===Maeda Mihoko===

"Everyone, I understand that following last night, you may feel tense," Kazetani began, "but rest assured, we have sorted everything out."

I stretched, covering my mouth as I yawned. It was 12 p.m., and the executives had gathered everyone in the lobby once more to update us on the situation concerning Erina.

But regardless, the plan went smooth; the members of Maindo had been subtle in their celebrations, but there was still a final roadblock–actually stealing the cards.

After that, it was simply a matter of having everyone who incorporated from Maindo gradually choosing to leave the Beach, or pretend to die off in games, whilst regrouping in a new, distant location.

There would come a day where even I could leave, yet I barely had done any hard work other than scaling the Beach with Zakū—I was too lucky, and the thought put a smile on my face.

"We have locked..." Ryota paused. "We have locked Erina up, as per our vote. She is being kept in the basement, behind a constructed cell. If you want proof, you may go down to verify yourself after this announcement is over. We will facilitate an organized system of viewing her."

"Anyways, I'm sure you're all curious to know the new system in place now that we know the truth behind the cards." Kazetani said. "Like what I said last night, we will be using the same system that Maindo and the ruined Beach used before, which is a numbering system. The Number One will be first in line to leave after a full deck of cards is assembled. Then the second-in-line will step into place as the new leader and each person will shift upwards one. The same is true if a person leaves or passes in the game."

He cleared his throat, continuing to talk while pacing the platform. "However, there's more ways to move up than just waiting. Contributions of high-value cards or resources will also get you promotions."

After he finished, a man wearing a light jacket with shagging hair—who I presumed must've been Chihaya—pulled forward a projector, while Haga followed, flipping a few switches after it was in place. The lobby lights dimmed, as the projector switched on, showcasing a list of names.

In first place was Ryota, followed by Kazetani. 'So it appears we weren't lucky enough to have Kazetani or anyone else in Maindo automatically assume number one.' I concluded.

"What?" Someone in the crowd shouted. "How can we trust Ryota wasn't colluding with Erina this whole time?"

"Because not even I knew where the cards were." He responded. "Think about it: If I knew the true location of the cards and the condition to leave the Borderlands, why would I work with her to this point? Why would I have not betrayed her at an earlier point and made off with the cards when most of the deck was already assembled?

"Now," he continued, "I understand that that evidence is likely not enough, so to quell any residual suspicions, we had the location of the card safe and its combination revealed to three other people as a control, so you can be sure I'm not colluding with Erina for her to simply pass the code down to me. Those three people are Kazetani, Gabura, and Haga.

He cleared his throat, then pointed to a random man in the crowd. "You. Can you testify that last night, prior to the final lockdown, I approached you and had you select a random person from the Beach executives, and you chose Gabura?"

"Um... yeah." He responded.

"And you." He pointed to someone else, a woman from Maindo. "Can you testify that last night, prior to the final lockdown, Kazetani approached you and had you select a random person from the Maindo integrates, and you chose Haga?"

"Yes, I can confirm." She said.

"As the number two it was obligatory that Kazetani be a control variable," He continued, "and furthermore, we had two randomly selected people proceed to select two random people from a given pool to ensure that the code isn't being passed down with a conspiracy in mind. And, finally, for a final measure of security, Erina's room will be guarded from now on, at all hours of the day, including the daily evacuation. The guard will not have access to Erina's room, but only the four who have knowledge of the code will. That way, it is impossible for anyone from either side to steal the cards. I can't take all the credit for this logical system; it was with the help of the executives–especially Kazetani–that we were able to create this system."

The crowd murmured, soft sounds of various degrees of agreement drifting through the air. I strained my ear, picking up on the nearby conversations. Adjacent to me, a duo conversed about trusting Ryota, while elsewhere, someone scoffed, claiming to still distrust Ryota.

"But even if there are measurements against the code being purposefully passed down for the sake of stealing the cards, that still doesn't change the fact that if Ryota is colluding with Erina, he'd still be the first to get the cards regardless!" Someone near the front of the crowd pointed out.

Chihaya cleared his throat, stepping forward and grabbing a microphone. "If this still isn't enough proof, just try to not let any emotions cloud your judgment, and think about it from a logical perspective."

The crowd quieted down, as he raised his voice. "You know... What exactly would be the point of Erina telling Ryota to let him in on the plan? All that's doing is giving one person the potential power to expose her themselves for their own gain.. And Erina's intelligent–she wouldn't make such an unnecessary oversight. So really, Ryota is guaranteed innocent, right?"

That raised another round of discussion. "I suppose that... Makes sense." Someone said.

"I can't see any flaw with that argument," someone else said, "but it's still hard to fully trust people in power after Erina's crime."

"Also, I don't exactly agree with this list." Someone added whilst raising their hand. "I've helped contribute the Eight of Hearts and Seven of Spades, how am I at #44?"

"And how am I in #31?" A woman asked. "I've been here since the first month the Beach was established!"

"That's another thing." Kazetani said. "This list has yet to be set in stone." With that, he pulled out a large ballot box, setting it on a table on the platform.

"Any suggestions, you can leave them in here. Each person gets one ballot with their name on it, and on it they may add an unlimited number of suggestions on the list: who they want moved up and moved down. You may only input one slip for your name, but cannot suggest the movements of your own name. Your character must be reflected by other people's perception of you, if you're worthy of having your position changed. This will be here on the platform for the next two days before we take it and begin rounding up the movement suggestions, and will be guarded to ensure no one messes with its contents. After the positions are finalized, everyone will receive a tag to wear around their wrist, denoting their placement.

"Also, the council system will be altered. You will still do the duties that you had before, but the divisions won't be as explicit as before. Not completely abolished per se, but not as defining as before; so, there's no need to continue to wear your ribbons–we might occasionally just assign you to a different job for the day depending on what's needed. With that, I believe I've covered everything. Does anyone have any questions for now?

The crowd remained silent, and Ryota took that as his cue to dismiss the meeting. "With that, you may all leave, and confirm Erina is indeed locked away if you so wish. Thank you for your time." He stepped off the stage, followed by Kazetani and Chihaya.

The crowd began dissolving, as I left from where I stood, turning my head. Everyone walked off with at least one other person, or in a group, but I was alone. Shaking the feeling off, I walked into the cafeteria, getting a cup of water from the water tank–it was filtered from a nearby lake.

"Hey, Maeda!"

I turned around; it was Tori. They waved me down from a nearby table, sitting alongside Benkei. I waved back, heading towards their direction.

"Hey." I said, sitting down on an empty chair. Benkei had a half-eaten granola bar by his side, as he sketched a view of the cafeteria from where he sat on a canvas.

"Nice drawing." I complimented him.

"Thanks. Last night was... Kind of stressful. So right now I kind of just want to chill a bit."

"You know... A small part of my gut had a bad feeling about this place." Tori said. "It seemed a bit too good to be true: a society built in the apocalypse with a stable power structure and fair leader. But I thought I was just being cynical–apparently not. I was suspicious of your group too at first, but now that they've exposed Erina for her crime, I'm kind of softening up to their presence."

"Yeah. Kazetani is a good man, I would say." I said, sipping my water. 'And will be betraying the Beach in a matter of days too... but that's too bad'

They shrugged. "I don't know though. This is all still kind of foreign to me, and I'm still not completely sure of how I feel."

"So wasn't Maindo kept undercover and super strict with its admission?" Benkei asked, looking up from his paper. "How'd you find them and get in?"

"There was a man from Maindo in the Five of Diamonds where we met." I said. "After we cleared the game, I decided to search him for anything of value, and he had some cryptic code in his pockets, which after deciphering I realized was an address."

"Oh, wow." Benkei commented. "They're really selective."

"That's only the first part." I said. "Later I found out it was required that all Maindo members carry that anagram with them so people with potential could end up finding Maindo should they be clever enough. However, the real test is the trial game; in the Beach, it's simply to see what council you'd best fit in, and your potential. In Maindo, it's to see if you're even qualified to join them."

"Oh yeah, I remember you telling me about your trial game the other day." Tori said. "Five of Spades, right?"

"Five of Spades, Tokyo Chainsaw Massacre. It was overseen by Nobira. It was also very, very brutal. But..." I shrugged. "I'm still here, so I guess it's fine."

"Well, anyways," Tori said, "we were thinking of hanging out in a bit to destress after last night's events. Like, seeing a movie in the theater. It'll be us two, plus Charī, Rafferty, and Judumai. I know you don't really know any of them, but why not take that as an opportunity to get to know them?"

I smiled. "Wait, really? You want me to... Come with you guys?"

"Yeah." Benkei said. "I'm sure none of the others would mind. Why are you so surprised?"

"I don't know. Since I'm relatively new to the Borderlands, I haven't really formed any sort of meaningful connection. So it just kind of feels like being a wallflower sometimes."

"Yeah, I get that." Benkei said, making eye contact. "Totally."

"Well, I'll go shower first." I said. "After that, we can meet up in the lobby again, and we can go see the movie."

"Okay, see you." Tori said, as Benkei waved, brushing his fading red hair out of his eyepatch.

I walked away, putting my plastic cup in the collection bin; plasticware was too rare to throw away, so all plastic cups were washed and reused. As I walked down the hall, I stretched, pressing the elevator button for the second floor when I arrived, as a man approached me.

I turned to him; he was from Maindo—an informant. Everytime new information about the operation was released, Kazetani had members specially assigned as informants discreetly spread the information to everyone.

"What's up?" I whispered.

"The final stages of the plan have been finalized." He muttered, turning himself away from the hall's opening. "Nobira will steal the cards in six days from now, to avert suspicion from the cards being gone so soon after the information of the cards was released to Kazetani."

I nodded, as he continued speaking. "In six days, Senri is assigned to guard her room from 12 p.m. to 3p.m. During his shift, Nobira will break in and Senri will turn a blind eye, while Kazetani and Haga will spend the whole day in crowded areas so they have an extensive alibi. Nobira will drop the cards off back at Miyamoto in a getaway car provided by one of the members of Maindo who are still stationed at the university, before returning to the Beach as soon as possible. To divert the attention of the executives, Kazetani will have that boy who photographed Erina's journal with you pose as someone looking to join the Beach."

'Zakū.' I thought.

"Ryota and likely the other executives will be preoccupied giving him the rundown of the Beach to notice Nobira's presence."

"Why not have him just sneak in during the daily evacuation?" I asked.

"We considered that." He whispered. "However, his absence will be noticed, as all the executives are required to help round everyone up."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Haga will clear all security footage from that day. After we have the cards, people from Maindo will gradually leave the Beach, or pretend to die in the games, in order to leave and regroup at a distant new base, the location of which hasn't been finalized yet. Does everything make sense?"

"Yes, thank you."

He gave a nod, before heading back down the hall, as the elevator arrived at my floor.

'Six days.' I thought. 'In six days, everything will be changing.'

Later that afternoon...

===Chihaya Korinsu===

"Did y-you say you w-wanted to speak with me?" Rafferty asked as he closed the door behind him.

I sat at the small, round dining table in my room, fiddling with my thumbs. "Yes, I did call you in."

Rafferty adjusted his hair and sat across from me, drumming the table. "So wh-what's up?"

"Well, um, sorry if I'm bothering you or anything, but..."

"Oh, you w-weren't; I had just f-finished w-watching a movie w-with some people. Wh-What did you w-want to speak to me about?"

I took in a deep breath, and sighed. "So, Rafferty. If I'm being honest, out of everyone I've known here, you're the person with the most unwavering moral compass, which is why I wanted you to help me. And the thing I need help with is, well, freeing Erina."

Rafferty leaned in, his eyes widening. "You w-want to wh-what? Are you certain th-that's a good idea? I know you have a good sense of m-morality, but this is beyond irrational for you!"

Our faces were close to each other from across the table, both our voices a hushed whisper.

"It's not just her." I reasoned. "I'd want to do the same if it was any of you guys."

"W-Well, I w-wouldn't doubt that. But s-still, you can't make a comparison of a c-completely different scenario, one th-that doesn't even exist. I'm not sure this is a good idea Ch-Chihaya. If it ends badly, your life will be p-put on the line."

"I know. I am aware of the potential consequences, and will do what it takes. And I'll take every measure to ensure that your life is put at zero risk for aiding me."

"But wh-what about her is so special that m-makes you w-willing to develop a plan and risk your life to save h-her?"

"Well obviously, because she's a good friend. As the Beach grew larger, she became busier and we haven't been able to talk as much as we used to, but I still care deeply for her. And also, I simply don't want someone like her to die in such a cruel manner. She carries a large burden. I feel like her past life must've had a lot of stress, too. Her eyes—they seem to hold some sort of sadness to them."

"Hmm, actually, I d-do think you're right. She seems to hold some sort of sadness. Being a m-model likely isn't an easy job. Imagine your entire l-life being built around people scrutinizing your body."

"Yeah. That's precisely why I want to help her escape. No one deserves to be left to such a cruel fate, but especially not her, who already carries such a sense of sadness. I don't think it's fair."

"S-So do you have a plan?"

"I do. When Ryota assigned the all-day guards stationed at both the basement and Erina's room, you were assigned to guard the basement in six days, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m."

"Oh d-dear. I think I see w-where this is going..."

"In the hallway leading to the basement is a trash chute that leads to the back dumpsters. Around the daily evacuation, I'll sneak through the back end of the chute so no one sees me going into the basement hall, then I'll pass by you, who'll be guarding the outside of the basement stairwell. I'll unlock the door, free Erina from the cell she's been confined to, and then the two of us will escape back through the garbage chute. By that time, daily evacuation will begin soon. I'll sneak her into the trunk of my assigned car under the guise that I plan to go into a game by myself to search for the Ten of Clubs. And then I'll simply drive out with all the other cars once we start leaving for games. Simple as that."

Rafferty scratched his chin. "The plan is solid. I d-don't see any inherent flaws with it. The b-biggest danger zone though, is the movement from the dumpster to the car."

"There's a path connecting the dumpster to the garage. Sometime before that day, I'll go out to a game and park my car in the parking garage, nearest to the dumpster, with the trunk facing away from the entrance, instead of on the outside parking where my car is usually kept. While it is dangerous, who possibly goes on the back paths?"

Rafferty sighed. "You're one c-crazy son of a b-bitch."

I smirked. "So, are you willing to help me?"

"You a-are also a respectable m-man, Chihaya. For that, I will help y-you."

A weight lifted off of my shoulders. "Alright. It's settled then."

Words: 3243
===
QotD: It appears many of the secrets that have been brewing will soon be coming to a head. So, let's backtrack to one of my favorite questions to ask: predictions (because I love hearing guesses on how the plot unfolds)! How do you think Maindo and Chihaya's plans will carry out? Success, failure, or something else completely unforeseen?