===Chihaya Korinsu===

"So..." Erina whispered, the sound faint against the growing background roar of the fire. "One of us has to die."

I shook my head. "But this isn't Hearts or Diamonds! Surely, there must be some way out of this, something none of us are seeing?"

Niko sighed. "Sometimes you just draw short on luck in this place. Not all games are built the same way; sometimes, there might simply be a game that lies outside the bounds of what players have defined to be the standards."

"Let's just break this down." Tori said. "So each mission, we must do the opposite of."

We nodded. "So to do the opposite of 'get a Game Clear' would be to die." She continued. "So then what are the ways to die in this game?"

Erina shrugged. "Any method. Crushed, burned, gunned down..."

I perked up. "Or leaving the venue?"

Natsuki frowned. "How is that different from dying in any other way?"

I paused, stammering, but eventually trailed off. "I'm not sure, just thought I was into something for a second."

Tori took out the knife she had from earlier. "We still have this."

Erina flinched, and Tori let out an exasperated sigh. "What? You said it yourself—the fact that I've only been here for two days shines blatantly through. I don't yet have the resolve to harm anyone, though I reckon if someone were to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, they'd rather take a clean cut than burn an agonizing death."

Erina breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry for doubting you for a moment. So now the question is if there's a way for one to achieve a Game Over without dying."

"Failing a mission?" Niko suggested.

"There's two issues with that." Tori said. "First off, it isn't technically a Game Over. Me and Natsuki both failed a mission but were able to escape with our lives. Second, even if failing a mission did guarantee to kill you, we're all out of missions. They've all been completed."

"Not this one." Natsuki said.

That gave Tori pause. "So then, to pass this mission, we'd have to not clear the game. But then to clear the game, we have to fail the mission... This is like one big paradox."

Natsuki groaned and rubbed her eyes. "This is giving me a headache. It's a wonder I've been able to survive so long in this place."

"Um... Guys..." Niko said, turning upwards. I followed his gaze to meet the vents along the walls, which had started billowing smoke.

"We have to hurry." Erina said, getting up from her chair and pacing around.

I gasped. "Wait! Another way to achieve a Game Over is to not escape by the time limit!"

Tori tilted her head. "Wouldn't that just kill us all? We only need one person to die, or risk dying."

Erina slowed down in her pacing, as if processing the conjecture, then continued again at her regular speed. "I think that's a bit too risky. Let's leave that as a last resort."

I wiped my forehead with the rim of my shirt, looking out the window. My eyes traveled along the walls, and set itself upon the king statue. "You guys think the king statue has anything to do with this?"

"Doubt it." Erina said. "The rules didn't mention anything about it, and trying to tie any exploit into it would be too far-fetched."

"But then again," Natsuki began, "why is it here if it has no purpose?"

Tori perked up, and strode to the stage. "The game said that we were rebels trying to assassinate the king."

"So if we hypothetically 'kill' the statue, would we be clearing the game in another way?" I asked.

"The rules never said that killing the king would give us a Game Clear though; the clear condition had always just been to find the code and escape the venue." Erina pointed out.

"And that just brings us to another loose end..." Tori muttered. "Maybe the solution is to simply break a window and leave the venue. Maybe leaving the venue doesn't kill you in this game."

"We're getting ahead of ourselves." I said, redirecting the conversation. "Should we at least try this first, and see if it works?"

Niko shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot. How are we gonna destroy it though? Burn it?"

Erina jumped, and pulled herself onto the stage. "Let's try pushing it and see if we can topple it. Maybe that'll be enough to consider it as an 'assassination'."

Me and Niko jumped on after her. Natsuki prepared to get up, but Erina insisted she stayed sitting. I dusted my hands off, and set them against the metal. The other three did the same.

"On three." She commanded. "One. Two. Three!" We heaved, straining to topple the impossible weight of the statue. But our efforts were in vain; such a large work of metal must've weighed literal tons.

Erina sighed. "I guess there's no other option now. We have to try burning it."

"But it's metal." Niko said. "How is it going to burn?"

"Maybe just burning its clothing will be considered enough." Erina said. "Next question is how we're going to burn it."

I glanced around the room, and in the corner was a cart full of balls. I got off the stage, running over to the cart and dumping all the balls out, pulling out the net that had kept all those balls together. "Someone go into the office and get a bunch of papers." I ordered. Niko fulfilled the task, bringing out a stack of documents. I scanned it momentarily, making out details about athletic events, before taking the pile and crumbling it in droves, tossing the paper balls into the net.

"What are you doing?" Niko questioned, a sense of bewilderment in his eyes.

"This will help us safely light the statue on fire." I said, tying off the bag then tying it again to a chair. Niko's face flashed with a sense of realization. "We light these paper balls on fire then bring them to the cloth."

Tori peered out the windows in the gymnasium exit. "We're not looking so good; the fire has begun reaching this hallway."

"Here, I'll light up the statue." Niko said, grabbing the chair. "It's the least I can do."

"Ten minutes remaining."

The air in the room condensed, but Niko carried on. He nodded to Tori, who opened the door as he darted outside, immediately closing it again to keep the smoke out. I looked out the window from behind Tori; Niko ran to the fire, which burned where this hall met the main hall, and the bag of paper soon erupted into a blistering ball of flame.

He turned back, the flaming bag trailing behind him like a meteor, as Tori opened the door again. Niko sprinted to the statue, and grunted as he hurled the chair at the statute. He yelped; the fire had singed his arm. He stumbled back as Erina ran to catch him, but the plan had worked—the statue's clothing lit up in a blaze of glory.

Niko cringed, his breathing heavy, as he fell back into a chair Erina had pulled for him. A molten crimson scar ran down the length of his right wrist, bubbling slightly. The sight induced a slight wave of nausea.

"Damn it... Why always my right arm?" Niko panted.

The fury of red and orange consumed the fabric, the char spreading to the stage and setting it ablaze too. The wood blackened, and soon a horrific creaking emerged.

"Guys! Get out of the way!" I screamed. As chunks of splintered wood flew in the air, the stage cracked, and the statue began toppling. A dark shadow descended over its drop zone, as Erina scrambled to push Niko out of the way. I grabbed onto Natsuki by her shoulders, yelling as the wind from the statue falling propelled a flurry of debris forward.

I crashed into the floor, and Natsuki rolled out of my grip. She coughed, hunching over on all fours. "Th-Thank you, Chihaya."

I turned up, and was immediately blinded by a flash. The fire from the stage caught into the curtains, and in an instant the velvet veil had burst completely into flames. The stage continued to give in, this time bringing the curtain supports down with it. Crashing ensued as the stage lights fell down, shattering against the ground. Sparks flew, amplifying the inferno that was slowly engulfing us, occasionally stinging my skin.

Exhaustion racked through my body, but especially my lungs, which had been battered with breaths of fire and ash for the past hour. I looked through the smoke, my eyes watering. We've had close calls before. Games that took until the last second. This isn't new, but what is new is the lack of leads, the lack of any hope. My mind couldn't think straight, not when the smoke pounded every inch of my body. I needed a breath of clean air—a drink of water.

"That clearly didn't work!" Natsuki screamed, crawling away from the statue. I tried taking a deep breath, taking a moment to filter out the smoke and fire. The heat. The soreness all over my body. In that moment of clarity, I thought, and I looked.

In the corner of the gym, right by the corner furthest away from the entrance door, in an area no one would've thought to look, was a fire alarm. I faced the ceiling; there were black fire sprinklers lined up in rows. Shaking myself off, I grabbed the fire extinguisher I had left on the floor, spraying the area between me and the alarm.

"Chihaya? What are you doing?" Erina shouted.

"Trying to buy us some time to think!"

I reached the alarm and pulled the latch. At once, blaring alarms rang throughout the school. But the sprinklers didn't turn on.

"What?" I asked aloud, turning back to the alarm.

Pulling will activate sprinklers. Sprinklers will automatically turn on if smoke is detected. If sprinklers are not turning on, check the water valve in the basement.

"Damn gamemakers!" I cursed. Whipping around, I clutched the fire extinguisher and ran through the flames that flared hungrily towards me, aiming out the door.

"Chihaya! What are you doing?" Erina asked again, grabbing onto my shoulders.

"Turning on the sprinklers! If we can kill this fire, it'll buy us five minutes of uninterrupted thinking time. That could be enough!"

Tori and Niko ran up. They carried Natsuki in an improvised stretcher; she laid on top of a gym mat, which laid in a net like the one I used earlier. I shifted my gaze; they had raided the supply closet, a plan no doubt belonging to Tori.

"We can't stay here." Niko rasped. "The fire's getting worse."

Erina paused for a second. "Even if we somehow can't turn on the sprinklers, fires typically have trouble burning downhill. It'll be a safer refuge in the basement".

We looked outside the door through the window. The walls were charred, the yellow paint peeling and the chair rail splintering. Erina shot a glance towards the map. "We have to go through the front foyer, then to the right and down the hall." She noted. "At a fast sprint, it'll only take thirty seconds. Chihaya, have your fire extinguisher ready."

We nodded. Tori, who had the water bottle, gently set Natsuki down to give it one more pass around the group. Niko refused when offered.

"I had a long drink earlier already. I'm okay."

Erina took a sip, then I drank some, leaving a final portion of water left for Natsuki. With the water all gone, she put the bottle aside and wiped her mouth. "I'm ready."

"I'll go preemptively. That way, the fire can be put out by the time you guys traverse." I offered.

Erina nodded. "Sounds like a good plan." Taking a deep breath, I braced myself, then shot outside the door. I tugged on the extinguisher's valve, spraying a blanket of foam over the creeping flames. The air cooled, and I ventured further outwards, meeting the mouth of the hall, blasting more towards the right turn. I waved my hand forward, gesturing to the others to follow. They caught up, and I ran again, moving down the hall.

They stayed a bit closer to me this time, as I continued sweeping across the halls. We turned a corner, and I sprayed down the area, but the extinguisher began sputtering.

"Crap." I muttered, shaking the can a bit. "Let's go, this is running low!" We charged down the hallway, the fire starting to thicken once more, as the entrance soon came into view. "Almost there!"

Our feet scampered against the tiles, the distance slowly closing in. It would just be maybe another fifteen seconds of running. I smiled. 'We're going to make it!' We entered the main foyer, the expanse of windows letting in a sea of the night moonlight.

Then, a groan—a creaking, as the building seemed to shift. I stopped in my tracks, sending a domino effect behind me as Niko nearly crashed into Erina. One of the stone pillars from outside had its foundation burnt away, and it began toppling straight into the school, between us and the basement.

Erina barreled forward. "We can make it!" I stormed after her as the pillar crashed into the wall, breaking into the school, launching a wave of dusty, ashen clouds into the air. In the moment, she paused, paling at the sight.

"Erina!" I hollered, pulling her back. She landed across the floor as the mass of stone collided with the ground, sending a shockwave of burning debris towards us.

The other three were thrown back, their bodies thudding against the hot tiles, like food seared in a skillet. I landed on all fours. With quivering arms, I attempted to push myself up, but my limbs all gave in, dropping me against the floor once more. I drew in a long, shuddering breath.

"Five minutes remaining."

I couldn't even crawl, so I dragged myself towards the extinguisher. Picking it up, I have the hatch a tug, and aimed at a nearby pool of flames. It sprayed momentarily, before reducing to a pathetic stream. Erina's voice rang out in my head. "One of us has to die."

That's simply how this place worked: the rules are absolute. Yes, exploits and loopholes exist and are the key to some games.

But you couldn't count on it.

I slowly raised my head towards the door, then beside it, where the window frames completely collapsed, possible to crawl right through.

I turned back. Erina didn't seem to be conscious; her chest moved, but her body was sprawled out. Tori was crawling out of the rubble, as Niko helped Natsuki up.

With one final breath, I pulled myself to the window. We had been so close. Just one digit away, but now, the last digit would come into light. Then, they would enter the code into the padlock. Then the door would unlock, and they would escape through the door, as intended, and not be killed upon exiting the venue.

In one last ditch effort, I pushed and pulled on the door handle—maybe it was never locked from the start. It didn't budge. Using the handle to pull myself up, I took a look at the padlock. My fingers lingered over the keys. There were four boxes, and a pin pad below, with digits one through zero, with a backspace and enter key.

'Four boxes?' I traced my thumb over the keys.

"Each mission will give part of a passcode needed to unlock the front door of the school... Find the code and escape through the front door, and it's Game Clear."

Never in the rules did it say we had to complete every mission. We only had to find the code and escape. We already had the full code. Gasping, I ran my way back to Erina.

"Erina! Erina!" I shook her body, turning her over to her back. With a shaking hand, I put my finger against her neck, holding my breath, and exhaled a sigh of relief when a pulse radiated.

"Chihaya?" Niko ran up to me.

"I know how to beat this game. I need the code." I reached into her pocket, taking the book out, the cover's sheen glistening slightly. I flipped open the first page, and at that moment Erina regained consciousness.

"Erina!" I looked away from the book, turning towards her, and she immediately gasped, grabbing my hand that held the book. It was knocked into the fire.

"The code!" I yelled. Erina lurched forward, reaching into the fire, crying out, and retrieving the book.

"I'm so sorry!" She took the book, which was burning at the top of its spine, and thrashed the end against the floor, rubbing away the flames.

"Erina! I've solved the game." I said, as the other three congregated around me. "The rules never said we had to complete all five missions, it said we just needed the code. The padlock code is only four digits, we could've cleared this game long ago!"

Erina flipped through the pages. "Seven zero nine five." She got up. "It's seven zero nine five!"

The flames closed in around us. I leaped up from my spot, charging to the door, everyone else close behind me. I punched in the digits.

Seven. Zero. Nine. Five. Enter.

The screen flowed green, and the lock clicked open. We burst through the door, hit with a wave of smokeless, heatless air. It was ironic; initially, I had thought the air conditioned air inside the school was heavenly. Now, the stuffy, humid mid-summer Tokyo air had never tasted so sweet, so cold.

The Game Clear register sat outside, past a few streetlights, waiting for us. My feet could barely carry me, and I sank against the hood of an old car as the machine whirred.

"Congratulations to all surviving players, you have received Game Clear! Please enjoy your seven days of residency."

Erina had limped to the car, and returned with two bottles of water. We passed it around, drinking, then splashing it on our faces after everyone's thirst was quenched. I could've drank another full bottle, if it weren't for my heat.

"This game tonight... Demonstrated something dangerous." Erina said, turning to face us. "From now on, we must not only pay attention to what the rules say, but also to what the rules don't say." She paced around for a bit, continuing in thought. "Once the fire clears, it's only fair we retrieve Jin and Komori's body."

A pang of sadness struck my chest, and I sank a bit. "I can't believe we lost him... He was such a good friend. Got so many cards in the early days..." I muttered.

Tori was still panting, wiping off her forehead with the rim of her shirt. "These... These games don't get easier, do they?"

Niko shook his head. "You guys did great though."

"Hey, don't count yourself out." I said. "You did a lot to help us out here."

Niko laughed. "Hell yeah I did."

"I have a question." Tori said through pants. "I've noticed something. You're all wearing cloth wrapped around your arms. You're all part of a group, correct?"

"You've noticed." Erina said. "Would you like to join us? We have room."

"Did a guy with reddish hair recently join your group?"

"Hmm..." I pondered. "Haven't seen him around." I turned to Erina, who shrugged.

"I don't recall that man."

"Um... If I don't find him in a day or so I'll swing by the Beach. Where exactly is this resort place you're talking about?"

"Don't worry about it." I said. It's one of the only places with any power in this place. It'll be fairly easy to find."

Smiling, Tori thanked all of us, before heading off on her own.

We sat in silence for about a minute, when the rev of a car interrupted the lack of sound. The lights approached, and soon were blinding as it pulled to a stop, swerving into the sidewalk with a deafening screech, leaving tile marks in the road.

Only one person could drive so recklessly.

"Gabura!" Erina shouted, running up to the window.

She unrolled it, smiling. "Hey guys." Two passengers sat in the back.

"Any news?"

Gabura paused, and her eyes began glistening. "Um, I—" she stammered. "Well, it's just—"

Erina's face faltered, her eyes softening in concern. "Gabura, what's wrong?"

"I..." she sunk her face into her hands, then suddenly