#oops…..

“Have you motherfuckers not tortured us enough?”

At least he hadn’t lost an eye, this time, but he may as well have since both were covered with a solid blindfold. He leapt up from the concrete ground with his arms secured behind his back. He yanked at the belts around his torso, which only succeeded in pulling his collar at a choking angle.

“This is ridiculous!” He stomped around, careful not to trip on the belts harnessed and hanging around his legs. “You already know my crime, it’s not like I even attacked anyone – this is just a sick show of power. We’re human beings with rights, you can’t tie us down like animals!”

He inhaled to let out another stream of outrage, only to let out a cry of alarm as someone touched his shoulder.

“Stay away from me, you bastards!”

He didn’t care how his voice trembled as scrambled away. The restraints would make it difficult, but they wouldn’t stop him from putting up a fight. His back slammed into the metal bars of his cell. He could do this.

Then, a muffled hum in front of him – someone familiar trying to speak through her own restraints.

“Yuno…?” His entire body relaxed. “Oh, thank god.”

He had no idea what she was doing in his cell – or was he in hers? – and what Milgram was planning. They’d ended with all the song extractions, and Es had been notably silent on the topic of what happened next. “Is it just us?”

She hummed again.

“Er… touch me once for yes, twice for no.” The single tap on his foot brought him even more relief. At least they weren’t in any immediate danger. He stepped away from the wall, allowing her to lead him a few steps back.

“Heh, I guess I should have guessed they’d try something crazy for final verdicts, huh? I mean – augh!”

Yuno’s body jerked to the side, taking him along with her.

“Woah, what happened?”

Though she still couldn’t speak, he could hear emotion in her quickening breath. She sniffled.

“Hey, hey, no need to cry!” His stomach twisted. How could he not have seen it? Her situation was even more cruel that his own. Her only violence had been self-inflicted, and she was still restrained and gagged like some bloodthirsty killer. Fuuta at least had practice staying balanced in his cumbersome uniform, but this was her first time navigating such a clumsy outfit. It was humiliating as much as it was frustrating. Plus, as the first prisoner after Haruka’s death, it made sense she’d be even jumpier as she awaited her judgement.

They steadied themselves. He leaned into her with as much of a hug as he could manage. He rested his chin on the top of her head. Fuuta took a deep inhale. He’d failed the first time, but this was his chance to redeem himself.

Yuno needed a hero, and he could be just that.

“Listen to me, okay? I may be at a… slight disadvantage, but I’ve gotten a lot stronger this past trial! My injuries healed up alright, and the whole thing toughened me up. I won’t let them take you, okay?”

She buried her face in his chest. He let out a little breath of relief. It was working. She felt safe with him. He wished he could wrap his arms around her, but this would do just fine. His voice strengthened with confidence.

“It’s gonna be okay. It’s fucking cruel they’re making us wait like this – they know the waiting is the hardest part. But that just means they’re all bark and no bite, right?” He grinned. “Tch, they always have all their grand theatrics and then nothing to follow through with. That’s why they’re wasting all this time with this isolation and stupid uniforms – they have nothing else up their sleeve. Everything’s going to be just fine!”

She cried softly into him.

“I know… I know it’s still terrifying. I’ve got you.” He’d been praying for long to the chance to atone, and he was finally blessed with one. He would keep her safe.

The minutes ticked by, an eternity of darkness to him. Fuuta had to remind himself it was only Milgram’s accursed mind games that kept them waiting. Yuno wouldn’t appreciate his impatience, especially as she broke into nervous sniffles every now and then. He kept his mouth shut.

Another eternity later, a moment away from suggesting they sit down and rest, Yuno nudged him with her shoulder. It was harsh and repeated, much rougher than her initial greeting. His heart skipped.

“Do you see something?” He was ready. “Is it your time?”

She fought against her restraints, intelligible words coming out strained and teary as she pushed them both deeper into the cell. She was stepping on his toes and shoving him back.

Fuuta wondered if this is how desperate his own victim felt. He wouldn’t let it happen again.

“Oi, it’s okay! Calm down, hey, calm down. I told you – I’ll handle this.”

Even with his arms immobilized, he had Yuno beat with height and muscle. He sidestepped and shoved, getting between her and the entryway. She was easily knocked away, only reassuring him that he could put up a fight against their tiny warden, or that stupid rabbit.

The cell door creaked open.

This was it. His second chance. His salvation. He would rescue this girl, atone for the one he hurt, and they’d both get the hell out of this horrible place.

“I’ll protect you!” He turned his face over his shoulder, away from whatever pathetic excuse for justice Milgram had planned, and flashed her a confident, crooked grin. “You have nothing to worry about.”

 ---

Jackalope said the prison would change depending on Es’ decisions, but Yuno realized he hadn’t been speaking figuratively this time.

She woke in an unfamiliar cage, and quickly took stock of her surroundings. Four cells stood in a line at the base of the courtroom’s grand platform. The huge room was darker than usual, with a spotlight illuminating Es and a horrible metal-plated chair.

Already dwarfed by the backdrop, Es was flanked by two towering guards. Uniforms that matched Milgram’s aesthetics obscured their faces. Jackalope was there, too, and Yuno could’ve sworn the two were talking. Despite standing close to the cell, Es’ mouth move without a sound.

That was when Yuno noticed the others’ open mouths and banging fists, all plunged into silence. She would have worried something was wrong with her ears if her own cellmate wasn’t being so loud.

“We’re human beings with rights, you can’t tie us down like animals!”

Fuuta’s complaints were valid, given both of their extreme restraints. Her arms were secured in front of her, and some sort of contraption wound around her head to keep her from opening her mouth. When Yuno pressed herself against his shoulder – the only communication she could offer in her state – he leapt back in fear.

“Stay away from me, you bastards!”

She felt a pang of guilt at the way his voice shook in panic. Even doling out threats, she knew the real Fuuta. He was weak, and frightened, and all he could do was act tough. Rather than worry him more, she hummed in reassuring tones through her restraints.

“Yuno? Oh, thank god. Is it just us?”

She peered outside. The prisoners occupied the cells in pairs, with Kotoko stalking hers alone like a caged animal. Yuno felt a pang of relief, immediately followed by shame at her gratefulness for another’s misfortune. Given Milgram’s numbering system, it should have been her pacing a cell all alone, with only ghosts to keep her company while she awaited the end. Instead, she somehow found herself with one of her closest friends.

She hummed again in the affirmative, though Fuuta’s expression remained twisted.

“Er… touch me once for yes, twice for no.”

She tapped his foot with hers. Personally, she would have felt safer with the group, but she was glad that the news relieved him, at least.

“Heh, I guess I should have guessed they’d try something crazy for final verdicts, huh?”

Though it had been difficult to get used to Haruka’s absence during the third trial, Yuno was painfully aware that she was the new first prisoner. So, when the guards descended the platform towards the cells, her panic sent her leaping backwards.

“I mean – augh!”

Fuuta was yanked along with her, her shoulder clipping his and their belts getting tangled. He shook her off, but she was too focused on the guards changing course away from them.

“Woah, what happened? Hey, hey, no need to cry!” Fuuta steadied both of them. Yuno watched where the guards were headed.

They marched down the line, swinging open Kotoko’s door. As wildly as she fought – with only eerie silence meeting Yuno’s ears – her own heavy restraints were no match against the guards. Milgram had always done everything in such a particular order, why would they reverse their prisoners now?

She had no time to contemplate the sudden change. The guards dragged Kotoko up the platform, securing her to the chair. Es began to speak, but it was only Fuuta’s words that met her ears. His growing arrogance clashed with the haunted look on Es’ face.

“Listen to me, okay? I may be at a… slight disadvantage, but I’ve gotten a lot stronger this past trial! My injuries healed up alright, and the whole thing toughened me up. I won’t let them take you, okay?”

Yuno hadn’t even noticed the mechanical lever at the side of the platform until Es stalked over to it. They bent their head along with it.

Electricity blinded them. Stark lights and shadows flashed across the courtroom. Yuno cowered into Fuuta’s chest.

“H-hey, it’s gonna be okay. I won’t let them take you, alright? It’s fucking cruel they’re making us wait like this – they know the waiting is the hardest part.”

Kotoko thrashed against the chair, her mouth working in an unheard scream. Her eyes, usually fierce and strong, were now bulged in nothing but pain.

“But that just means they’re all bark and no bite, right? Tch, they always have all their grand theatrics and then nothing to follow through with.”

The flashing lights settled. With them, Kotoko. She slumped entirely still.

“That’s why they’re wasting all this time with this isolation and stupid uniforms – they have nothing else up their sleeve.”

The guards unlatched the chair. Kotoko’s body was dragged away, into the darkness of the courtyard. Es turned away, covering their mouth. Yuno felt just as sick.

Fuuta leaned into her, a bright smile in his voice. “Everything’s going to be just fine!”

She rested her head on his chest. Unable to get out a single word of what she wanted to say, she simply wept.

“I know… I know it’s still terrifying. I’ve got you.”

Mikoto, Amane, Kazui, and Muu were led up to the platform with painful efficiency. Some were thrown at Es’ feet in the very center, just in front of the chair. They scurried away with teary gratitude and a look of pity over their shoulder before disappearing into the dark themselves. Others were led the extra steps to the back in order to meet the same fate as Kotoko.

Yuno got better at turning her face away and swallowing the whimpers as she watched the other lives meet their end in front of her. Es was finding ways to cope, as well. By the time they reached Muu, they had already placed themselves in front of the menacing lever to save themself the painful walk across the platform. Their face dropped into an absence of all emotion, staring coldly forward as she was taken up to them.

As the guards removed her, and Es turned their gaze to the final occupied cell, Yuno nudged Fuuta frantically.

“Do you see something?”

Yuno waited for Es to step away from the lever, and for their lips to part in relief.

Their boots remained rooted.

“Is it your time?” She tried tapping his foot, but with all the repeated nudging and tapping, he wasn’t understanding. The guards marched closer.

Yuno could only stare at Es. Her eyes spilled with tears, pleading for them to move back to the center of the platform. To smile, and assure her this would be a pleasant, innocent verdict.

Es turned their gaze away.

With even more frantic sounds, Yuno tried to push Fuuta back with her body.

“Oi, it’s okay! Calm down, hey, calm down. I told you – I’ll handle this.”

With a sudden, harsh movement, Fuuta shoved her with his shoulder. She landed on the cold concrete, the wind knocked out of her. He planted himself between her and the cell door. It swung open with a metallic squeal. The guards stepped inside, twice Fuuta’s height and strong enough to have overpowered all who came before.