto!" Zuri exclaimed. "I wasn't ready!"

"Start patching the fucker up then!" Haruto exclaimed.

Zuri moved quickly. Immediately, she placed a generous number of bandages around Barracuda's chest, containing some of the blood. Eventually, with the help of Abigail, they were able to wrap the bandages around Barracuda once.

Then twice.

Then three times.

Then four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine– That was the whole roll.

The blood had slowly seeped past four before finally being actively contained by the fifth and finally the ninth. It quite literally took the whole roll to make sure he didn't lose any more blood.

"Grk… Grk… I-It hurts," Barracuda groaned in pain. "It hurts so bad…"

"Perhaps it would have been wiser to move him to the Infirmary instead of taking out the weapon here," Arthur pointed out, noting the blood on Haruto. "He could have died from blood loss just then."

"Yeah well, he didn't," Cassandra sighed. "Now, instead of lecturing us on what we should've done, can we just move him to the Infirmary now? So he can get some rest?"

"Hurts… Hurts…" Barracuda groaned.

"B-Barracuda, it's going to be okay," Mimi tried to assure him. "We're going to carry you to the Infirmary, okay? So just be strong for us!"

"I'm gonna need a bunch of hands here," Haruto flexed his own muscles. "Holland and Arthur. You two get his legs. I got his shoulders."

Holland and Arthur said nothing but nodded. Holland kept in mind what had happened overall while Arthur knew he had to worry about his missing sister later. Right now, someone was attacked and still alive. But the question remained, who was it?

Haruto grabbed Barracuda by his shoulders as Holland and Arthur held him steady with his legs. By the time they lifted him up, Barracuda started wincing and crying in pain.

"O-Ow, o-ow!" Barracuda gritted his teeth.

"Don't worry man," Haruto assured him. "It's gonna hurt like hell now but later on, you'll get used to it. Take that from someone who can't jump anymore."

"H-How is that supposed to help me feel better?" Barracuda frowned as his mind remained dazed.

"Bitch, I'm trying my best here!" Haruto exclaimed.

The three men huddled with Barracuda's body, escorting him to the Infirmary. Shortly, they were followed behind by Abigail, Zuri, and Mimi, all of whom were worried for the wellbeing of one of their allies. And finally, lastly behind was Cassandra, who could only stare at the blood on the floor and the body that was once there.

Barracuda was attacked. By whom? No one knew. But most important to note is that whoever did this was still running around.

Instantly, her mind went straight to Jared.

She shook her head.

Jared wouldn't stoop that low… would he? He wouldn't try to hurt the people he claimed to be protecting, right? There was apparently that debacle of him aiming the gun at his peers, but she knew he never had any intention to shoot them so…

Cassandra's gaze slightly darkened. She narrowed her eyes. All before she finally noticed something on the floor. She raised an eyebrow, squatting down, and then picking said something up.

"...What is this doing here?" she murmured to herself.

---

(Infirmary)

By the time Barracuda was propped onto a medical bed, he had already passed out. Whether it was due to blood loss or exhaustion, the fact remained that he was still alive. The wound was big and a whole roll of bandages wasn't going to be doing anything but stall for time. They needed to act quickly and try to patch that wound up.

"Alright, I'm going to need a sewing kit," Abigail tiredly stated. "The plan is to stitch Barracuda's wound close, because as far as I see it, those bandages aren't going to hold his blood in for very long."

"You got your sewing kit right here, doc," Haruto tossed her the sewing kit located in one of the medical cabinets.

"Thanks, nurse," Abigail slightly rolled her eyes before taking a deep breath.

Barracuda was lucky that she knew something about patching up wounds like this, otherwise, he'd be totally fucked right now and whoever shot him would be too. Abigail opened up the sewing kit and carefully unwrapped the bandages she and Zuri had worked so hard to wrap, making sure that no blood was going to come pouring out.

Once she reached the heavily soaked fifth wrapping, she prepared some alcohol. Then she carefully unwrapped each layer of bandage wrappings one by one before she laid her eyes on the wound. Blood was still seeping out, and with the bandage wrappings slowly getting removed, the blood was beginning to pour out quicker…

Dabbing some cotton into the alcohol, Abigail patted it onto Barracuda's wound, in an effort to clean the wound and prevent it from bleeding from a high degree. Luckily for her, Barracuda was passed out, meaning he was going to struggle or cry out in pain much as she continued the process. As she dabbed enough alcohol onto his wound, she got to sewing.

…

As Abigail worked on Barracuda, the others idly stood by, wondering how something like this could have happened. Wondering… Why did something like this happen? Well, the answer to that debacle was immediately obvious the more thought they put into it. They were in a Killing Game. Stuff like this happens all the time!

"Fuck!" Haruto exclaimed. "Why Barracuda? Who the fuck would do that to him?!"

"Who indeed?" Arthur frowned, folding his arms.

The door to the Infirmary opened. All eyes (except for Abigail who was working on patching up Barracuda and Barracuda himself) turned to the culprit who opened the door. That's right, it was Cassandra, who entered the room a little later than the others.

"How is he?" Cassandra frowned, tossing some things into the trash can. She cleaned her hand in slight disgust. The blood on her hands from Barracuda was now dry and sticky. Never thought she would go so far as to even touch blood but here she was!

"Stable from the looks of it," Zuri looked down.

"Well, what the hell are we waiting for?" Cassandra asked, putting her arms down. "Let's ask him who the fuck did this to him!"

"...Even if we could, he's passed out," Holland pointed out. "We'll have to wait for him to wake up before we can ask him anything."

"I think we all know who did it anyway," Mimi clenched her fist.

All eyes shifted from Cassandra to Mimi. She looked visibly angry, and she hadn't looked angry in a bit. Hadn't looked angry ever since, well, the Trial of Chapter 2. Instantly, Arthur knew what Mimi was about to suggest.

"Do not say it," Arthur coldly stared at her. "Do not even imply anything!"

"Who else could it be then, Arthur?!" Mimi exclaimed. "I'm done letting you scare me into not saying something like this! It makes sense, doesn't it?! Ina escapes from Cell #66 and suddenly, Barracuda got shot with a speargun!"

"I–" Arthur was slightly taken aback by how vocal Mimi was at the moment.

"W-Wait, what?" Cassandra widened her eyes slightly.

She wasn't the only one, Holland and Haruto were surprised to hear that too. Even Abigail stopped what she was doing to turn toward the group's little side-conversation.

"I-Ina, escaped?" Abigail blinked.

"Go back to working on Barracuda, Abigail!" Arthur ordered before turning toward the group. "Also! No! I refuse to believe that Ina is capable of anything like this! She… She wouldn't hurt…"

"Dude, she literally concocted a whole murder scheme to kill you," Haruto deadpanned. "If she could do that, what else could she do?"

"Shoot Barracuda, for example," Mimi retorted.

"Isadora, I swear to bloody God–" Arthur glared at the fairytale writer with contempt.

"Guys!" Zuri exclaimed. "Let's just calm down, alright? We can't be a hundred percent sure that Ina was the one who did this! I mean, there are other suspects we have to consider as well!"

"Like whom?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"Like… Like…" Zuri began to say the first name that came out of her mouth. "Like Jared! If we can suspect that Ina was responsible because she tried to kill someone here, then we can also suspect Jared, because one, he started acting out of it yesterday, and two, he was left unmonitored for the rest of the day!"

"That is a good point," Haruto gave a small nod of agreement.

"Okay, but Jared's only beef is with White Collar, not with us!" Mimi pouted.

"And Ina and I had a lovely chat yesterday," Arthur folded his arms. "Ina changed. She changed from the moment she failed to kill me."

"Yeah, from the moment she killed Yuumi, instead!" Mimi glared at Arthur. "Or should I blame you for that?!"

"You are going off the rails here, Vega!" Arthur glared back at Mimi.

This back and forth between an easily intimidating cold prince and a cute and once timid witch. No one could have seen this coming…

"...Getting back on topic, how did you guys find out Ina escaped in the first place?" Holland asked. "Was the door to Cell #66 just… open?"

"Yes," Arthur plainly stated.

"I somehow lost the key," Zuri looked down, ashamed. "So, in a way, it was kind of my fault that the door was able to be unlocked."

"Bitch, you lost the key?" Haruto widened his eyes. "H-How the fuck do you lose a key?"

(You forget to cheri–)

Get out of my story, Nathan!

Ahem.

"I have no idea!" Zuri exclaimed, looking down. "It just wasn't there by the time Arthur pointed it out! The next time I found it, it was already lodged inside the Cell keyhole!"

"...So, in other words, the key was stolen from you somehow," Holland remarked.

"It… sure sounds like it," Zuri sighed, looking even more disappointed with herself than she usually was. "I… I'm such a crappy leader."

"...D-Don't be so hard on yourself," Holland tried to reassure her. "Anyone can lose a key."

"Yeah, but the key that could release a fucking maniac back out for Round 2?" Haruto growled. "Thanks for taking the responsibility, but you gotta realize that this blunder is your fucking mess. For all we know, Barracuda's injury is on your hands!"

"Cease your tongue, Walker," Arthur narrowed his eyes. "We don't know Ina is truly behind this for sure."

"Oh my gosh," Cassandra started to groan. "All this bickering is annoying me. Guys, come on. Let's just stop arguing about who did it and how and just get on with trying to find her! If she truly did escape, there's only a few places she could hide!"

"Cassandra is right…" Holland stoically stated. "...We waste more time for her to possibly hurt others the longer we stay here…"

"But where do we start?" Zuri asked.

"Cell Block A," Cassandra answered.

"Huh?" Mimi blinked. "Why there?"

"Here's my thinking," Cassandra started to smirk. "If she truly did attack Barracuda, then there's no way she'd hide in Cell Block C, because everything in Cell Block C leads to a dead end and rooms are literally way too open for anyone to hide in. Cell Block B is a maybe… but not what I'm thinking is the main place she would hide…"

"So, you think she probably returned to Cell Block A?" Arthur asked.

"Probably to her room or some shit like that," Cassandra shrugged.

"...Hm," Arthur gave it a thought. "No one else is allowed in situated rooms without room keys… I suppose it could be a fine place to look."

"Cell Block B does have alternating pathways on the right side and my Ultimate Cell is pretty big," Abigail joined the group, sighing in relief. "So, I think we should check Cell Block B just in case. And Cell Block C later if we exhausted all possibilities."

"You're going Abigail?" Mimi blinked. "But what about Barracuda?"

"He's already stitched up," Abigail assured Mimi. "He's not going to lose any blood soon, so his condition is stable. He's just going to need a bunch of rest. Any movement from him and there's a chance my handiwork is going to come undone."

"You can't stitch him up to the point where it won't do that?" Haruto raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like a professional doctor to you?" Abigail glared at Haruto.

"Ah, then, in that case," Mimi stepped toward Barracuda. "You guys go on ahead. I'll stay with Barracuda. Maybe when he wakes up, I'll ask him what happened."

"Sounds like a good idea," Zuri nodded before turning to everyone else.

They had situated a plan on where to look. Now was the time to actually go look. But why did she feel that as soon as they embarked on this adventure, they would find something they didn't want to find? That something worse was going to happen?

It was that same feeling of dread that has since plagued everyone in this godforsaken facility. But Zuri had to stay strong. For everyone's sake. And for the belief that perhaps Ina really was okay. Her heart went out to Arthur.

She saw how desperate he was for his sister to be okay. To be… unharmed.

If she was truly hurt… she was afraid to see what that might be due to Arthur's stability. Zuri cleared her throat.

"Let's go," Zuri nodded, before turning to Mimi. "We'll be back to call you if we find something, Mimi."

Mimi nodded her head in return.

Then the group left the Infirmary, heading off and perhaps splitting off into separate groups in hopes of finding Ina. Time would tell what they would find and Mimi, who was left alone with Barracuda, sincerely hoped that nothing bad would happen…

…Why did it feel like something will, though?

---

"Birth name."

"Victor Marakovich."

"Country of origin."

"Russia."

"Age."

"18."

"Birthday."

"March 25th."

"Height."

"6'8."

"Weight."

"Mmm, I estimate around 300 lbs?"

"That's fine."

Victor remembered standing in an unfamiliar bright room, watched by reflecting eyes and curious individuals. His innocent face looked younger and was replaced with determination and slight guilt. There was something troubling him. Something he was scared of. And Barracuda remembered it.

He remembered it to this day. The very thing that has haunted him. His sin.

"Something troubling you, Marakovich?"

"I-It's nothing," Victor said.

"It's advisable you tell us your concerns before we start the procedure."

Victor remained silent as he listened to the voice. He looked down, his face slightly crestfallen. That look of determination and fear was replaced with sorrow. A face that he wished his family could see…

"...I miss them," Victor looked down. "My family."

"..."

"I'm a disappointment," Victor clenched his fist. "Running away like a coward. I don't know if I could ever face my Pa's eyes ever again after doing this."

"Don't tell us you're backing away now. You've already signed the waivers and everything. Your ticket to a free country. Away from what you described as Hell."

"I– I know that," Victor looked back up toward those reflections. "And I thank you guys for doing this. But…"

"Look, Marakovich. You're a wanted man. The whole country is after your head. What other choice do you have?"

Victor remained silent.

"Besides, isn't this what you signed up for? An escape to a new and better life. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Victor said nothing. This was what he wanted. Truly, this was what he wanted. He looked down, thinking long and hard about everything before glancing back up and nodding. His face returned to that determined and confident look.

"Yeah," Victor confirmed. "It is."

"Atta boy. Now then. Let's get the procedure ready."

"Wait," Victor ordered.

"...?"

"Can I make one last request?" Victor asked.

"...Of course. What is it?"

"I want to change my name," Victor firmly stated. "My legal name is Victor Marakovich but from now on I want to be called something else."

"...Very well. What would you like to be called?"

"Barracuda," Victor answered.

"...Like the fish?"

"Yes," Victor held onto the dog tags on his neck. He clutched it tightly, in remembrance of his father who was probably disappointed in him. "It's a very important name…"

"...Very well. We will make a note of it in your file…"

"...Thank you…"

---

(Infirmary)

Barracuda opened his eyes to another bright light. Bright. So bright. By the time his vision cleared, he could see where he was. His mind, once foggy, had now cleared up as well. Yes. This is where he was. The facility. Specifically…

…The Infirmary.

But his mind wandered to that strange dream he had.

"W-What… What was that?" Barracuda rubbed his head. "W-Where… was that?"

Barracuda glanced around the Infirmary. He rubbed his head. He tried to make sense of everything before he attempted to move out of the medical bed he was. But the instant he tried, his chest burst in pain.

"Aghhhh," Barracuda clutched his chest. "Agh!..."

He winced in pain. It didn't take him long before he noticed that his chest had been stitched up as best it could be. Oh yeah. He was… Hurt. He blinked. Memory on that front was still foggy, was it? But the pain. Oh, how it still remained.

"Ah, Barracuda!" Mimi awoke from his side the moment she felt him move.

As it turned out, she had fallen asleep next to him. The hassle of everything had gotten her so tired that she had passed out after resting her head by Barracuda's lap.

"M-Mimi?" Barracuda blinked.

"D-Don't move Barracuda!" Mimi warned him. "Abigail said the stitches might still come out. So just stay on the bed! You need rest!"

"Urgh, w-what happened?" Barracuda rubbed his head.

"You mean, you don't remember?" Mimi blinked, widening her eyes.

"R-Remember what?" Barracuda looked back at her in confusion.

"...You were shot with a speargun," Mimi looked down. "Cassandra found you in the Therapy Room. You were in… so much pain. And then Abigail patched you up to the best of her ability!"

Barracuda glanced down toward the stitching on his chest.

That would explain stitches he had. But what wasn't explained was that strange dream… or was that an old memory he had locked away? Barracuda wasn't too sure, but it seemed that Mimi had more to say… Or ask.

"...You look confused," Mimi looked at him, sadly. "Does that mean… you don't remember who shot you?"

Barracuda sighed as he rubbed his head.

"My memory of whatever happened before I got shot is a little hazy," Barracuda rubbed his head. "I… I just remember all that pain. Even now, it still hurts. Hurts to move. Hurts to remember…"

"Hey hey, it's okay," Mimi assured him. "You don't have to push yourself. But is there at least anything you do remember besides, well, pain?"

Barracuda tried to think. He winced in pain before sighing.

"All I can remember is the time when I got shot," Barracuda rubbed his head. "It was around 6:00 PM, I would say. I must've seen the clock before I did…"

"I guess that's a start," Mimi looked down. "Is that really all you can remember?"

"I can try to remember more details," Barracuda suggested.

"Er, no no, I'm not going to ask you to do that anymore," Mimi shook her head. "It must hurt enough as it is."

"Y-You have no idea," Barracuda touched his stitched-up chest before coughing. The moment he coughed, Mimi jumped, because now seeping out of his mouth was blood. That can't be good…

"Y-You're not okay!" Mimi gasped. "H-Here. I'll see if I can get you some medicine!"

"N-No, no, it's fine," Barracuda wiped his lips. "I just… need rest is all."

"A-Are you sure?" Mimi seemed unconvinced.

"Y-Yeah, very sure," Barracuda looked away.

He didn't sound sure. Sure, his wound was stitched up, but that spear most likely caused some damage further down his chest… to the point where he can now cough up blood. Something inside him was damaged. Could anyone here really fix that?

…

"C-Can I ask you something Mimi?" Barracuda asked.

"Sure thing!" Mimi rushed back to his side after grabbing a towel. She didn't know why she grabbed a towel. Guess she thought it would be useful or something.

"Er, did… Maggie come to see me?" Barracuda was hoping for a 'yes'.

"...She… doesn't know yet," Mimi looked down. "At least, I don't think she does. If anything, maybe the others went downstairs to alert her, so she could be coming here right now as we speak!"

"...I see," Barracuda looked sad. He knew Mimi was being a little optimistic for him, but the fact of the matter is that he messed up. He messed up big time with her. He betrayed her and now she was… So so heartbroken.

All he could ever do was mess up.

He… He was…

"C-Can I ask you a question now?" Mimi asked.

"S-Sure," Barracuda tried to fake a smile.

"Why did you betray Maggie like that anyway?" she asked. "You said you didn't trust her, but I just don't believe that! I mean, you seem like you trusted her a lot so I…"

"I was being stupid," Barracuda looked down. "A few days ago, she confessed to me. She said she didn't see me as a friend when we first met. Just an object that she could fool around with. Ever since then, I didn't trust her. Didn't trust her efforts in wanting to actually be friends with me. I thought she was just fooling around with me… But turns out, I was a fool all along."

"Maggie really said that?" Mimi looked shocked when Barracuda revealed Maggie's confession to her.

"Truth is, I never had friends," Barracuda frowned. "Not in Russia. Not in America. Even when I started my new life as a fitness trainer I… I was just that. A fitness trainer. So, when Maggie and I instantly hit off as friends I thought… I thought I finally made a real genuine friend I could trust and care for."

Barracuda winced. Not from the physical pain but from the emotional one.

"I guess when she told me all of that I just…" Barracuda couldn't continue on.

"I'm sorry," Mimi looked down. "I'm sorry I got mad at you for what you did. I guess I can kind of understand now…"

"No, you shouldn't be sorry," Barracuda frowned. "Abigail was right. What I did was worse than what Maggie thought of me. I set her up to die. All because of how stupid I am."

"Barracuda, don't say that about yourself," Mimi frowned.

Barracuda blinked. That reminded him of something that had occurred a day before his inevitable betrayal…

---

"No, no, don't be," Barracuda softly spoke to Maggie. "I just… It was the first time I've ever had to deal with something like this. And I'm pretty stupid so I just didn't know what to say."

"Don't say that about yourself," Maggie pointed a disappointed frown toward him.

"But it's true, isn't it?" Barracuda chuckled softly. "I'm so stupid, I didn't even pick up on any of your hints, heh."

---

"...Maggie told me the same thing," Barracuda chuckled to himself.

"I guess it's the perk of learning from Big Sis Maggie so much," Mimi beamed slightly.

This writer will pointedly say that he has failed and is disturbed to find out what exactly Mimi would have learned from 'Big Sis Maggie' so we are not going to acknowledge anything.

"...Where is everyone anyway?" Barracuda looked around. "Did they go to bed or something? How long have I been out?"

"It's… only been an hour I think," Mimi rubbed her chin. "They went to look for Ina."

"I-Ina?" Barracuda blinked. "D-Did something bad happen to her?"

"More like something bad is going to happen if they don't find her soon," Mimi crossed her arms with a glare. "Ina escaped from Cell #66 and now she's missing."

"E-Escaped?" Barracuda blinked. "But how?! Wasn't the key with…?"

"Someone stole the key and let her out," Mimi sighed.

"Th-Then I gotta go and help!" Barracuda exclaimed as he attempted to climb out of his bed. The moment he did, his chest started to burst from pain once again. "Agh! O-Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"No no, nope!" Mimi hurriedly helped him back onto the bed. "You're not going anywhere Barracuda! You have to rest! Leave the search to everyone else, okay?"

"B-But what if Maggie needs me?" Barracuda blinked. "What if she's in danger? I gotta–"

"You don't 'gotta' do anything with an injury like that!" Mimi scolded. "Now please rest and heal, okay?"

Barracuda blinked before relenting. He hated feeling so useless. In fact, useless was all he felt in his entire life. Useless. Unable to do the simplest tasks.

A disappointment.

He clenched his fist as he laid onto his bed. Mimi sat next to him as the two waited for something to happen. But the wait time felt longer than it actually was. And soon, Barracuda decided to dive into a different topic.

"...I had a dream actually," Barracuda stated. "Or actually, an old memory."

"Huh?" Mimi blinked. "You did? What about?"

"...I think it was about the time I left Russia," Barracuda's eyes trailed down to his dog tag necklace. "And came to America to start a new life. It was a painful memory. Not something I thought I would remember."

"Wait, you left Russia?" Mimi blinked, confused. She didn't know that part about the Barracuda lore. "Why?"

Barracuda bit his lip before laying on the bed once again. He recounted his tale. Although attempting to remember what had happened before he was shot was painful, remembering his past seemed to ease him. As if he felt a little more comfortable talking about his past.

"I… I was being stupid and selfish," Barracuda looked away somberly. Maybe not that comfortable actually. "But back in Russia my name was… different."

Mimi listened attentively to his story.

"...My real name is Victor Marakovich," Barracuda revealed. "It is my legal name. When I came to America, I changed it. To… Barracuda."

"But why Barracuda?" Mimi asked. "Why not… Lion or… Zebra?"

"Because that is the nickname my Pa gave me," Barracuda clutched his dog tag necklace. "I was the oldest of the family. Pa saw how brave and strong I can be when it comes to protecting my family from danger."

Barracuda chuckled.

"One time, a wolf was about to hurt my youngest brother," Barracuda recounted. "I saw it and I rushed toward it. I fought the wolf off and saved my brother. And Pa. He said I ran and fought so viciously that I was like a barracuda. A predatory fish who would keep fighting for his family."

Barracuda glanced at his dog tags carefully before looking sad once again.

"Even now, I… I don't think I am deserving of the name Barracuda, anymore," Barracuda looked away. "I'm no longer fast nor a fighter. I'm just… a fish out of water. A coward. Someone who ran away from his duties..."

"But you've done everything you can to make sure everyone here feels safe," Mimi blinked. "I mean, you have the heart to do it."

"But have I actually done it?" Barracuda glumly asked. He shook his head before answering his own question. "No. I haven't."

I'm just useless…

It was Mimi's turn to look at him, glumly. She rested her head beside his lap. She tried to think of a response to say. She had to admit. She's never hung out with Barracuda that much as he usually spent most of his time with Maggie before… well… everything that happened between them. But she knew he had a good heart. She just knew.

"Then I suppose once you get better, that is the first thing you should try to do, right?" Mimi encouraged him.

Barracuda gave it a thought before nodding slightly.

"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right," Barracuda sighed.

He knew that was Mimi's best attempt at encouraging him. Assuring him that whatever he's doing, he's doing just fine. But it sure didn't feel that way. Instead, it was the same word that was constantly bringing him down. Constantly repeating in his mind over and over again until he and Mimi slowly drifted off…

Useless…

Useless…

Useless…

...

…

…

…

…

…

…

Barracuda opened his eyes slightly. He was half-asleep. His mind was blank for a moment. He let his own foggy eyes wander. Something was moving in front of him. Why was something moving in front of him? Ah. It was because he was on the medical bed facing the Infirmary's window. But wait, did that mean there was someone at the windo–

Moving past the window was Robo Justice pushing a shopping cart.

Barracuda groggily blinked.

Ah.

He must be dreaming.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

...

...

...

...

"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi's voice echoed throughout the facility. "A body has been discovered. After a certain amount of time has passed, the Prison Trial will begin. That is all."

What?

The next time Barracuda woke up was when Monohebi made her announcement. And he wasn't the only one. Mimi woke up to the sound of Monohebi's announcement as well.

"H-Huh?" Mimi rubbed her eyes. "D-Did she just say…?"

This was not something she wanted to wake up to. How long has everyone been gone for?! She and Barracuda shared a glance.

"I… I wasn't dreaming about that was I?" Barracuda blinked. "You actually heard Monohebi say it right? W-What time is it anyway?"

"It's…" Mimi's eyes glanced over to the clock. "8:30?! They've been trying to look for Ina for one and a half hours?!"

No no no no no. This can't be happening again. Barracuda literally just got attacked. Why did someone have to die?!

"W-We gotta–" Barracuda tried to get out of bed before feeling that obnoxious chest pain again. "Agh! D-Damn it! My wound!"

"Stop moving Barracuda!" Mimi exclaimed. "You need to stay and rest! I will go check–"

"I rested for one and a half hours!" Barracuda pointed out.

"W-Wounds like yours don't heal that fast!" Mimi retorted. "Even with a hyper potion!"

Barracuda clutched his chest. He had to get out of this bed. He had to go find the body. He had to… He had to be useful somehow! But Mimi wasn't letting him–

"Oh my God, you guys are still here!"

Barracuda and Mimi turned to Abigail, who had barged into the Infirmary. Her face was noticeably pale. Judging from how much she was trembling and her… well… pale face, it was clear that she was the one who discovered the body.

"A-Abigail!" Mimi looked scared. "D-Did you…"

"...Yeah," Abigail looked away. "I found… Just… It's best if you see for yourself. Go to Kane's Ultimate Cell. The Right one. I gotta go and alert everyone else! Haruto will be waiting for you there!"

Haruto found the body as well. Judging by that, that must have meant that Haruto and Abigail had found the body while searching for Ina. In other words, they had to be the first people who discovered the body too...

"I'll come too!" Barracuda tried to leave once again before feeling that chest pain. "Agh! Ch-Chest hurts!"

"Stay right there, Barracuda!" Abigail ordered. "Don't move a muscle. You need to stay in bed! Only Mimi goes!"

"B-But–" Barracuda hated this. He hated this feeling of uselessness.

Useless. Useless. Useless!

"I mean it Barracuda!" Abigail exclaimed.

How could Barracuda go against her words after that? Neither Mimi nor Abigail was going to let him go anyway. He clutched his dog tag necklace, looking very disappointed that he wasn't allowed to go.

Meanwhile, as for Mimi, Abigail gave Mimi the green light, via a nod, allowing her to pass through. And as quick as her little legs would take her, Mimi dashed off toward the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell…

---

Mimi spent no time dicking around. As soon as Abigail gave her that green light, she went past GO and collected 200 dollars, all the while landing right at the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell. Was she going to buy the property for 240? Fuck no! Cause this wasn't Monopoly! Also, there was no time to waste. No time to wait for the others to gather. It was happening again. Her worst nightmare, repeated like history playing on a loop. That feeling of dread she experienced when she had lost…

Mimi shook her head. Then without a word, she breathlessly hurried into the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell...

---

(Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell)

…

Time seemed to freeze when Mimi got there.

The first thing she saw was Haruto, guarding the scene of the crime. He glanced at Mimi.

"Oi, kid, you sure you wanna...?" Haruto tried to say but Mimi brushed past him.

She wasn't a little girl. She could handle this. She's seen two dead corpses and two people getting executed. This was a common occurrence here in the Killing Game. She could totally handle this!

...

Maybe?

...

In the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell, it looked as if a fight had broken out. The shattered remains of the urn had fallen to the ground, Robo Justice had fallen to the floor, strangely intact, and the price tags having been stomped on and dirtied. But the most telling of Mimi's current heightened senses was the smell of blood and the sight that worsened the dread she had originally felt…

Because now this nightmare has taken a darker turn.

Because resting on a blue tarp of some kind was a hammer coated in blood. But resting beside that hammer, was Carter Franklin, the Ultimate Opinion Columnist, with drying blood, some still seeping out from the side of his head and staining the blue tarp he had rested on.

But that wasn't all.

Because resting beside the unmoving and bleeding Carter was yet another hammer. Yes! Another hammer also coated in blood! But this hammer was sitting to yet another body. Another body, that rested on the floor, bleeding from the top of their head.

Mimi held her breath as her eyes began to water.

Because right beside Carter's corpse was the second lifeless body of Maggie LaDroubi, the Ultimate Supermodel.

Her...

Big Sis...

"B-Big Sis Maggie...?" Mimi called out, dropping onto her knees as tears started to form from the side of her eyes...

---

DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE

---

This was quicker than expected! Would have been much quicker had Fanfiction not decided to shut down for five hours but hey, here we are! The next chapter of Corrupted Hope and the final part of Chapter 3's Daily Life! We are officially in the Deadly Life, and I think also the official halfway point of a DR story :0

Updates for Trials... Both Trial parts are indeed finished. They just need to be edited. Part 2 needs to be beta tested. And after that, it's just the Investigation chapter that is next :)

Okay, now how the hell am I going to do this? I guess we'll start with the person who was always meant to die in Chapter 3 as a victim: Maggie LaDroubi. First off, thank you Project Drama for allowing me to use her. I know you made her as unsympathetic as possible, but I think she still got her few shares of fans XD But yes! Out of everyone who got moved around past Chapter 3, Maggie was the only person who stayed as a victim and especially the victim of Chapter 3. Actually, untrue, cause in the first death order, I think she survived... somehow. Whatever the case was, if she wasn't surviving, she was a Chapter 3 victim. End of discussion!

In terms of her story, her entire arc with Barracuda was unplanned and just randomly happened. It worked well cause Barracuda was beefy as hell and Maggie's the type to lust over that kind of stuff. So, I decided to go for it, sprinkled in some drama with Maggie's past, and now she's dead and Barracuda's bout to feel all sad inside D: But as a whole character, I think Maggie truly did fit the role of being more of that Team Mom every group kinda needs here and there. She was definitely a character that looked out for others while also being the somewhat comic relief in terms of making sexual innuendo jokes and I think I achieved a well-balance between that for her.

Everyone knew she wasn't surviving past Chapter 3 though, so kudos to everyone who guessed that hahaha XD

Speaking of those who wasn't surviving past Chapter 3, yeah, who would've seen it coming? Double murder. Carter Franklin dying in Chapter 3. People thought he was gonna be our resident psycho killer for Chapter 3. But nah, he's just the victim. I sure fooled you all didn't I? Heh heh heh. But seriously, thank you to armadas for submitting and allowing me to use him. Comparatively speaking, I think out of everyone, Carter was one of the hardest characters to write for. While it was easy to nail his character traits, like the fact that he stutters a lot, it wasn't easy trying to incorporate his Ultimate talent into certain situations.

I did the best I could with what I knew of his past, and turned him into someone whose past bullying and discouragement from his older sister, shriveled him up into someone who could no longer freely express his opinions without doubting himself...

...

Damn it. That sounded so good and yet I don't think I did much justice to him.

Either case, Carter was definitely a struggle to write, especially since I've written the nerdy stuttering archetype plenty of times before. But I did like his concept and I did my absolute best to give him the screentime he deserved, especially in Chapter 3. Unfortunately, though, Carter was always meant to die in Chapter 3. Double fun fact though, he really was supposed to be the killer, but due to the fact that I felt it too obvious, I moved him to victim so that, that way, I had the most obvious Chapter 3 predictions as the victims and a culprit that was a little more in the dark.

I mean, it would not be fun if I killed Maggie and suddenly everyone would just be like, "Carter did it cause of Chapter 3 vibes." XE Would honestly make Chapter 3 a chore to read, so I had to switch things up to make things interesting :)

Jesus Christ, this author's note is long. I guess that's what happens when you kill two people in one chapter XE But as far as storyline goes for Carter, he was more of a loner compared to everyone else. Everyone else had a key partner they could hang out with, but with Carter, because he's shy and all nervous-like, he didn't get someone like that and mostly kept to himself. His main storyline was ultimately just trying to get out of his shell. But unfortunately, he died inside it before it could fully be cracked open.

Either case, that is really it for what I have to say about our two victims. I really did enjoy writing them! What's funny is that it was definitely about time Maggie bit the dust but Carter's still feels like he had more time left to spare D: Ah well, what could have been ;D

Who do you guys think killed them? Wrong answers are accepted! So are right answers but I would prefer it if they were wrong so I feel good about myself! It's 4 AM right now- I need to go to bed.

Let me know what you think about the chapter! Leave reviews. Criticisms! Like and subscribe for more. Chapter 3 Daily Life is done! Hope you enjoyed it! We move on to Deadly Life Chapter 3! And I move on to sleepy time!

Goodnight!

---

Prisoners Remaining: 10

---

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

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

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]

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

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

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