Chapter Text
The evening after that, the announcement had been made. Four select Face Cards had been chosen to speak in the name of the Citizens, to inform the surviving Players that the Second Stage would start at noon on the next day. Two of them were, of course, the King of Hearts and the King of Diamonds of this cycle. Both of them, especially the former, were impacted by this, as both the announcement itself and the execution of the remaining Dealers afterwards only served as reminders that this whole situation was, in fact, real. Countless people had died already, and many more would - with a high chance of the Citizens being some of the casualties.
Arisu didn't know which would be worse - the idea of watching who knows how many Players die to his hand while clinging to the hope of finally escaping this brutal country, or the idea of him and his closest friends dying to ensure the freedom of those exact Players. Had it just been him, the choice would be easy... but it wasn't just him. It was him, and at least eleven other people he couldn't help but feel attached to despite their varying degrees of closeness. Arisu was ready to die, he had come to terms with this possibility. But the thought of the others dying alongside him... he felt selfish for this, but he couldn't decide between the few or the many.
Perhaps, if he did survive this cycle, this feeling would pass. Perhaps he could get used to killing several people himself and watching many more die, and not even bat an eye by then. Perhaps he would stop caring about anyone but a handful of close friends, viewing both Dealers and Players of each cycle only for the potential they bring. Wanting nothing but to push them to their limits to see if they would prevail. Perhaps he could find beauty in these lands, fall in love with them, even start truly seeing them as his home. Perhaps... after maybe 10-15 cycles, if he were to survive that long... perhaps, he would become the perfect Face Card Citizen.
But right now, he wasn't that person. Right now, he was just some newbie Face Card who was scared of both outcomes of the Second Stage, who had barely gotten over his time as a Player just the other cycle. Who had overworked and numbed himself to the pain because of how scared he was. Did he regret becoming a Citizen? He didn't know. He didn't want to think about it, as he couldn't change that anymore. He had to deal with it. But still, he felt as though something was missing. As though he needed something to keep in mind, to look forward to, to give him the strength to move on in case he did make it out.
When the Dealer in the studio begged for her life after the announcement was finished, it had been Chishiya who told them that their fate was sealed, and that there was nothing they could do about it. He was the one to tell them that at least a death from a laser was quick and painless, unlike the deaths of most people in these lands. Death was a normal thing here, and he knew this. He had accepted this back when he was a Player, and he had kept this acceptance when he became a Citizen. He hadn't even thought about it much these past few nights, as he had seen no need to. After all, why bother about something he couldn't change? He'd never cared much about his life, so why would he start now?
Did he believe he had a chance to win this cycle? Yes, he did. He was aware of his own intelligence, and he had observed the best Players in his suit to analyze and understand how their minds worked. He had prepared himself, and he had faith in his own abilities. So while he wouldn't subscribe to a certainty that couldn't be proven, he was aware that he had a chance to stand his ground against the Players. And if he didn't, well, he never cared much about his life before now. But then again... he also had to realize that there was more than just his own life on the line this time.
In the past few days, he couldn't help but feel oddly worried about the future. He wondered if his time as a Player, the experiences he had made, or even the connections he had somehow formed had started to change him, and he just didn't realize it until now. Before, he didn't care if or when he died - he never outright wanted to die, he just never really cared. But now, the prospect of dying felt off for some reason. He felt as though he still needed to do something before he could feel content with his fate again. Something to wrap his life up, to make it a life he'd look back on fondly, just in case he didn't make it out.
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When Arisu eventually arrived in front of the ice skating hall for what he assumed would be the last time, he took a moment to actively register the tears that had been streaming down his face yet again. He stopped, silently looking at the building for what felt like an eternity, processing the fact that... this was it. After this night, all of the Face Card Citizens would be split up, confined to their venues with no guarantee that they'd ever leave it again. Without a guarantee that they would ever see each other again. Without a guarantee that they would ever share peaceful moment again.
This night was the final calm before the storm... and fuck, Arisu was not ready for this.
He wiped his tears, tightening his grip on the bag he was holding while attempting to hold back new ones. If he had a choice again, he would quit his position as a Face Card without question. If things went his way, he would take Chishiya with him and repeat these nights for as long as the both of them were physically able to. He'd even played with the fantasy of being professional figure skaters at one point, to perform in front of cheering audiences, to practice each and every move alongside each other, to fulfill their roles in the world by bringing smiles to people's faces - not tears. But alas, that was just a fantasy. He knew that.
With a sharp inhale, he decided that he should at least make the most of these few hours they have left. The two of them had always left the rink before sunrise before now, but he knew that they technically did have the whole night to themselves. People would only start to question them if they were gone for too long after sunrise, so he figured that he might as well try to stay all the way until sunrise. Again, to make the most out of what he had left.
And when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he knew the time had arrived. The time for his final night with the person he loved, in some definition of the word.
Chishiya had unfortunately been roped into a few lengthy conversations with the other Face Cards, which he needed to promptly cut off to make sure he wouldn't leave Arisu waiting for too long. Sure, what they were saying were matters to be discussed, but he really didn't need to be present in all of those discussions. Especially not if he had somewhere to be, something to do. So he eventually excused himself, went to grab warm enough clothes to make sure he wouldn't freeze again, and left the Den to head to the hall. He found himself oddly determined to not let this night go to waste.
As he'd expected, Arisu was already there when he arrived. He was standing in front of the building, holding his bag that likely contained the books and safety equipment he'd brought with him the night before. Without a second thought, Chishiya approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder to let him know he was there, causing him to perk up, quickly turning around to see who was there. He nodded towards Chishiya.
"Our final night, huh?"
"Yeah. Our final night."
Chishiya nodded back, letting Arisu know that he was ready. Ready for his final night with the person who had caused these undefined feelings within him.
They approached the door, this time both placing their hands on the door at the same time. As they did in the previous nights, they waited for a few seconds before the building started to light up. They then opened the door and went inside, making sure to lock the building from the inside before heading to and sitting down on the bench they had left their skates next to. Chishiya watched as Arisu opened the bag and took out the books again before looking at him.
"Are you wearing enough?" he asked, a hint of concern in his expression.
Chishiya nodded, unzipping the hoodie jacket he's wearing to show another one underneath. "I went for thinner materials this time, but there's another layer underneath this. Let's hope it works out."
Arisu smiled in response, nodding as he went to take off his shoes to put on the ice skates for one last time. That sight, this excitement in Arisu's expression, the way he smiled that brightly upon making sure Chishiya was alright... it almost hurt how adorable it was, and he couldn't - or didn't want to - find any explanation on why this might be the case.
Once the two were on the ice, they did a quick warm-up before getting right back to practicing their moves once more. That four-pointed star move that Chishiya had dragged Arisu into the previous night was their main focus at first, as they still wanted to perfect both the initiation and how to get out of it without one or both of them falling again. Once they managed to do that, they proceeded to pick out another move that they'd practice until they could do it more or less alright, then another... it was almost surreal how quickly these two were familiarizing themselves and getting a hang of these moves within the span of a few hours, as though there was some sort of spell on them that made them learn more quickly.
"Are you sure you're not a Spade?"
While practicing one of the positions next to the ice, trying to get a better understanding of it, Arisu suddenly heard Chishiya speak up. He felt himself get flustered in response as he got back up and turning around to face him.
"Y-yeah... I'm a Hearts, remember?" He looked at Chishiya for a while, losing some of the awkwardness. "Are you sure you're not a Spade?"
"Me?" Chishiya chuckled. "I suck at anything Spade-related."
"Says Yuki Shiro."
"You didn't even-"
"I did!" Arisu smiled brightly. "I went back into the old recordings last night and watched the Game you played."
"Really?" Chishiya perked up, seeming a bit surprised.
"Of course! Obviously, I'd want to see you perform, Yuki~"
Arisu grinned at him, intending to tease Chishiya again. Knowing that this was their last night together, he noticed he'd been feeling rather bold that night. The past few days, really, but especially right now. In turn, Chishiya got up from the bench he'd been sitting on, crossing his arms.
"Are you going to keep calling me that now?" he asked, huffing in a playfully annoyed tone.
"What are you going to do? Give me a weird alias as well?"
"Watch your words, Aka Hana."
"Aka Hana?" Arisu took a moment to figure out why exactly Chishiya had chosen that name in particular, but once he did, his eyes widened slightly. "Red flowers... red roses? Rose Red?"
Chishiya shrugged. "I tried to find a matching name, that's all."
"So you want our names to match."
"Oh, shut up-" He nudged Arisu's arm before dragging him back onto the ice.
At first, Chishiya only dragged Arisu around the rink, skating in circles in oder to interrupt the previous conversation. He didn't know why exactly he dragged Arisu with him instead of just skating off on his own - perhaps it was to distract him, but he really just felt like doing that. After a while of just skating around aimlessly, they eventually agreed to practice their moves again, even though they had already gotten a hang of most of them. They probably spent the next hour or two doing that, but then Chishiya suddenly got an idea. He stopped in his tracks, turning around to face Arisu.
"Let's do a show," he said, watching as Arisu stopped in surprise.
"A show?" Arisu asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mean perform in front of people?"
"Not in front of people, of course- We don't have enough time to gather any." Chishiya rolled his eyes before starting to smirk. "Just for the two of us. We can pretend there's an audience if that's what you really want."
"Pretend there's an audience?" Arisu started blushing a bit again, staying silent as though to process that specific part of the sentence.
Chishiya waited for a few seconds before sighing. "We don't need to if you don't-"
"I'd love to."
Arisu suddenly interrupted him, causing him to perk up in surprise. His previously contemplative expression turned into a warm, yet nervous smile. A smile that made Chishiya's heart flutter, though he tried to keep himself composed as he nodded, smiling back.
And like this, the two started to work on a whole choreography in way too short of a time - they weren't even making up much anymore, instead going through the small catalogue of moves they had practiced and adding one after another in a certain sequence. Well, this might have been the definition of a choreography, but the two Citizens didn't feel like being professional about it. They just thought of what would be fun to perform, memorized the cues and order they wanted to follow, and practiced a few of the transitions here and there. Thankfully, they could find a pen and paper somewhere, so they were able to scribble down a vague plan.
Once they had created something that could potentially be performed, Chishiya stood up again, doing a few more stretches before looking back at Arisu.
"Ready for our final performance?"
Arisu looked up at him, sighing. "Do you really need to emphasize that it's the last one?"
"Think of it as our grand finale," Chishiya said in response. "Imagine we're in the final round of some huge competition, if you want."
"Can we pretend this is all we've ever done?"
"If you want."
After a few more seconds of silence, Arisu nodded with a smile. "Okay, I'm ready."
He stood up as Chishiya went back onto the ice, holding a hand out to him.
"Let's go, Aka Hana."
Arisu sighed again, giving him a smirk back as he took his hand.
"Very well, Yuki Shiro."
Arisu took Chishiya's hand as he led him onto the ice, onto their stage. From there, the two moved onto the starting positions they had agreed upon, waiting for one of them to give the cue to start once they were both ready. Arisu took a deep breath, preparing himself. He and Chishiya hadn't actually gone through this routine as a whole yet, but he knew all the moves, he'd practiced transitions, and he could hope that this would work out as smoothly as possible. He reassured himself that things would be fine even if they didn't go well, but that he should at least try to have fun with it all.
After a few long seconds, Arisu decided that he should give the cue, and he raised his hand to let Chishiya know that he should be preparing himself. When he lowered it to give the start signal, they both started to skate towards each other, ready to perform their first move.
The moves they performed weren't exactly the most elaborate or complicated - they were still beginners, after all. Between basic spirals, the easiest variant of spins they could get their hands on, parts where they just skated shapes into the floor and parts where they circled each other, there were a few that required them to get rather close in terms of physical contact - the very first pair stunt they had learnt being one of them - but even they weren't the most impressive when compared to what some professionals were able to do. Really, the most impressive thing about all of this was how quickly they had learnt these moves.
But although what they performed might not have been exactly professional or award-worthy, the silence between the two, the concentration as they put everything they had into this pretend performance... to Arisu, it almost felt like what he would imagine the real deal to feel like. He felt as though, if he were to close his eyes and open them again, he might as well be on some stage, performing in the finals of some competition in front of a huge audience, as Chishiya had suggested he'd imagine.
And this, combined with the sense of closeness he felt towards his figure skating partner in this very moment, it all combined to give him a strange feeling of... contentment, for a lack of a better word. It felt as though for just this moment, their was no time running out until they needed to separate. There was no worrying about either dying or causing countless people to die. There was just the two skaters, on their frozen stage, giving their all to make this the best performance they could possibly give - and for once, he felt free. It felt like this was something he could look back on, something that could give him strength if he ever needed it.
Eventually, there came a point that they hadn't prepared all too much for. For the final move of their performance, they had experimented around and decided to include a part in which Chishiya would make a jump and end up being caught by Arisu. They hadn't practiced much for it, yet they were still willing to try since it was the final part of their performance. So they skated next to each other, hand in hand, until Arisu let go and made his way to the place he'd be waiting around.
He watched as Chishiya skated around a bit more before charging into the jump, in awe at how smooth his moves seemed. Again, they weren't the best or most professional, but they were enough to catch Arisu's attention - especially the way he was spinning in the air for a brief moment after he'd jumped. Arisu readied himself in response to the jump... and somehow managed to catch Chishiya while barely keeping his balance intact.
Arisu caught his breath as he helped Chishiya re-stabilize himself, feeling a sense of warmth and excitement he didn't remember ever having felt before. Their performance was still just a bit shaky, but it went as well as it could. And most importantly, he was able to do all of this with Chishiya of all people. In that exact moment, he couldn't help himself, pulling the other man close to himself and gave him a quick little kiss to the cheek.
...He only realized he'd done this when he saw Chishiya's eyes widen, his face going red as he stared at him.
"Hm? I- uh- sorry about that," Arisu said, stumbling on his words in his own embarrassment. He took a moment to take a breath before speaking again. "I, well... I think I like you."
"...What?" A mix of confusion and embarrassment was audible in Chishiya's voice. "You mean-"
"I mean I feel this really warm and happy feeling whenever I get to be close to you like this... more than I would with my other friends," Arisu tried to explain himself. "When you said I could pretend I'd spend my while life doing this with you, I was... I didn't know how I felt. I don't know if this is romantic or not, I don't think I even want to know, and I've never felt this way towards anyone before, but I..." He sighed, giving an awkward smile.
"I think I love you, in... some sense of the word."
Chishiya remained silent for a long time after this, his expression contemplative as though he was processing everything and figuring out a way to respond to it. It almost made Arisu feel like he'd said or done something wrong, like he should backtrack now before anything got worse. But before he could ask about it, Chishiya finally found his words. In a quiet tone, as though somewhat ashamed of saying this, he said one thing.
"I... I think I love you too, in some sense... I guess."
In the end, the two of them really did stay in the hall until the sun started to rise again. They had spent the rest of their time talking, skating around and doing some more tricks for the fun of it, even just sitting and cuddling at some points. To Chishiya, what had happened in these past few nights was all so very new, something he'd never thought he would ever experience in his life. But now he had, and he felt happy that he did. In fact, this might have been the happiest he'd ever been in his life. If he had a choice, he'd choose to repeat this night, for as long as the two of them could.
But eventually, they knew they needed to leave, or else they'd make everyone else suspicious. They packed everything they had brought with them into their bags again, and then moved to store their skates where they were supposed to be stored for once. It was hard for both of them, but they knew they had to.
The hardest part about it all, though, was leaving the building and powering it down one last time. As they watched the lights turn off, they were silent for a few minutes, before looking at each other again.
"We'll have to go to our venues soon..." Arisu started eventually, giving a slightly sad smile.
"Yeah." Chishiya nodded before sighing. "One or both of us might be dead by the time the Second Stage ends."
Arisu nodded back, straightening his posture. "Thank you for this, by the way." He gave an overly polite bow, though it was clear that he was likely doing it jokingly. "I really appreciate these four nights we-"
"Five."
"What?"
"Five nights," Chishiya explained himself, giving a slight smirk. "Don't forget the night I played the Game you couldn't watch." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Speaking of... what were you doing when it happened? Why couldn't you watch?"
"Oh, that?" Arisu perked up, awkwardly looking to the side. "I, uh... I played the Game you made."
"What-?" Chishiya's eyes widened for a moment, but he soon narrowed them again, crossing his arms. "So we both played each other's Games, huh?"
"I guess so-" Arisu let out a chuckle before his hand moved to take Chishiya's. "In a sense, we really did spend that night together as well."
"Depends on how you define 'together'." Chishiya looked at Arisu's face again, hesitantly pointing at his cheek with his free hand. "Can I...?"
"Huh?" Arisu seemed to get what he was asking, blushing as he leaned down a bit. "Oh, sure."
At that, Chishiya leaned in and gave him a quick, awkward kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
"Why so hesitant?" Arisu chuckled again, booping his nose. "You're too cute, you know that?"
"Not as cute as you are."
"You wish."
Arisu calmed down again after that, taking a deep breath before getting back to the previous topic. "We should take separate ways back to the Den, to not raise too much suspicion." He let go of Chishiya's hand. "So... we should part for now."
Chishiya nodded, looking back up at Arisu once more as he thought of what to say. He took a few seconds to bring himself to say it, but he eventually did so. "If we're both still alive by the end of this... let's do this again, okay?"
The smile on Arisu's face grew as he blushed again, though he didn't seem as flustered right now. "Of course, Yuki."
"...Whatever you say, Hana."
Chishiya nodded and the two split up, going in separate directions as they had decided on. As sad as this moment might have seemed to an outside lens, he couldn't help but still feel strangely happy about this. Sure, they would be separated and confined to their self-made Game prisons, and one or both of them might die before they would ever be released... but at least he could say he'd done something worthwhile in his life, even if it was just some pretend figure skating performance. It was something he could look back on, at least.
He eventually heard Arisu stop behind him, prompting him to stop as well. He turned around to see him waving, smiling at him once more as he asked a question.
"See you on the other side, yeah?"
Chishiya paused, sighing after a few seconds of silence. He waved back, answering before he would turn around and continue walking - into the sunrise, into the unknown future.
"...Right. See you on the other side."
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In the end, they both found that something on this ice skating rink.
In these five nights, crystallized into their memory.