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.

32. Sins of the Forsaken (Part 3)

Chapter 4: Sins of the Forsaken (Daily Life #3)

---

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggi- Wait. You're dead now. Meaning there are no sexual innuendos!... Maybe! Hooray!), 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!

---

"Hey Abby! I'll see you next week, alright?!"

"Yeah, see you next week Dylan!"

Abigail Ellsworth waved goodbye to Dylan Quint as she stepped back onto the Ellsworth Estate. From the public normie life to the rich and elegant lifestyle she always grew up in. She watched Dylan's brother roll up the window and drive off, leaving her to smell the air of that fresh scent of horses.

Yeah, not everyone was used to it but having lived near a horse stadium and a horse stable all her life, it really is fascinating how the olfactory receptors can just suddenly become immune to the fresh scent of manure in the morning.

With a heave of her backpack, she trotted forward to the family estate with a sigh.

Unlike most rich girls, Abigail was different. Most rich girls would love their rich lifestyle and flaunt their money around like they were in control of the entire town's city council… which was kind of true if their Daddys' sat on the city council. But not Abigail.

For starters, Abigail didn't have a dad. Francine Ellsworth made sure of that when she kicked him and that slut maid, Miss Meade, out of the house after she had caught them sleeping together. Ever since that day, Abigail has always felt the Ellsworth Estate to be a shadow of what it once was.

It was empty.

It was no longer a place of elegance and prestige. No matter how hard her mother tried, even the strong and independent Francine Ellsworth couldn't keep the celebratory lights of her family home turned on forever. Not even how much that woman kept emphasizing the importance of 'saving the family's reputation'.

God.

It was annoying.

It was so annoying…

…

…How that was the only thing Francine ever cared about.

Abigail walked toward her front porch, opening the door and preparing to step inside. But before she could, she noticed her mother pause as she stared at her. She had an uncaring look on her face. Distracted but a little irritable today.

Of course, Abigail knew why.

Just the day prior, she and Ashlen had a really bad argument. Probably the first time she's ever heard Ashlen that angry too. Probably her mother's first time too. Probably also why she seemed a little more upset than usual, too…

"Mom," Abigail said.

"Oh Abigail," Francine turned her head to her youngest. "Sorry. I didn't see you there."

"...But you were looking straight at me," Abigail remarked.

"Yes yes, of course," Francine clapped her hands together. "Anyway, would you mind if you do me a favor and get Ashlen? It's dinner time and the food is getting cold."

She didn't care. Of course, she didn't. How could she?

"...Don't you want to know what I did at school today, at least?" Abigail asked. "Or maybe, who I was hanging out with? It was Dylan. You know. The one with the older brother who's an accountant–"

"Yes, yes, that's very nice and well," Francine seemed a little impatient. "But it's important that you go and find your sister. She's been practicing with Horace all day."

"...If it's so important, why don't you go get her?" Abigail rolled her eyes.

"Abigail," Francine sternly raised her voice.

Shit.

Abigail cleared her throat.

"Fine," Abigail looked down. "I'll go and get her."

…

Francine Ellsworth wasn't always like this. Back then, she was an actual mother. But something in that cheating scandal caused her to go from loving mother to something else. She wasn't her mother anymore. Just Francine Ellsworth. A bitch whose only dream was to make Ashlen Ellsworth the best professional horse racer of all time. To think an act of betrayal would turn her into someone so different...

Abigail clenched her fist.

She hated it. All of her time was on that stupid passion project of hers. She didn't even care that she was hanging out with Dylan, a well-known troublemaker at school. She made a point to mention his name just to get some sort of response out of her!

Still nothing.

God.

This was so unfair!

This was so…

Abigail begrudgingly entered the family horse stables. Notably, the room was neat and tidy. Guess Ashlen had just finished cleaning up since Horace was now back in his stable. With a sigh, Abigail cupped her hands over her mouth.

"Ashlen!" Abigail called. "Mom wants us for dinner! So, let's go, alright?!"

No response.

Maybe she fell asleep in one of the stables again.

Abigail huffed.

Was she seriously going to have to check each and every last stable to find her sleeping older sister? She shook her head. But with each one she checked; Ashlen just wasn't there.

Seriously.

Where was she?

Abigail backed up against something.

She turned.

...

Then her face paled.

That something was a floating pair of legs.

Those floating pairs of legs connected to a body, hanging from the ceiling girder.

Abigail's mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

This had to be one big dream, right? One big… nightmare?

…

"A-Ashlen?"

---

(Cafeteria)

"...Abigail collapsed last night. Come to the Cafeteria."

That was not the first thing Zuri wanted to hear on an early morning at St. Esther's. A streak of worry seeped into her veins as she followed behind Holland in order to head straight toward the Cafeteria. With concerned steps, she hurried into the Cafeteria before seeing that everyone else had gathered way before her.

So far, the people inside the Cafeteria not including her and Holland were down to a measly: Arthur, Ina, Jared, and Mimi.

For a leader to come last though, that was not good.

"I… I heard that Abigail collapsed," Zuri jumped in. "I-Is she alright?! Where's Haruto? Does he know about this?"

Of course. The only people not available in the Infirmary by default were pretty much Haruto, Abigail, and Cassandra. Just a heads up in case you couldn't tell who wasn't here.

"Y-Yeah," Mimi nodded. "He's at the Infirmary right now. In fact, he's been in the Infirmary with Abigail all night… I hope he and Big Sis Abigail are alright…"

"We only managed to learn about this from Monohebi," Arthur noted. "She is currently tending to Abigail at the moment. As for Haruto, he's already been patched up."

"Okay?" Zuri frowned. "And what are you guys doing here, then?"

"...Haruto chased us all out of the Infirmary," Holland explained. "He won't let anyone come in to see her. He's… being very territorial right now."

"Which was something you probably should've known had you got out of your room earlier," Jared tipped down his hat. "I mean, it's literally 10:00 AM right now. And if I'm not mistaken, you've missed 3 hours of your shift in Cell Block S."

Oh. Right.

Zuri had completely forgotten about the assigned shifts they had just managed to mark down the day prior. However, to be fair, White Collar had announced a motive directly after they had finally gotten the schedule settled. Not only that, but the motive that was revealed was a pretty big one too.

I mean, a Minigame to be played every day?

Why?!

But right now, the important thing wasn't some camera system shift or the fear of a Minigame. Right now, the most important thing was checking up on Abigail and Haruto! And she wasn't going to let Haruto stop her either!

So, without much to do, Zuri ignored Jared's response and stormed off to leave the Cafeteria.

"Where are you going, Zuri?" Ina asked.

"I'm going to check up on Haruto and Abigail!" Zuri declared.

"But Haruto will be mad…" Mimi said, looking down. An angry Haruto was a scary Haruto.

"Who cares what Haruto thinks?" Zuri frowned. "Abigail's life matters to us too! So, if he's going to be mad about it, let him be!"

Arthur didn't really give two shits about Haruto or Abigail, but he stayed quiet in response to that.

Once she said her piece, Zuri stormed out of the Cafeteria in order to head straight toward the Infirmary.

"...Spoken like a true leader," Holland nodded in approval before following behind Zuri. Though, he pointed a stare toward Jared as soon as he said that.

Jared could care all about that damn Security Office shift right now, but Zuri was right. Whatever was going on with Haruto and Abigail was what truly mattered at this moment in time. And it also seemed like everyone else agreed or begrudgingly agreed— That last one was of course Arthur, by the way —Because Arthur, Ina, and Mimi all followed along Zuri straight toward the Infirmary.

As for Jared? He was left alone with one single question on his mind…

"Why do I feel like I just got ignored?" he asked himself.

Clearly, his little tidbit about Zuri not living up to the task of being on camera duty was just not what people wanted to talk about at the moment.

Damn.

Zuri wins this round.

---

(Infirmary)

Haruto didn't know how long it had been.

Time seemed to move on forever and yet with every waking hour, the fear seemed to gain stronger. He sat next to the bed that Abigail was currently resting in. He grimaced. He remembered how much of a struggle it was to get her to where she was now…

---

"I got you Abigail!" Haruto had breathlessly exclaimed as he struggled to climb the steps up to Cell Block C. Desperation had formed on his face. "Come on… Come on… Don't go. I got you, alright? So just…"

Abigail's breathing was slightly hitched. It was clear that her body was very weak at the moment. But that was all the more reason Haruto was pushing himself so hard to get Abigail to the Infirmary.

Pushing himself… Despite the fact that…

"AGH!" Haruto felt pain in his broken leg. He was pushing himself too hard. "Fuck! My leg! Agh!"

He gritted his teeth. No. He wasn't going to let his leg take this from him. He… He knew that whatever he was doing to cause those nerves within his broken leg to go wild would probably never heal for a long, long time.

But he didn't care.

He continued to heave and haul until he got to the Infirmary.

He didn't care that he had to drag his leg. He didn't care that he probably wouldn't be very comfortable otherwise. What he did know was that if he didn't do this… then he wasn't going to be very comfortable regardless.

…

Then he made it.

He slammed the door open with his arm and hauled Abigail onto an Infirmary bed. Then he fell to the ground. He panted. He couldn't get up. Not without help.

But who was going to help?

Who was going to help at a time like this?

"...Mister Walker? You look like you are in quite the predicament… Is that correct? Mister Walker?"

It was the voice of the person that helped him.

Person?

No. Not a person.

"Mister Walker?"

---

"Mister Walker?"

Haruto snapped back into the present day as he stared face-to-face with the snake that had managed to patch up his broken leg. And to think that Abigail had just done so much work with it. Work that was probably all gone.

"...Yeah?" Haruto softly asked. No insults. No yelling. Just soft words of desperation. "How is she?"

"...Fortunately, Miss Ellsworth will be fine," Monohebi nodded. "The stress of everything as well as her poor sleeping habits have done a number on her energy. She just needs some rest and plenty of water before she can recover fully. But… What do I know? I'm not a professional doctor."

"...But you knew about her sleeping habits?" Haruto was focused on that important detail. He clenched his fist. "W-Why? Why can't she sleep?"

Monohebi remained silent for a moment. Then she shook her head.

"...That is not my place to say," the snake let out a sigh. "Only her and Master White Collar can reveal such personal details. Not me. I am merely the one who makes sure the game continues as intended."

Monohebi paused for a moment upon saying this.

"Either case, please don't stress," Monohebi stated. "Miss Ellsworth will be fine. She just needs to regain all of that energy she had lost."

That was pretty much the last thing the snake had to say on the matter before she slithered off. Haruto couldn't help but sigh in relief. Monohebi may not have been a professional doctor, but everything she said eased his stress.

Abigail was going to be fine.

Abigail was going to be fine…

…

The door opened with Zuri walking in along with a careful group including Holland, Mimi, Ina, and Arthur. Though, the Ultimate Snowboarder probably just tagged along because his sister was there.

Regardless, Haruto felt that relief suddenly turn into slight irritation.

"I thought I told you assholes to leave me alone with her," Haruto grumbled.

"...You did," Holland nodded.

"Then why the fuck do I see your faces in the Infirmary?" Haruto cracked his knuckles. It looked as if he was ready to beat someone up here. "Get the fuck outta here…"

"No, Haruto," Zuri stood in front of the group with a serious expression. "We're not going to leave you alone with her."

"The fuck you say?" Haruto growled. "And why not?"

"Because… I get it," Zuri glanced away. "You care about Abigail. But at the same time, can't you understand that we care about her too? Why does it only have to be you who gets to visit and check up on Abigail? Why can't it be me or Holland or even Mimi? Mimi's been close to you and her for a while so… You chasing everyone away doesn't make any sense…"

Mimi sheepishly nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, Big Bro Haruto," Mimi frowned slightly. "We all want to know how she is. I want to know how she is. Is she…?"

Haruto remained silent for a moment. Usually, he would stand his ground and be a stubborn asshole, but with the relief that Abigail was going to be fine along with all of that pent up stress over everything…

…

"...Sh-She's fine," Haruto slowly stood up as he limped over to the group.

His leg had been bandaged heavily. While it wasn't bleeding or anything like that, it was clear that he put way too much pressure on it. Whatever healing it had just endured would probably have to endure it again. That's probably not how broken leg injuries worked but for the sake of this story, this now the way it worked!

"Sh-She's going to be fine," Haruto repeated.

He tried to avoid looking at the group, but it was Arthur who instantly saw why he was doing so.

"...Are you crying?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Fuck!" Haruto growled. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up! No, I'm not! I'm just… I'm just… I'm just… My eyes are really itchy and… and…"

"Haruto…" Mimi stepped forward.

"And… And…" Haruto was clearly making up excuses and was clearly terrible at it.

"Haruto, look at us," Mimi sternly told him.

Haruto was shaking. He glanced toward Mimi. And once he did, he saw the worried faces of Zuri, Mimi, and Ina. Combine that with the stoic face of Holland, but there was a hint of concern behind it, and Arthur's raised eyebrow, and suddenly, Haruto couldn't keep it in anymore.

"Guh…" Haruto felt his tears slowly leak out. "I-It's all my fault Abigail ended up this way… I… I was the one who did this to Abigail…"

"What do you mean?" Ina blinked, confused.

"Last night, I… I kept bugging her to talk to me," Haruto explained as he clenched his fist tightly. "She kept saying she was fine but I just… I just wanted her to give me an answer. I just wanted to find out why she was feeling like shit! I just wanted to know what was going on…"

"Haruto," Zuri frowned slightly.

"You don't gotta say anything alright?" Haruto grumbled. "I know I should've just left it alone. But because I didn't… Abigail ended up here in the fucking Infirmary. So, everything that happened last night, it was all me. I fucking did this to her."

"Haruto, stop," Zuri sighed. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"...Yeah, you guys said that Abigail looked a lot more tired than usual, right?" Holland recalled. "So… whatever the case may have been, I think Abigail still would've collapsed regardless of you pressuring her to answer you or not."

"And if you were not there like you were last night, Abigail may have been in a worse condition than she was before," Ina stated. "In a way, I suppose you can say that you saved her."

Haruto didn't seem very satisfied with those responses. He assumed they were just saying such things to make him feel better. But the fact was that he would still blame himself for everything that happened last night. He clenched his fist.

"Like hell I saved her," Haruto grumbled. "I… Fuck me. I don't even think I deserve to be the one who should be worried over her…"

"Haruto, can I ask you something?" Zuri asked.

Haruto placed his hands over his hips after wiping a few stray tears.

"W-What is it?" he uncomfortably responded.

"You really care about Abigail, don't you?" Zuri noted. "Like, really really care about her…"

Haruto paused again. He grimaced slightly as he glanced away. Fuck. It was that obvious, huh? No. It had to be that obvious. He wasn't exactly being careful these past few hours. He went through so much effort to help Abigail that he literally damaged his already broken leg again.

How was that not evidence enough…?

"...I…" Haruto stuck his hands inside his pocket. His face faintly blushed. Only faintly enough to the point that it could easily be mistaken for the aftermath of him crying earlier. "I…"

"It's okay," Zuri smiled assuredly toward him. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You kind of gave it away already."

Mimi beamed, looking really happy that her suspicions were proven true.

Holland nodded as well.

Ina and Arthur on the other hand had no idea what Zuri was referring to because both of them were people who cared little and also had no time to understand something like that.

"Wh-What the hell is the point of asking that right now?" Haruto grumbled.

"Because, it shows how much she means to you," Zuri explained. "And if she really does mean that much to you, then you deserve to be here just as much as we do. You said it yourself, Haruto. She's going to be okay. And you were the one who made sure of that."

Haruto's intense gaze softened up as he turned back to the sleeping Abigail. He felt tears form again.

Fuck.

That was an answer he really needed to hear.

Fuck.

"You guys are making this so much harder than it really needed to be," Haruto mumbled, as he tried to keep his voice strong. "Fuck you guys."

Zuri smiled sweetly at him.

Mimi giggled.

Holland stoically nodded at him.

Ina sighed in relief.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. It seemed that whatever Haruto was going through was similar to what he went through when Ina had gone missing in the last Chapter. Hmph. So that was probably how he probably looked when he had stressed the loss of his sister beforehand…

---

Once they had some time to comfort Haruto, everyone pretty much left the former basketball player alone with the collapsed Abigail just as he had originally wanted. Zuri and Holland had headed off to Cell Block S to probably commit to their duties as Cell Block S's personal security guards. Mimi had headed off to Cell Block B to also presumably head straight to the Ultimate Sailor's Cell.

Which really left Arthur and Ina.

Perfect.

Because there was one thing that had been troubling him throughout that small wholesome moment…

…

His Minigame Status.

---

InnoC/Trait[]Or""Ent

Arthur didn't know anymore. Because the screen was practically glitching out. Glitching out between Innocent and Traitor. Glitching until it mashed into a confusing mashup between the two roles he could've been. And if it was glitching out then… Then what exactly was he?

---

As he walked beside Ina to who knows where, Arthur cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, Ina," Arthur called out.

"What is it, half-brother?" Ina asked.

"Could I ask you something?" Arthur asked.

"Depends on what it is about," Ina stated as a matter-of-factly. It was clear she had her own things she was worried about. That thing she was worried about went by the name of Mimi Kazoo. "I expect myself to be too busy for half-sibling bonding time if it is anything like that…"

"Oh no, no, it's nothing like that," Arthur shook his head. "It's about the Minigame yesterday."

Ina paused.

She turned to Arthur, curious. This certainly snapped her out of whatever plan she wanted to make in order to mend things with Mimi.

"What about the Minigame?" Ina asked.

"...What exactly is my status, by chance?" Arthur questioned. "Am I an Innocent or a Traitor?"

Ina's confused look became even more befuddled. Then her look of bewilderment turned into a slight look of impatience. Her face and voice became a little deadpanned as if the answer to that question should have been obvious from the beginning.

"...What are you talking about?" Ina asked. "The answer is in your eHandbook. Check yourself."

Yeah, big problem with that sister.

"Well, the problem is that my status is a little… confusing?" Arthur chuckled sheepishly. "Or rather, I… can't tell what exactly it is so I was hoping you would be able to tell me… Or I guess it would make more sense to say that I suppose my eHandbook may be broken?"

Ina stared at Arthur as if he was crazy.

"Broken?" Ina blinked before shaking her head. "You cannot break an eHandbook. That is one of the rules."

"Well, I didn't break it," Arthur frowned. "Look, just tell me what my status is. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

Boy, this would be so much easier if he could just show her his eHandbook. Unfortunately, that damn Monohebi made a counter rule to that regard.

---

"I got it," Ina folded her arms. "Perhaps we should show each other who we are after the Traitors are assigned. That way, we will not have to play this Minigame."

"Counter rule, you are not allowed to show each other whether you are Innocent or a Traitor," Monohebi deadpanned.

---

Ina paused for a second before nodding her head. It seemed that she had gotten some sort of idea as to what this was all about.

"...I think I see what is going on here," Ina sighed. "Look, half-brother, just because you are a Traitor does not mean I am planning on killing you. I have already made that attempt once and it turned out to be my biggest mistake in this game. I have no intention of making that same mistake again, so please be rest assured."

"T-Traitor?" Arthur blinked. So that was his real status was it?

"Yes, Traitor," Ina folded her arms. "Was the reason for asking not because you were scared I was going to try to kill you again? Please, half-brother, I have moved past that."

"I… see," Arthur noted. Well, at least he had some confirmation over what his status was. But if he was a Traitor then what was…

Ah!

Of course! He had yet to check what Ina was! Results came out today, didn't they?

He took out his eHandbook before hearing Ina voice her curiosity.

"Are you okay, half-brother?" Ina perked her head. "You seem a little distracted…"

"No need to worry about me," Arthur wiped his forehead as he quickly pulled up the Motive app. He skipped through his status, which was still glitching out by the way, and checked the results from the Minigame.

…

Ina Hamamura:

INNOCENT

…

That was a relief.

"Yeah, no need to worry about me," Arthur sighed in relief.

Ina blinked before shaking her head. Her half-brother was clearly going through something. He was probably sick. Anyway, she had other matters to attend to.

With a nod toward Arthur, she left the snowboarder alone to his own vices.

His own vices being his own thoughts.

And his own thoughts constantly reminding of the same question he had to keep asking as he kept his page back onto his own status.

…

Seriously. If he was a Traitor, then what the hell was up with this glitchy status?

---

With all of that going on, Jared had been left alone to do whatever he wanted. Although he really did want to be on camera duty, it wasn't time for his shift yet. Hmph. Shifts. Clearly, he was the only one who gave a damn about his sole job and duty. But at the same time, he honestly couldn't blame Holland or even Zuri for that matter.

They wanted to check up on Haruto and Abigail? They're free to do so.

After all, it must've thrown a wrench in their plans too, right? Well, Holland's. Zuri not so much. Apparently, she slept in. Tch. The least she could do was sleep at the Security Office since that was her job but whatever.

He tightened his fist.

How did someone like Zuri get put in charge of leading a group? He had to ask himself that question ever since Zuri announced that she was leader to him. She wasn't capable of leading. Anything she did would result in everyone's death. He was sure of it.

He sighed bitterly to himself.

He needed some way to prevent that from happening. But the only way to do that… was to be where he was at right now and knock on the door to Cassandra's room.

He had to talk to her…

Knock knock knock.

…

Then again.

Knock knock knock.

…

Jared waited outside for a moment.

Then he knocked–

The door immediately opened to reveal a rather grouchy Cassandra Mura. Her hair was noticeably a mess, probably because she hasn't had a chance to get it done. Though, whatever the case was, it was clear she wasn't happy to see Jared.

"Can we talk?" Jared asked, seriously.

"No," Cassandra bluntly responded before shutting the door.

Jared stuck his foot through before the door could shut all the way. Not gonna lie, it kind of hurt even through his police boots.

"Come on, I've constantly let you in my room for a private chat," Jared lowered his hat as Casssandra tried to kick his foot away. "Why can't you let me in yours?"

"Because my room is off-limits," Cassandra rolled her eyes, leaning against the door to keep it lodged as so.

"And my room isn't?" Jared deadpanned.

"What do you want?" Cassandra barked.

"To talk," Jared bluntly stated once again.

"Then just talk out there," Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"I think we need to have a more private chat," Jared said.

"Why?" Cassandra frowned. "Can't you tell I don't even want to see your stupid face?"

"If you didn't want to see my stupid face then I guess you were being pretty generous with the reward you picked," Jared pressed.

Cassandra paused.

So, he got the Disadvantage, did he?

---

(Cassandra's Room)

Cassandra's room was neater than Jared would've expected considering the kind of girl she was. Speaking of the kind of girl she was, despite her having literally killed someone, Jared still felt a level of trust between her and him. Or rather, he still felt like he was able to trust her. Her to him? Not so much.

"Make this quick," Cassandra crossed her arms as she sat on her bed. "Oh, and if this is about whatever the hell is going on with me, then leave. You're only wasting my time with questions like those…"

Jared wasted no time.

"So, you picked the Nighttime Advantage, huh?" Jared asked. "Why? Thought you would have picked the Bounty for sure."

"Because I want to be able to walk around this place at night instead of being stuck in my own room," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "There's nothing suspicious about that, is there?"

"You tell me," Jared pointed a stare.

Cassandra bit her lip.

Jared sighed.

"Look… I'm sorry but you know that I'm going to ask you this anyway," Jared frowned slightly. "About two days ago… What did you mean?"

---

"Plan B wasn't what you thought, okay?!" Cassandra yelled. "Whatever you thought I had in mind for Plan B compared to what I actually had in mind for Plan B was totally different, alright? Plan B changed the moment you let me go do whatever the fuck I wanted to do."

"...Then what the hell did you do?" Jared clenched his fist.

"...This conversation is over," Cassandra said before storming away from the Ultimate Supermodel's Cell.

---

Cassandra crossed her arms.

"I told you already," she frowned. "You're only wasting my time with questions like that."

"...So, you're really not going to tell me," Jared sighed. "Even after I proved to you that you could trust me with something like this."

"I could," Cassandra emphasized. "Not I will."

Jared frowned slightly. He was getting nowhere with this. She meant it when she said these questions were going to be timewasters. He sighed. This wasn't going to work. He lowered his hat and glanced toward the door he entered from. Coming here was a mistake he supposed.

"...Fine," Jared sighed. "If you're going to be like that then I guess I'll just leave you alone. I mean, that's what the heartless, murderer, Cassandra Mura wants, isn't it?"

No, it wasn't.

Jared turned to leave but what Cassandra said next made him pause.

"I'm not as heartless as everyone thinks I am," Cassandra revealed.

Jared turned around to face Cassandra. There was something in her face he hadn't quite seen before. Was that… sympathy? Regret? Guilt?

"Killing Maggie," Cassandra folded her arms uncomfortably. "I hated it. I thought I was doing it for a good thing, but it feels like it's been all for nothing…"

"What do you mean?" Jared asked.

"...My dad's in the hospital," Cassandra revealed. "That money I killed for; it was supposed to go to him so he could live a happy life. But instead, it went straight toward his hospital bills. I… I didn't even know."

Cassandra clutched the sides of her blanket, tightly. She gritted her teeth as she avoided trying to look sad, but it was clear she was troubled.

"That bastard," Cassandra growled. "I told him to stop working so hard. I just wanted him to spend more time with me. I just wanted him to be happy. I just wanted us to be a damn family."

Jared sat next to her, tipping his police hat down. He remained silent.

"You wanted to know why I keep messing up Abbygail's name on purpose?" Cassandra asked. She remembered that being a small topic that came up.

---

"Jealous that you have Abbygail's hairstyle?" Cassandra scoffed. "Fuck no!"

"Hey, if that's not the reason why you keep messing up Abigail's name on purpose then what is the reason anyway?" Jared asked.

Cassandra paused.

That question came out of left field. She really didn't expect that. She scoffed it off. That wasn't really a subject she wanted to get into at the moment, but it was definitely a subject that killed their little banter.

And Cassandra was having so much fun with it too.

"Let's just go check out where these doors lead," Cassandra sighed bitterly.

---

"It's because of my bitch of a mom," Cassandra grumbled. "She's the reason my dad is stuck working five dead-end jobs trying to take care of me."

"Five jobs?" Jared questioned. "That's… way too much for anyone to do."

"Exactly my point," Cassandra sighed. "My bitch of a mom was also named Abbygail. From what I understand, a month after I was born, she just left and took everything valuable to my dad. It's because of her, my dad comes back home at 3 or 4 in the morning exhausted as fuck, trying to take back everything that he lost. And then he leaves two hours later and starts the cycle all over again."

"Which is why he's in the hospital…" Jared frowned.

"...No," Cassandra shook her head. "I think… I think he found out how exactly I've been trying to help…"

"...Your talent," Jared deduced.

"Yeah," Cassandra glanced away. "It was the only way a girl like me could've helped with anything at the time. Just sell some bullshit magic beans and then have all those idiots come flocking to me with 20 bucks in hand."

Cassandra looked down.

"...Goddamn this place," Cassandra sighed. "I just wanted to help my dad. But if he's in the hospital, then I have to take every chance I can get to leave."

Cassandra turned to Jared, as if she was checking to see what his response would be to that. As expected, he looked serious.

"Are you thinking about killing another person in order to leave?" Jared asked.

"...Why not?" Cassandra mumbled. "I already killed one person. Why not kill a second?"

"Because you'll get caught," Jared answered. "And then you'll be executed. You really want to die without even getting to visit your dad in the hospital?"

"...Who says I'll die?" Cassandra bluntly asked.

Jared glanced at her in confusion.

"I'm a survivor, remember?" Cassandra turned to Jared. She was obviously letting Jared know more than she actually let on. It was obvious to us who knew what the hell was going on. But to Jared, it was just another chat with Cassandra, only a little more truthful this time.

But something caught Jared's attention throughout her revelation of her past.

"...Actually, Cassandra, how'd you find out about your dad being in the hospital?" Jared blinked. "I mean, from the sounds of it, you just found out so–"

"Jared, please," Cassandra looked visibly irritated. "Just shut up and sit here with me for a bit, okay? No more questions. I just want some quiet company for a bit…"

Jared blinked before sighing. He gave a small look of assurance.

"Alright," Jared flicked his hat up. "You want a hug with that?"

"You touch me, I'll kill you," Cassandra responded.

It's a start.

Jared supposed that meant that Cassandra and he grew a little closer together. Closer together as they sat on the same bed, a few feet apart from each other, in silence…

---

(Infirmary)

"...Ashlen…"

Haruto perked his head up. He had been left alone to watch over Abigail. Despite everyone being so kind as to assure him that it wasn't his fault, he was still letting the guilt bite him in the ass. The only way he'd know it wasn't his fault is if Abigail said it wasn't his fault and unfortunately, the poor girl was mumbling in her attempt to regain sleep.

He sighed.

He glanced over at Abigail.

---

"You really care about Abigail, don't you?" Zuri noted. "Like, really really care about her…"

Haruto paused again. He grimaced slightly as he glanced away. Fuck. It was that obvious, huh? No. It had to be that obvious. He wasn't exactly being careful these past few hours. He went through so much effort to help Abigail that he literally damaged his already broken leg again.

How was that not evidence enough…?

"...I…" Haruto stuck his hands inside his pocket. His face faintly blushed. Only faintly enough to the point that it could easily be mistaken for the aftermath of him crying earlier. "I…"

"It's okay," Zuri smiled assuredly toward him. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You kind of gave it away already."

---

Haruto rubbed his face.

God.

He really did care about her. But really really care about her…?

How on Earth did that even happen? The first time they've ever talked was with jabs and insults between one over the other. And now, they were somehow so much closer than ever. Or at least, that was how Haruto felt about it.

He glanced at Abigail's face.

She looked at peace when she slept soundly. Her hair was still a mess from yesterday. Should he…?

Haruto held out his hand over her face. He hesitated to consider whether he should brush her hair aside. It would be nice for her right? But at the same time, maybe it was wrong because she didn't want to be touched.

…The former basketball player grimaced slightly.

Now that he was looking at her from a newer perspective, she really looked cute, didn't she? His hand wavered before he decided to do it anyway and brushed part of Abigail's hair back over to her left eye.

Then he sat down and looked down.

Fuck man.

She really was cute, wasn't she?

Made him feel more of an asshole for everything.

…

"Haruto?" came the soft voice of Mimi Kazoo, who walked in with what seemed to be a book underneath her arms. "Are you still here?"

"Oi, Mimi," Haruto cleared his throat as he tried to put on a braver face than he usually did. "You need something?"

Mimi stopped where she was and examined Haruto's face for a moment. She fixed her glasses and waddled toward him.

"Um, are you okay?" Mimi asked. She remembered just how emotional the usually strong and rash young man had gotten. It was… somewhat new for her. "I… I've never seen you cry like that before. And the only other time I've seen you cry I…"

Mimi didn't want to remember the grotesqueness of when Haruto's leg was broken by this cruel writer known as SilverMark16.

"So, I wanted to check up on you," Mimi looked at him bashfully.

"Look, I'm fine now," Haruto sighed in relief. "Thanks for checking up on me and Abigail here but you really didn't have to."

"Nonsense, Big Bro Haruto!" Mimi pumped her fists with a slightly beaming face. "We're friends, aren't we? So… we should stick together on stuff like this."

Haruto stared at Mimi for a second before nodding his head in agreement.

Mimi was another person who he had gotten on a rocky start with. After all, he did betray her in the Minigame and the first time he met her, he thought she was genuinely weird and overall annoying in general. But of the time he actually got to spend with her… she was nothing more than just a little kid in a bad environment.

Even though she claims she's not a little kid…

Haruto's eyes trailed over to the book that Mimi was holding.

"You bring a bedtime story for Abigail or something?" Haruto asked in amusement.

"I did!" Mimi answered honestly.

"W-What," Haruto blinked. Okay, he didn't actually think she would bring a bedtime story–

"Abigail wanted me to write her a story to help with her sleeping problem," Mimi stated. "I… never had a chance to finish it because of everything that happened after…"

Mimi looked away.

She was referring to the Chapter 3 case. She never did have any time to unwind and actually continue writing for Abigail's book until now. And at a time in which Abigail was completely decommissioned at the moment too. Mimi hated her timing when it came to these things.

"But you finished it now, huh?" Haruto finished Mimi's sentence.

Mimi timidly nodded.

"Let's have a look," Haruto snatched the book from Mimi's arms.

She didn't have much time to respond to that. The former basketball player quite literally yoinked it out of Mimi's possession into his own. He opened the book and glanced down at the sleeping Abigail.

"'The Mermaid Who Fears the Ocean'?" Haruto glanced over to Mimi.

"Yeah!" Mimi smiled before looking down. "Though, it was supposed to be given to Yuumi before she…"

Couldn't even finish that thought.

"I guess it makes more sense to say that it's dedicated to Yuumi's memory," Mimi corrected herself. "And… when Abigail wakes up, can you have her read it?"

"Better yet, you read it to her," Haruto suggested.

"N-No no thank you," Mimi shook her head. "I can't read my own work or else I will edit, edit, and keep editing the story. It's better if… maybe you read it to her!"

Mimi was probably lying out of her ass about that edit part just to set up something between Haruto and Abigail, but the basketball player seemed to have bought it. Especially since he stared at the book in consideration.

"...Sure thing," Haruto noted. "If that's what you want for your work then…"

Haruto set the book next to Abigail's pillow.

"I'll read it to her when she wakes up," Haruto assured her.

Mimi beamed when he said this.

"Thank you, Big Bro Haruto!" Mimi giggled. "You really are a Prince Charming to her Sleeping Beauty!"

"Er, what?" Haruto blinked.

"N-Nothing!" Mimi giggled once again.

"No no, I heard you that time," Haruto deadpanned. "You can't hide it this time–"

"Attention all prisoners," came the sound of Monohebi's voice to hide what Mimi had just said. "It is time for the next round of Prisoner's Dilemma: Guess Who. If you wish to participate, please report to the Auditorium immediately to choose your opponent. But as a reminder, whoever does not participate will default to Trust. You have ten minutes to do so. That is all."

"Aw shit," Haruto grumbled. It definitely distracted him away from what Mimi said. "The Minigame! I fucking forgot about that!"

"Then we should go," Mimi blinked.

"No, I can't leave Abigail here alone," Haruto frowned before glancing at his leg. "And I also can't leave because of my damn leg."

"Eh?" Mimi blinked, surprised and slightly worried. "But Haruto. If you don't go, then… your vote will default to Trust."

"...Yeah, I know that," Haruto sighed. "But who cares about what happens to me? Look, Mimi. Do me a favor."

Mimi perked her head, curiously.

"...I want you to go to the Auditorium, I want you to play the game, and I want you to pick Abigail and me as your opponent," Haruto told her. "Alright?"

"O-Okay," Mimi seemed a little unsure about this. "But… are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course!" Haruto smiled appreciatively before giving her a thumbs-up. "I trust you!"

Mimi blinked toward Haruto before giving him a determined look. She pumped her fists with a strong nod.

"Okay, then I'll do it!" Mimi nodded.

Then without much to say, Mimi raced off to the Auditorium, leaving Haruto behind with Abigail. All he could hope now was that things would turn out just fine…

---

(Auditorium)

By the time Mimi reached the Auditorium, she had already noticed the other prisoners having already gathered. Of course, this pretty much consisted of everyone besides Abigail and Haruto, since those two would still be at the Infirmary.

Mimi noticed White Collar and Monohebi standing by the stage. Monohebi stated that in order to make a pairing, all she needed to do was let her know who she wishes to pair up against and who she would want to team up with. She already did this once before.

Let's try this again.

She walked up to the snake with determination in her eyes.

"Monohebi!" Mimi declared. "I would like to team up with someone!"

Monohebi stared at Mimi with blank eyes as White Collar leaned against his cane with a little more confident grin.

"...Team up with someone?" Monohebi stated before shaking her head. "I apologize Miss de la Vega, but unfortunately, someone else has already teamed up together. We can only allow one team of two, unfortunately."

"W-What?" Mimi blinked. Uh oh. The plan was gone since the moment she arrived. "W-Who teamed up together?"

"Oh, that would be us…"

Mimi turned to see Zuri and Holland, standing next to each other. While Holland's face remained stoic, Zuri's face was notably regretful. After all, she didn't know Mimi wanted to team up together with anyone.

"I'm sorry Mimi, but Holland and I thought it would be a good idea if we teamed up together for this round," Zuri stated.

"Ah, but I need to team up with someone in order to make sure no one takes advantage of Haruto and Abigail's absence!" Mimi exclaimed. "C-Can we switch teams please?"

Holland and Zuri glanced at one another. Holland gave her a nod before Zuri spoke up.

"A-Alright, we'll–"

"I apologize, but I must also remind everyone that pairings and teams are all first come, first serve," Monohebi hissed. "Miss Auraline and Mister Delaney first came. They were first served. I apologize for the inconvenience, but you really should've come a little earlier, Miss de la Vega."

"What?" Well, there goes that idea! Crap! Mimi looked around in desperation. Haruto trusted her to pull this off but how exactly was she going to do that now? "I… I want to ask but… Has anyone here actually made a pair they wanted to go up against?"

"Mister Kingston has already made Miss Ellsworth his opponent," Monohebi stated. "So, both he and she are off the table, unfortunately. Everyone else has yet to come to me to make a decision on who they wish to be paired up with…"

"Well, if you want, you can pair up against me and Holland," Zuri suggested. "You know we'll pick Trust."

"No, that's not the issue," Mimi looked down. "What about Haruto? He told me he had to stay in the Infirmary to watch over Abigail. Man, that no good Arthur already chose Abigail as his opponent!"

"...Well, you could just choose Haruto as your opponent," Holland stated. "As for Arthur and Abigail, I don't think anything else can be done about that besides hope that Arthur won't take advantage of someone who isn't here…"

Mimi seriously didn't believe that Arthur would be the type to not take advantage of someone in Abigail's situation. Although she had a relatively easy opponent since they were a guaranteed Trust, her nervousness came in the form of Abigail… and what Haruto might think if he found out what had just happened…

…

Turns out, not much else could be discussed in terms of the assignments. Once the timer was up, Monohebi had slithered onto the stage to announce today's new pairings for the Minigame.

But first, a new announcement was made throughout the facility:

"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi's voice rang out. "The Pairing Assignment Period has ended. Anyone who has not yet been matched with anyone will randomly be matched. Anyone who is late will not be able to participate in today's proceedings. That is all."

Monohebi then directed everyone's attention to the projector above.

"Now then, as for the pairings today..." Monohebi began before she showcased the pairs and team that had been formed:

"Pair A: Arthur vs Abigail

Pair B: Cassandra vs Ina

Pair C: Haruto vs Mimi

Pair D: Holland and Zuri vs Jared"

"You all know how the rest of this works now," Monohebi nodded before giving her one of her many signature announcements:

"Ten minutes until Prisoner's Dilemma: Guess Who begins…"

---

Arthur certainly lucked out by being the first to arrive at the Auditorium. So much so, that he managed to snag the decommissioned Abigail as his opponent. He folded his arms, noting the worried looks that Mimi was directing his way. Seeing how she had an opponent that also couldn't make it, it was clear that the only person she could really talk to about everything was…

…him.

Of course.

"Um, Arthur," Mimi looked up toward Arthur. "You are going to pick Trust right?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Arthur plainly stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course, I do!" Mimi frowned. "I don't trust you!"

"...Hmph," Arthur shook his head with a smirk. "And likewise, I don't have to listen to you. After all, you still harbor this unnecessary grudge towards my sister. Why should I bother to listen to someone who can't seem to forgive and forget an honest mistake?"

"A-Are you saying what happened to Yuumi was an honest mistake?" Mimi widened her eyes toward Arthur. "H-How cruel of a person are you?"

"Cruelty is a matter of perspective," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "Yuumi meant everything to you, and yet, my only experience with her is seeing how toxic she ended up becoming in the end."

Mimi clenched her tiny fists. She didn't like hearing Arthur speak ill of the dead, especially someone she truly cared about–

"It's a wonder to me," Arthur folded his arms. "Why do you still see good in someone who went against you from the moment she found out you kept your real name a secret? It's such a small trivial thing to get mad over, don't you think?"

"Why are you saying these things," Mimi frowned.

"Because," Arthur folded his arms with an equally disappointed frown. "My sister is under the delusion that she has to make amends with you, when in reality, the only one here who needs to make amends, is you."

"Make amends with Ina?" Mimi blinked before glaring at Arthur. "No! She killed Yuumi!"

"I meant, make amends with yourself," Arthur shook his head. "Ina has already paid for her crime. I have too. But you forget that you also caused her death too. If it hadn't been for you and Yuumi's silly drama, she probably would've been alive right now."

"Sh-Shut up!" Mimi exclaimed, face slightly turning red.

"I'm just stating some truths here," Arthur nonchalantly stated. "After all, I can't have you constantly guilt-trip my own sister now, can I? I am doing what is best for me and my family. So, as I will say again, I don't need to listen to you. I will pick whatever benefits me…"

"A-Arthur Kingston, if you pick Distrust, Haruto won't be happy!" Mimi declared.

Arthur took a moment to consider his options.

Vote Trust like a good boy or vote Distrust and risk getting beaten up by Haruto. It was his choice. But as he said, he would do what was best for him and his family. And right now, that decision was simple…

He turned to Mimi with a smile.

"I will take that into consideration," Arthur nodded his head.

Mimi clutched onto her witch's hat. This wasn't going to go well, was it? She was more terrified of what Haruto might say to her about all this. But not only that, Arthur's words had gotten to her.

Despite all of that nice brotherly instinct he exhibited last Chapter, it was clear that he was still the same prick as before…

...

"Hey."

Snap.

"Hey bitch."

Snap snap.

…

CLAP.

"Hey, can you stop daydreaming for a second?" Cassandra looked visibly irritated.

Ina shook her head out of that slight daze of hers.

She had been watching Mimi and Arthur's interaction from afar. Although she couldn't exactly hear what they were talking about, whatever conversation they were having, did not seem very good. She slightly frowned. If she knew her half-brother, she'd be thinking that he was trying to 'help' get her situation with Mimi resolved… and if it involved her half-brother's method, oh boy.

This situation's got her so wrapped up tight, that she's also forgotten that she was involved in her own Minigame round.

"H-Hey, are you still daydreaming?" Cassandra deadpanned. "What the fuck?"

Ina snapped out once again.

"Ah, I apologize," Ina rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh, finally back to the real world huh?" Cassandra frowned. "Since I know you didn't even hear what I said, I said that you should just do whatever you want because evidently, you already know I'm choosing Distrust anyway…"

"...Ah, was that all?" Ina blinked.

She honestly didn't care what the hell Cassandra's choice was. It was obvious she was always going to choose Distrust from the get-go. Maybe that was why she didn't even bother to listen to her.

"H-Hey, what do you mean, 'was that all'?" Cassandra looked much more irritated than before. She noticed Ina glancing away, eyeing Mimi as the witch girl waited patiently for the actual Voting process to begin. "H-Hey! Don't ignore me! Motherfucker!"

A classic Cassandra and Ina Minigame Discussion interaction period.

...

Holland, Zuri, and Jared glanced amongst each other.

Actually, the correct response would be to say that Holland and Zuri glanced at Jared, who glanced back. With a sigh, Jared took the initiative to start this conversation first.

"Look, I know we had our differences, but just for right now, can we put aside everything just to piss off White Collar?" Jared asked.

"...You're asking us to put aside differences?" Holland stepped forward and folded his arms. He was clearly acting like that protective boyfriend that didn't like any other guys talking to his girlfriend. In this case, it was very much warranted given how much Jared had been a total shit to Zuri. "Yeah, right. As if we would Trust you after everything you've said to Zuri…"

"Okay, but I picked Trust last time to Cassandra of all people," Jared pointed out. "That should prove to you that I'm even willing to pick Trust to my competition."

"...Yeah, you picked Trust to Cassandra of all people," Holland nodded. "That itself is a problem. I mean, why would you even Trust, Cassandra, an actual murderer?"

"And you're an attempted murderer," Jared deadpanned. "If you had succeeded in what you did, you would've been on the same boat as her…"

"...At least I regretted my actions," Holland pointed out. "She's just cold-blooded. And you trusted her."

"Okay, you're making points, but at the same time, you also know that I hate White Collar more than anyone's philosophies or judgment here," Jared pointed out. "And if Trusting you two gives all of us an edge over him, that's a win for me."

"Yeah… I don't believe you," Holland shook his head. "We're not doing this…"

"Um, Holland, can we talk privately for a second?" Zuri gave him a small smile. She turned to Jared with a slight apologetic look. "Sorry Jared. Let me discuss this properly with my teammate."

"Take your time," Jared tipped his hat down. "We only have ten minutes…"

Nodding back toward the police officer, Zuri held Holland's hand and led him a few distances away from the police officer. Then, she looked at him with thoughts in her mind.

"...What's going on, Zuri?" Holland asked. "You can't seriously be considering his offer… It's Jared…"

"I know, Holland," Zuri folded her arms. "It is Jared. But at the same time, I think he might seriously consider voting Trust this time around…"

"...I'm sorry Zuri, but I don't think Trusting him would be the right call here," Holland noted. "I mean, he's been nothing but rude to you ever since… well…"

"Yeah, I know, Holland," Zuri nodded. "But the chance to let things be bygones with Jared for even a moment is such a welcoming offer."

"...Which is why it's too suspicious," Holland shook his head. "I don't trust it. And you shouldn't either…"

"But at the same time, think of how it would look on Jared's side as well," Zuri noted. "I mean, if he votes Distrust while we vote Trust, it'll just look bad for him. And I doubt that's what Jared wants if he wants people to treat him like the actual leader, right?"

"I…" Holland considered this perspective. "I… I guess you're right. Wow. I didn't even think about that."

"That's because you were too busy trying to protect me," Zuri giggled, before blushing. "Which was… really cute by the way."

Holland cleared his throat as his face turned red.

"I… I told you would make a good leader," Holland complimented, flipping his hoodie over his head. "Only good leaders come up with ideas against their opponents like that… I think…"

Zuri beamed at that compliment.

"...Okay, we'll go with it, but I still don't Trust Jared," Holland noted. "I mean, what if he goes ahead and forces one of us to get the Disadvantage. I… I don't think I can handle the Loved Ones one."

"Y-Yeah, I understand," Zuri nodded. "But we'll reach that bridge when we get there, okay? Trust me on this."

"...O-Okay," Holland nodded in return.

Smiling, Zuri pecked him on the cheek before the two walked back toward Jared. Then, with a deep breath, Zuri nodded toward Jared.

"We accept your offer," Zuri held out her hand. "We'll vote Trust for this Minigame and then I guess you can go back to hating me afterward."

Jared stared at her hand for a moment, before lowering his hat down. He shook her hand. All it really came down to was the two of them to honor their deal.

Or for one or both sides of the pair to break it…

...

"Ten minutes have passed," came the voice of Monohebi. "The Minigame: Prisoner's Dilemma: Guess Who 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. 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 and everyone was already inside their respective Voting Chambers.

...

The door closed. Everyone made it inside the Voting Chambers. Two simple options once again 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. The fourth round of the Minigame had been completed. More will come. 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: Arthur [DISTRUST] vs Abigail [TRUST]

Pair B: Cassandra [DISTRUST] vs Ina [DISTRUST]

Pair C: Haruto [TRUST] vs Mimi [TRUST]

Pair D: Holland and Zuri [TRUST] vs Jared [TRUST]"

---

Cassandra and Ina glanced at each other after seeing the results. So, the two of them Distrusted each other? Cassandra scoffed.

"Saw that coming," Cassandra shook her head.

"Yes, I did too," Ina nodded.

Alright.

Moving on!

...

Holland, Zuri, and Jared glanced amongst each other.

Actually, the correct response would be to say that Holland and Zuri glanced at Jared who glanced back. Jared sighed in relief. And it was also clear that Holland and Zuri were also relieved by this outcome.

"I'm glad you kept your word," Zuri sighed in relief. "I don't know what I would've done if you didn't."

"Honestly, right back at you," Jared nodded, fixing his police hat.

"...I still don't trust you," Holland stoically noted, glancing toward Zuri. "But since you chose Trust, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for this moment."

"Thanks," Jared merely stated.

Overall, the outcome of this round for these three was relatively positive! It was awkward since the three had been the receiving end of some drama, especially between Jared and Zuri. But the fact that they were able to put aside differences to go against White Collar's wishes had to be something! Right?

Right?!

...

Apparently, that wasn't the case for the most problematic of the four pairs. Because Mimi had stormed up to Arthur in fury. Yeah. Mimi can get angry. And Arthur was the receiving end of this anger!

"H-How could you, Arthur?!" Mimi yelled. "You voted Distrust for someone who isn't just not here, but also for someone who's resting in the Infirmary! Why?! Why would you do something like that?!"

Arthur folded his arms with a sigh.

"I took advantage of a situation I saw fit," Arthur merely stated. "That is all."

"What was this even all about?" Mimi frowned. "What advantage did you even want that made you want to Distrust someone absent?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Arthur shook his head. "I already have the eHandbook Advantage. I have no need for the Nighttime Advantage. Why not remove temptation in my path by choosing the last advantage I desperately wish to get rid of…?"

"Ah!" Mimi gasped.

If he had the eHandbook Advantage and didn't want the Nighttime Advantage, that meant the only remaining advantage left was…

"That's right," Arthur nodded with a small smirk. "I merely gave Abigail the rest of the money on my head. It's as simple as that…"

"Y-You're so cruel," Mimi looked ready to throw a hex toward the snowboarder.

"And as I said before, cruelty is a matter of perspective," Arthur stated. "I'm just trying to prolong my status in this Killing Game just so I can get my sister out of here. And I certainly can't do that if I'm being targeted."

Arthur sighed and shook his head once again.

"I'm sure you would understand the position I was in if you were me," Arthur lectured Mimi. "Just be glad that from here on out, the only thing I can really choose is Trust. I have no other Advantages I really need now."

"I… I…" Mimi held onto her witch's hat.

Haruto would not be happy once he found out about this. And she was scared to see how mad he would be toward her seeing as she failed to fulfill her task. God damn it Arthur Kingston.

God damn you…

…

Arthur ignored any critical looks that may have come his way, but most jarring was the look that Ina had given him. He blinked.

"What?" Arthur asked.

Ina merely shook her head disapprovingly toward her half-brother.

"Th-That… That was not right, half-brother," Ina folded her arms. "It was… not right for you to do something like that."

"And I assure you Ina, that the reason I did that was for you," Arthur placed a hand on Ina's shoulders before giving her a reassuring smile. "You should be joyous."

"J-Joyous?" Ina blinked, confused.

"Of course," Arthur nodded. "Because having a brother like me with every Advantage he requires means that I can protect you from anyone who would cause you harm in this Killing Game."

"I…" Ina blinked before glancing back toward Mimi's notably miserable face.

No. This wasn't right. Even though part of her was somewhat glad that Arthur had some sort of intentions with it– that being the fact that it was to protect her –it was still wrong. Still wrong to take Advantage of someone in the Infirmary…

"Ah, that's much better," White Collar slowly clapped his hands together. "If I didn't get a pairing like that, I probably would have added a couple of unnecessary rules to the Minigame. Thank goodness Arthur Kingston prevented that from happening…"

"Don't get me wrong," Arthur folded his arms. "I may have Distrusted today, but from here forward, I will select nothing but Trust now. After all, there is no point in choosing Distrust…"

"I'm not sure your peers will agree with you on that," White Collar placed a finger over his grinning mask. "I just can't wait to see how things play out going forward… especially for you, Mister Kingston."

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

Why 'especially' him?

"Now then, today's round of the Minigame was much more of a success than yesterday's!" White Collar exclaimed. "Until tomorrow then, sinners. I shall bid you all adieu…"

Then turning around, White Collar and Monohebi disappeared off into who knows where, leaving Arthur behind with the other prisoners who gave him a slight look of disapproval. Mimi moreso, but she was also worried about how to tell Haruto…

Arthur shook his head with a scoff.

"Please," Arthur stated. "I'm sure most of you would've done the same if you had a guaranteed Truster as your opponent."

"Tch, he's not wrong there," Cassandra shrugged.

Unfortunately, she defaulted to Ina due to being too slow to pick an absent attendee like Abigail and Haruto.

But either case, with Arthur having now Distrusted an unconscious Abigail, could his chances throughout the rest of these Minigame rounds have any difference now? The others weren't sure. But until then, tomorrow would give them the answers they needed for that question…

---

"I can't believe it! I can't believe what you just did! I can't… Why would you do that?!"

"I made you into what you're supposed to be!"

"You had no right to do this to me! This is my body! You can't force me to become someone I'm not Mom!"

"As a member of the Ellsworth family, you have a duty to fix the hole your father made! The entire Ellsworth family reputation depends on it! I mean, look at this! This could be a good opportunity to-"

"Oh my God! Family reputation, this! Family reputation, that! I can't take this anymore! You went too far this time, Mom!"

"You better not be thinking of rebelling on me like your lazy little sister, young lady! Ashlen Ellsworth! Get back here, this instant!"

"Leave me alone!"

…

Once the door slammed shut, Abigail stepped outside of her own room, curious yet deeply concerned. Always screaming and yelling and arguing… It was always the same. But today, it somehow got worse. Usually, it was just her mother yelling at her pushover of an older sister and her just going along with it. Usually, whenever she did, Abigail could tell her older sister was holding back the urge to yell back.

Today was the day she yelled back.

That was a day she never thought she would see. So, it really was a peculiar moment to overhear. All of that stress was finally forcing her older sister to lash out. All of that pent-up anger, slowly seeping out. Little by little.

At best, Abigail knew she had to check up on her.

Check up on…

…

Abigail bumped into her mother.

Francine Ellsworth.

She looked just as bad as she did ever since she had to kick out that cheating husband of hers out of the house. It was the stress of all of those disagreements between mother and daughter. No doubt, it was slowly making the old woman lose sleep. Heh, if the Ellsworth family had anything in common, it was probably that insomnia.

Today, though, her mother looked at her with the same look as any other day: indifference.

"Abigail," Francine said plainly with a sigh.

"...Mom," Abigail plainly responded in return.

It was slightly awkward.

Francine had been so focused on her older sister nowadays, she barely had time for her youngest daughter standing right in front of her. It was annoying… After a moment of silence, Abigail cleared her throat.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"It's none of your concern Abigail," Francine sighed. "Your older sister is just being rebellious."

Abigail was rebellious too. Why was it such a big deal if her older sister was…?

"...You know she won't come out if you stand there forever," Abigail grimly told her mother.

"I don't need any lectures from you Abigail, thank you very much," Francine sighed once again. "Just… be a dear and tell her to get back to practice once she's calmed down alright? I have no time to wait for her to come around."

That was when her mother relented and left Abigail with the door to her older sister's room. Abigail couldn't help but frown disapprovingly at her mother. Was this really how she thought was going to win Mother of the Year? Was this really how she thought things were supposed to be?

God… so annoying.

Abigail turned toward the door. Her expression softened. With a slow sigh, she tapped on the door.

Not a sound was to be heard except distant sobbing.

She wasn't going to answer no matter how hard she knocked. So, slowly, Abigail let herself in…

…

"Ashlen?"

The room was so much brighter than it usually was nowadays. It had been years since then. Years of walking into this room and feeling nothing but darkness. Today, it was brighter. Not only that, but she was also shorter than she usually was. Probably to be expected when it was clear that Abigail was reliving a memory. But the most peculiar thing was… her.

Ashlen had turned as soon as the door opened.

Abigail felt her legs sink.

Ashlen quickly wiped away the tears that were clearly staining her cheeks as she tried to give Abigail a comforting smile. Abigail stood completely still. She tried to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth.

"Hey, Abby," Ashlen tried to smile through that clear pain in her face. "What are you doing here? I guess I was kind of loud, huh?"

It was like seeing a ghost. A fallen angel. She was still so beautiful as she last saw her. Blonde hair in comparison to her light, purple-colored hair. Taller. Prim and proper like a true Ellsworth. If anything, she could definitely pass as a model on one of those fashion magazines too.

But what really shocked her was the fact that she had been crying. Abigail didn't remember a time in which she probably did see her cry. In fact, Abigail always saw her older sister as someone who got way too good at keeping everything in. But to see her wipe her eyes… her eyes that gave her weakness away…

"I-Is everything okay?" Abigail felt her lips move.

"Oh, of course, everything's fine!" Ashlen exclaimed.

"...Really?" Abigail was unconvinced.

Ashlen paused for a moment before her face dropped into a small frown. She gave a small sigh as she wiped away a stray tear from her eye. There it was. Another tear. She dropped that facade relatively quickly.

"There's no fooling you, is there?" Ashlen chuckled sheepishly. "The truth is… Well… No. Everything sucks."

"Why?" Abigail questioned.

Ashlen paused for a moment before sighing.

"Take a wild guess," Ashlen leaned back against her bed.

"...Mom?" Abigail answered.

"Bingo," Ashlen chuckled.

"Man, she's always yelling at you and trying to enroll you in all of these stupid horse-riding classes," Abigail frowned. "In fact, it only ever seems like she's yelling at you for stupid stuff and never me…"

Ashlen blinked before shaking her head. She burst out laughing.

"Don't tell me you're jealous Mom isn't paying any attention to you," Ashlen laughed. "If anything, I'm jealous that you get to do whatever the hell you do, and Mom won't even bat an eye."

"I– I'm not jealous," Abigail pouted. "I just wish she'd pay attention to me more. I'm her daughter too, you know!"

"...Be careful what you wish for," Ashlen grimly stated. She had long stopped laughing and instead directed her gaze toward the window, staring straight at the horse stables from a distance. "...Trust me Abby. Whatever attention you want from Mom, you won't like it. Believe me. I…"

Ashlen trailed off.

Abigail was confused. Why'd she cut herself off? She perked her head, waiting for Ashlen to go on but instead, she caught herself examining Ashlen's expression.

It looked so sad.

So… hopeless.

But her older sister turned back to her with that assuring smile again. Classic Ashlen Ellsworth. Always trying to hide how she truly felt about everything. But at the time, she bought it. At the time, she couldn't tell...

"Hey, Abby?" Ashlen tried her best to smile. She held out her pinky. "Can you promise me something?"

"Um… okay?" Abigail blinked. With her pinky, she wrapped it around Ashlen's, holding it firm as the two Ellsworth daughters made a promise.

"Just… don't be a pushover like me, okay?" Ashlen's eyes started to form tears. Abigail didn't know why at the time. "Since I'm the older sister, there's going to come a time where I won't be there to help you out with Mom. So, whatever you want to do, you do it. And don't let Mom tell you otherwise."

"Um, okay?" Abigail blinked.

"Promise me," Ashlen ordered.

"Weird request but–" Abigail was about to say before she was rudely interrupted.

"Promise me," Ashlen firmly stated.

"Okay!" Abigail relented. "I… I promise…"

The two Ellsworth sisters shook on it. It was such a strange promise to make. At least, that was what Abigail had thought. Then, without warning, Ashlen pulled Abigail into a tight hug. It took her by surprise, but Abigail returned it, tightening it, as if it were a bond between sisters.

She felt her shoulders slowly soak up the tears Ashlen had been keeping locked inside. Abigail didn't understand it at the time but in the present day, she would know. She would know what this would lead up to. Not only that but, here came the last fond thing she would ever remember her sister saying…

"I love you Abby," Ashlen tearfully stated.

"Hey, I love you too sis," Abigail responded without much of a thought. "Gosh, for an older sister, you are such a crybaby…"

Abigail hugged her older sister tightly. She felt herself let go. But truthfully, she didn't want to let go. She wanted to hold on. Hold on the older sister that she had lost all these years ago. But soon, Ashlen disappeared from her grasp, and she found herself…

---

(Infirmary)

...waking up in a bright room.

Abigail didn't know where she was. She couldn't remember the last thing that happened. In fact, the only thing she bothered to remember was her dream. The first good dream to ever happen in this damn hellhole. She rubbed her head bitterly, slowly rising up from the Infirmary bed and feeling something trail down her cheek.

She blinked.

Whatever it was, it was coming from the sides of her eyes. It didn't take her long to figure out what it was:

Tears.

It was her tears. She'd been crying in her sleep. And now she just felt like she wanted to freely cry. The first good dream in days and it was about Ashlen… Ashlen…

Ashlen…

"A-Abigail?"

Abigail covered her mouth, turning her head to the sound of the voice. To her surprise, Haruto was sitting right next to her. If she hadn't been emotional, she'd jump and scream in shock over how she hadn't noticed him earlier.

Abigail didn't dare make a sound though. She didn't want to show any sign of weakness in front of him. She needed to stay strong. She needed to stay firm and–

–Instantly, she was pulled into a tight hug.

"H-Haruto?" Abigail asked, confused.

"I'm fucking sorry," Haruto softly told her. "I'm sorry for last night. I… I just… I'm just glad to see you're alright."

"...W-What do you mean?" Abigail blinked.

Last night?

What happened last night…?

She remembered now.

She was trying to get something to drink to help her with her little insomnia problem. Haruto barged in with questions. She kept pushing him away. And then after that, her mind went blank. She couldn't see how any of this would be his fault though.

"H-Haruto, I…" Abigail was about to say before Haruto interrupted.

"No, d-don't say anything, alright?" Haruto kept Abigail in that tight hug. He was trying hard not to tear up. "I fucking messed up. I shouldn't have kept pushing you like that and I should've just left everything alone. I'm fucking sorry, okay? I… I really am…"

His voice broke slightly at the end.

"...A-Are you… crying?" Abigail blinked.

She doesn't think she's seen Haruto act like this before. She never thought him to be the emotional caring type. She always saw him as this tough punk guy that could take on everything. Not emotionally vulnerable. Emotionally vulnerable Haruto was a Haruto she couldn't wrap her mind around.

"F-Fuck, no I'm not," Haruto tried to desperately wipe his tears. "I'm not crying. I'm just… really, really, really fucking happy to see you wake up."

Abigail didn't believe him about the crying part.

But the fact that he was acting like this… it… really warmed her heart a bit to hear just how much he really did care about her. She returned the hug, her cheeks slightly red before she realized something.

"W-Wait, H-Haruto," Abigail blinked. "H-How long was I out for?"

"...Almost the entire day," Haruto revealed, releasing her from his bug.

"W-What?" Abigail widened her eyes. Then she realized something else. "The Minigame! Oh God! That's probably going on right now, right? Shit! We gotta go–"

"The Minigame ended," Haruto told her as Abigail paused. She had gotten up halfway and was ready to sprint to the Auditorium to participate in the Minigame.

"B-But, my vote…" Abigail stated.

"Don't worry about it," Haruto told her. "I… I trusted Mimi to take care of it. We should be a technical team of three together."

"Weren't we that yesterday?" Abigail questioned.

"It was that or have someone go and take advantage of you being out of today's Minigame…" Haruto sighed.

"I see," Abigail looked down, disappointed. Then she remembered something. "D-Does that mean that you…"

"...I didn't go either," Haruto said. "I… I wanted to stay here… in the off chance that you would wake up."

"H-Haruto," Abigail blinked.

He really did that? Even at the cost of putting himself at a very vulnerable position in the game? Her eyes trailed toward what she identified as Haruto's newly bandaged leg. Then she realized just how much Haruto had truly done for her…

"Y-Your leg," Abigail stated. "A-Are those new bandages? What happened?"

Haruto folded his arms.

"I did everything I could to try to get you to the Infirmary," Haruto stated. "You just collapsed all of a sudden. I freaked out. And… I guess I tore a couple of veins or some shit like that. It was… not fun."

"And you did all that just for me?" Abigail blinked before grimacing. "Y-You didn't have to do that, you idiot. Why'd you even bother doing it anyway?"

Haruto scratched the back of his neck.

"Ain't it obvious?" he asked.

Abigail glanced back at him.

"...It's because I… c-care about you," Haruto had some trouble confessing this fact. His cheeks tinted pink as he avoided looking at Abigail.

She seemed to notice just how nervous he was when saying that. She looked down. Her cheeks tinted pink as well. To think that he went to such great lengths just to make sure she was safe… She felt her heart skip a beat.

This idiot…

"...Th-Thank you," Abigail said.

Haruto blinked before giving her a small smile.

"Y-yeah, it's no problem," Haruto told her.

…

Abigail sat on her bed in silence as Haruto fixed her up with some water. She still couldn't believe how much effort the former basketball player had put in just to bring her here. In fact, she wondered what would've happened if hadn't. If she wasn't able to be checked in on time.

Would she seriously have died just then and there? Died from… exhaustion?

Abigail didn't like thinking about it. But as her worries flooded her mind, the actual nice dream she had during her moment of rest came back to her. And not long after that, she remembered why she was in the Infirmary in the first place.

She tugged on her bedsheets.

"...Haruto?" Abigail glanced toward the basketball player, who handed her a cup of water. "Oh. Thanks."

"Y-Yeah, no problem," Haruto nodded.

It was definitely his turn to play doctor after all the times Abigail did it herself! But he realized Abigail had said his name for something. He faced her, curiously.

"O-Oh, also um, what's up?" he asked.

"...You wanted to know about what was going on with me, right?" Abigail gripped her cup of water tightly.

"O-Oh, uh, no, not really," Haruto scratched the back of his neck. No. That was a lie. He definitely wanted to know but the last time he pressured her into asking…

"Hey, it's okay," Abigail gave him an assuring smile. "I… I'm ready to tell you. If you want…"

"...Only if you want to," Haruto emphasized.

Abigail gestured for him to sit down next to her. Hesitantly, the basketball player did as he was told. He was curious, but also understanding. He noticed how tightly she was gripping onto the cup. He could tell that it was taking courage for her to reveal her story and right now, she definitely wanted to tell him everything.

…Because keeping it inside after all this time, had nearly killed her…

"It wasn't just me and my mom," Abigail told him. "Back then, I had an actual family. I had a dad and an older sister. And we were a pretty typical rich family. Everyone knew us as the Ellsworth family, and we got most of our money from typical equestrian shit."

Abigail frowned deeply at the equestrian stuff.

"My mom," Abigail frowned. "She also didn't used to be the bitch she is today. She used to be a mom. A really great mom until… Until my dad cheated on her with one of the house maids. Ever since then, she became someone else and for a while, it was just me, my mom, and my older sister, Ashlen."

Ashlen?

Now that was new information Haruto hadn't known about her. It seemed that just the mere mention of her name made her tense up. Haruto slowly took her cup of water and set it to the side.

"Ever since my dad got kicked out the house, my mom had always been obsessed with fixing his fuck-up," Abigail explained. "And in order to do that, she pushed everything onto my sister."

"Pushed everything?" Haruto asked. "You mean…"

"All this equestrian shit she's pushing on me?" Abigail nodded her head. "Yeah. She did it to Ashlen first. She made her entire life's purpose nothing but becoming the best horse racer there was. And then one day, she just had enough."

Abigail felt tears form from the side of her eyes.

"She couldn't take it anymore and she just…" Abigail couldn't continue after that. She remembered that horrifying image that kept repeating in her nightmares. "She just…"

---

"A-Ashlen?"

...

"A-ASHLEN!" Abigail poured tears out of her eyes as she stumbled back in fright. She screamed. She tried to look away, but no matter how hard she tried, her eyes remained glued to the image in front of her.

Ashlen's body hung from the ceiling girder. Unmoving. Still.

"N-No!" Abigail covered her mouth. "A-Ashlen… Please tell me this isn't real. Y-You idiot! W-Why'd you… W-Why'd you… A-Ashlen…"

She crawled closer to Ashlen's legs. She couldn't make any other noise. Now, all she could do was sob, and hug Ashlen's legs.

"A-ASHLEN!" Abigail screamed. "D-DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"Abigail Ellsworth!" Francine stormed in with a visibly irritated look on her face. "What is going on here?! What is all this ruck-"

Her face paled, even more than Abigail's ever did. For a moment, Abigail could see the mother that she once knew back in her eyes.

"A-Ashlen?" she murmured in disbelief.

"Mom!" Abigail sobbed. "Ashlen is- Ashlen is-"

"ASHLEN!" Francine shrieked as she rushed to her eldest daughter. She turned to Abigail out of desperation, her eyes seeping with tears. "OH MY GOD! ABIGAIL! CALL 911!"

"M-Mom, sh-she's… sh-she's…" Abigail tried to say in between sobs. "Sh-She's…"

"J-Just do as I say Abigail, p-please!" Francine's distress was even more hysterical than Abigail's. But she never moved. Because deep down, she knew that her mother was just being too hopeful here. Her mother turned to Ashlen's body. She had dropped onto her knees, practically begging at this point. "A-Ashlen? S-Sweetie? I-It's me. Y-Your mother. I'm here baby. S-So please… T-Tell me it's not too late. P-Please tell me…"

Francine continued to hang on to the cold lie that she kept telling herself. Until finally, Abigail joined her with tears in her eyes.

"...I-It's too late Mom," Abigail shook her head. "I-It's too late…"

"Guh, A-Ashlen!" Francine covered her mouth as she wrapped Abigail into a hug. A hug for the first time in years… "A-ASHLEEEEEN!"

---

"...She never even left a note," Abigail's voice quivered. "She never even left anything to say goodbye with. She just…"

"...A-Abigail, I had no idea," Haruto stared at her in shock. "I… I can't imagine how fucked up your life was… so I…"

"N-No Haruto, please… Don't bother trying to comfort me…" Abigail tried to hold back tears but it was all futile. All of it came seeping back out anyway. "It was all my fault anyway. Ashlen's death was all my fault. I killed Ashlen."

Haruto widened his eyes at that.

"W-What do you mean?" he asked.

"The night before she killed herself," Abigail shook. "I knew she was in trouble. I knew she wasn't happy with everything. If I had just known what she had planned to do, maybe I could've stopped her. Maybe I could've done more to stop Mom from driving her to end it all. I could've done more…"

"Abigail, you can't–" Haruto tried to reach out his hand.

"I always blamed my mom for everything…" Abigail couldn't even look Haruto in the eye at this point.

---

"BULLSHIT!" Abigail screamed. "You didn't give a damn about me until today! You didn't give a damn about how I felt back then! Where was the protection, then huh?!"

"Abigail," Francine gave Abigail a soft, yet stern look. "I… I don't like this tone, young lady. You made a mess of the Ellsworth family name, and I helped fix it for you. Shouldn't you do something to help fix your image too? You owe our family name–"

"I don't owe shit to anyone!" Abigail argued, tears seeping from her eyes. "If anyone has anything to owe, it's you! It's your fault that this happened! It's your fault Dad left! And it's your fault that Ashlen is gone!"

Francine stepped back as if the name haunted her. She clenched her fist before softening them and looking down. Placing a hand on Abigail's bed, she looked at her daughter, apologetically.

---

"I always blamed her for what happened to Ashlen, but all this time, it was me," Abigail choked on her sobs. "That's why she keeps coming back to me in my nightmares. That's why I can't even sleep at night. That's why I'm… so scared to sleep at night…"

"Abigail, listen to me, you–" Haruto was about to say but Abigail continued to cut him off.

"All this time, the reason I never did anything to help was because I was jealous," Abigail clutched onto her blanket. "Ashlen knew that."

"J-Jealous?" Haruto blinked.

"My mom spent all her time forcing Ashlen to do shit she didn't want to do," Abigail explained. "And in doing so, she kept neglecting me in return. I basically never even had a mother until Ashlen died. And then my mom shifted her focus on me and…"

And that was where Abigail was at now.

"Abigail, you can't keep–" Haruto tried to say.

"God, I'm so selfish," Abigail hugged herself. "If I wasn't so selfish then–"

"Abigail…" Haruto tried again.

"Then maybe she would–" Abigail felt the guilt envelope her entire mind.

"Abby, stop," Haruto sternly stated, grabbing the equestrian by the shoulder. "You gotta stop."

"A-Abby?" Abigail slowly widened her tear-riddled eyes. She couldn't help but slowly let another tear fall in response to that.

"Listen to me," Haruto looked at her seriously. "You think you've done something fucked up, but you didn't. You were right from the get-go. Everything that happened to you, it was all your bitch of a mom's fault. She's the reason your sister…"

Haruto stopped himself from going on before going back to the point at hand.

"The point is," Haruto continued. "You gotta stop blaming yourself for all this. I don't know Ashlen that well, but I think the only reason she's appearing as a nightmare in your dream is because you're letting her be the nightmare! So, stop feeling guilty for something you shouldn't even be feeling guilty for in the first place!"

"I…" Abigail tried to look away but Haruto shook her the moment she did that.

"No, keep your eyes on me Abby," Haruto told her seriously. "I mean it. None of this is your fault…"

Now he knew how it felt to be on the other side of a conversation like this. Because just moments before Abigail had woken up, he had blamed himself for everything as well. Blamed himself for something that he shouldn't have to be blaming himself for in the first place...

"W-What do you know?" Abigail tried to close her eyes. "Y-You weren't even there… Y-You didn't see how horrible it looked or feel hopeless and empty the moment you stumbled upon what I saw."

"You right, I wasn't there," Haruto confirmed. "So, I don't know every specific detail over what happened, but I know that you're not the one that should be blamed for anything. You were her younger sister. You were probably too young to even understand anything going on with her. And that's okay. It's okay to be too fucking late, so stop blaming yourself for this…"

Because it hurts to see you like this…

"H-Haruto…" Abigail couldn't stop the tears from flowing out of her eyes. "I… I…"

"D-Don't say another fucking word, Abby," Haruto pulled her into a hug. "Okay? Just stop making excuses for why you need to feel guilty and just… just…"

Just be here with me…

"H-Haruto, I can't just stop feeling guilty," Abigail whimpered. "It never works like that."

"I know," Haruto continued to keep her in that tight hug. "I know… But from now on let's just… Let's just figure this out together, okay?"

Abigail felt her cheeks warm up as she sniffled.

She closed her eyes.

"O-Okay…" she murmured.

...

"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi's voice 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."

...

…

When Monohebi made the announcement, Haruto glanced over toward Abigail, who had laid her head on her pillow. Her tears had long dried up and she had stopped crying. That was a relief. At the moment though, he was currently fixing her up a cup of water. Though, he never did notice Abigail was sneaking glances toward him.

Her mind raced over to stuff he had said a few moments ago.

…

"Abby, stop. You gotta stop."

…

"Keep your eyes on me, Abby."

…

"But from now on let's just… Let's just figure this out together, okay?"

…

Abigail's face reddened as she felt her heart skip a beat. It was getting to a point where even looking at Haruto was getting difficult. Because every time she glanced at him, she felt the temperature rise and her blood pumping faster than usual.

"Here's another cup," Haruto set it next to her bed before glancing up. He noted the announcement that Monohebi had just recently made. "Announcement says it's time to go back to the Prison Rooms."

"Are you going to leave?" Abigail asked, looking down.

Haruto blinked. He let out a small chuckle and shook his head softly.

"Fuck no," he stated. "If you ain't going anywhere, then I'm staying here."

"But what about…" Abigail trailed off before Haruto held out two eHandbooks: his and Yuumi's.

"We got Nighttime Advantages," Haruto stated. "Even if it was a problem to spend the night at the Infirmary, these Advantages should keep us from being a couple of rule-breakers."

"That's a relief," Abigail sighed.

"...Why?" Haruto blinked, amusedly. "Can't have enough of me around, can ya?"

"Ugh, in your dreams, idiot," Abigail glanced away with a small pout. "I just… I was hoping…"

"...What is it?" Haruto blinked. This time, it was more out of confusion than out of amusement.

"...If you're going to spend the night here with me, then could you maybe share the same bed with me?" Abigail asked.

"Share the same bed," Haruto blinked. This time, it was more out of acknowledgement than confusion or amusement. "Yeah, sure thing. I don't mind– Wait… What?!"

"D-Don't get me wrong!" Abigail shook her head, avoiding what she thought was going to be Haruto's judgmental gaze if she even looked back toward him. "I'm just asking because I want as much company as possible tonight! If there's even a chance that this is going to help me feel comfortable sleeping at night, I'll take it!"

"I– I– Uhhh… s-sure thing…" Haruto gulped.

What the fuck was going on?

"I-It's big enough to fit both of us so… J-Just don't think of this as anything weird o-okay?" Abigail stuttered slightly. "This is just for one night! And it's just a test! That's all it is! S-So get whatever idiot thoughts you might have and leave it out of the g-gutt- Agh!"

Abigail turned back to see Haruto already in bed with her, equally embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah, test, right," Haruto rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Abigail immediately turned away. God. What was she thinking? What kind of idea was this?! No wait. It was just her being absolutely ballsy and making up some kind of excuse to be in the same bed as…

Nope! Nope! It was a test! It was a test on whether or not she'll finally have a good night's sleep…

"H-Hey, Abby," Haruto had also turned his back to her. "G-Good night, alright?"

"...Thank you, Haruto," Abigail felt her face turn a dark shade of red.

For a moment, there was no noise between either of them. And then she felt her eyelids growing heavy. Growing heavy until the last thought of the day for her was just…

Seriously.

Thank you for everything, Haruto.

---

DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE

---

And here we have the next Daily Life part for Chapter 4! I have to say, Abigail's backstory was one of my highly anticipated scenes I wanted to write :D Huh! I should really make a list of all of these highly anticipated scenes I wanted to write that I have already ended up writing!

Small updates: I did say that I was going to finish Trial Part 1 before finishing this chapter but with how much work I got done for Trial Part 1, I think posting Daily Life 3 was well-deserved in my efforts! Pat pat pat on my back, let's go :D

I have to say. I was really looking forward to writing this Daily Life chapter for a good bit and now that I have written it, I'm now looking forward to what everyone thinks about Abigail's backstory! :0 Honestly, a really emotional scene for me to write too and goddamn, I had to listen to a lot of sad songs to get the vibe right ;-; Hope I make someone shed a tear or two XD

That's really all I have to say! We are pretty much halfway through the Daily Lives! I need to wrap up Trial Part 1. And I have to say, Chapter 4 is definitely the most dramatic chapter out of the four chapters so far XE

As always, leave me a review telling me what you liked or disliked! Slap that like button! Subscribe to the channel! Subscribe to my ! Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! Join my Discord server! Pay me on OnlyFans- Wait what?

Anyway!

See you in Daily Life Part 4! :D

---

Prisoners Remaining: 9

---

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

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

Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate Scam Artist (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]

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