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===Zakū Raisunei===
High School Student
Specialty: ♢

"Oh my god this is actually happening." Judumai panicked. "Oh my god oh my god." Benkei sat beside him on the ground, his chest rising and falling in rapid breaths.

Judumai Waka - Maintenance Council
Pianist
Specialty: ♧

Benkei Furetcha -  Food Council
Waiter
Specialty: ♤

"Okay okay, just breathe, we'll be fine!" Tori scolded.

Tori Jakurin - Resources Council
College Student
Specialty: ♧

Something buzzed in the distance; the crowd collectively turned back towards the shattered window, where four drones emerged. Two carried a wrinkled banner between them, while the rest carried huge bundles of balloons.

As they entered the lobby, the balloons were released in droves, half floating to the ceiling and half falling to the ground, each with various pictures and words. Erina picked one up. "Congratulations. It just says congratulations."

Erina Mebara - Management Council ♛
Model • Game Show Hostess
Specialty: ♡

"Th-This one I h-have is a picture of the Ten of C-Clubs."

Rafferty Bucke - Security Council
Forensic Scientist (On Probation)

Maeda grabbed one beside me and read the text aloud. "One card left."

And all around, the balloons held the same sorts of messages and pictures. A treasure chest. Gold doubloons. Final game remaining! Just one more! Almost there! A cruel joke.

The drones carrying the banner met with the wall, hanging the cloth. After that, all four drones stopped flying, crashing into the ground. People yelped, dodging the falling debris, as eyes turned to the banner.

It was white, and the words 'TREASURE HUNT' was plastered in bold, colorful lettering, and was surrounded by a myriad of random objects, or rather, treasures. A chest full of gold coins was the most notable, but other than that, there were also paintings, books, various papers, a candy bar, and a massive collection of scattered jewelry.

"What... Are those things?" Aulia asked.

Aulia Choi - Food Council
Restaurateur
Specialty: ♧

"Maybe we have to find those objects?" Charī suggested.

Charī Kasutoro - Resources Council
High School Student
Specialty: ♧

"Let us now explain the rules. They are very simple."

The crowd silenced; a pin drop could be heard.

"To achieve a Game Clear, the Treasure must be destroyed. The Treasure can be anything in the Beach, or any form of Beach property. The time limit is 120 minutes. If the Treasure isn't destroyed by then... It's Game Over."

"That sounds... Awfully simple." Gabura commented.

Gabura Sachi - Security Council ♛
Athlete
Specialty: ♤

'Wait, Beach property? Does that mean the cards could be the treasure? If that is the case, aren't we screwed?' Me and Maeda turned to each other, sharing a knowing glance. We weren't the only ones; all across the lobby, Maindo members began exchanging anxious looks.

Maeda Mihoko - Maintenance Council
High School Student
Specialty: ♤

"Furthermore, throughout the entire duration of the game, the Beach will gradually flood with water, blocking off or limiting access to lower floors."

"What? As if this game isn't hard enough already!" Benkei yelled.

"And if the Treasure is on a floor that gets flooded, it's irretrievable." Chihaya muttered. "At that point, death is practically guaranteed."

Chihaya Korinsu - Management Council
Freelance DJ
Specialty: ♢

"Violence is permitted. Any use to destroy the treasure is permitted. That concludes the rules. The game will now commence. Good luck."

"Violence is permitted?" Gabura asked. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Why would we need violence, though?" Aulia asked. "All we're doing is trying to find an object."

"And also, the Beach is huge!" Judumai shouted, as the crowd entered an uproar. "How are we supposed to possibly find it?"

"W-Well it's probably not some r-random object." Rafferty said. "S-Surely it's s-something clever."

"Any ideas?" Tori asked. But in the distance, Ryota stepped onto the platform again, tapping the microphone.

Ryota Heiji - Management Council
Financial Analyst

"Everyone, before we start, I have something I need to say." He said. His voice changed—it was sharp and clear-cut, as opposed to his voice earlier, which was unsteady and uncertain. Something had shifted.

"It pains me to say, but really, it's my fault the cards were stolen."

"Huh? What's he getting at?" Aulia asked.

"Oh my god, what if the stolen cards are the Treasure?" Chihaya asked.

Ryota continued talking. "However, in the grand scheme of things, I could really care less. The reason? Because I needed to make this happen. My one purpose."

"Ryota?" Erina cried. "What—"

"The rumors... They said forty deaths. One for each card. But I can't do it. I have betrayed you all, and I can't keep carrying this burden. This is of my own volition. I am not being forced to say this. I'm sorry."

'What the hell is going on right now!'

"What are you talking about Ryota?" Erina yelled.

"I.... Am a dealer."

"He's a what?" Tori hissed.

"...Wh-What?"

The smile faded from Ryota's body, as a laser beam pierced through his body. The room exploded.

"RYOTA!" Erina shrieked, running up to his corpse. "Ryota? Ryota!"

"What the hell?" I gasped.

"Fuck..." Judumai cursed.

She shook his lifeless corpse, but the color had already washed from his face. Blood pooled on the carpet. The crowd backed away from the body, surrounding Erina as she continued shaking him.

Two of the most powerful people in the Beach, dead. Erina and Chihaya, in handcuffs. By the edge of the crowd, one person drew themselves away from rest, slowly first, but picked up into a sprint. That set the crowd off, and within moments, people scrambled, yelling, storming off into different corners of the Beach.

Something crashed; behind us, a person had smashed in the TV. Another person took a vase to the vending machine. In the corner, someone brought a bat to the console.

"Wait wait wait!" Ashikaga shouted, extending her hands, separating from the other Maindo leaders near the stage. But it was too late; the man smashed the screen in, then the console box itself.

Ashikaga Kayami - Mechanics Council
Ōendan Member
Specialty: ♧

She gasped as she reached the console, and the man turned to her. "Sorry, it had to be done." Keeping the bat, he ran to the bar, wreaking havoc on the bottles.

"Come on Ashikaga, get your head in the game!" Maeda shouted, putting her hand on her shoulders.

"No, you're right." She said, rising. "We have to play this game now."

Aoyama ran back to us, dragging Erina, giving Gabura a brief nod of acknowledgement, before pulling out a knife.

Aoyama Tōka
Vigilante • Musician
Specialty: ♤

"Screw it!" Gabura yelled, pulling out a pair of keys and unlocking Erina and Chihaya's cuffs. "We don't have time to worry about who stole what or who betrayed who; we have to play the game now!"

Erina was freed first, and she rubbed her wrists, backing away, as a few people closed in on her.

"Maybe you know something!" An aggressive woman snarled, attempting to seize her arms.

Erina yelped, dodging out of her grip. In a heartbeat, she was gone, sprinting from her pursuers, as Gabura unlocked Chihaya's cuffs. "Wait–" She shouted, extending her hand, but Erina was already past the hall.

"Gabura!"

Natsuki Hiroko - Maintenance Council ♛
Volleyball Captain
Specialty: ♧

"What is it, Natsuki?"

"Me and a few others are going to head to the basement since it's going to flood first!"

Gabura nodded. "Nice thinking! Hurry!" Natsuki ran back down the hall, followed by a few other people. The lobby had emptied out, paintings torn from the wall, the balloons all popped, and every piece of furniture ripped apart. We remained.

I stayed silent, observing and listening. Ashikaga joined back with Kazetani and Shirai at the front, and he whispered something to them. They ran off towards the stairs.

"No one is putting any logical thought into this game!" Tori scoffed. "How are we going to get anything done like this?"

"It's gotta be the cards!" Niko said, running up to us.

Niko Cheney - Food Council ♛
Chef • Foreign Exchange Student
Specialty: ♤

"I know we haven't been able to talk as much recently, but my guys are already handling the kitchen, and I think best with you guys."

"Th-That's my first thought too!" Rafferty said. "B-But are w-we sure? And even if it is, h-how do w-we get it? And if it isn't... W-We'd have destroyed the cards for n-nothing."

"The cards are the Treasure. I'm certain." A voice said. It was Kazetani.

Kazetani Tomoyuki - Management Council
Actuary
Specialty: ♢

"Wh-What? H-How w-would you know for sure?"

"Because the Treasure would be the hardest piece of Beach property to destroy. And the cards aren't even here at the Beach."

"Yeah, so how are we going to find it?" Gabura asked.

"I know where they are." He said.

The circle went silent. I turned to Maeda, then to Kazetani. The three of us shared a look.

"Guys...?" Chihaya asked.

Kazetani maintained his gaze towards me; though it didn't say much, I could tell what he meant. They trust you. You should be the one to tell them.

I sighed. "Maindo was all part of a plan to steal the cards. Me and Kazetani were the masterminds behind it."

"...What?" Charī breathed. "Say psyche right now."

Niko exhaled sharply, his hands curling into fists, then pressed his face into a smile. "All right then! Where to?"

"Yeah, we don't really have time to argue right now." Aulia said.

The group remained silent for another second, as if processing what I said, before Chihaya broke out first.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?" He asked, his face twisting. "Zakū, HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

"You were the reason the cards went missing?" Benkei shouted, throwing his arms out. "What the hell man? I thought we were friends?"

I opened my voice, yet no words came out. My eyes darted to Maeda.

"Please, don't blame the kid, at least." Kazetani requested.

"Okay, what the hell did you do to him?" Benkei asked, pushing Kazetani's chest. Judumai grabbed his shoulder, his eyes shooting a fearful warning.

Gabura cleared her throat. "Come on guys, we can't do this right n–"

"I chose to do this, completely myself." I admitted. "I even helped develop the plan. Don't blame him for all of this."

"No, it's not about that, it's not about that shit." Chihaya hissed. He couldn't even look at me initially, but finally turned around, his expression that of disgust. "Listen Zakū, I don't know you that well, I'm not going to pretend that we were best friends and that this struck through my heart or something."

Gabura opened her mouth again, but Aoyama placed her hand on her shoulder, shaking her head. "Let this argument run its course." She whispered.

"But do you have any idea what you did?" He continued, his eyes against mine. "Dozens of lives, months of hard work. Me and Erina could've been killed right then and there out of suspicion for being the thieves!"

"Chihaya." Gabura said, her voice firm. He stopped speaking, turning to her.

From one leader to another, she stepped forward. "Two things. First, we should try to wrap this up, but I understand it's important to settle all feelings first so we can work together. Second, for the love of God, stop using the kid as the scapegoat. The real piece of shit here..."

Gabura glared at Kazetani, her eyes sharp enough to cut glass.

"I knew it was a bad choice to stay here." Tori whispered, tugging on Benkei's arms.

"I don't blame Zakū." Charī said, stepping forward. "He was just doing what he needed to do. He's still our... Well, my friend, and he's here now whether you all like it or not. And we need all the brains we can get!"

'Friend?'

"So you and all your little assholes knew?" Benkei asked, pointing to Kazetani.

He nodded. "Yes."

"We should've trusted your damn guts." Chihaya nodded to Gabura.

"That doesn't matter now." She replied.

After such a long period of silence, finally, Rafferty spoke. All eyes turned to him the moment he said his first word. "You're b-brave for telling u-us, Zakū. I still trust you. I'm n-not sure about anyone else i-in Maindo th-though." He said, pointing to Kazetani and Maeda.

"Completely understandable. But right now, we have no choice but to trust each other." Kazetani said. "To answer Niko's question, the cards were taken by Nobira."

Chihaya's eyes flashed. "Oh! That's why you three were whispering! And that's why he wasn't here!"

"But still, it doesn't add up." Charī said. "So he stole the cards. Why isn't he back? If he stole them, shouldn't he want to return as soon as possible?"

"That's the issue." Kazetani said. "He stole them at about 2 p.m., whilst Zakū had you guys preoccupied. He counted them up, and had all thirty nine original copies, plus several hundred duplicates. He got into the getaway car a little distance away at about 3 p.m., and was driven away... But we didn't hear anything after that. The person that was the getaway driver was one of the three people in Maindo who stayed behind to look after the base during our operation."

"How?" Gabura asked, throwing her arms towards Kazetani, who backed up. "Use your walkie-talkie! Buzz him in right now!"

"Don't you think we've tried? We haven't been able to reach him since after he entered the getaway car. And after the game began... All radio communication has been cut."

"Huh?" Aoyama sounded, pulling hers up. "Gabura, I'm trying to reach you now."

Gabura held her radio up to her ears, and cursed. "Nothing! Damn–you're right!"

"So what's the plan?" Benkei asked.

"I've already told Ashikaga and Shirai to gather former Maindo members and get them onto the roof. We'll try to see if we can get a signal from up there."

"We'll come with you guys." Maeda said, pointing to herself and I.

"But what was that about Ryota being a dealer?" Judumai asked. "That's not being talked about enough. Am I the only one who feels that's not being talked about enough? What the hell does that mean?"

"I think I know." I said. "The Borderlands has an affinity for cards. And who controls cards in a gambling game? Dealers. They're likely in a position above us."

"But Ryota was killed for admitting his identity." Chihaya said.

"S-So that means there's an even h-higher rank above them. Maybe the dealers a-aren't the v-very top, the g-gamemakers themselves are."

"Ryota being a dealer is a big deal," Gabura began, "but it's not top priority right now! Let's talk about it later, okay?"

"Okay, so what about us?" Aulia asked. "We can't just go around blindly smashing everything–we need a systematic method of destruction in this game, considering the possibility if the cards aren't the Treasure, that way we don't miss anything!"

The crowd was silenced, before Chihaya grumbled, speaking up. "Okay! Here's what we're going to do! Gabura, Tori, and Aoyama, you guys go to the basement and help them destroy it before it floods. Benkei, Niko, Rafferty, and Judumai, you guys go to Erina and Ryota's room; no doubt they have some of the most valuable possessions in the Beach. Aulia, Charī, you two will go around the entire place, room by room. I'll go around and see to anyone who needs help. You guys got it?"

"Tori–" Benkei began, but he was cut off.

"You're safer with them!" They shouted. "And I'll be safe with Gabura."

"Let's all go then." Kazetani urged. "Our time is running out!"

We nodded, as Chihaya looked at each of us. "Okay! Everyone, stay safe and good luck!" We broke apart, each leaving with handfuls of farewells, as me, Maeda, and Kazetani ran down the hall, towards the elevator.

Each of the buttons were smashed in. "No use!" I yelled. "We have to take the stairs!" Maeda charged ahead, tossing the door open. Inside, there were already small puddles near grates in the floor.

"It's already starting..." She muttered. "It's only been like, ten minutes!"

"No time to waste!" Kazetani rushed. "Come on!" We ran up the stairs, my legs burning from the ascension, as Maeda took the lead, not a single bead of sweat on her head, and threw open the rooftop door, hitting us with a wave of crisp, dusk air. Already on the roof were Ashikaga, Shirai, and about a dozen other Maindo and original Beach members, each talking to each other or smashing items on the roof. Shattered porcelain, bent metal, and torn paper shreds littered the roof, blowing softly in the gentle night breeze.

Shirai Ui - Maintenance Council
Therapist
Specialty: ♡

Ashikaga had stepped over the railing and leaned herself out, her arm holding the walkie-talkie and extended fully, as she clung on with her free arm.

"Anything?" A man asked her.

"No use! I still can't reach a signal!"

"It's fine." Shirai said. "If we can't reach here we can't reach anywhere. Step down before you get hurt." Ashikaga sighed, obliging, hopping back over the railing.

"We wouldn't be stuck trying to get the cards back if you bastards didn't steal our cards!" Someone scowled. They were part of the original Beach.

Shirai rolled her eyes, standing back up. "Ugh, your yelling is so obnoxious. If you can't help us, just go back down. This is meant to be a game of teamwork, after all."

"She's right." Another Beach member said. "What's done is done, we can worry about that after the game is done. For now, we need to work together if we are to survive."

"Of course it's that bastard that ends up getting away from this game scott-free." Kazetani said, a light chuckle escaping his lips. "We've really messed up, haven't we?"

"Mmm, no–not exactly." I responded. "If we've never stolen the cards, then there's no way the cards would be the Treasure because then it'd be too easy. At least now, we know exactly what the Treasure is, or, well, at least a top suspect."

"So," Maeda concluded, "you feel pretty certain that the cards are the Treasure."

"It makes the most logical sense."

"Personally, I don't think the cards are the Treasure. Even though they may be hard to obtain, it's too easy of a conclusion to jump to; it's everyone's very first thought."

"Well, the fact that Ryota was killed for revealing he was a dealer is all we need to know." Shirai said. "We can assume that there's two ranks of people that are in a higher position than us, with the top being the game makers. What would they make the Treasure?"

"They'd have seen, by now, our tenacity and tactility." Maeda said. "There's got to be some way to get the cards even though they're several