"I thought you would've learned your lesson by now. Must you insist on approaching me?"

The pink haired girl who bore the name Evie sighed. She was trying to talk to the redheaded master of the games, but Satsuki wasn't in the mood to talk. Not that she ever was, but particularly with Evie.

Evie, however, was extremely curious about the girl, and she wouldn't stop until her curiosity was sated. They were both extremely stubborn, it was a matter of who was going to break first.

"What lesson? All I've learned every time I've approached you is that you aren't as bad as everyone thinks you are," Evie crossed her arms. "So you don't have to pretend you're some sort of untouchable goddess. You're a human too."

"Am I?" Satsuki laughed darkly. Her red eyes had long lost their white pupils ever since Saiko's death. "You've seen what I've done."

"I mean you have feelings," Evie clarified. "Don't even try to deny that. Your love for... Saiko... is an emotion."

"True."

Satsuki didn't elaborate further, and the two were left in silence. That is, until Evie sparked another conversation. The redhead sighed in irritation.

"Do you ever shut up?"

"I do, quite a bit," Evie snapped back. "Which, you already know assuming you looked into our past when picking who to send here. But there's something about you that doesn't add up. You created this game, but for no reason-"

"Not for no reason!" Satsuki yelled, her red eyes swirling with fury like molten lava. Her fists clenched and Evie had to remind herself not to get the girl more riled up if she wanted to keep herself alive. "I wanted to keep everyone safe from their parents. So that no one would have to suffer like I did. It was Saiko who decided to create this game, and I needed to carry on her legacy."

"What happened with your parents?" Evie now had many more questions from the four sentences Satsuki had spoken. The redhead looked away, her rage disappearing and switching to a melancholy view. "I'm assuming something horrendous. That's really just proving how atrocious the world is...."

"...I'm done talking."

<><><>

"Compared to what everyone else has said about their past, mine feels like I had life easy."

Joshua scratched the back of his neck as he looked at Mark, Mae, and Chloe. It seemed the boy had stepped out of his shell a little bit, and was actually making an effort to be friendly.

"Well, what happened to you?" Mark questioned in curiosity. "You don't seem to have as many problems as the rest of us."

"I do not have problems," Mae crossed her arms. "I'm as normal as he is."

"Well, yes," Mark backtracked. "But I'm just saying that a lot of us have upsetting stories."

"Well... when I was on the road to becoming a hockey player, a lot of my friends were on the same team as me," Joshua shrugged. "When I started playing better than them...they stared hating on me. I almost quit hockey, but my... friend kept me going. I still hear their words sometimes, but... none of it was that horrible. They knew better than to push me past my breaking point, but..."

"...your friend's name was Sayri, was it not?" Mae asked, her eyes switching color once again. "Do you miss her?"

"Yes," Joshua responded instantly. "I do miss her. Quite a bit."

"Bullies suck," Mark shook his head in disgust. "I...I'm not going to lie, I've pretty much been bullied my whole life. Their words do stick. But at the very least, they don't mess with me anymore."

"U-um," Chloe nervously fiddled with her thumbs, blinking her blue eyes. "My whole life, I've just tried to make people smile... my magic did that. I don't really have natural talent... I made people smile, but then... something happened, and now they all.. now they run."

"It could be worse," Mark shrugged. "Y'know, I'm glad we all had this little get together. I learned a lot."

"Me too. Me too."

<><><>

"Heather, we need to talk."

"No, we don't!"

Daniel was standing outside of Heather's door, trying to coax his sister out. He sighed, and leaned against his crutches. His cerebral palsy, while it limited him to being unable to walk on his own, he could manage basic movements.

"I never knew that's how you felt," Daniel frowned. Truthfully, he felt that everyone had always praised Heather and deemed him as the useless brother. Sure, people talked to him, but Daniel knew it was from pity. To hear Heather say the opposite was a surprise to him. "I don't think that people like me more than you."

"Well, you're wrong. The family loves you more," Daniel could hear the distaste and spite in Heather's voice. "All my friends are-were- always asking if you were okay. I just wanted to be recognized-"

"Heather! You are recognized," Daniel told his sister. "The family doesn't love me more. They just have to take care of me. Do you know how frustrating it is when they never leave you alone? You have freedom, and the family does love you. Haven't you noticed they always compliment you? They pity me, which is a weird form of love, but they love you and they let you be, because they know you can take care of yourself. It's not a matter of who they love more."

It was quiet for a long moment, and Daniel sighed, turning to leave when the door opened hesitantly, and Heather averted her eyes.

"...I'm sorry," Heather said quietly. "I should've thought about how it's affecting you. But..."

"It's okay, Heather."

She wrapped her arms around him, embracing her brother in a hug.

"Thank you."

Hey everyone, hope you're doing okay. Hope you're enjoying the book and the insight you're getting on characters.

I make no promises, but death chapter is probably either the next or the one after it.

Oh, by the way... childhood friend named sayri...remind you of anything?

Who do you think will be the next victim?

Any guesses on the mastermind?

Thanks for reading.