The never-ending sound of gunshots resonated around the city. The King of Spades seems adamant about finishing all the players' lives. After running around for what seemed like hours, Chishiya and Kuina found temporary solace behind a car, covered from the barrage of bullets.

"Have you seen Arisu and Usagi?", Kuina panted. The cat-like man next to her only gave a shrug in response, having no clue where the two had ended up in.  Exhaling, Kuina started to crawl with the cautiousness of a deer in the wild, looking out for anything that could possibly harm them. She peeked from the car's tire, wandering her gaze to and fro. After scouring the wrecked place and only seeing dead bodies lying about for a few minutes, at last. She took notice of the duo trying to run from the rain of bullets.

With a hurried yell, she called Arisu and Usagi over. "You'll die if you lose focus!", she warned. Upon hearing what Kuina had just said, the two made a quick beeline at once.

Ducking behind another car next to the one Kuina and Chishiya were hiding on, Arisu and Usagi slumped on the ground, catching their breaths. Looking over the other pair, Chishiya waved an unamused hand while Kuina watched the short interaction in silence. "We should move soon", Kuina mentioned as the silence was broken. Usagi agreed. But she was sure as hell that they won't make it if they made a run for it. "We'll die if we do", the other girl said in response.

Out of the blue, a black car pulled up near them.

"Get in!"

"Tatta!", Arisu exclaimed in relief.

"Don't just stand there."

"Ann!", Kuina called out. Although, there was a tinge of longing, relief and worry in her voice.

They scrambled into the car as Kuina held the door for the not-so-running Chishiya with his hands still in his hoodie pockets. "Run, will you?", the braided beauty huffed in irritation. You can't blame her, a hooded maniac is willing to shoot anyone his eyes would lay on, and there's her friend taking his time as if they weren't about to die anytime soon.

Just as Chishiya was nearing the car, they heard a small cling! below. Chishiya dragged his gaze down and saw the small grenade. His usually expressionless eyes widened, "Shit. This is bad. Go!", Chishiya yelled as he was forced to retreat and hide.

"Chishiya!", Kuina called as she slumped into her seat, the corner of her lips tugging down as her eyebrows slightly furrowed in concern. Sensing her worry and distress, Arisu assured her that her friend would be just fine by himself as they drove away from the King of Spades, discussing about the ways they could defeat this game.

Along the way, another car Tatta had recognized from The Beach drove next to them. When he was about to wave hello, they were met with the terrifying barrel of a gun followed by the rain of bullets by the hooded-figure. "Fuck, he caught up. Drive Tatta!", Arisu yelled as he leaned over to the driver's seat. Tatta, in panic, stepped on the gas pedal to take them away.

Due to the hurry to get away as soon as possible, the car was swerving all over the place—thanks to Tatta— Ann had long decided to take over. "Move, I'll drive". Tatta looked at her as if she had grown three heads, but Ann insisted and pushed through. Hopping onto the driver's seat, leaving Tatta unable to protest as he moved over and let Ann handle the steering wheel.

Seeing the commotion, Kuina worriedly glanced over the girl who had just now stepped onto the gas pedal as they sped through the road. Nevertheless, she trusted Ann with her whole life. Even after such short time spent with her—that only being the Ten of Hearts game at The Beach—she had no reason not to trust her.

So, they opted to buckle themselves up for this. Ann was driving in a frightening speed, but it was a sight to behold. Her faceshows no hint of fear and those eyes, god those eyes. They were piercing through the glass panel as she speeds her way through the cars scattered around the area. Kuina was beyond amazed, to say the least.

After several minutes of trying to outrun the King of Spades, Ann had overlooked a lone blue car in the middle of the road. With the car dashing through the wind, it met its unavoidable demise as it hit the vehicle. The car tumbled in the air, and everything was black for a moment.

...

"Ugh..", Kuina's head was pounding, her vision blurred. Her ears ringed as her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. Until, worried eyes met hers. "Kuina? Kuina, can you hear me?", she can now vividly hear Ann's voice that resonated within her ears, sending a slight chill on her spine. She let out a tiny mm as a sign of affirmation.

Ann—still concerned for the other girl—gently hoisted her up. Holding her by the waist to help Kuina stand up. She got her out of the wrecked car as she set her down for a minute.

"We need to move. Can you see clearer now?"

"Mhm. I can stand just fine now."

Although a little groggy, Ann had no choice but to believe her. Nevertheless, she still made sure to be ready in case anything happens as they ran away, with the King of Spades raining bullets to all the players left in the area.

After some time running, the sound of gunshots seemed to lessen, almost non-existent now. Ann wandered her eyes about, searching for an area or a place they can use as a shelter. At last, she stumbled upon an abandoned convenience store. "Kuina", she called for the girl's attention which was quickly given to her. Pointing to the store, they made their way through the cars spread along the street and finally reaching the store.

Kuina heaved a sigh, opting to drop herself near the counter. The pounding in her head seemed to dwindle. Just then, she felt a sharp pain in her nail as she shifted her attention to it. Lo and behold, her nail was bleeding. Of course it broke.

Noticing the sudden silence behind her, Ann turned her head around just in time to see Kuina's nail bleeding. Eyebrows furrowing in concern, she dashed without delay to the girl resting on the floor. Cradling the bleeding hand as she checked for any other injury.

With the sudden display of concern and care, Kuina couldn't help the flutter in chest. "Don't be so worried, it's just my nail", she said, trying to break the silence that was making her grow nervous and clammy. Ann onlye responded with a huff from her throat as she let the hand go.

Losing the warmth that enveloped her hands, Kuina felt disappointed. "I'll go get something to clean your wound. You stay here and rest.", Ann mentioned softly. Standing up to her feet, she disappeared behind the shelves that surprisingly still had items stocked.

Nodding wordlessly, Kuina settled and made herself comfortable on the cold ground. She heaved a sigh, eyes dropping to the ground. Her thoughts were plagued by the tall, stoic, gorgeous, smart—okay, there's so much more but she'll stop there—woman.

"You okay?", that deep voice she was thinking of broke her line of thoughts. Her head whipped to the figure that got ready to disinfect her small wound. She gave a nod and a small mhm.

The rest of the time went by in silence. With Ann gently and carefully cleaning her wounds, making sure that she wasn't pressing too hard or applying too much disinfectant in worry that she will hurt Kuina.

The latter, on the other hand was a mushy mess on the inside. She can feel her chest contracting and her stomach dropping with the act Ann is showing. She fidgeted in her position, resulting in Ann accidentally pressing a little too hard.

"Ow..", she whimpered. The taller woman gave her a light glare, "Why are you moving so much?".

Kuina obviously can't tell her that Oh, your hand feels so warm on mine. Can we stay like this for a while?—Of course not. But her silence and her flustered visage says it all. Ann, being the observant one, easily catches on. Her hard expression softens, a small smile gracing her lips. How adorable.

Letting out a small chuckle, Ann decided to clean up. Packing away the first aid kit, "You're adorable, you know that?", it was a rhetorical question. But it didn't fail to make Kuina melt even more. A healthy shade of scarlet covered her face. Ann didn't mind, it was a sight to behold. After tidying up, she turned to the girl behind her, "Let's stay here and catch our breaths before we go".

Kuina nodded in affirmation. She lets her eyelids drop for a moment. The silence easing her tired, aching muscles. She was stirred when she felt a warm presence beside her. A shiver was sent through her skin, feeling nervous again. "Relax.", then a hand wrapping around hers once again. She then felt Ann delicately coaxing her to rest her head on her shoulder.

Feeling the warmth and comfort made her unconsciously lean even more to seek the sense of calm the taller woman manages to give her.

With a soft smile, Ann lets Kuina rest on her shoulder. Holding her close, promising her warmth and protection from this cruel world.