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Chapter Text

The loud music sent rippling waves of nausea to Arisu’s skull, as he weaved between the party goers, a scowl plastered on his face. Around him the air stank of pool chlorine and alcohol, a sickly heat clinging to his skin as his eyes searched the crowd, looking for Usagi.

Arisu hadn’t been having a very good day.

Firstly, when it had been time for the games, he had been placed into a group without Usagi, or anyone he knew at the beach. It was only the second game that Arisu had played after becoming a member of the beach's community, the first one being the lightbulb game he had endured as part of a test.

A rather stupid test, if you asked him.

The game he had competed in tonight had been a simple three of clubs game, involving a treacherous assault course, with multiple swinging parts. It had been difficult, but not impossible, as he had played in much higher level games before. He knew what he was doing, at least vaguely.

He had been doing quite well for the majority of the game, quickly figuring out a pattern in the swinging blades that posed the main threat to their group, which consisted of three other beach members, and a brown haired teenager who was obviously new to the games.

The boy had been rightfully terrified and confused, much like Arisu had been when he had played his first game. The gamer was still terrified when he competed in the games, but at least now he understood to follow the rules. And he understood the consequences.

Although, after a while the new player seemed to come to terms with the idea of the life or death situation, and had managed to follow the others along the course, without too much hesitation.

They had been rather successful for a while.

Well, there were a few close calls with unexpected obstacles, but Arisu counted not being killed or mortally wounded as a victory for himself. The others had been fine too, for which he was glad.

Just as he began to celebrate their seemingly ensured win, during the last stretch, he had allowed his mind to slip, and had ended up with a deep gash on his side due to a rather nasty swinging blade, that had hit him silently when he wasn't looking. It was honestly a miracle that he had only gained a wound from the weapon, if he had been a few centimetres further down the game arena then he wouldn't have left the game alive.

How fun.

However, it hadn't been the sharp, stinging pain in his side that annoyed him. It had been the fact that it was a completely avoidable accident, if only he had kept his head in the game, concentrated a little more. He seriously needed to do better if he wanted to have any chance at all at beating the higher card games.

And now, he had returned to the beach, in seek of his friend, who was nowhere to be found. He could feel sticky blood staining his t shirt as he clutched a hand too his waist, and he winced as he walked, digging further into the rave.

The beach's inhabitants were going crazy around him in an adrenaline and alcohol fuelled hurricane, and Arisu felt himself getting elbowed and shoved by sweating bodies as he made his way away from the pool, and up inside the building. Which hurt quite a bit, especially when someone touched near his side. Each jolt send sickening jabs of pain through his body, and his head felt like it was being trampled.

Ouch.

He mentally slapped himself to keep his mind away from the discomfort, which worked surprisingly well for the time being.

He needed to find Usagi, and quickly.

The climber was pretty much all he had now, and he needed to make sure she had survived the game. All he wanted was too spy her in the crowd, and spend the evening talking over their different evening events. 

If you could class fighting for you life in deadly games as 'evening events'.

The girl was strong, and she was a good fighter.

She survived... right?

Arisu swallowed down the itching wave of anxiety that threatened to consume him, along with a fresh rush of pain from his side. He knew needed to get it treated as soon as possible, before the next game, as injured players were at a severe disadvantage.

They were weak, and almost always an inconvenience to their teammates. If your team didn't trust you, or rely on you, especially in a clubs game, then you were doomed. And a spades game required peak physical performance, something most injured players could not contribute.

In short terms, an injury that affects a player's ability in the games was a guaranteed death sentence.

Luckily for Arisu however, he had managed to save up eight days on his visa, which would hopefully be enough time to recover, to an extent. He would be able to compete after that. Or at least , he would have to try.

Did the beach even have medical supplies for it's members? Or a doctor?

Maybe he should ask Kuina, if he saw her, as she had been here longer than him. She would know how things like that worked. The girl seemed to have taken an interest in the pair, and she had sought him out a few times, especially after he had solved the lightbulb game, in the nick of time.

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, making allies was definitely something he should encourage himself do do. People you trust are worth their weight in gold, and were certainly hard to find. Although, there was something about her that was slightly unsettling to Arisu. The way she looked at him, it was as if she was calculating his abilities, his usefulness. He was probably just overthinking things though, he didn't socialize much in the real world after all.

Maybe that's just how people were.

The gamer forced himself to focus on the task at hand, scanning the rowdy crowd for a familiar head of hair, belonging to his athletic companion. He could feel his vision going slightly blurry with exhaustion and pain, and it took an amazing amount of willpower for the gamer to not simply keel over where he stood. He hadn't slept a lot the night before, and the tiredness was really getting to him

Find Usagi, he needed to find her.

Inside the main building there was still no sign of the girl, and Arisu could feel the panic squeezing at his heart. His chest began to hurt and it was getting  a little hard to breath. Was that his emotions, or from the blood loss? It was hard to tell.

He must have looked like a ghost to the people dwindling, and drunkenly stumbling around the corridor, as he was grasping his side, which was painted with red whilst leaning against the wall slightly for support. It felt like he was going to throw up, and he knew his face must be as pale as a sheet.

A few people gave him a confused or sympathetic look, but walked past without a word. He wasn't their problem after all, and they just wanted to enjoy the time they had. Arisu couldn't blame them, even if parties were not his thing, he understood the need to escape reality. Which the drugs and alcohol offered at the party provided.

The ache in his bones elevated, and he cursed himself for being so weak. He shouldn't be feeling like this, he was stronger than that.

He needed to be tough, dammit! He owed it to Usagi, and all the people who had sacrificed themselves to let Arisu reach this far. Karube, Chota.

Sure, his side definitely hurt, and the sight of the blood made him dizzy, but he knew in his heart that his situation was mainly due to the possibility of losing the best friend he had. The heavy fear that was clutching his chest, and the nausea.

He needed to find her.

He continued to make is way along the corridor, the gamer couldn't see any more people around him.

Where was he going anyway?

A voice rang out in front of him, causing Arisu to stop in his path.

"Arisu?"

Another bout of dizziness hit him as he looked up, his dark eyes watering slightly at the effort.

Was that Chishiya?

Well, it wasn't who he had been looking for, but at least he had found a familiar face.

Maybe he had seen Usagi? His worry lessened a bit, and he straightened up slightly to meet the blonde man's gaze. He was stood around a meter in front of Arisu, with his hands rooted deeply into his pockets, as usual.

However, there was an uncharacteristic hint of worry in his eyes when they met the gamer's. It was not obvious, hidden by his usual deadpan expression, but Arisu could see it. Was he worried about him? That was sweet.

Focus, Arisu

"Have you seen Usagi?"

He managed to say after a minute, his words rasping slightly as he unsuccessfully tried to blink away the wooziness that was writhing in his skull. The warm blood under his fingers felt gross, and he could smell the metallic tang in the air.

That probably wasn't good.

"I-I can't find her."

Arisu would have cringed, as his voice broke slightly, but he was in too much of a state to notice. Now the words were out, he could feel burning tears begin to well in his eyes, despite the effort he deployed to stop them.

"Yes I have, don't worry. She got back about twenty minutes ago from her game. She wanted to wait for you, but she was beyond exhausted so she went to bed, I think she was in quite a high level game. She asked me to find you when you got back. Which I have,"

The shorter man answered his question in surprising detail, which was weirdly helpful of him.

Whatever.

He knew Usagi was alive, and that was what mattered most. He sagged to the side with relief, the tension melting away from his bones. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about his side for a moment, and hissed in pain when it hit the wall, leaving a large bloody smudge on the otherwise pristine white wallpaper.

Oops.

Could the beach fine him for that? It was alright, they wouldn't find out.

Hopefully.

Chishiya seemed to debate his actions for a moment's, before carefully grabbing the taller boys elbow, steadying him.

Huh?

He had obviously taken note of the red on Arisu's shirt, and put the dots together. Chishiya was good at that kind of thing. But was he trying to help? Arisu knew enough of the older man to understand that he only lived for himself, and helping him was not something he would typically do.

Did he want something from him?

Arisu decided to simply follow the man, and question it all later. If he was willing to help, then Arisu was happy to comply, and it wasn't as if he had a massive amount of choice. It was quite lucky he had found him really.

The gamer was dimly aware of Chishiya gently leading him along, his hand on Arisu's elbow. They were going up, towards where the executive members slept. Were they going to Chishiya's room? That was cool, he had never been there before. It surprised him that Chishiya was willing to take him into his safe space, he could have gone pretty much anywhere else. It was nice to know he trusted Arisu enough to let his walls down a little.

The groan of a door being pushed open snapped Arisu away from his internal confusion, and he found himself being ushered into a clean looking room. It was larger than Arisu's, but with similar decor and design. There were no personal objects lying around, which the gamer could understand.

Due to the stupid rule against locks, there was no guarantee in the security of the rooms. All apart of Hatter's idiotic 'love and trust everyone and everything ' scheme. Chishiya didn't seem like the type to horde any meaningful objects any ways. He wondered how long he had been at the beach, and how much time he had repent in here, alone. It was quite sad really.

Although, Arisu was a quite anti social person himself, and he knew it was much more enjoyable on his own. But he had friends in the real world, only a few but they ensured he was not completely cut off from society.

Did Chishiya have anyone like that back at home, or was he completely alone?

" Right then, can you sit in that chair?"

Chishiya's voice made Arisu jump slightly, he was much closer than he had thought he was. He was good at walking quietly, a useful skill, he supposed.

He was feeling better now, and no longer wanted to just lie down and sleep. That was good, probably?

The squishy armchair rested beside the bed, and Arisu sunk into it with a sigh, and turned his head to watch the shorter man who was grabbing things around the room. A bowl of water, cloth, bandages, and what Arisu assumed was an anti septic spray. It was impressive he had such supplies, and were willing to give them up for Arisu's sake.

He stood beside Arisu when he finished, and looked slightly annoyed.

" Can you take off your shirt? I can't help you like that."

Arisu went slightly pink, and mumbled an apology, before hesitantly struggling out of his torn and bloodied shirt. Chishiya watched his efforts blankly, and stood still until he had finished. With his shirt no longer in the way, Arisu could see the damage more clearly, as Chishiya began to wipe away the worst of the blood.

It was similar to the wound that Karube had sustained during the tag game, in both length and depth. It would leave an interesting scar, that was for sure.

A small pained sound wrestled it's way out of his mouth as Chishiya cleaned the burning area, and he gritted his jaw. He needed to look strong, he didn’t want to complain and risk losing Chishiya's invaluable medical assistance.

"Sorry..." Chishiya said quietly, and he took the cloth away. His words nearly brushed over the injured man’s ears, but he caught them.

"I'm going to sanitise it now ok?"

The spray stung, but Arisu was busily ingesting what the older man had said.

Sorry?

He was apologizing? But he was the one helping him, Arisu should be apologizing! Although it was simply for causing Arisu's pain, it still made him feel guilty. Chishiya didn't seem like he ever said sorry, especially not for something so trivial. It was almost nice, to see this new, vaguely caring side of him. But it was weird, he had to admit.

Chishiya seemed satisfied with the cleaning he had done, and instructed the taller man to stand, so he could bandage his side. He gave him a hand standing up, his cool fingers seemed to burn Arisu's skin.

What the hell?

The bandages found themselves bound tightly around him, as Chishiya skilfully arranged them. Arisu noticed that whenever their skin would contact in anyway, electricity would dance in his heart, in the most curious way.

Was he sick?

That might explain his strange reaction to Chishiya's touch, along with the rate Arisu's heart was currently racing at. The blush that had seemed onto his face was definitely due to illness, not his proximity to the shorter man.

Definitely.

Chishiya stepped back, and admired his work with a hum of satisfaction. Arisu felt significantly better, now the bleeding had stopped. He really owed Chishiya a lot. The tiredness had not been resolved though, and he found himself stifling a yawn as he took a few steps, marvelling at how his waist felt. He raised his eye’s to meets Chishiya's with a slight smile, before he began to speak.

“Thank you so much for this, I don’t know what I would have done if you didn't find me.”

He winced slightly as his voice scratched at his throat painfully. Chishiya simply nodded, before narrowing his eyes slightly at the younger man.

“Are you tired?”

“Er- yea. I was going to go back to my room to sleep If thats alright with you?”

He bit his lip slightly at Arisu’s plan, he looked conflicted. Did he want something in exchange for his help? But he didn’t have any money, or anything!

Oh god, what was he going to do.

“I can pay you back with something-”

“No it’s fine. I just don’t like the idea of you walking all the way back to your room. Your side has only just stopped bleeding, and if you walk it might start again. And that would waste all the effort I have put into it.”

He paused, before continuing in a slightly softer tone.

“You can sleep here, for tonight. I don’t mind. And it would be a good idea to have me near you for now, in case anything happens.”

Chishiya looked slightly embarrassed, and refused to meet the gamer’s eyes. That was unusual for him, and he looked oddly vulnerable, more human. It was nice.

But staying in his room! That was just...Arisu didn’t know what it was. In his mind, he knew it was a smart and perfectly normal suggestion. It was beneficial to the both of them, in a way, and sharing a room was totally normal for two guys. It would be fine.

However, Arisu couldn’t deny the way his heart beat even faster at the thought of being that close to the other man. Would they share a bed? The only other place to sleep was the chair, which would absolutely kill either of their backs if they slept there.

He tried to agree, but the words lodged themselves uncomfortably in his throat, refusing to come out. This meant all he did was make a slightly strangled squeak, and he flushed crimson with embarrassment.

He must look so stupid right now.

Arisu looked sheepishly over to his companion, who looked back with a hint of amusement, his initial awkwardness forgotten.

“I’ll take that as a yes then?”

“...right”

Chishiya smiled at him, and Arisu felt as is the butterflies swarming in his stomach would burst out of him completely. How was he supposed to do this!?

Arisu was completely, and utterly, fucked.

Chapter Text

Arisu stood awkwardly in the centre of the room, as Chishiya ducked into the closet, to source some clean clothes for the pair. That was another perk of being an executive, Chishiya had several pairs of clean clothes at his disposal. Which was rather handy, as Arisu was currently shirtless ( unless you counted the bandage) and his swimming shorts were quite filthy. Nothing a good clean wouldn't solve, but he couldn't sleep in them tonight.

After a while, the older man returned and shoved a plain t-shirt and jogging bottoms into his hands, directing him to the bathroom.

Chishiya had his own bathroom!?

He was like the equivalent of a really rich person, and it baffled Arisu. He wished he was as high up in the chain of command as him now, having his own bathroom would be so cool. His own sink, and a shower! That was crazy.

Hold on...why the hell was he fantasizing about bathrooms? That wasn't exactly the best thing to dream about in a world where you fought for your life pretty much everyday. Why not wish for something cooler, like superpowers?

He bent over with a scoff, and wrestled himself into the clothes. They were slightly small on him, but they still felt cosy. And they smelt of Chishiya. Arisu felt a small blush blossom on his cheeks at the thought, before mentally slapping himself.

He shouldn't be worried about things like that! Chishiya had an amazingly comforting scent, and Arisu felt it calming him slightly(not in a weird way, it was perfectly normal) as he walked back into the main room, after briefly washing his face. Gotta keep clean.

The lights had been turned off in his absence, and Chishiya was already on the far side of the queen sized bed, seemingly asleep.

Right then. What to do?

The obviously polite thing to do was take the chair or floor, despite the unavoidable pain they would bring, from sleeping in such a position. He winced at the thought of getting up in the morning after that, and involuntarily shuddered. That would definitely hurt.

However, he couldn't just sleep in Chishiya's bed! The shorter man hadn't specified where he should sleep, and assuming that his bed was ok could very well get him kicked out. But it looked so comfy...

"Arisu just get in the damn bed already. You look like a lost puppy."

Arisu turned to meet Chishiya's eyes guiltily, he had been caught in the act. The man had not been asleep, and he was currently glaring at him from his horizontal position.

Well that was embarrassing.

"Sorry..."

As carefully as he could , he slipped under the covers, he stayed as still as possible, as he knew Chishiya was barely an arm's reach away. He could reach over and touch him if he wanted too. Which he certainly didn't.

His elevated breaths sounded as loud as gunshots in the deafening silence, and his heart pounded like a drum. Oh god, this was so awkward.

Annoyingly, his exhaustion seemed to have vanished, leaving him very much awake, and aware of his surroundings. The man beside him also sounded like he was having a hard time falling asleep, so Arisu hesitantly broke the silence. It was risky, but better than sitting in the thick atmosphere for a minute longer. It was honestly pure agony.

"Hey Chishiya?"

He whispered, and Chishiya rolled over to meet his eyes, causing his heart to skip a beat. What the hell?

"Hmm?"

" What will you do, if you get back to the real world?"

Arisu waited with baited breath, as the man considered his answer. He chuckled drily, before speaking.

"I would quit my job"

"Why? Was it a bad job?"

The older man grew quite, and Arisu immediately regretted bringing it up. It might be a sensitive topic for him.

Or did Chishiya simply not trust him enough?

To be honest, Arisu thought that was perfectly reasonable, despite the slight stab of hurt he felt. By Chishiya's reasoning, even the smallest nugget of personal information, no matter how simple, could tell you an awful lot about a person. And their weaknesses could be sniffed out, and used to destroy them. Chishiya was right to be hesitant, he didn't know Arisu well enough to open up to him like that.

He was about to apologize, when Chishiya began to talk.

"I was a doctor"

A doctor! How old was this guy!?

"The hospital I worked for, well, let's just say it wasn't run by very ethical people. They cared more for money than their patients well being. I wouldn't want to go back to that."

He seemed surprisingly truthful with his answer, and Arisu felt a small bubble of pride at his ability to talk to the man. To be honest, it kind of explained his flat personality now, and how he always seemed to not care about anyone but himself. But maybe he did, deep down. That was nice.

"Huh. Maybe you could find a better hospital."

" Yea, that's my plan. What about you, Arisu? What will you do if we return?"

Arisu felt a rush if heat flood his cheeks as Chishiya said his name, his voice was slightly husky from sleep, and it re awakened the fuzzy feeling in his chest. Must be his unknown illness.

He thought about Chishiya's question for a while, what would he actually do when he returned?

If he returned.

Arisu realized that he had only been focused on actually getting back and he hadn't stopped to wonder what he would do, should he find his way home. Would he go back to what he was before? He didn't want that, but how could he do anything else?

He had never had any particular dreams growing up. Whilst other kids dreamed of being doctors, or engineers, Arisu had never felt the need to plan his future. Even though his father had tried multiple times to inspire him, he had never felt particularly passionate on any of his suggested jobs. They all seemed boring and endless, filled with suits and offices, with no personality at all. He didn’t want to do that.

What would he want to do, if he could do anything? Did it have to be a job?

"Hmm. I want to go and see mountains. Massive snowy mountains."

Well, that was a start.

"Mountains?" Chishiya sounded slightly surprised, and intrigued by Arisu's answer. They were still looking at each other, and Arisu was slightly touched by the genuine curiosity in the older man's eyes, urging him to carry on.

"Yea, mountains. Once I've done that, I’ll start my own coffee shop. There will be queues just to get inside, and I'll have a massive social media page where I post pictures of all the cakes and stuff. It would be so cool!"

The gamer felt a smile spread across his face, as he realized what his dream was. Despite his lack of interest in the traditional careers that had been presented to him in his youth, he had always had quite a strong interest in baking. Arisu remembered begging to look at all the different cakes whenever he visited a cafe with his family. He had just never thought of doing it himself, but he was going to achieve it, one day. That was for sure, it gave him something other than beating the games to strive for, a happier goal, and future. Chishiya raised an eyebrow slightly and gave him a gentle smile, before turning on his back with a yawn.

Did he think it was silly?

“I’ll come to your cafe, when you make it.”

“Really?

“Yea, I like coffee.”

The gamer grinned at him, and pictured the serious man drinking coffee, with a cute cake in hand. It was a strange image, but a welcome one. Having Chishiya in his dream was nice, and he fit there perfectly.

"We should get to sleep now. It's late."

Arisu nodded his agreement. The sleep was already pulling at his eyelids, and he finally allowed himself to slip into a peaceful slumber, definitely not focusing on the sweet scent of the clothes and sheets around him. He felt warm and safe beside Chishiya, even though he knew of his dangerous nature. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

The plants clawed at his skin, grabbing his skin and clothes as he tore through them, desperation in his heart. It was dark, and the shadows seemed to laugh at him, as he ran, searching the undergrowth wildly. “Karube!Chota!” “Where are you!?” His voice tore at his throat, and tears ran down his face. He had to find them, before it was too late. It was too late. The blood was everywhere. He could feel it running down his skin, and taste it in his mouth. It filled him with excruciating anguish, and torn his heart to shreds.

Arisu woke up with a sob, and sat bolt upright.

Where was he?

The gamer could feel wet tears on his cheeks and the sorrow was still writhing within him, like a living beast. He had been back there again, back in the hide and seek game. Where he had killed his best friends. But it was ok now, he was awake. It had just been a dream. A horrible, torturous dream, created by his own mind to punish him for his actions. He had seen it all too well before, as he had woken up in a similar fashion multiple times before this. But it still hurt as much as the first, like a knife in his chest.

He was after all, a murderer.

Arisu tried to get his breathing under control as he grasped his chest, almost manically. He needed to be quiet, Chishiya would be mad if he woke him up. But still, he could not stop the tears from flowing , no matter how hard he tried. The grief in his chest was raw and felt like it was burning.

And it hurt.

“Arisu?”

Oh crap.

Chishiya sat up, slightly disoriented, and looked at him. The moonlight that was streaming through the open curtains illuminated his concerned expression, and Arisu felt shame tumbling through him. He must look like a complete idiot. He needed to explain though, and apologize. Perhaps he should leave, and go back to his own room. His side didn’t matter any more, he should go

Arisu was beyond gratefully for the other man’s assistance, and he wasn’t exactly thanking him in the correct way, by waking him up in the middle of the night. He flinched slightly when Chishiya began to speak again, expecting him to express annoyance, or anger. Instead he was met with kindness, along with a small slither of understanding.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

That was surprising.

Arisu shook he head quickly at his suggestion, he didn’t need to think about it any more than he had to. Even if he though it might help with some of the weight resting on his shoulders, he knew it would do more harm than good. Memories like that were best left buried until his sleep deprived brain decided how much it hated him, and they resurfaced to taunt him yet again.

“I’m sorry...”

God, he sounded pathetic. A grown man, afraid of his nightmares. It was laughable.

“I’ll just go back to my room-”

He tried to move out from under the covers, ignoring the twist of pain under his bound waist, when he felt Chishiya’s cool hand on his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

Huh?

“Don’t be silly Arisu. I don’t mind if you talk about it or not, but you can’t be walking around in the middle of the night. Just come here and go back to sleep. Idiot.”

He mumbled the last bit, and Arisu barely caught it. He wanted him to stay? But…

He tried to speak again, but found his words clattering uselessly and fading away, before he could formulate a sentence. Was he really not mad? Well, best to make the most of Chishiya's generosity, he supposed. He didn't really fancy a midnight walk through the beach anyway.

But he didn’t want to go back there, in his dreams. Back to his friend’s lifeless faces, back to the blood and the screams. He couldn’t do it.

Hesitantly, he settled down again, facing the wall, his back turned to Chishiya. He didn’t need to sleep, he could just lay here until the morning came. That would allow the man beside him to sleep peacefully, and keep him away from his inevitable fate.

But he was so tired…

A rustle of bedsheets snatched his attention, as he felt Chishiya carefully move next to him, and sliding an arm over his waist. He could feel warm breath brush the nape of his neck, sending sparks of electricity dancing through his body.

OH MY GOD.

What should he do! Should he do something? This wasn’t normal right?

But it just felt so right. They seemed to fit together perfectly, and despite the pounding in his chest Arisu felt more at peace than he ever had before. It was fine, just two dudes platonically spooning.

Despite his best efforts, it was hard to make the platonic feeling of the situation ignite, and it worried him the blush on his face was still burning fiercely. Although, after he calmed down slightly, he felt rather comfortable. It was warmer than it had been before, and the hug grounded him as he felt himself begin to fall into sleep again.

He knew, that this time there could only be pleasant dreams involved.

Chapter Text

Chishiya woke slowly to the bright morning sun, streaming through the curtains rather pleasantly. He could feel it lighting up the room, and hitting the back of his head. It was nice, the man didn't usually enjoy simple things that often, but this was one of those special moments, as cheesy as that was. He had begun to appreciate waking up in morning a little more than he had before, living another day was not something you could take for granted anymore. That's what made the first rays of the sun so enjoyable, and relaxing as his mind began to focus on his surroundings.

Although, what he wasn't really enjoying was the painful numbness he was now aware of, in one of his arms, after he attempted to stretch. That was a bit weird, had he fallen asleep on it? He tried his best to move it , but found a curiously heavy weight holding it down. A curiously warm weight.

What the hell?

Oh.

Arisu.

To be honest, Chishiya had completely forgotten the other man's presence, and he turned to see him fast asleep, face happily buried into the older man's arm. Well, that explained the numbness.

Chishiya allowed his gaze to fix on Arisu's face, that was lit by the warm light. He looked peaceful when he was asleep, without the tension and anxiety that usually radiated off of him in droves.

He was pretty too, long eyelashes and perfect skin.

Chishiya didn't usually pay attention to, or appreciate other people's looks, but he was no fool to realise that Arisu was at least a little attractive. Not that it mattered to him, in the slightest. It was probably why the climber girl stuck so close to him, or at least one of the reasons she had seemingly adopted him.

Chishiya paused for a moment, and began to ponder why he had put so much effort into helping the man.  Strangely, he had felt an unusual sense of worry when he had first found him, bleeding out in a hallway. The desperation heavy in his voice, and the pained expression he had held, immediately made Chishiya want to help him, and heal him. He hadn't bothered to argue with himself at the time, simply going along with what his brain felt would be a good choice.

At first, he had told himself it was too gain his trust, so he could use him freely in his and Kuina's plan, when they finally managed set it into action. Having Arisu owe him something, was very much worth it, as he would be a lot more likely to take his dangerous role without complaint. And then Chishiya would have the cards, and he could finally leave this 'paradise'.

But, in the back of his mind he knew.

He knew that Arisu would have followed him blindly anyway, whether he owed him anything or not. The boy was simply too trusting, too kind for his own good. It saddened Chishiya slightly, how he knew Arisu would put his life on the line without hesitation to help his friends. He would do anything Chishiya instructed of him, if he believed it gave Usagi a chance to go home, and survive. He didn't care for himself, only the people around him.

Chishiya was smart. He could read people's minds with ease, see into them and take what information he needed. And he knew the look Arisu had held in his eye when he first spotted him at the beach. It was a look of someone who no longer saw the meaning or pleasure in living, who was running on the bare minimum of will. Without Usagi, he would have undoubtedly given up a long time ago.

In the tag game, Chishiya had seen Arisu with a man, bleached hair and a tropical shirt. It had been obvious they were close friends, and Chishiya had sensed the desperate worry coming off him after they had won, and he had gone racing off to find him. But now, he must be dead. Probably the reason Arisu was so worn down and empty all the time, nearly an empty shell at this point. He was perfect for their plan, he had to admit though. A perfect pawn.

A sudden movement made him jump slightly, he had been completely absorbed in his thoughts. Arisu made a small sleepy hum as he shuffled closer to Chishiya, and he could feel his dark, fluffy hair tickling his chin. Despite his best efforts, the older man felt his face burn, and his heart sped up slightly. Damn emotions, they were pesky and useless things, always getting him into trouble. And so confusing, why on earth would he have such a reaction to being close to him?

Chishiya didn't remember ever feeling this nervous around another person before, and it was uncomfortable for sure. It was a good thing the gamer was still asleep though, as it would have been unfathomably embarrassing if he saw him looking so flustered right now.

Chishiya thought back to the events of last night (well, more like the early hours of the morning) when Arisu had woken breathless and scared from a bad dream.

Dreams such as these were unsurprisingly common at the beach, he sometimes picked up troubled screams late at night from other sleeping residents, and he could always spy eye bags thriving in the crowds around him. The drugs could only take your mind off the nightmare off living for so long.

No doubt Arisu suffered with dreams like that frequently, as he seemed all too used to it when he woke. Now Chishiya was quite a light sleeper, and he had woken the moment Arisu had, as the man had tried his best to be quite. It was quite sweet, that despite his fear he didn't want to wake him up. It showed just how selfless the boy was, which Chishiya found slightly amusing.

The older man had allowed him a moment to try and compose himself, as he pondered what action to take, pretending to still be asleep. He didn't know if Arisu would rather have some comfort, and to talk about it, or if it would upset him even more to know that Chishiya had witnessed him at his weakest. Arisu despises showing any sort of weakness, which he had noticed quite quickly, and he definitely had abit of a hero complex. But he couldn't be an emotionless hero all the time, he was only human after all.

Although, he wasn't entirely sure what had come over when he decided to hug the man after confronting him, surprisingly gently, a big contrast to his usual blunt way of talking. He had been clearly shocked, and slightly worried at his sudden presence, and he had looked as though he expected anger to be thrown at him. Or for him to be kicked out into the dark halls of the beach. It was dangerous at night, even more than it was during the day.

Why would Chishiya be angry for something he had no control over?

Anyways, his attempt at comforting the man had ended with them both asleep, in close proximity to each other, which is what had lead to Chishiya's current, crippling, dilemma. He knew he needed to get up, but he couldn't quite bring himself to disturb the younger man, who was still snoozing peacefully, oblivious to the eyes on him. If he moved he might wake him up, but he had no justification for staying where he was and enjoying the monent. It would also cause for a humiliating scene when Arisu eventually woke, realizing he had spent the night nearly spooning the other man.

Making his mind up, slightly grumpily, Chishiya slowly slid away from Arisu, being as gentle as he could. He was still sleeping deeply, and Chishiya took a deep breath before exiting the bed entirely. He immediately missed the warm comfort it brought, but ignored it, and made his way into the bathroom, to shower and change into his normal clothes.

After that was done, he walked hesitantly to the door and cracked it open, not before casting a quick look in the gamer's direction. He looked slightly troubled with Chishiya's absence, and small in the large bed around him. The older man felt his heart soften at that thought, before he hardened his gaze and slipped away quietly, to find his slightly scary companion, wherever she was.

Even though the day had only just begun, a party was already beginning to rage by the poolside. People with hangovers stood in the shade, nursing their heads stupidly with more drink, whilst the rest of them swayed and danced to the pulsating music, screaming and laughing. They were being way too loud, but no one besides him seemed to care.

Annoying.

He couldn't wait until he could walk away from this place, and go back to living in relative solitude. Maybe with Kuina at his side,she was useful and not as annoying as the others.

Speaking of the woman, he spied her as she waved to Chishiya from a plastic, towel covered deck chair, where she was sun bathing gleefully, a drink balanced in hand. How could she stand to be near the chattering mob at such an hour!? Some people confused him.

He gave her a quick wave in reply, before weaving through the crowd to join her side. The the strong smell rippling off the bodies around him made him wrinkle his nose is disgust, a strange and unpleasant mixture of chlorine, sweat and alcohol.

Ew.

"Hey there partner."

Kuina said brightly, standing as Chishiya neared her side. She set down her drink and turned to face him with a sunny smile. Her height made Chishiya feel slightly insecure, not that he would ever admit it, as she practically towered over him. Damn genetics.

"Shall we go somewhere a little quieter?"

She offered, when Chishiya didn't say anything. He nodded and the two made their way inside as quickly as they could, avoiding the party goers as much as humanly possible. It wasn't that difficult to find a secluded alcove once they were inside the main building, and after scanning the area for prying eyes and ears, Chishiya began to speak.

"Morning. I've been thinking more about the plan..."

Kuina gave him a small noise of acknowledge ment, urging him to continue.

"And I've also been re evaluating using Arisu and Usagi."

"Huh?! Why! You said they were perfect for us!"

Kuina seemed slightly angry and caught off guard as she glared at him venomously, waiting for an answer. To be honest, he hadn't truly meant to bring up the subject, but the words had practically fallen out of his mouth before he could pull them back. He knew that she was right, they really were perfect, but he couldn't bring himself to say that. Trying to convince the angry woman that they actually weren't a good option, was the best plan he had at the moment.

But why? Not using Arisu and Usagi would surely cause a rather big dent in their nearly perfect strategy, and as Chishiya knew, they would only have one shot to execute it. It would have to be flawless when they did, and it would be hard to find another pair who could make it so. A hurdle that he didn't actually need to cross. Confusion clouded his mind, as he struggled to comprehend his strange attachment to the kind hearted boy. He knew it was only bound to hurt him, stab him in the back eventually. But still, he continued. He couldn't take his words back now anyways.

"I just think...I think they are really great players, some of the best we have seen so far in the beach. They would be good people to keep close for the future, incase the face cards show up. I'm trying to plan ahead here, we need to gather strong players if we are going to survive outside of the beach. I hadn't really thought about the idea of new games before, but now I realise that we would benefit from a skilled team. We can find some other newbies to sacrifice, we have plenty of time."

Chishiya knew the last bit was a lie, the beach was practically falling down around them, with the tensions between the executives and militants swelling to higher extents each and everyday.  But Kuina probably hadn't noticed that, she didn't see alot of the higher ups anyway. That was one perk of being an executive himself, he knew the deeper political struggles of the utopia.

"But Chishiya, they are just newbies! How can you possibly determine they are such good players. You have only played one game with them!" Why not try to recruit players we actually know would be beneficial to use, if you insist on making teammates. Like Ann, or some other executive?"

"We can't risk the higher ups, they're too close to hatter. If he gets wind of this then we will join the other traitors in the dumpster."

Chishiya watched as she grimaced slightly, thinking back to when they had discovered the militant's stash of fly covered dead bodies in one of the dumpsters. An unsurprising, but certainly unpleasant experience.

"Well , your the genius here I suppose" she said ,slightly bitterly after a moment of consideration.

"What players do you have in mind?"

"No one yet, but I want to tell Arisu and Usagi as soon as possible. It might take abit of convincing, Arisu is more the nobel type. But I know he will come around, anything to keep Usagi safe."

It was good that Kuina had decided to stop arguing, it was getting annoying. And likely saved Arisu's life, along with Usagi's.

"Ok then, shall I go look for them?"

"You should find Usagi, she's probably in her room. Explain it to her there, she trusts you more than me. I think I freak her out abit."

"Ha. I can't blame her. What about Arisu?"

Chishiya paused slightly before he answered, and looked away. It was slightly humiliating to admit, that the man was currently asleep in his bed. He knew Kuina would never let him hear the end of it if he told her the details.

"I'll find him, I know where he is."

Kuina gave him a slightly curious look, before shrugging and blending back into the crowd, on her way to find the climber. He watched was her hair disappeared from view, and sighed with relief. So his mission had been a probable success.

Despite the time this new development would inevitably swallow from him, he knew in his heart he had made the right choice. To see Arisu, the realization in his eyes when it dawned on him he had been betrayed, would have destroyed him. And he didn't quite understand why.

But now was not the time for that, as he slid his hands into his pockets and made his way back upstairs, to his sleeping...friend? Companion? Chishiya didn't really know, not that it really mattered anyway.

Arisu was just as he left him, still dreaming when Chishiya entered. He approached carefully, and perched on the side of the bed to observe to man whose life he had just saved for a minute. He probably deserved it, he told himself. The gamer's lips were slightly parted, and Chishiya could hear the slow, rhythmical breaths being expelled from them, as his eye lids fluttered slightly. It seemed that in Chishiya's absence, the gamer had grown tired of not having something to hold. And was now spooning a pillow? One of Chishiya's pillows even. Huh. That was strangely cute.

Chishiya whacked himself with surprising vigor in the face, as that thought dropped unexpected into his mind. He was certainly not cute! He was just an average looking guy, doing and an average thing.

Yes, Chishiya thought, nothing cute about that.

It seemed that vaugly violet action however, was finally the thing Arisu needed to snap him out of slumber and his eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting in the sunlight.

He screwed up his face and yawned slowly(which was certainly not the most adorable thing Chishiya had ever seen) and rested his eyes on the man sitting beside him.

"Chishiya?" He slurred quietly, as Chishiya stood up, not wanting him to realize he had been staring.

"I was just about to wake you. Can I have a look at your side please?"

"Oh...sorry. Did I sleep long?"

Chishiya shrugged, no one really kept track of time here anyways. And Arisu deserved all the sleep he wanted.

He watched as the taller man hauled himself upwards groggily, and shuffled over to stand by his side, slipping off his shirt after a moment of brief hesitation. Must have been the cold.

He had to admit, seeing Arisu dressed in his clothes made him feel strangely dizzy, and he forced himself to focus on the task set out infront of him. It didn't look as though the cut had re opened over night, luckily, as Chishiya skimmed his hand gently over the bandaged site with a hum. He would have to change the bandage soon enough, but not right now. He just wanted to make sure that it hadn't bled at all. That was the only reason he had made him discard his clothing.

Definitely.

"Ok that looks fine. Do you want to use my shower?"

Chishiya watched as Arisu's face lit up with delight, happily scooping his shirt up at the suggestion.

"I'd love too! But er, do you have any spare clothes I can wear for today? Mine are kind of ruined, I'll give them back to you as soon as possible I promise!"

He looked slightly nervous, and he shuffled his feet as he stood, awaiting Chishiya's reply.

"Sure, let me find some for you."

He found a plain black shirt in his closet, and some patterned swimming shorts. It was nothing grand, but it would have to do for now. Arisu nodded his thanks as they were passed to him, before practically skipping to the bathroom, an excited smile on his face.

Chishiya couldn't help but grin slightly, at knowing such a simple thing could satisfy the other man. Not that he found it enjoyable, seeing the smile on his face. Not that he wanted to make it happen again.

God, Arisu was really driving him mad.

He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, as he heard the water  begin to run, and a quiet cry of delight from Arisu. Small butterflies brewed in his stomach, he turned slightly red, forcing his brain to focus on thinking of a speech to convince Arisu to join his and Kuina's plan.

Eavesdropping on people in the shower wasn't the most normal thing to do, he had to admit.

Right then. A speech.

It needed to be short and sweet, and skim briefly over the fact he would have to betray and murder two other people. He would focus more on how the cards would help him and Usagi. That's what he would want to hear after all. Probably. Although, he couldn't help but feel a small trickled of anxiety as the time ticked on. If this went south, and Arisu freaked out, it could very well end badly. Involving guns, and a certain rotting dumpster behind the beache's walls.

And the idea of Arisu hating him for suggesting he commited such an act...kind of hurt.

Why ?

The sound of trickling water stopped, and Chishiya steadied himself and gulped. He couldn't mess this up.

The door squealed slightly as Arisu happily walked back the room, dressed in his new attire. His hair was wet , and didn't cover his face as usual, allowing Chishiya to see his deep doe eyes clearly. Well that just made this harder.

"Wow! thanks for letting me do that Chishiya, I love showers" he said slightly dreamily, moving to stand infront of the blonde.

"No problem Arisu...listen, I have a proposal for you."

"Hmm?"

"Well, your smart Arisu. I'm you you will have noticed by now that there are certain...tensions in the beach."

"Between the militants and executives?

"Exactly. Hatter is making it seem like everything is fine, but in reality the whole structure of the beach is about the fall down around us. When they finally snap, the militants will take over, as they are in control of the weaponry. After that, the beach will be run by trigger happy maniacs. And it certainly won't be a good position to be in."

Chishiya paused, and Arisu looked at him, confused.

"I'm guessing you have some sort of plan."

"Yea, I do. And I want you and Usagi to be part of it."

"Me...and Usagi? Why?"

"Well, for starters, you are both good players, and we want to have you around when we leave the beach, should the face cards make an appearance."

"We?"

"Yes, Kuina and I. We are working on the plan together"

"Ok...but wait. The face cards? I thought Hatter said they didn't exist!"

"No, they just haven't shown up yet. I don't know for sure, but I think once we clear the ten of hearts game then they will start to appear."

"Ok. I think I've got it."

Arisu looked troubled, and he rubbed his head as he thought about what Chishiya was saying.

"So what's your plan, are you going to steal Hatter's cards!?"

Chishiya continued, and explained the basic idea of manipulating two other players to break into the fake safe, and cause Hatter to look at the real hiding place. Chishiya hadn't quite polished the edges of the plan yet, and there were afew gaps, but that didn't matter too much. He would do it as soon as possible.

"But what will happen to the other two player you guys plan on using?"

Ah, the most difficult part, now should he tell Arisu they would most likely to be murdered, or should he lie? Lying sounded like the most pleasant option right now.

"The beach will probably tie them up and interrogate them for abit, we can slip in after and rescue them before we leave the beach together, with the cards"

The gamer bit his lip. It was obvious that he was conflicted on what action to take here. He knew it wasn't morally right, but in his mind, as long as no one died then it would probably be worth it, the chance to escape this nightmare. And to keep Usagi away from danger. Surely it was too good of an opportunity to give up.

... Right.?

Chishiya stood very still as Arisu contemplated his final answer, with his brows furrowed. Oh god, one wrong move and Chishiya was toast.

"Ok then."

"Huh?"

"I'll join your plan. But you have to promise we will do everything to make sure no one dies, ok? Or I'm not in."

A small button of guilt swelled in his stomach, but he swallowed it down with a fake smile.

"Of course, I promise."

"Ok then. Partners in crime?"

Arisu smiled back and shook his hand comically. Chishiya couldn't deny the way his heart thumped at the feel of his soft skin, and he coughed, tearing his eyes away from Arisu's perfect face. He would have to cross the bridge of their two other players later. Maybe, just maybe, it would be possible for them to rescue then before Niragi and his goonies had their way? But it was quite unlikely. And certainly more dangerous.

"Wait, what about Usagi?"

"Kuina should have finished proposing the same thing to her around now. Do you want to go and find her?"

He nodded, and the two made their way outside, both with a small smile on their faces. The relief Chishiya felt after their conversation was strong, and he couldn't help but celebrate a little in his mind.

Maybe Arisu would stay with him a while after all.

Chapter Text

Where the hell were they?

Arisu scanned the crowd intently as he searched for Kuina and Usagi, sensing the presence of Chishiya hovering closely behind him. The blonde hadn't complained yet, but he could tell he was slightly annoyed at the speed Arisu was progressing. Chishiya preferred to slip quietly through the crowds, only when it was necessary, and become practically invisible. But now, Arisu and him stuck out like a sore thumb, as the gamer hovered and occasionally shouted over the mob, trying to locate their missing companions. But no matter, finding them was more important that a few moments of discomfort for the other.

Frustratingly, the area was particularly packed today, Hatter seemed to have left earlier in the morning to go and renew his visa, bringing the beach's vast population to the entrance like bees to honey. It was pathetic really, they worshiped him like a living god. And it certainly made their job more difficult, pushing through the wall of people was taking much longer than it should have.

A sudden flash of pain made Arisu reel backwards and halt for a second, as a single wasted party goer crashed into his wounded side, and spun off without an apology. Not a particularly grave crime, and to most it would have not even been registered, but they had hit Arisu right where it was most tender, sending fireworks blazing throughout his bones.

He quickly screwed his eyes closed and tried not to sway where he stood as he waited for the nausea to pass, could this have happened at a worse time? It was ok, he would be fine. But annoyingly, the disturbance had re awoken the dull ache that had been thriving under the bandage, and multiplied it by ten. And it really hurt.

Focus Arisu, keep looking.

A gentle hand on his arm brought him to his senses, and he looked downwards in surprise.

Chishiya?

What was he doing?

The touch steadied him however, as he began to feel a sense of clarity return. He mumbled something quietly to Arisu, eyes downcast, but the blaring music drowned out his words, leaving Arisu in confusion.

"What?" He half shouted, wincing at the effort it took.

Stop it Arisu, you aren't that weak.

But Chishiya simply shook his head and dismissed him, beginning to lead Arisu carefully to a destination he could not see. The noise around him was overwhelming, shuffling feet, music and laughter, and he felt himself relying on Chishiya's directing skills . Had he spotted them?

"Chishiya! Arisu!"

His head quickly perked up as he detected Kuina's voice, faintly mingled in with the crowd's. Oh, he could see where they were going now. The pair sat on small booth with dark cushioned seats, on the far side of the large inside area they were currently in, and Kuina stood to wave to them. She seemed as happy as someone could be here, her conversation with Usagi must have gone well.

That brought quite a heavy wave of relief crashing over Arisu, even though he had doubted it, in the back of his mind he had worried that Usagi might have refused the offer given to her by the other woman.

And what would she think, had that happened, when she found out Arisu had accepted?

Would she have hated him, despised him maybe, and abandoned him? Arisu had to admit, the idea of manipulating two living, human and innocent players, well, it made him feel physically sick. But it was a good plan, as much as it pained him to admit. But did that really justify putting two pride driven people, both deluded by a false fantasy, courtesy of Chishiya, in harm's way? He had promised Arisu that they would be fine, but was that really possible?

Arisu thought back to Hatter's third, and final rule:

Death to traitors.

But that was just for show, he would actually kill them. He wouldn't...right?

No, he trusted Chishiya, he wouldn't lie about something so important. They were teammates now, Arisu had to believe him.

He felt himself sitting down next to Chishiya on the booth, and immediately missed the gentle comfort of his hand as he removed it and slipped it back into his pocket, with a bored expression. Although, it probably wasn't the best time to do that...was there ever a time?

Hold on... don't think stuff like that Arisu!

He felt a small blush blossom across his cheeks as he huffed in embarrassment. That really shouldn't be on his list of problems, Chishiya's bloody hand of all things.

"Arisu! Are you listening?"

"Hm? Er, no sorry. What did you say?"

Kuina rolled her eyes at him in exasperation, and he smiled apologetically.

"We were talking about how Usagi accepted, and we need to work out our next step. Idiot"

Arisu couldn't help but feel slightly offended at that later comment, he was an injured man! Kuina really had no pity. But then Arisu realized that neither she or Usagi actually knew about what had happened last night, and he gave him self a mental slap. He was feeling slightly woozy, and the thick heat wasn't helping. There was a curious fog hovering over his eyes, that wouldn't leave no matter how much he blinked. Ah well, maybe he could go and have a nap when they finished. That would be nice.

"Oh wait Arisu I forgot, what was your game last night? I never got to talk to you about it."

He looked over at Usagi, who was now watching him intently. Kuina also looked curious, and rested her head on her hand.

"Yea, I'd like to know too."

Arisu sighed before he began, it definitely felt better when he wasn't talking.

"It was a clubs game, an assault course. I was in a team with three beach members and one non member, they all survived."

" Huh, that sounds interesting... Hey, are you ok? you look really pale,"

"I'm fine, I got cut a little at the end of the game by a blade. It's fine though."

Usagi suddenly looked worried, and she peered at him with the expression of a concerned mother. Kuina also looked bothered, she knew the disadvantage that injuries brought. Would it affect their plan?

"Have you done anything to treat it Arisu? You need to get it healed as quickly as possible."

He grimaced at the dark suggestion in Kuina's question, and noticed how the atmosphere went slightly sour. He wondered what it would be like, if he had to compete in a game tonight, or the day after. He would probably be doomed. But now, would Chishiya be alright with telling Kuina what he had done?

He had been surprised, that was for sure, at the true kindness the man had shown, which had admittedly made Arisu feel a lot of different things. When Arisu had first played with Chishiya, during the tag game, he had gotten a strong malicious sense from him, almost murderous. He didn't appear as if he would care if a lifelong friend of his dropped down dead in front of him, which had scared Arisu slightly. And confused him, how could someone be so cold? However, last night had truly been a turning point for the shorter man in Arisu's eyes.

He had seen a different side to him, one where his walls were lower, and he seemed more human. How he had helped Arisu, treated him gently and allowed him to sleep in his room! It all strongly baffled him. He had always assumed the blonde just hated him, as he did so many others, but maybe that wasn't the case. And he had been so understanding, after Arisu's nightmare.

He cringed slightly at that though, he was trying his best to pretend he had forgotten the way he had hugged him. That was something he didn't need hanging in his mind. But, back to his current predicament. They were expecting an answer, which was not going to come from nowhere.

"Errrr...Yes-"

"I treated him."

...Huh?

Chishiya spoke up from beside him, the first words Arisu had heard him say since they arrived.

"I found him looking for Usagi last night, so I bandaged his wound for him. No need to thank me, wasn't a big deal."

Kuina looked as if that was the last thing she expected, and made a small strangled squeak of delight. Why was she so happy?

"Awww Chishiya! That's so nice."

"Shut up Kuina"

"No no, tell me more! Why would you do such an act? Oh, do you have a soft spot for little Arisu there?"

She giggled, almost manically, at Chishiya's murderous expression and Arisu felt a small smile hover over his face. He had had his doubts, but once you got to know them Chishiya and Kuina weren't all that serious and mean. They reminded him of rowdy siblings, making fun of each other like that. It was sweet, and it made the gamer glad of their new alliance. Perhaps he could form new friends with these people, a fresh start if you will. He wondered, if maybe, just maybe, one day they could become as close as he was with Karube and Chota. No, he wouldn't replace them, but it was a nice thought.

Was was not as nice however, was the man the Arisu had just spotted in the crowd, strolling towards the group with a disgusted look on his face. Niragi, with his awful tell tale shirt, and gun slung casually over his shoulder. He was given a wide berth by the quietened people around him, and he soon arrived next to the group, looking morally pissed off. What did he want? If he was here to start trouble-

"You, and you, come with me," he spat, jabbing a finger in the general direction of Chishiya and Arisu. Oh, so he was sent on an errand, probably the reason of his extra foul mood. But he was telling both of them to come? Chishiya he could understand, as he was an executive, but why Arisu? Were they in trouble for something?

"Why?"

Chishiya regarded the man in front of him with a cold, and taunting look, unbothered by his threatening aura.

"Your needed by the executives, somethings happened."

Shooting Chishiya a harsh glare after his message, he didn't wait for them to follow, and simply walked back into the crowd, expecting them to tale after him. Arisu nearly fell in his haste to get up and follow before they lost him, Chishiya looking slightly amused from behind.

Smug bastard.

"What do you think happened?" he whispered to the shorter man, as they walked , now side by side, towards the meeting room. Niragi was far ahead in the corridor, but Arisu still felt too uneasy to speak loudly, should he catch a wind of it. The man was creepy, and it unnerved him, made him feel like he knew more than he should.

"Must be something big, to have a sudden summon like this."

"Maybe they found a high numbered game?"

"Hm, maybe."

"Wait...is Hatter back yet? I thought we would have noticed if he arrived. Everyone would have caused a ruckus."

Chishiya paused at that, and thought for moment.

"An issue could have popped up, one that had to be dealt with immediately. I assume Hatter will join when he returns, like you said, we would have heard if he had gotten back. That man and his massive superiority complex..."

Their hushed talk stopped( well Arisu's hushed talk, Chishiya didn't care if Niragi overheard) as Niragi entered the room ahead of them, and the pair followed. Arisu immediately noticed the large congregation of people inside as they entered, it seemed every executive and militant was here. What had caused this-

Oh.

He understood now.

There, on a central table, was the motionless body of Hatter, still dressed in his beach robe. Aguni stood above him, his face expressionless and cold as he surveyed the room, his eyes skimming over the pair quickly, as they mingled at the back.

So, thought Arisu, perhaps he wasn't a master at the games like he had preached. But, he was smart enough to realize that the following events were not likely to be pretty, maybe this was like what Chishiya had said, the militants would finally take over. Or did Hatter have a second in command? Arisu didn't really know.

The dark haired man heard the door opening again, as Tatta rushed in leading a bewildered looking Ann behind him. When she saw the sight she stopped with a gasp, looking at his body in horror.

"Apparently he couldn't clear the game," started Tatta, breaking the grave silence of the room.

"The maintenance team just happened to find him in Shinjuku while we were filling up with gas."

Ann walked quickly towards him, and reached to touch him, before Niragi interrupted her with a scowl. Arisu felt himself itching to get away, out of bounds for the inevitable conflict about the occur.

"Hey, do me a favour and keep your dirty hands off him, you're obsessed with dissecting things." he said with a cruel laugh and prowled over to standby Aguni's side.

Arisu watched as Ann peered closer at Hatters chest, blankly ignoring his words.

"This is a bullet wound...did the game he was playing involve guns?"

"Seems like it," said Tatta, as several people turned to look at him, Arisu and Ann included.

"Apparently, people around the game area heard gunshots."

Gunshots? Doesn't sound like a very fair game. But no matter, it was too late now.

" Holy shit! Looks like he should have brought the militant corps along with him."

Niragi sounded far too happy with the both tense and depressing situation, unlike the others gathered in the room. The gamer heard one man hesitantly asking what would happen to the beach, a question he knew was on all of their minds.

"Nobody says a word about this, understood?" Mira said, her dark eyes flitting across the room to observe the members with venom. She added, after a moment of pause:

"We wouldn't want people freaking out."

That was fair, Arisu shuddered to think of the commotion news of this importance this would cause in the eyes of the general residents, there would be an absolute uproar. They saw Hatter as an unbeatable figure, they believed in him with all their souls, so it was a smart, and obvious choice to contain the announcement for as soon as possible. Besides, choosing and sorting the beache's new leader came first.

A man that Arisu recognised, but couldn't recall the name of stepped up from the side, addressing the room with crossed arms when he spoke.

"I'll step in as leader, since I'm number two."

So Hatter did have a second in command. That was cool.

"Wait a second."

Oh god, what did Niragi want? Couldn't they just elect him and get it over all ready? The wooziness had only amplified as Arisu stood, in place, and he felt a very strong desire to sit down. But still, Niragi continued, his tone mocking as usual.

"Shouldn't the strongest person be the leader? In case you didn't know, we're the ones who have been getting rid of traitors, but we've been thrown in the shadows the whole time! This bullshit ends now! You got that?"

" If number one dies, we all move up a number. We all knew that." number two interrupted Niragi's rant, with annoyance written in his voice.

"Yea, well, the elitist dictator is dead. The power had shifted, hasn't it? Let's just be democratic, and go with the majority."

He scoffed slightly as he began to walk, his gun still glued to his side.

'Whos with me and thinks Aguni should be our new leader?"

The silence was deafening, as not a single hand went up. Huh, that was kind of funny. But would Niragi accept the defeat, and let number two rise to number one? Ha...who was he kidding, of course he wouldn't. This was Niragi, who was anything but a diplomat.

"Are you all serious right now? ...Last boss."

He turned his attention to a heavily tattooed man resting in the corner, and gave him a look. Much to Arisu's horror, he moved quickly  forwards and pointed his blade at Ann's exposed stomach, slowly sliding it up towards her neck. What the hell was he doing!?

"So I'll ask again, who thinks Aguni should be leader?"

After another moment of tense silence, Ann raised her hand grumpily, the look on her face could kill. Did Niragi intended to threaten everybody into voting for Aguni? That did seem like something the maniac would do, and it wasn't good news for them. The beach's reign was crumbling way more quickly than he could have imagined. It was almost laughable.

Almost, but not quite.

"But this is not a democracy." Mira said, her eyes staring straight ahead as Niragi laughed at her.

"But I think it is, isn't it?"

"You can vote however you want right?"

He stood close to her, and stuck out his tongue in a sickening way, the light glistening off a piercing. He was a real creep. And that was disgusting, poor Mira. Although, with that, hands finally began to raise, even number two's. Niragi looked happy, and he turned his attention to Chishiya. The blonde looked completely unbothered by the situation, and the gun that was now being aimed at him.

"What about you?...Chishiya, you're not looking down on us are you?"

What was Chishiya doing? he was going to get himself shot!

"All you morons in the corps?" the shorter man replied, and Arisu wished he could shake some sense into him. Idiot!

"Those eyes of yours piss me off sometimes, you know that? You really think you're better than us, don't you."

Arisu could feel the bitter hatred pooling off the two as they stood in silence, before Chishiya finally raised his hands in mock surrender.

"I vote for Aguni to be the leader."

Oh phew, he wasn't completely out of his mind then.

"I'm pretty sure that's what you want to hear, don't you."

"Well let this be reminder of how you act in the future," said Niragi as he backed off, finally leaving Chishiya be. That small celebration was short lived however, as the man turned his attention, along with his gun, to Arisu.

Oh god.

"Hey, why are you looking so freaked out,"

His voice was mocking, cold.

"I thought I told you to answer me."

Not knowing what to do, Arisu raised his hand like the others. As Niragi continued to hurl abuse at him he felt himself subconsciously leaning backwards as far as he could, away from the gun aimed directly at his face. Not that he would help, should the man get a little too angry. But still, his vicious teasing only made Arisu's vision swim more, and he felt dazed as he tried to focus on what was going on. Was it normal to feel this tired?

"Hey, pay attention you little shit!"

Arisu felt Niragi grab a bundle of his collar and drag him close, getting a rather unpleasant angle of his pierced face. Was he going to die? It definitely felt that way.

However, before he could apologize, or wriggle his way free, a cool voice rang out, making them both freeze in surprise. Chishiya walked over to stand by them, an uncharacteristic glint of rage shining in his cat like eyes.

"Let him go."

"Or what?"

Niragi laughed, slightly bewildered, at Chishiya's statement, before narrowing his eyes at him in confusion, and accusation.

"Wait...why do you care what happens to this squirt Chishiya? Awwwww did someone get attached? I thought Mr serious was too good for other people."

Chishiya glared at him, and Arisu wanted nothing more than to shrink into the ground. Niragi had released his tight hold on Arisu's (well, Chishiya's) shirt but he was still dangerously close, and he couldn't quite bring himself to breathe. One wrong move, and there would be a bullet in both their brains.

Although, Chishiya seemed to be going about not getting shot all the wrong way. He was currently locked in a furious staring consent with the other, as imaginative daggers stung from their eyes. Why he had chosen to stand up for Arisu, he didn't know. Whether it was out of pure spite for Niragi, nobleness(which he highly doubted) or maybe something else. Maybe, he cared about Arisu a small bit. They were teammates after all now, and teammates had a duty to look after each other , Chishiya couldn't hate him, that was for sure.

Even though they were in a serious situation, Arisu couldn't help but feel small butterflies squirm in his stomach as he contemplated the older man's actions, which made him worry. Feelings like this weren't normal, he had began to realise that. But what made Chishiya special? They had only really bonded last night, and became...friends? Arisu didn't know what he would call it, but he knew he shouldn't be quite so mesmerized by the other man standing up for him.

Ow, his side really fucking hurt.

He just wanted to sit down, and sleep for a million years.

"Niragi. That's enough. You can squabble later, we have more important things to discuss."

Arisu whipped his head towards where the voice came from, at the front of the room. Aguni had spoken, for the first time, and his eyes were locked on the scowling man at Arisu's side. Sighing, he spat one final string of abuse at Chishiya, before slinking off to the front, like a dog with it's tail between his legs. He may act tough and wild, but he was just Aguni's weapon after all, doing deeds to please his master. It was both funny and sad to witness at the same time.

With the 'majority vote' won, and Aguni decided as the new number one, people began to disperse and walk away, miserable looks on their faces. Arisu honestly couldn't blame them, the beach had dark days ahead. He wondered what the beach's reaction would be, would people start to leave, if they began to doubt it's leaders.

Chishiya made a small unimpressed noise as he sidled up to Arisu, leading them towards the door. His previous anger had faded, and returned to his usual carefree aura. Although, he did seem slightly more troubled than usual, a slip in his carefully designed mask.

"Hey Chishiya?"

"Yes Arisu?"

The gamer felt himself feel a bit strange and fuzzy inside, and realised he had probably enjoyed hearing his name from the other a little too much. They began to walk in the direction of the party, presumable to find the girls and explain the events to them. Sorry Mira. But still, they had some time to talk on the way.

"Thanks for...you know, getting Niragi off me." He gulped, that sounded pretty lame. Chishiya smirked, and stretched his head back for a moment. His hair fell from across his shoulders, and Arisu couldn't help but wonder how soft it would feel...

"No worries Arisu, I have to look after my teammate. Wouldn't want you to be anymore traumatized by Niragi than you already undoubtedly are, that man is disgusting. "

"Haha, yea..."

Arisu stopped, as he noticed something strange. Now the tension of the argument was over, his head pounded even harder and his vision darkened at an alarming rate. The walls looked like they were moving, a curiously disconcerting event to watch. The drunkard's bump must have done more damage than he had suspected earlier, during the party. He stumbled, and it became clear to him what was about to happen. Oh no.

"Chishiya."

"Yes?"

"I'm going to pass out now. "

And then he did.

Chapter Text

"I'm going to pass out now."

"What-"

Chishiya rushed forwards as Arisu began to fall, and caught him the best he could. Which wasn't well, as he stumbled slightly, and nearly dropped him.

Woops.

Chishiya had noticed how pale Arisu looked coming out of the meeting room, heavily contrasting his dark hair, which he had assumed was mostly due to being screamed at by a trigger happy maniac with a gun, and being in a confined space with a dead body. However, he also knew that the younger man's side had been troubling him a fair amount during the whole ideal, but he hadn't thought it would be to the extent of him passing out.

But now, he needed to figure out what to do with him.

He couldn't bring the slumped figure with him to relocate Usagi and Kuina, it would be impossible to get him through the horrendous crowd to the girls. It also didn't seem likely that Arisu would rouse anytime soon, as he shook him slightly. That ruled out waking the gamer up, so there was only one logical course of action left. Which was to somehow bring Arisu to his room, it wasn't that far from their current position in the corridor.

The taller man could rest there until he felt better, and Chishiya could check his side. He had seen some drunk idiot crash into him earlier, and he had noticed Arisu's pained expression after the event, he needed to make sure it wasn't bleeding any more.

But how was he supposed to get Arisu there?

Even though the man was relatively skinny, he was still dead weight, and Chishiya was finding it hard enough to hold him upright as it was. Maybe he could drag him there?

That was worth a shot.

"Hey! Do you need help?"

Chishiya paused, and watched as a man wearing a baseball cap made his way up to the pair. He had dark hair, and wore a loose button up shirt. He had seen him somewhere before,  he must be the guy from the tag game, that Arisu had saved from the shooter. What was his name? It was T something, Tetta?

"Er, I'm Tatta by the way."

Oh yeah, he remembered now. Tatta's sudden appearance was helpful however, the man could help with Arisu.

"I could use a hand, If your willing. He passed out and I'm trying to bring him to my room."

Tatta nodded in understanding before he came closer, and slung one of Arisu's limp arms around his shoulder, they began to walk. Their progress was slow, but no way near as bad as it would have been on his own. He was grateful, although he wasn't sure if Tatta could tell, he looked as though he was hesitant to say something. Although after a while he spoke, slightly nervous of the man next to him.

"Hey...you were in the tag game weren't you?"

Oh, Tatta must have recognized him. It was fair that he hadn't immediately though, as Chishiya had simply spectated for most of the games duration. He had seen Tatta a few times though, running around in a panicked frenzy.

"Yea I was there."

"I didn't know you and Arisu were...friends?"

Tatta gulped, and groaned slightly as they rounded a corner. Their load certainly wasn't getting any lighter, and he was still in a deep sleep. Tatta’s statement though, made Chishiya think for a second. Apparently Arisu and Tatta must have some sort of friendship going on, perhaps they had met again after the man arrived at the beach. That was plausible, Arisu had a special way of drawing others to him, even though his social skills weren't exactly outstanding.

“Hm. I guess we are friends. It’s more of a recent development though."

“Huh...maybe you aren’t as scary as people say.” Tatta mused, before whipping his head around when he realized what he had said.

“Sorry, I-”

“Don’t worry about it.” Chishiya interrupted, his voice colder than before.

He knew he had a bit of a reputation among the beach's players, he had heard the whispers and seen the scared glances cast his way when he did venture to the more social areas. They saw him as a threat, he was one of the beaches oldest and most skilled members after all. People had survived games with him, and rumour of his heartlessness and ruthless attitude had spread like wildfire. He had to admit, it had stung slightly when he had first picked up on it, but it was fine now. He didn’t need to be popular to survive, especially with the morons at the beach. They could talk about him as they pleased, it had no effect on him. None at all.

But Tatta’s words had soured the atmosphere, despite his good intentions, and they found themselves walking in silence until they came to a stop a few minutes later outside Chishiya’s door.

“Do you want me to help get him inside?”

“No, that’s alright. I’ll manage.”

Tatta carefully unwound himself from Arisu’s side, but instead of walking off like expected, he hung around him nervously, shuffling his feet and refusing to meet Chishiya’s eyes. Did he want something? If he did it would have to be quick, Arisu was heavy.

“Hey, Chishiya? I know its a bit of an ask, but I was wondering if you wanted, erm, to be friends?” He looked embarrassed as he waited, his face was a little flushed.

...Friends? Why on earth would Tatta want to be friends with someone like him? He was despicable, and cold, whilst Tatta was warm hearted and sunny. They were complete opposites, it was almost laughable.

But still, his proposal intrigued the blonde, perhaps more than it should have. Making friends with someone who didn’t show any use to him should have sounded horrible, yet Chishiya couldn’t quite bring himself to hate the idea. Maybe he could be useful, allies were handy, even if they wouldn’t take a role in his plan. Making friends would defiantly benefit him, he told himself.

“Sure. Friends.”

Tatta gave him a bright smile and visibly lightened up.

“Great!I’ll leave you be then, before you drop poor Arisu.”

“...thanks-”

But Tatta was already gone, practically skipping down the hallway in victory. Chishiya couldn’t deny that a small smile made it’s way across his face, a confusing, but welcome feeling in his chest.

But now, back to his main problem, Arisu. He could worry about all his conflicting feelings later on.

The door creaked open as Chishiya dragged the younger man inside, the effort pulling on his muscles harshly. Arisu better thank him for this, when he woke up. It took a while, but the he finally managed to get Arisu lying flat on his back on top of his bed, and took a step backwards to think. It was almost impressive, and rather worrying that Arisu had managed to sleep through the trouble, and the steam of curses Chishiya had let loose. Even though he was unconscious, there was tension shown in his face, a furrowed brow and short pained breaths gave him away.

The shorter man fished out anther roll of bandages, along with the spray he had used to clean the cut last night. An infection was the last thing he wanted, it was likely to be deadly without the correct resources. Resources that Chishiya didn't posses. He worked as quickly as possible, pulling his dark shirt up to reveal the bandaged area for inspection. Worryingly, and as he had suspected, the previously pristine white was coated with a large stain of dark red, where it had bled again. Dammit, he shouldn’t have let Arisu go back to the party so early. It was his fault, he should have known better.

He needed to sort this out, change the bandages.

This however, proved a lot more difficult that he assumed, considering half of the bandages were trapped underneath his friends back. He eventually resorted to cutting them down the middle with a pair of discarded scissors he had located in an old cupboard. Technically, they were banned due to the stupid rule about weapons,  but Chishiya had smuggled them in when he had visited a shop after a game he had played a few months ago. Better to be safe than sorry, he had had a feeling they would come in handy.

Which they had.

With the bandages gone, he could finally focus on cleaning. In an ideal world, Arisu should have received stitches, but he didn’t have the equipment to make that happen. He would just have to make sure the bandages were pretty tight, and force him to stay still for a while. As long as possible anyway, although it might not be enough. He wondered how many days Arisu had left of his visa.

Chishiya gulped down the though that the his plan would probably entail Arisu sleeping in his bed again, he found it strange how nervous that made him feel. And having Arisu here, in front of him, with his shirt not covering an awful lot. Well, it certainly didn’t make it difficult for Chishiya to make a mental note of his slim waist, and it took an annoyingly large amount of willpower for him not to brush it subconsciously with his hands. God Arisu was driving him crazy, why did he feel so weird about this whole situation? It was like a warm fuzzy ball had rooted itself inside his chest when he thought of the dark haired man, which honestly scared him.

Caring for people made you vulnerable, he couldn't allow himself to fall into that trap

The sound of the door creaking open snapped Chishiya out of his confusing train of thought as Usagi and Kuina made their way inside, followed by two men he didn’t recognize. He jumped quickly off the bed, where he defiantly had not been staring at the sleeping figure, and faced them, rather conscious of the small blush on his face.

Why on earth were they here?

He wasn’t used to anyone, not even Kuina, coming into his room uninvited, and why had they brought two strangers with them?

“Erm Chishiya...what exactly are you doing?” said Kuina as she paused at the sight of Arisu on his bed. He showed her the bottle of anti septic and gestured towards the gamer.

“He passed out, his side reopened.”

She nodded in understanding, as Usagi rushed towards her friend,  panic written on her face.

“He said it was nothing!”

“You know Arisu Usagi, he didn’t want to worry you,” Kuina said slightly sadly, as she made her way further inside.

The two men followed her silently, like lost puppies, and Chishiya narrowed his eyes. But they could wait, he needed a hand rebandaging Arisu any ways. Kuina settled in the armchair and let Usagi assist him as she watched in curiosity. He realized she had never seen him in action before, which was slightly embarrassing. And she had an uncomfortably knowing smirk on her face when they made eye contact, he felt the humiliation increasing.

The bandages made their way around the sleeping man’s waist as Usagi carefully held him upright, and Chishiya made sure to tie them as tight as possible, without hurting the man. It worked, and he as lowered back down onto the pillows, looking more relaxed that he had done before. Chishiya resisted the urge to brush away the raven black hair from his eyes, and instead turned to face the others, wanting an explanation as to why they had barged in like they did.

“Sooo basically we looked around the party for you for a while, but instead we found these guys.” She gestured awkwardly to the men. One had bleached hair, and one had black hair. They were dressed in the normal beach attire, nothing special about them.

“Their names are Joe and Aoki.”

He gave Kuina a small glare, wishing she would hurry up with her so called explanation. The number of people in his space was annoying, and he wanted them to leave. Except Arisu.

Usagi spoke next, and explained how they had agreed to join the plan to get the cards, after they had brought them to the roof.

“Wait..you did it without me!?”

“Sorry...we couldn’t find you and it was too good of an opportunity to let pass.” said Kuina sheepishly.

He was slightly bothered by the fact he wasn’t there, but he knew in his heart they had done the right thing. In truth, he had been quite worried about finding participants in time, due to Hatter’s sudden demise. The beaches downfall had been rapidly accelerated, and they needed to act as quickly as possible, should they want success.

“Never mind...it’s good to have you guys onboard.” He addressed the pair with a fake smile, and watched as their agitated stances visibly relaxed.

“Thanks.” said Joe returning his smile.

Annoying.

Kuina looked at him from her seated position, and brought up the question he knew was coming.

“What were you and Arisu summoned for then?”

He knew they needed to know about the troubling events, but it still made him uneasy to give away such sensitive information to the new members. But they had no time, their plan needed to be perfected and executed as quickly as they could managed, which involved trusting the pair. He sighed before he began to skim over the events, as vaugly as he could.

“Hatter died in his game, we were summoned to decide on the new leader, Aguni was voted.”

“...What!?” Joe and Aoki said in unison, wearing equal expressions of despair.

“But he’s supposed to be a master at the games!”

"Yea!"

“Guess he ran out of luck.”

They fell into shocked silence, each member equally overwhelmed with the news, well apart from Chishiya.

“We can still do the plan...right Chishiya?” said Kuina quietly after a while, turning to look at him with worry in her eyes.

“I’ve been thinking about that. This actually gives us the perfect opportunity to sneak into Hatter’s rooms and find the safe when Aguni gives his speech as the new leader. Everyone will be there, which is perfect. Joe, you will be the one to do it, and Aoki will keep watch outside. I’ll stay near the crowd and make sure the militants are kept at bay, while Usagi and Kuina will watch other places.”

“Wait...why me?” said Joe, looking scared but determined.

“You are the best candidate for the task, trust me.

“Do you even know the code to get in?”

“Yes. It’s 8022.”

They all looked confused, as Joe spoke again.

“And how do you know?”

“I saw it on Hatter’s ring, the same one he uses to seal the envelope containing the supposed password. The catch is, there is nothing actually inside the letter Aguni will be presented with, it’s hidden in the wax.”

This wasn’t a complete lie, Chishiya had figured out Hatter’s ring weeks ago during a boring meeting. It wasn’t a code however, he wasn’t even sure Hatter was aware of the hidden number. The story though, was enough to fill his puppets with confidence, and they agreed to the plan, hesitantly shaking Chishiya’s hand afterwards.

“Aguni’s reception will be tomorrow, meet us back here in the morning.”

They nodded before they walked out happily, leaving the real team behind, Arisu still sleeping, relatively peacefully.

They all moved to sit in a circle on the floor, as the closer proximity allowed them to talk more quietly. Even though the two were gone, this was not something anyone should overhear. And it was nice, being close to his friends.

No it’s not Chishiya, he told himself. And their just your teammates, allies.

“They were nice. It’s a shame.” said Kuina sadly, and Usagi looked confused. Chishiya felt a very strong urge to shake her at her absolute stupidity.

“I’m sure they will understand once we rescue them.”

“Oh yea, right, after we rescue them. For sure.” Kuina said nervously, understanding her slip up.

For a moment she had forgotten what they had told Usagi and Arisu, she had almost given them away. She cast Chishiya an apologetic look, and he gave her an exasperated one in return.

“Wait...” said Usagi, and Chishiya tensed.

“Your not actually going to rescue them...are you.” She said flatly. The climber didn’t looked horrified, or betrayed at the conclusion, just disappointed.

“No. We aren't.” He said, and carefully watched her, waiting for a reply. He should have lied, but he had a feeling she would have seen straight through him.

“I guess I understand. I know it will be impossible to get them back from the militants. But still, I hoped...” She closed her eyes and rubbed her face tiredly, before glancing at the form on the bed.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“No...I’m not. He’ll freak out, and it’s too late to stop the plan any ways. With everyone onboard, this is the only chance we will get to get those cards. And Arisu...if he tells someone then we will all die, with a gun to our heads.”

She nodded grimly, she understood her friends deadly kindness. No more words were spoken, as she made her way out, presumably to sleep. It was the late afternoon, but her exhaustion was evident. He couldn’t blame her, sleep must have been hard after she was recruited by Kuina the night before.

Secretly, he was slightly relieved she had found out about their true plan. It gave the climber some time to process the depth of the deed she would be an accomplice of, and only left one person to deal with when the truth came out, which Chishiya certainly wasn’t looking forward to.

A small groan from the bed brought him to he senses as he stood, and walked over. Arisu blearily rubbed his eyes, and tried to sit up. Although, it seemed he decided lying down was a better idea after the pain hit him due to the jostling. He clocked Chishiya’s presence groggily and looked around the best he could.

“Chishiya?...where-”

His voice trailed off, and he frowned. A sudden looked of mortified horror spread over his face, as he presumable remembered the fainting incident, but before he could start spewing apologies, Kuina spoke from behind them. It may have made him jump slightly, he had forgotten she was there.

“I’ll leave you to deal with him then Chishiya.”

He turned to look at her and she gave him a small smile.

“Remember, meet here in the morning.”

She nodded and walked through the door, her braided hair swinging slightly as she pulled it closed behind her. The older man turned his attention to Arisu, who looked as though he had a million things to say.

“What did she mean, meet here tomorrow?”

“Well, when we were in the meeting, Usagi and Kuina found two guys to join the plan. We are going to do it tomorrow, during Aguni’s reception when everyone is distracted.”

Understanding was written on his face, as he struggled to sit up again, this time succeeding. Chishiya would have stopped him,but by the time he thought to warn him it was too late. Ah well.

“Were they...nice?” He said after a while, in a small voice.

“Yeah...they were.”

Even though their presence had annoyed Chishiya, he had to admit they seemed like good guys. Maybe, in another life, they could have been friends.

“Oh yea, Chishiya. Sorry about er, passing out. Wait...how did you even get me here?”

“Don’t worry about it, I shouldn’t have let you get up so soon. Your wound reopened by the way.”

“Oh.”

“And do you not think I’m strong enough to carry you?”

He raised an eyebrow in mock disappointment, and watched as Arisu went pink with panic.

“No,no I didn’t mean to offend you! It’s just, er, I’m a little bigger than you?” he spluttered, in an effort to redeem himself.

“I’m just kidding. Tatta helped me carry you.” He said with a slight laugh, and watched in amusement as Arisu relaxed.

“Right, sorry about that. You know Tatta?”

“Yes, we’re...friends” Chishiya said softly, thinking back to Tatta’s happy words.

He smiled at the memory, before hardening his expression. Arisu seemed exhausted, and talking wasn’t going to help him. And neither was his current position, it was stupid of him to sit up.

“Right. You need to sleep now.” He gave him a disapproving stare, and Arisu groaned.

“Ok Dad.” He rolled his eyes, before looking back with worry.

“Is it ok for me to stay here again?”

“Of course, it’s unwise for you to move around again until you have to.”

“But how will I help with the plan?”

Chishiya chewed his lip, and though for a moment. He couldn’t leave Arisu here, and he wouldn’t be able to get him out of the beach before the speech, due to the militant guards hanging around.

“You will stay with me, by the speech. I’m sure you will be alright to walk a bit tomorrow, after a good rest tonight.”

Arisu seemed troubled but decided against saying more, choosing to shuffle back into place instead. Chishiya fought against the urge to help him, and made to way to the bathroom instead, furiously trying to calm his beating heart. Arisu needed the rest more, but he also knew this would be the last night in a comfortable bed he would get. He had to make the most of it, which meant getting to sleep as early as possible.

He started the shower and decided to wash his hair, allowing himself to relax in the warmth for the first time since the morning. Whether for the better or worse, his life would be changed for good tomorrow. They would either be triumphant, and make their way to the city, or dead in the dumpster.

How exciting.

Either way, he would be glad to see the last of the beach and it’s annoying crowds, he had been here far too long.

Chishiya turned the water off with a sigh, and dried his hair the best he could before dressing again. He paused a moment in front of the mirror, the face that stared back looked tired and worn.

He gritted his teeth and moved on, walking back into the main room. Arisu turned to look at him, and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of Chishiya's wet hair. It wasn’t covering his face as much as it usually did, and he found himself feeling oddly insecure under the other’s gaze. How weird. Normally he wouldn't have cared about how people saw him, but with Arisu it was different.

Why did it feel different?

He ignored this however, and made his way to the bed after drawing the curtains, carefully navigating the covers over the both of them. He could have been imagining it, but he swore he had seen a small blush on Arisu’s face as he settled next to him, and they faced each other. No, he must be imagining it. Or it was the pain, he hoped he wasn’t getting a fever. That would really make their great escape more difficult.

However, his companion's breathing soon slowed, as he gave into the exhaustion and closed his eyes. Now Chishiya could get away with his gaze lingering on Arisu’s face, not stopping to ponder why the idea was so inviting.

And with that, he also fell asleep, the fate of the next day hovering over him.

Chapter Text

Arisu woke slowly, and groaned as the morning sun hit his eyes. After a moment of dazed silence, the memories of the previous day came rushing back to him, along with a dull pain where the bandages were.

Today was the day, the day they finally attempted to pull off the plan. The other group members would be here soon, and he carefully pushed himself upwards with a heavy feeling of dread settling in his stomach, away from the warm heat of the bed.

Chishiya was still sleeping, and Arisu looked over to his side, noticing with amusement how the older man had curled up around himself, much like a cat in manor. His pale hair rested loose on the pillow, and he wore an uncharacteristically relaxed look on his face, the gentle light illuminating his features perfectly. What Arisu had never noticed before, was a small scattering of barely visible freckles dusted across his nose, becoming obvious in the lighting.

That was nice, they looked sweet, he thought with a small smile.

Arisu recoiled as he mentally slapped himself, blaming his strange thoughts on the jumbled mess of his still sleeping mind. He didn't really know how much time they had,or what time it was, but he definitely knew he didn't want to still be asleep next to his friend when their teammates arrived.

That would be horrendously embarrassing.

Although, he wasn't quite sure if how flustered he felt at the thought was quite justified, it wasn't like sleeping near his friend was weird or anything, right? Chishiya had just done him a favour,he hadn't really given him much choice in the matter. He shouldn’t feel embarrassed, at the idea of being in such close proximity to his friend.

It wasn’t normal.

He shoved those thoughts to the back of his head as he tore his eyes off the sleeping man, instead choosing to make his way slowly to the bathroom, shivering and rubbing his arms at the chill. Hopefully a wash would help clear his mind a little. The door closed with a click, and Arisu heaved a sigh of relief, as anxious as he was, Chishiya didn’t need to be woken by his nervous pondering, it was probably best to let him wake up in his own time. Arisu wondered how deep of a sleeper Chishiya was, would it be easy to wake him? Was he even a morning person?

Not that it mattered to him, in the slightest.

The morning before, Chishiya had been awake before him, for God knows how long, and he felt curious about how long he would continue to slumber without Arisu’s interference.

Cold water rushed over his hands as he rubbed the bleariness away from his eyes, relishing the cool therapeutic feeling. He didn’t shower, but he did take his shirt off for a while to eye the fresh bandages wrapped tightly underneath. They felt different than they had yesterday, more secure, and it seemed they had multiplied. Wait...had the older man changed them?

He had to admit, he had been a little  bit out of it when he came to in the executive’s room after fainting (embarrassingly) and hadn’t stopped to question what had actually happened, apart from Chishiya and Tatta carrying him back here. Had his injury bled again, or something? He didn’t know a lot about that kind of thing, but perhaps the bump he had suffered earlier tore it. And Chishiya had redone the bandages? God, he owed the man so much, probably his life to be honest. And now, thanks to him, there might be a chance for him and Usagi to return to the real world.

It all seemed too good to be true.

A muffled, and slightly tentative knock came from the other room and Arisu re entered. He heard the bedsheets rustling as Chishiya sat upwards in the bed, looking disoriented from the disturbance and blinked slowly at him, before gesturing towards the closed door.

Oh, some of their group must be here.

He opened the door, coming face to face with two men he had not seen before. He gave them a small smile before ushering them in quickly, it was best that no one roaming the corridors saw so many people in an executives room. It wasn’t exactly against the rules, but it may raise suspicion, especially for Chishiya, who was famously unsociable. No offense to him.

Arisu closed the door and turned to look at the pair, observing their characteristics with guilt brewing in his stomach. There was nothing particularity special, or interesting about them, they were just two normal men. He swallowed down the painful emotions he was experiencing, as one of the men began to talk. He had dark hair, and looked positively terrified.

“Erm, hi, I’m Joe. We were here yesterday, but you were like, passed out. Sorry.”

He stumbled over his words and looked away flustered. Arisu noticed that a small tremor was making it’s way through his as he stood and there were dark circles resting under his eyes.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Arisu. Sorry I couldn't see you guys yesterday.”

Joe nodded and the other man introduced himself as Aoki. He also seemed nervous, but more for his partner than for himself. The gamer noticed how he kept glancing over at Joe’s trembling figure. He honestly couldn’t blame him for his response, it was an extremely high risk mission after all. One wrong move, and they wouldn’t make it alive. He wondered, rather glumly, which of the duo would be the one sent to find the false safe, had Chishiya assigned their roles yet?

Speaking of the other man, Arisu noticed that he had risen during the interaction and made his way into the bathroom silently, leaving Arisu alone with the two players.

Great, he could hear the trickling noise of the shower running, his friend would probably be a while. It would be his last chance to use running water for a while after all. He sighed inwardly, before addressing the others, trying to keep his tone as cheerful as possible. Maybe he could use this opportunity as bonding time, they would be travelling with each other after the operation any ways, if all went swimmingly.

“Do you guys want to sit down? I think we will have a little more time until the girls arrive and Chishiya finishes his shower.”

“Oh, sure..”

They chose to sit in the brightest spot, on the carpeted floor under the large windows, which was the perfect temperature. Arisu felt his anxiety lessen a small amount as the trio began to chat quietly, about nothing in particular. He was surprised about how easily he managed to get on with them, talking and laughing as if they had known each other all their lives. In a way, they reminded him of Karube and Chota, which brought a sad and wistful smile to his face. Chishiya was right, they were nice, and he found himself looking forward to getting to know them better.

“Sooo Arisu?” questioned Aoki, after they had finished laughing about a funny story from Joe’s job in the real world.

“Yea?”

“Are you and that Chishiya dude, like, together!” he continued, and Joe nodded his agreement to the question.

They both stared at him, waiting for an answer patiently. But Arisu found he couldn’t quite speak, momentarily paralysed by the query. Why on earth would they ask something like that!?

“I, erm. No. Definitely not...Why would you ask that?”

The two looked taken aback, obviously surprised by his denial.

“Oh well, I guess you guys seem couple like?” said Aoki, and Joe continued.

“Yea. You guys sleep in the same bed-" he said before Arisu interrupted.

"That only happened twice! I was injured!" he said crossly.

"Yeah, yeah. Look. I know you were unconscious and all yesterday, but you should have seen how worried he was about you. I know we only just met Chishiya, but I could tell straight away he’s not the kind of guy to show he cares about people. But he didn’t even acknowledge the fact there were two strange guys in his room until he had made sure you were ok, and re bandaged you.”

Oh, that explained the difference to the bandages.

“He just seems like he really cares for you I guess. Sorry for assuming.”

“It’s alright...” Arisu said after a moment of thought, cringing slightly at how squeaky his voice sounded when it came out.

He couldn’t deny he felt strange at their surprisingly insightful words, his chest felt warm and...tingly.

The sound of the bathroom door swinging open caused Arisu to jump slightly, and he turned to look at the blonde emerging from the other room. His hair was slightly damn and pushed away from his face, and he was dressed in a new set of clothes. Arisu looked away and cleared his voice, purposefully ignoring Aoki’s pointed look at the blush on his face.

What did he know anyway?He was just hot!( he chose to ignore how cold he had felt after he had gotten up) It was the stupid sun's fault.

“Morning.” said Chishiya in the groups direction, not to any of them in particular.

Joe and Aoki returned his greeting whilst the gamer remained silent, lost in his thoughts. So many things could go wrong today…

No Arisu, he thought. Positivity is key.

There was another knock on the door, and Kuina came waltzing in, not waiting for Chishiya to open it for her, or give permission for her entrance. Arisu watched in amusement as the older man gave her a glare, and she looked ground in mock confusion.

“What?I knocked!” she said with a grin, and Chishiya scoffed before moving to sit in the chair. He looked agitated, and deep in thought, which was honestly fair. Kuina turned to the trio, who were still seated on the floor, and sat next to them. flipping her hair behind her shoulders as she did.

“Hi guys. So I see you’ve met Arisu?”

Joe smiled and Aoki nodded.

“Yea, we talked a bit. He’s a really cool guy.”

“Ha, look Chishiya, they like him already.” she said and the blonde muttered something illegible.

A silent message passed between the two friends, and Arisu noticed Kuina’s mood dampen slightly. It almost felt like he was intruding, the meaning of the look must be something they felt they felt the need to conceal from him. There was a final knock at the door, and Arisu stood, opening it to reveal Usagi, looking slightly ruffled at the early start to the day. She looked at him grimly, before making her way inside to greet the team good morning.

“We need to start soon, they are beginning to gather people in the main entrance hall. I saw them on my way here.”

They nodded, and Chishiya rose to grab something from inside the closet, the doors swinging open with a click. He brought out a crumpled green shopping bag, from which he pulled four black walkie talkies. They looked relatively new, and Arisu wondered where he had found such devices. Probably some abandoned shop, after he had played a game.

The team came together in a circle, as the older man passed one of the devices to Joe, Kuina, Usagi and kept hold of one himself.

“Right then. We will use these to communicate when we separate. By the way, Arisu is going to stick with me, I need to keep an eye on him.”

Joe snorted quietly to Arisu’s side, and he elbowed him sharply.

“Shut it.” he hissed quietly, before looking sheepishly back at the group, all of whom, except for Joe and Aoki, were staring at them in confusion.

“Sorry. Please continue.” He said, and Chishiya sighed.

“Anyway, do you guys know exactly what to do?”

“I need to break into Hatter’s room, find the safe, enter the code 8022, and meet you guys outside with the cards.” recited Joe, looked scared at the almost impossible sounding task.

“That’s right. Aoki?”

“I’ll be waiting in the corridor outside and looking out for anyone, and warn Joe if someone comes.” He said confidently, looping an am around his friend's shoulders in attempt to lighten the mood.

After a moment of careful consideration, he replicated the action with Arisu, drawing the two close in a sort of hug. The gamer tensed slightly, before he relaxed with a grin. It had been a long time since he had experienced such a casual display of affection directed towards him. It made him think of the way Karube had always initiated a similar action with him and Chota, when either one of them had been feeling down.

...He really missed them.

Aoki eventually lowered his arms, but the three remained standing close together, shoulders touching as Kuina and Usagi recited their roles flawlessly.

What Arisu didn’t miss however, was a small venomous look that Chishiya sent Aoki, which confused him. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he?

“We should get going now, we don’t have much time.” Kuina stated, nodding to them before  leading Usagi out with her, both women gripping the radios.

Arisu turned to his two new friends, and gave them a quick hug each. Such an action wasn’t exactly normal for guys who had only met roughly half an hour beforehand, but Arisu felt it was appropriate for the situation. They reciprocated happily, and the gamer noticed Chishiya tense to the side of him.

That was weird.

Was he feeling ok? Maybe he should ask in a bit.

Eventually the two left the room, leaving Arisu alone with the shorter man. The apprehension was tearing at his chest, along with worry. He was scared, of what the not so far off future would hold. What if Joe and Aoki got hurt? He couldn't imagine the militants, especially Niragi, treating labeled traitors like them kindly. He hoped they would forgive them, for leading them on like they did, when they escaped together. They were such nice people, they didn't deserve to be betrayed as they would be. Arisu chewed his lip and began to walk out, after once last glance at the room, Chishiya by his side.

"So we are going to the main entrance then?"

Chishiya hummed in thought and shook his head.

"I need to stop somewhere first. It's alright, we have a bit of time before they are all in position."

"What do you need to get?" he asked curiously.

"You'll see." the older man said, a slightly maniacal smirk tugging at his lips.

Well, that wasn't ominous at all.

He wondered where they were going, and what could have possibly elicited that vaguely creepy reaction from the other. Had he finally decided he had enough of Arisu, and was going to dispose of him? Oh god.

He was so immersed in his paranoid scenarios, that he didn't notice they had stopped, just outside a small door that looked like a supply closet. It didn't seem like it was used often, and the handle squealed horrifically as the blonde twisted it. He winced, and apologized quietly.

"Er, Chishiya, what exactly do you want with this?" he questioned, squinting into the gloom as his companion rummaged inside.

A flurry of dust was launched into the air, making Arisu's nose itch.

"Sorry Arisu. When I first started making this plan, I hid a bag of things we would need in here. We can't take alot, should the beach get suspicious, but at least we will have a few basics.

He brought out his bounty from the darkness, showing Arisu the collection. To his surprise, he shoved a hoodie from the bag into his hands, with a small mumble of:

"This is for you."

"What-"

"Don't worry, it's more of a recent addition. It's only been in there for a week or so. I was going to use it when we left, but I have my jacket and I think you need it more."

"Are you sure?" Arisu said, a happy, and slightly confused smile on his face. Chishiya had thought about his well being! That was pretty cool.

"Just take it Arisu. And hurry up, we need to get there soon."

Between the pair of them, they managed to store the majority of Chishiya's collection in the jacket and hoodie pockets. Matches, a small flashlight, paracetamol and a few other helpful items. The gamer decided to knot the clothing around his waist, so he wasn't yelled at for going against the stupid dress code. Chishiya nodded his approval, and they set of at a brisk walk, the entrance hall wasn't too far from their current position.

Arisu heard the radio crackle with audio, and Usagi's voice rang out.

"Can you guys hear me?" I can't see anyone around my area, it looks like they are all at Aguni's speech."

Chishiya raised the radio to his lips and replied.

"We are nearly there, the corridors are deserted here as well."

Aguni's voice could now be heard as they walked closer, and eventually the masses of the beach came into view. People were crowded into every inch of space available, and were gazing up at the silent figure. Some looked horrified, sad, angry and some looked happy. It seemed the news of their leaders downfall must have been broken to them already, along with Aguni's rise to the throne.

Arisu saw Chishiya carefully switch off the radio and slip it into his pocket, before looking back and giving the younger man what he assumed was a look of reassurance. He gulped, and swallowed his nerves as they walked quietly up to the gathering of people in the 'royal box'.

Niragi spotted their approach with a snarl, and sauntered over to them, gun in hand, as usual. Arisu noticed Aguni along with a few other members turning their attention to the pair as well, curiosity in their eyes. It must have been something important, in order for him to interrupt such an important speech. Arisu listened to the panicked mutterings of the mob below as Chishiya began to explain the situation, false urgency in his voice. People seemed unable to process the information they had been provided with.

"What the fuck are you on about, Chishiya? You don't actually think we would believe that right?" spat the pierced man, a harsh laugh bubbling in his throat.

"Why would I lie about something so important!? Just come and see for yourselves, he should still be there!"

Wow, Chishiya was a surprisingly good actor, the emotion in his voice was not too over the top, but still enough to make him seem genuine. Another skill to add to the older man's list.

"What's the squirt doing here?" questioned Niragi, glaring at Arisu.

"He was with me when we saw him sneaking into Hatter's rooms. Come on, you have to be quick."

Before Niragi spoke again, Aguni interrupted by barging past him, motioning for the militants to follow him. They jogged quickly down the hall, Niragi joining with a scoff, and Chishiya sent Arisu a small, triumph smirk.

The gamer couldn't quite bring himself to return the action however, the guilt in his stomach was too heavy to ignore now. He just hoped Aguni would go easy on his friends. And he begged God, for Chishiya's plan of him looking towards the real hiding place to be true.

The older man slowed his steps slightly, putting the pair a fair distance behind the militants and switched on his radio again.

"Chishiya!" Joe's voice shouted, terrified.

"The codes not working!"

He sighed as switched it off, sliding it back into the fabric with a grim expression. It would be fine. Everything would be fine.

Shouts rand out ahead of them, and the younger man turned to see the militants holding Aoki, who was struggling in their grasp. He hadn't noticed them, and Arisu felt himself longing to hide, before his friend saw his disgusting crime. Stale air rushed into his lungs as he took a deep breath, as they made their way into the room, just in time to see Joe cornered by Niragi, his back against the false safe.

It felt like a knife in his heart when his wild eyes landed on Arisu's, from where they stood behind Aguni. He saw the confusion, realization and betrayal filter through them as he tried his best to maintain eye contact.

Oh god, he was going to throw up. But he couldn't react, couldn't make it look like he knew him. He needed to be strong. Joe and Aoki would be fine, Chishiya would rescue them like he had promised. Nothing was going to go wrong.

The gamer couldn't help but flinch as the gun hit Joe's face, a spurt of blood rewarding Niragi's efforts. Even though he knew it wasn't a good idea, he had to close his eyes as his friend was kicked into a pulp, Aguni watching silently. Chishiya better have fucking seen the safe.

"Niragi enough. Take them away, you know what to do."

Niragi sighed, before hauling the broken man upwards with a vice like grip. The militants filtered out, and Chishiya turned to Arisu quickly.

"Ok Arisu, you need to find Usagi and Kuina, and get out. Meet me in the trees by the main entrance, I'll bring the cards with me, I know where the real safe is."

He blinked, and frowned.

"Joe and Aoki too."

"Yes, I'll find them. But you need to go now, before it's too late. They will have tripled the security by nightfall."

"You shouldn't go alone. Let me help-"

"No Arisu. Trust me, it will be easier with one person, the less people the less chance of getting caught. Now go!"

Arisu wanted to argue as he pressed the radio into his hand, but he held his tongue and nodded instead. Chishiya was smart, he knew what he was doing. Atleast, he hoped he did.

"Be careful..."

"I'm always careful Arisu." he said as he walked away, casting a sad smile in his direction, before hurrying after the militants.

The younger man pushed down the dread, and also made his way into the corridor, setting off in the opposite direction from the man dressed in white. He switched on the radio, and silently prayed Chishiya had thought to snatch Joe's before the militants found it.

"Are you guys there? Chishiya said to make our ways to the trees by the entrance, he'll meet us there."

Arisu waited for a reply as he walked quickly down the steps, holding his breath as he passed through the outskirts of the crowd. His nose tickled at the unpleasant smell coming from the beach's more social area. People had began to disperse, but the main crowd was still there, waiting to see if their new leader would return to satisfy their burning questions. Which Arisu doubted he would.

"I'm already there." Arisu heard Usagi say over the channel.

"I'm nearly there, oh I can see you Usagi." Kuina's voice made an entrance, as the exit came into view, Arisu relaxed slightly.

In his mind he pictured Niragi and the militants running after him, guns in hand, accusing him of being a traitor. As he stepped out of the beach's bounds, the forms of Usagi and Kuina came clear in the dark foliage, and they stepped forward to greet him.

They all pocketed they radio's, and settled in the shrubs. It was still daylight, but the shadows would hide them from any praying eyes, as the bushes provided a natural wall, and the thick three coverage gave them all the shade and shadows they needed.

"I'm assuming it went well then?" The climber asked Arisu quietly, and Arisu looked in her direction.

"Everything went to plan." He said, gritting his jaw in frustration.

It was killing him to be stuck here while his friends were still trapped inside. What if they couldn't get out? What if right now, they needed Arisu's help, Chishiya needed Arisu's help, and he was here doing absolutely nothing! It made him want to scream.

The image of the utter betrayal writhing in Joe's eyes lingered in the gamer's mind, and he had to fight back small tears that sprung to his eyes. Niragi had hit him hard, he must be in so much pain right now. And it was Arisu's fault.

They wouldn't never forgive him, would they.

That hopeless thought weighed on his mind as the trio sat in silence, listening the the muffled activity of the beach. Shouts and dance music, the never ending party was still continuing.

He guessed he would just have to go into apology overload when they got back, and help them with any injuries the best he could, Chishiya could help too. A sharp chill in the air made him shiver in his thin beach gear, and he remembered Chishiya's hoodie, pulling it on happily. It was warm, and fit him surprisingly well. It was perfect.

"Hey Arisu..." said Kuina, something strange hidden in her voice.

"Yea?"

"Where did you get that hoodie?"

Well that was a strange question. He assumed Chishiya had just found the clothing on a supply run, along with the other random supplies he had. But why did Kuina care?

"Er, Chishiya gave it too me. I assume he found it in some shop. Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothing...it's just, that used to be his favourite hoodie. He wore it all the time before he found the white one. Although he still wore it every so often after that. I was just surprised to see it on you."

Oh god.

Arisu couldn't deny the deep blush that spread across his face at the realisation, it simply hadn't occurred to him that the shorter man had actually worn the hoodie, as stupid as it was. And the fact it had been his favourite as well, made him feel all funny. He chose to remain silent however, and brought the hood over his head as he leant against a tree, eyes closed. Probably a good idea to rest while he could, he knew they would be walking for a while once Chishiya Joe and Aoki returned. The beach possessed cars, and they had to be far away before they began their chase.

The gentle wind ruffled his hair as he fell into a relaxed state, shadows dancing on his face as he awaited his friends return.

Everything would be ok.

Chapter Text

Chishiya rushed down the corridor as quickly as he could, following the taunting shouts and laughs of the militants ahead of him. It seemed that they were heading down, below the ground level of the beach. They soon came into view, and Chishiya slowed, walking behind them part with a neutral expression on his face. He needed to blend in, and keep up his facade. He could see Aoki struggling as he was hauled along with the men, a series of curses and insults flying from his mouth. Niragi laughed as he strode on, ignoring his pitiful attempts at escape. Joe had fallen into unconsciousness, and his legs dragged along the carpet, heading towards their unknown destination.

Aguni was no longer with them, he had peeled off and headed in a separate direction some time ago. To do what, Chishiya was unsure, but it worried him. Aguni was the only person who had any sort of control over Niragi and with him gone, and Niragi left in charge, who knows how far he would go with the prisoners. He thought back to Aguni’s words:

Take them away, you know what to do.

This could mean so many different things, none any good, as Chishiya remembered the sick grin that had spread across the pierced man’s face when he had heard them. Surely Aguni would want information out of them, before he even debated killing them? He must do, he wouldn’t just dispose of them so quickly.

Or would he?

A small thud brought his attention to the carpeted ground, and he looked down to see Joe’s radio staring blankly at him. He must dropped it while they were walking, it was a wonder that none of the militants had picked up on it. If they had heard Arisu or the other’s communicating on it then they would have been toast. He stooped to pick it up from the ground, slipping it into his pocket where the other one also lay. He pointedly ignored the metallic sent that clung to the warm plastic, along with the small smear or red on his fingers.

He wondered if Arisu had managed to get out yet, and find the girls.

The parade slowed as Niragi halted in front of a door that Chishiya did not recognize, hidden down in the deeper layer’s of the beach. This was an off limits area to the majority of the beach's population, saved for the militants personal use. As an executive, Chishiya was unaware of what it contained, but he knew of it's existence and he imagined his ignorance would soon be solved. The people around him filtered inside, and he followed uneasily, staying to the back of the group. Even though no one had complained, he couldn’t help but feel that he would be thrown out if he brought any attention to himself.

His general plan, which he had constructed on the journey there, was to endure whatever happened to the pair from the sidelines. Then, if they all left like he hoped, he would do his best to release them. After that...well he could cross that bridge when he came to it. Focus on what's happening now, and work it out from there, he told himself.

The room was small, and had no windows. The only light came from a ratty looking lightbulb that was hanging bare from the cracked ceiling, illuminating their captive's faces as well as possible, as they were tossed roughly to the floor. Chishiya winced, before hardening his face again. Even though everyone was focused elsewhere, he couldn’t risk giving himself away.

Joe groaned and painfully blinked his eyes open as he woke. His face was a bloody mess, and his eyes were nearly swollen shut. Niragi had really gone all out. Aoki scrambled over to his friend and helped him sit upwards, crouching in front of him with a glare, aimed at the people around him. Judging from his stance, Chishiya could tell he was trying to protect his companion, using himself as a human shield.

"Aww, what do you think that's going to do idiot?" spat Niragi, as he strolled towards them, grabbing a handful of Aoki's hair, and punching him hard in the stomach.

"Aoki!" Joe cried, wincing at the effort.

The maniac ignored his cry, and leaned down to whisper something in his victim's ear. Aoki's eyes widened in horror, and rage, but before he could say anything, there was a gun beside his head. The doctor heard Joe scream something before the deafening blast sounded, dark blood spraying across the wall. The other man let out a choked sob, as his friend's body slumped towards the floor. He began to move, trying to reach him, but before he could the gun sounded again.

Chishiya felt numb as he watched the blood spill across the floor, unable to comprehend what had happened. Niragi had just...killed them? Just like that? Just like it was nothing to him. Which it honestly probably wasn't. He was dimly aware of the armed man kicking the corpses a few times, laughing before he spoke.

"Right...we'll leave these guys here. Someone else can clean it up."

He turned away from the scene and made his way to the door with a skip in his step, elbowing past Chishiya as he went. The other members trailed past him, some sending small glares in his direction as they walked. He was an executive after all.

In a moment, it was silent and he was left alone with the two lifeless figures. But all he could think of, in the moment, was about how disappointed Arisu would be .

He had promised...even though he knew it would have been impossible to pull of, he had still filled his younger friend with false hope. Chishiya had seen how easily the three of them had gotten on that morning, the glances and the secret looks shared between them. He had to admit, at the time he had been a little jealous of their connection. Arisu was just so likeable, he naturally drew people to him.

But now, he was going to show up empty handed, without the two by his side. It wasn't too hard for him to picture the heartbroken look he knew the gamer would have in his stupidly kind eyes, that showed every emotion so clearly. What if he left him? What if he decided that Chishiya wasn't worth it, or worse, he wasn't trustable? If Arisu saw how he manipulated and killed what he thought were friends, what if he thought Chishiya would do the same to him?

But, he told himself, was that not what you originally planned to do? It made him slightly sick to think, that if he had not found and helped Arisu at the party, leading to a change of plan, then it would be him now laying dead at his feat. Arisu would have been dead, and he would have died hating Chishiya.

That very thought struck cold desperation into his heart, and he paused for a second.

Why did he care anyway?

He had put so much effort into locking his feelings away for so long, becoming an emotionless machine. It was the only way to survive, and win at the games. But Arisu had managed to burrow under his carefully constructed walls, and it hurt. The idea of him leaving, and never returning really, really hurt.

But now was not the time.

Chishiya needed to find the bloody cards, he couldn't let Joe and Aoki's sacrifice go to waste. He cast one last look at the pair where they lay, Joe's hand was stretched out to reach his friend's.

He had been close, but not close enough.

With that, the door shut behind him and he walked briskly back to Hatter's rooms. He passed by a few people on his way, it seemed the crowd had dispersed back to what they had been doing before the announcement. People talked in hushed whispers, and had worried expressions on their faces. He wondered what life at the beach would be like for the others once they left.

If they succeeded in taking the cards, would Aguni start collecting them again? Would the people revolt against him?  They didn't love him like they didn't Hatter, would he be able to maintain the order? But no matter, those were thoughts that could wait. He had made it to his destination, and after quickly looking around, he slipped inside. He knew he should have brought Kuina or Usagi with him to keep watch, but it made him feel better knowing they were all waiting safely outside. He would manage, he would just have to be careful. And that was something he was good at.

He walked towards the painting, a small smile on his face. Despite the glum situation, he couldn’t help but savour the feeling of near success. He had worked for far too long on his plan, and now it had finally come into place. When they had caught Joe earlier, Chishiya had observed quietly as Aguni's eyes had flicked towards the very painting he now stood in front of. A deer. The cards were here, they had to be. The wooden frame was smooth under his delicate fingers as it was lifted off of the wall.

And there they were.

It was almost comical, a large square hole had been dug out of the wall and inside lay a simple wooden box. He quickly lifted the lid, and pocketed his prize, aware of the danger he was in. The main objective now was to return to his group, and somehow break the news to Arisu. His small celebration dimmed down nd the numbness returned as he made his way outside. As childish as it was, all he currently wanted to do was run and hide, away from Arisu’s kind eyes. How could he possibly justify his actions? Sure they had the cards, but was it really worth two human lives…

Of course it was. God, he had been around the gamer for too long. He was getting soft.

Chishiya found himself longing for his old ability to dismiss guilt. If this had happened a few weeks beforehand, then he wouldn’t have batted an eye. Why did Arisu have to go and change his mindset? It wasn’t fair, he had been doing so well before they met.

The younger man was going to be his downfall.

"I'm on my way." he whispered into the radio, hoping they had their's within earshot. He imagined that they had been in the trees for a while, he hoped they hadn't wondered off in boredom. Or been caught.

"Chishiya! Are you ok? We're just outside" he heard Arisu say in a hushed tone. The fact that he was worried for him, brought another rush of his guilt to his stomach as he began to reply.

"Yeah, I'm ok." it took an amazing amount of willpower to stop his voice from wobbling, and he cursed himself. He had to keep it together! He was better than that.

"Are the others with you?"

...

"Chishiya?"

He couldn't bring himself to lie, and simply switched the radio off completely. He was nearly there anyway, the blonde could see the trees through the entrance. Well, whatever happens next was going to hurt like a bitch. He walked quickly into the foliage, not wanting anyone to see his hasty escape. Three figures came into view, one of which quickly rushed towards him. Before he knew what was happening, Arisu had pulled him into a deep hug, winding his arms around his back. He was gone before the older man could process what had happened, leaving him frozen.

"Chishiya! Why didn't you reply! I was worried."

"I-"

But he could speak. Arisu frowned, and peered behind him.

"Where are the others? We need to get Joe somewhere he can rest. He got hurt pretty bad."

The silence was deafening. Nobody said a word, as Arisu continued to look around, confused.

"Chishiya?"

"I-I'm sorry Arisu."

"What?"

He swallowed, and Kuina placed a hand on Arisu's back. He shrugged it off, and started to look slightly panicked when he realized the others were not nearby.

"Niragi killed them."

...

"...What? Your joking right?"

Chishiya looked down, he couldn't bring himself to look the dark haired man in the eye. Usagi stepped up from behind them.

"Oh Arisu..." she said quietly, meeting Kuina's eye with a worried expression.

"Please tell me your joking."

"I'm sorry. They're dead."

Arisu stood still, his face an unreadable mask. A small chuckle made it's way out of his mouth, and he looked like he didn't know what to do with his hands. Although, it seemed he gained some clarity as the information finally sunk in.

"No, no. nononono they can't be. I promised.I-"  He took a shaky step away from the shorter man, and Chishiya flinched when they made eye contact. The sheer anguish in his beautiful eyes filled him with raging guilt, and anger towards himself.

"You promised me Chishiya. You promised." he said, his voice breaking.

"Arisu-" he started, but the gamer interrupted.

"Shut up. They can't be dead."

He started to walk back towards the beach's entrance, tearing at his hair.

"I need- I need to find them." he said, not sounding like he really had a plan.

But if he tried to simply run back inside, he would be killed on the spot. It wasn't like there was anything but two dead bodies for him to find anyway. Chishiya quickly ran after him, grabbing the gamer's arm before he could pass through the entrance. The younger man tore himself free, and wheeled round to face him. The sadness in his eyes was now accompanied with betrayal and pure anger. Anger for Chishiya.

"You said you would rescue them!"

"I tried-"

"Did you really? Or are you lying. I know you Chishiya, I know you are a disgusting manipulative pig who would sacrifice his own family without a second thought if it meant getting your way. I really thought I could trust you." he snarled, and the words hit him, stinging like a whip. His clever, kind friend looked almost insane in grief. And it brought small tears to his eyes.

God fucking dammit.

Why did it have to hurt this much? He had expected anger, but he hadn't anticipated quite how far the burning pain would stab inside his chest. The last time he had felt like this...well he couldn't think of a time another person had effected him in such a way. But he couldn't cry, not here, not now.

He looked back up at the gamer, who had stopped shouting, and was shocked to see a small amount of regret in his dark eyes, before he turned back to walk into the beach again.

"Wait!" he froze, and looked back at Chishiya.

The locker key was quickly untied from his wrist, and he tossed it through the arch. Just as he feared, a blinding red laser came streaming down from the sky, melting through the plastic. Arisu had stopped just in time, the faint laser net was now visible around the beach's border. That could only mean one thing.

"The beach is a ...game venue?" said Kuina from behind them.

"Seems like it."  said Usagi.

"I wonder what game could possibly be on such a scale? All the beach's residents are trapped in there."

That brought another cold stab of fear into Chishiya's chest, Tatta was trapped inside a high level game. He hoped the man would be alright, he didn't deserve to die.

"We should start making our way to the main city. Kuina's visa expires tomorrow. We should find a game tonight."

It was almost embarrassing that he had managed to miss such a critical part out of their plan, he had momentarily forgotten the importance of visas. He hoped there would still be a game venue open when they got there, as it would probably take an hour of walking to reach the city at their pace. Arisu wouldn't be able to walk fast due to his side.

Speaking of the gamer, he still stood in front of the arch, fists balled as he faced away from the others. Without a word, he turned and began to walk along a path, the city ahead of them. Kuina put a hand on his shoulder and let him after the man, along with Usagi. The doctor went silently, and without complaint. His legs were shaking slightly, which wasn't exactly helpful.

The weather almost seemed too perfect for their position, the gentle sun warming their faces as a pleasant breeze blew through the trees. It made Chishiya want to throw up. Everything was too nice, the world should be punishing him, not rewarding him with good weather. Usagi jogged to catch up with the raging man, concern written on the climber's features. Arisu was striding quickly, leaving them behind, which Chishiya knew must be painful. He was going to start bleeding again at this rate...

But there was nothing he could do.

Perhaps the pain was keeping Arisu's mind off the loss of his friends, and it wasn't like the younger man would let him convince him to slow down at all. He just hoped he wouldn't go too far.

Kuina tugged his sleeve, and he turned to face her.

"Hey...are you alright? He was pretty harsh on you."

"I'm fine. I didn't care." he lied, even though he knew it was pointless.

"Yes you did. I've never seen you look so worked up before, you were on the brink of crying Chishiya. You can talk to me you know, it's not good to keep all your emotions to yourself."

He sighed

"You sound like a therapist."

She snorted quietly, they were out of earshot of the other two but it was best not to be loud about the subject.

"I guess it did hurt a bit. It's not like I didn't expect it though."

She nodded grimly, and wiped a stray strand of hair away from her face.

"Yeah. Well, at least we aren't trapped in that game though...I'm worried for the people inside."

"You mean Ann?"

Hey! She squawked, going slightly pink as she hit his arm. He allowed a small smile to rise onto his face as he continued.

"Don't think I haven't noticed your massive crush on her. You look like a tomato every time you see her. It's sad really."

"You bastard!" she laughed, but bit her lip afterwards.

"I hope she will be ok..."

"Don't worry, she's smart. If anyone will win a high level beach game it's her." she still looked worried, but more reassured now.

"Speaking of crushes...."

"Don't you dare."

"Hey, you said I looked like a tomato. You should have seen your face when you were changing Arisu's bandages."

"I will murder you."

Kuina raised her hands in mock surrender and laughed. They continued to talk and bicker, after she had graciously dropped the subject, forgetting for the moment about the dark future. He had to admit, he was glad to have met someone like her. She knew exactly how to cheer him up, and even though he didn't really show it, he was happy she had stuck with him.

It didn't take too long for them to track down a game venue when they reached the city, a small building with the game's light up sign outside. There was no one else in the reception, just four phones and collars lying on a white table. One each.

They all grabbed their gear one by one, and fastened the collars around their necks. Arisu looked a little hesitant, and his posture was stiff as he eventually followed suite. He watched with curiosity as Usagi gave him a look, as if to ask him if he was ok. Their silent exchange was interrupted by the cheery jingle of the games robotic voice, as a door opened to their right.

"I'm guessing we go in?" said Kuina to the group, and they filed inside.

The walls were dark grey, and the interior was relatively small. To one side of the room, there were three podiums, labeled 1,2 and 3. On the other side of the room was a stand with three coloured buttons, each numbered like the podiums. A screen on the wall was currently lit, displaying the game's words.

What kind of game was this supposed to be?

Welcome all players, registration has now closed. There are currently four participants. Game difficulty: four of hearts. Game: twenty questions. Game rules: Three of the four players with stand on each podium, and the final player will stand behind the buttons. Twenty questions will be asked to the group, one at a time, and the player behind the buttons must choose which player will have to answer. Questions will get harder as the game continues, players will be given one minute each to decide who will answer, and answer the given question. Players will be given five minutes at the start of the game to get into place, and discuss. The selection of positions will be random, and displayed on a small screen on the front of your collar. Failure to answer your given question truthfully, will result in a penalty for the player. Failure to stand in the correct position will result in a penalty. Collect a penalty, and the player's collar will explode. Time limit: twenty-five minutes. Game start.

A five minute timer ticked onto the screen, and Chishiya turned towards the group. Like the game said, small screens flickered onto their collars, and Chishiya peered at them. Arisu was number one, he was number three, Kuina was number two and Usagi was labelled 'buttons'. Dammit, he had hoped for the buttons position. A hearts game ment the questions would be personal, and he knew answering them were designed to cause pure agony.

"Well, get into place I guess." said Kuina, walking towards the second podium. They were arranged next to each other like they would be at a sporting even. How fun.

"Good luck guys. Shall I just give you all the questions in order? That seems fair." Usagi spoke up, as she moved behind the button stand. She seemed nervous, rightfully so.

"Ok..." Kuina said, Arisu and Chishiya walked over to stand beside her. He had to admit, standing on the shortest podium didn't do wonders for his height, or self esteem. That wasn't really something he should be concerned about, but it was still annoying.

The timer reached zero, and the game began.

Chapter Text

Arisu felt empty as he stood on the podium, as though the tired body he was in was being controlled by someone else. He had thought it had been a joke, a horrible cruel joke when Chishiya had first told him. It just didn't seem possible, that two people he had seen mere hours before were no longer there.

It wasn't fair.

The gamer had hoped, somewhere deep inside his chest, that he had finally found someone he could truly become friends with again. To have a trio, two best friends, would be more than he could ever wish for.

But of course, Arisu could never have what he wanted. As horrible as it was, it was ironically fitting. People around him always seemed to get hurt, he must be cursed. Just another one of the universe's cruel jokes, that he had taken the brunt of. As usual.

And Chishiya...

Arisu was having conflicted feelings about the man.

On the first time, he had failed their friends, failed Arisu, letting them die. How could he possibly forgive him for something like that? He should have let Arisu come along with him to rescue them, then maybe things would have played out differently, with another brain to think of a plan...

But on the second hand, perhaps he had been too quick to lash out?

He hadn't even gotten the full story from the older man, how did he know that he hadn't actually done everything in his power to try to save them? Surely he should be thankful that at least he came back alive, even if he couldn't bring Joe and Aoki with him. Arisu had to admit, that over the hate, a small part of him felt guilty. It made him feel disgusted at himself, his friends deserved for him to say what he did! But still, the pure hurt in Chishiya's eyes had surprised him. He hadn't really been expecting that much of a reaction, when he had said the rash things he did. The emotions had taken him over, and the anger had swelled.

Ugh, why did everything have to be so complicated?

What hurt the most though, wasn't Chishiya's empty return, or the lack of the dark haired and bleached hair men beside him. It was the fact that his friends had died oblivious, unaware of the full plan. They had died believing he had betrayed them for no reason at all.

They had died hating him.

He had had it all planed out, before the bomb hit. Arisu would have done everything to make it up to them when they were reunited, and they would have eventually forgiven him. It was a logical course of action after all. And then, they would have played the games together, using the cards to get back to the real world. Along with Chishiya and the girls, they would have been the perfect team.

Goddammit.

The collar fastened around his neck itched uncomfortably, it was a horrible sensation, reminding him of the collar he wore as a wolf in the hide of seek game. The memory of it sealed around his neck, trying to tear it off brought shivers of anxiety down his spine. It honestly took an amazing amount of will for him to not burst into tears when he had first spied them, lying innocently on the table. But he had held together, focusing on the task ahead.

As the game started, Arisu took a deep breath and tried to relax his posture from where he stood. What was important now was surviving, and keeping his team alive. His fucking feelings could wait until he was on his own, and getting lost in his thoughts wouldn't hurt anyone. The gamer had been pretty much silent until now, but he knew that could not continue. He needed to converse with his teammates, in order to clear this fucking game. What was their luck to get a bloody hearts game? They were his least favourite, for obvious reasons.

And answering personal questions, well, it was bound to get messy. He didn't know an awful lot about his friends lives before they met, which was a bit pathetic really, but this really wasn't the place to get into painful memories. Would the game make him reveal secrets he held close to his chest?

...Of course it would. Who was he kidding?

"Question one. What is your full name?"

Usagi looked slightly confused from her place behind the button stand. If he had to guess, the first handful of questions would probably be easy, to lull the players into a false sense of security and positivity. And then the hard questions would come. Questions that would probe deep into their hearts, stirring the most deadly of concoctions.

"Kuina, I'll give this question to you then?" the climber said, pressing the button numbered '2'.

"Hikari Kuina." she answered, looking as confused as Usagi at the simplicity.

A large green tick was accompanied by a cheerful jingle on the screen, marking her success. One question down, nineteen more to go. Arisu swallowed dryly, according to Usagi's ordering system, it was his turn next. The first question wouldn't be hard, but he couldn't help feeling apprehensive.

"Arisu, your next." Usagi said, and he nodded his understanding.

"Question two. How many siblings do you have?"

The timer started and Arisu answered quickly, being rewarded for his efforts with an identical tick and tune.

Great.

The question struck a small pang of guilt into his heart, when he remembered Hajime. He truly hadn't spared a thought to his younger brother since arriving here, or his father for that matter. He wondered where they were now, did they miss Arisu? Ha, not likely. He scoffed to himself, before focusing on the next question.

"Question three. What is your favourite colour."

Arisu saw Chishiya sigh, and shift slightly next to him. He stood a lot lower than he usually did, due to the podiums, and it was kind of funny. Not the time Arisu, he told himself.

"Brown." he muttered, and the tick followed.

"This is stupid." Chishiya added, rather grumpily.

"We should just be grateful that there is an obvious way to clear the game. To tell the truth. " Usagi replied, getting ready to direct the next question to Kuina.

Arisu could see her eyebrows furrowed slightly, she looked uneasy.

"Yeah, Usagi's right. Let's promise not to judge each other, ok?" Kuina said. They nodded, and the next question was presented.

"Question four. How old are you ?"

"Oh, I'm nineteen."

Huh, Arisu thought she must be older than that, as her answer was deemed correct. The dark haired man caught Usagi's eye, and she looked equally surprised, giving him a small smile. Great minds think alike. The time flowed, as the next handful of questions were asked. They weren't particularly difficult, some embarrassing, but nothing overly serious. Usagi's idea of splitting the questions up equally was still in play, it looked to be their best bet at staying level headed. Instead of loosing track of who had been asked what, and shovelling hard questions onto the others. It was going surprisingly well, for the time being.

"Question eleven. What do you feel about your family? Player must answer in over fifteen words."

Oh balls, that was his question.

"Hey, are you alright to answer that Arisu? I can change-" asked Usagi tentatively, but he stopped her.

"It's fine."

He hadn't talked to any of his friends about his home life, as it didn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things, but she had been right to assume it wasn't perfect. But they had to keep the pattern going, it wasn't fair to throw that question at the others, it was the first time a requirement for the length had been added. It was his responsibility. She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile, before pressing his button.

"My family don't care about me, and I don't care about them. I honestly don't think they would care if I died." He said, his voice scratching at his throat.

The flash of green that followed brought bitterness to his mouth, and he scowled. How did the game know these things about them anyway? It was creepy.

"Arisu-"

"Can we just not talk about it please? Or at least wait until after." he said to the woman next to him, slightly surprised in the venom in his voice.

Why was he upset? It wasn't like he didn't know it already. Maybe it just hurt to admit his brother and father didn't give a shit about him. The question had soured the small slither of optimism he had allowed into his heart, and he found himself zoning out until the fifteenth question, as none of the others were particularly interesting. It was Chishiya's turn to answer, which the other man was obviously not been pleased about.

"Question fifteen. What was your previous profession? Player must state at least one con of the job, along with why you decided to do it."

The questions had gradually been getting longer, with more and more requirements added. It was getting exhausting, and Arisu felt a strong desire to sit down. He had been harsh on his wound earlier as he walked, and the dull ache was sending waves of nausea to his head. Best to get this over as quickly as possible. Chishiya grumbled, and Arisu stilled. Even though he knew what Chishiya's answer would be, and he was pretty sure Kuina did too, he still knew the other wasn't overly fond of opening up."

"I used to be a doctor. Well, medical student. The hospital I worked at was corrupt though, they cared more for money than their patients lives." he paused, and the timer continued.

"I got the job because it was my father's hospital, and I wanted him to be proud of me... he still didn't give a shit though." He added the last bit quietly, and Arisu felt pity.

At least his father actually acknowledged his existence, sometimes, even if it was to degrade him, and speak of his brother's success. Wait, your supposed to be mad at him, he realized, and hardened his expression. Even if no one was looking at him, it helped harness his raging emotions a little. The wooziness had also increased, and he swayed on the spot. Not much longer now.

No one said anything after Chishiya's question, and despite his stony exterior, the taller man could tell he was grateful. He didn't like sympathy after all.

Question sixteen. What is one word you would use to describe your father's attitude towards you?"

Kuina's question.

Arisu noticed the girls eyes darken but she didn't protest.

"Cruel." she whispered, and rubbed one of her arms. It seemed like a natural reaction to her, as if rubbing phantom bruises.

"Don't worry guys, only four questions left, and Arisu, you're next," Usagi said, and Arisu gave her a small noise of acknowledgement.

She didn't need to remind him, but it looked like she just wanted something to say something to fill the thick atmosphere. Not that it worked.

"Question seventeen. Have you ever been in a relationship with a woman?"

Huh!?

"That's! er-" he squeaked indignantly.

Wasn't this supposed to be about deep dark secrets? This was just embarrassing, why did anybody need to know this!?

"No. I haven't."

He sighed, and waited for the tick to appear. It didn't.

"Erm. Do I need to say something else?"

"Maybe add why" offered Usagi, as he began to panic slightly. Thirty seconds left.

"Becauseeee...erm. I'm antisocial?" It was more of a shot in the dark, but he was relieved when the tick popped up. It only required one penalty to die, if that hadn't been the answer...

Arisu thought back to Karube, the blood on his clothes, in his mouth. He shuddered and tuned back into their group. He noticed, rather annoyingly, that Kuina was sniggering slightly, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"Oi, you said no judging!" he said with a hiss, hitting her arm lightly. His face had gone a lovely shade of pink, and he could feel the embarrassment burning down his neck. It really wasn't his fault that no girls had ever appealed to him. Or more likely, no girls had ever taken pity on him. Anyway.

"Sorry. How old are you again Arisu?"

"Twenty..." he admitted, and she snorted with laughter.

"Your such a virgin..."

"Hey!"

"Question eighteen. Who do you consider friends?"

The game interrupted their squabble, and Arisu turned to look at Chishiya from the corner of his eye. It was his question, and the timer began. The question was interesting, and Arisu felt a layer of sadness wash over him. Maybe if Chishiya had been asked that question yesterday, or that morning then his answer would have been different. Before everything had gone wrong.

"Tatta, Kuina, Ann, Usagi." he said.

Ouch. He sighed and watched the screen, waiting for the tick to appear...But it didn't? The timer ticked on, had he not answered the question fully? What other friends could Chishiya have had? Mira? Although he had never seen them talk, she seemed like one of the nicer executives.

"Arisu."

...what?

It took him a moment to comprehend, Chishiya still saw him as a ...friend? But...he had thought, that after the argument, that their relationship had been severed completely. Did he still have a chance, to make things right after all?

But Chishiya killed them.

No he didn't, it was all the militant's fault. He had tried his best, and Arisu truly believed that.

“Question nineteen. What is a secret you, along with two other players are keeping from your group member? Player must answer in ten words or less, and must make no attempt to justify or explain why this secret was kept. ”

Hm, a Secret? That was Kuina’s question. Had they been keeping a secret from someone? From him? The gamer saw from the corner of his eye as Kuina gave Usagi an anxious look, the timer starting on the screen. Did they really all know something he didn’t?

“We knew Joe and Aoki would die.”

“..what?” he whispered, his voice breaking.

What did Kuina mean, they knew!? How could they have known? If they were sure they would die then they wouldn’t have sent them to get the cards. They would have found another way. They wouldn’t have sacrificed them..right?

“Arisu, we-” Kuina started, before biting her lip. Due to the game rules, she couldn’t explain it to him. None of them could.

He stayed silent as his brain whirred, trying to take in the betrayal he felt. The way they were looking at each other, the tears in Usagi’s eyes, Chishiya’s uncomfortable posture, told him all he needed to know.

They had...killed them?

They had killed them.

“Question 20. What game has affected you the most so far? Player must give a summary of the games rules, participants and the events that took place. The player will also be allowed to add any additional information if they wish. This question has no time limit, it will be marked correct when the player has said enough. Good luck, this is the final question.”

“Chishiya do you want to answer that one instead-” said Usagi, her voice wobbly and slightly panicked.

“I can fucking answer it Usagi. I’m not a child,” he snarled, anger burning in his eyes.

Did she really think he would let Chishiya take his rightful question? Bullshit, he could answer it just fine. Maybe then, it would get into their thick skulls why he was so intent on no one dying. Oblivious assholes. She visibly recoiled, but still pressed his button. The timer started, and he took a deep breath.

It was now or never.

"The game that affected me the most, was the seven of hearts game. It was only my third game, and I entered it with my two best friends, Karube and Chota. Along with a woman we met called Shibuki."

He gave a bitter smile, remembering his friends optimism before the game, before continuing.

"It was held in the botanical gardens, and we were the only players there. The rules of the game were, one person was the wolf, and the rest were sheep. The wolf could change, switching between players when we made eye contact. We wore collars like these ones, along with screens that could track our eye movement. The basic gist was, only the wolf could survive. Once the time was up, all the sheep's collars would explode, killing them."

A wave of cruel understanding washed over the room, as his team realized what was coming.

"At first, they turned on each other. Shibuki ran off, Karube followed her. I followed them, and Chota stayed behind. I got the wolf at some point, but Karube turned on me. He chased me and I hide from him. I was scared, scared to die. But if I could go back I would have looked at him in a heart beat. Eventually, I decided to come and find them. I didn't want to survive, if it meant they couldn't be with me. But..."

Small tears formed in his eyes, and he wiped them angrily with his sleeve. According to the game, his answer still wasn't satisfactory. All eyes were on him, silently waiting for him to finish. His voice came out shaky and he clenched his fists as to not show how his hands were trembling.

"They hid from me. I couldn't find them in time... and I killed them."

"Congratulations."

A cheerful jingled sounded, and the final tick was presented. With a click, their collars fell to the floor, and the door reopened. They were finally finished.

It seemed like no one really knew what to say, as the exit was presented, but eventually Chishiya walked forward. He left through the door, and Kuina followed, casting a hesitant look over her shoulder. The climber made her way over to him, gently placing a hand on his arm to guide him away from the podium. But he snatched it away, instead choosing to walk on his own. They really needed to find somewhere to sleep, the dizziness was making his head spin.

The cool outside air hit him as he passed back into the street, calming him a bit. All the gamer wanted to do was rest, get over the game, and take some time to think about the things that had been shared. And how their group could possibly go on forward. He groaned, and followed the retreating figures of Chishiya and Kuina, hearing Usagi follow behind him. She didn't try to catch up with him, for which he was grateful. He wasn't sure he could bring himself to look her in the eyes if she did, knowing his friend had gone along with killing them was too much.

But those were thoughts for later. For now, he assumed the pair ahead, talking quietly to each other, were scouting for a place to make camp. They were still on the outskirts of the city, and they looked to be returning to a green clearing. It was late afternoon, and the sun was shining more dimly than before. Arisu's stomach grumbled rather embarrassingly, as he remembered he hadn't eaten anything in...how long has it been?

Definitely too long.

They made their way into a clearing, the leafy trees offering cover from praying eyes. It was a good place to stay for the time being, as they figured out what to do next. The team had very few supplies with them, only the few items that were in Chishiya and Arisu’s pockets. He had forgotten about the, and felt the matches and torch as he slid his hand into his pocket. Maybe they could make a fire…

But if anyone survived the hearts game, he knew they wouldn’t be happy with the missing cards. He pictured Aguni sending Niragi, along with his other minions to hunt them down, the smoke would make their hidden position obvious. Although, a fire was probably safe for tonight, which the beach was most likely in shambles. They would probably have to find a more secure base in the future though.

After a while of absentmindedly poking around the area, Kuina spoke up hesitantly, more addressing the other group members than him. It felt as though she was treating him like a bomb, if she talked quietly and didn’t acknowledge his existence then he would blow up. He gritted his teeth and listened, standing away from the rest of the team.

Traitors.

“Does someone want to go and look for food? We’re not too far from the city, and I saw some shops just before we got here.” she said carefully. Usagi turned to face them.

“I’ll-” she started, but Arisu interrupted her.

“I do it.”

The gamers voice sounded monotone, and blank.

The girl looked nervous at his suggestion, biting her lip as she spoke.

“Maybe Usagi should go instead Arisu.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to fucking run off.” he added, some anger becoming evident in his tone. She visibly flinched, but it was obvious she knew that he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Ok...be careful them.”

Arisu missed the worried look she sent towards Chishiya, as he had already turned his back on them, making his way through the trees towards the shops. He knew where he was going, at least vaguely. He needed time to think...and to grieve, away from the looks of the others. He didn’t know if he could even consider them friends any more.

The scenery started to change around him, and he soon spied a shop he liked the look of. No broken windows, a small amount of greenery, but it looked otherwise like it hadn’t been raided by fellow survivors. That was good, he could find a good dinner for them all. Not like they deserved it in the slightest.

In a way, having a simple task like gathering food took his mind of the fact he was mourning, it grounded him, and kept him from breaking down. He had to keep moving, and not dwell in the past for too long.
There were multiple long life products on the shelves, after he had forced himself through the ivy sprouting on the door. Dim light flowed through the small corner shop, and he inspected the shelves carefully. After grabbing a metal basket, he started to pile various products inside, scouting all of the different options. There was bottled water as well, he even found some medical supplies. This little shop was a gold mine.

Arisu sighed walking to the dark check out area, and fished out a plastic bag to carry the food. All the walking today had put a strain on his side, and it ached profusely. Damn it.

Sometime had passed, and Arisu knew he needed to start making his way back with his bounty, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave the quiet comfort of the building. It was nice, not having anyone else around him. He hadn’t had any time on his own on quite a while, it was refreshing.

And he was hungry.

With it decided, the gamer took a seat beside the wall and opened a cereal bar. It wasn’t a massive meal, but better than nothing. The oats were sweet in his mouth as he closed his eyes, listening to the peaceful sound of nothing. But alas, with nothing to keep itself occupied, his mind began to wander back to his friends, and their cruel fate. He allowed the salty tears he had been keeping back to finally flow free, unleashing the grief that he had been trying to ignore. He didn’t know how long he stayed there in that state, but when he finally regained his senses, the evening was upon him.

Shakily he got up and walked to the entrance. He needed to get back to his team, although he didn’t want to. They were probably panicking about his whereabouts by now. He made his way quickly into the street, wiping a few stray tears with his free sleeve. Stupidly, didn’t think to check his surroundings before walking out, too focused on the task at hand: getting back to the clearing. Back to Chishiya.

All of a sudden, as he made his way across a side alley, there was a hand across his mouth, and he was pulled into the darkness.

Chapter Text

Chishiya watched as Arisu stalked through the rustling undergrowth, steadily becoming shrouded by the trees as he left the group. The older man had been hesitant to let him go to gather food, he had wanted to go after him but decided against it, as much as his heart screamed in protest. The dark haired man looked like he needed some time alone, for which Chishiya couldn't blame him, as risky as it was.

They didn't know this area, who knows what dangers were around?

Anxiety gnawed at his gut as the gamer eventually disappeared completely from sight, and he bit his lip, trying his best not to show his concern. It seemed Kuina was having similar thoughts to him, as he caught her eye she sent him a worried glance. Well, there wasn't really much they could do now, except wait with baited breath for him to return. Hopefully with food as well, despite the worrying situation he was still starving.

Beside him, Kuina flopped onto the grass with a tired sigh, choosing to sit cross legged instead of standing as she stretched her arms. That was a good idea. Usagi and Chishiya followed suite, and sat in a rough circle, no one quite sure of what to say to each other. So much had happened today, and they both looked exhausted.  After a while, Kuina spoke up softly, her voice sounding regretful and a sour look in her eye.

"...we messed up, didn't we."

So it was time for this conversation. Great.

When nobody spoke, the girl continued, a small amount of anger laced into her tone.

"We should never have hid the truth from him."

"You know he would never have helped us if he knew they wouldn't make it." Chishiya argued.

"But maybe that would have been for the best? Then he wouldn't have had to watch his friends die...it was our fault. " She added.

Chishiya tensed, and turned away from his companion. Was she stupid? If they hadn't involved Arisu in their plan then he would most likely be trapped in the beach's current game. He wondered if Arisu would be able to beat it. He had a brilliant mind, but a game on that level...never mind. They simply had to accept what had been done, and the fact their friend would likely never trust them again. Hell, he would probably never be able to look them in the eyes again either.

The rush of anguish he felt at that thought was quickly swallowed down as he focused on the people around him. He couldn't let them see truly how affected he was by the whole situation, it would make him seem weak. Not that that really mattered now. Usagi looked upset, and like she wanted to speak. And so she did.

"I never should have trusted you two...you turned my best friend against me." she half whispered, small tears in her eyes.

Chishiya hadn’t really stopped to consider how they had essentially torn the pair apart by involving them, their precious friendship had been essentially thrown down the drain. As sick as it was, the doctor felt a small bubbling wave of satisfaction roll over him at that thought.

Although, he didn't quite understand why.

He knew that Arisu and the climber were close, very close, almost romantic in nature. Bitterly, Chishiya  wondered if they had been given enough time, then maybe they would have ended up dating. He couldn’t deny how jealous he felt at the thought of the younger man being with someone else, especially Usagi of all people, with her stupid cute smile and kind eyes. She was so similar to Arisu in nature, they were naturally perfect for each other. She offered more to the man than Chishiya ever could, they were polar opposites. And that hurt. It hurt too much for him to fully process.

Hold on...why was even worried about that? Maybe he should have been thankful of their connection, at least they would be happy together, he tried to convince himself.

But why did he feel such resentment when he had seen Usagi and Arisu glued together, before everything happened? He knew that Kuina had joked about him having a crush, which he had found absurd to begin with, but now, what if she was right?

Did he...like Arisu?

No, he couldn’t. It wasn’t normal.

Chishiya and relationships, well, they just didn’t mix. The idea of being so close, and so vulnerable to another human being, always made him feel slightly ill. How could someone open their heart so willingly? All sorts of nasty things could happen when emotions were out in the open, it was much preferable to just focus on more pressing matters to him. To give love so freely...was bound to have consequences.

But that was before. And strangely, instead of disgust towards the idea of it all with Arisu, Chishiya felt a strange sort of longing. It was stupid, and childish, he knew it was, but he couldn’t help but picture what it would be like if something actually happened between them. Quiet evenings spent between the two of them, not needing to talk to enjoy the other’s company. Sending small looks to each other, unseen by others. It would be nice, he had to admit.

More then nice.

But it was too late now. What was done could not be undone, and he knew he had to accept that. They all had to accept it, and just pray that Arisu would eventually see the logic in their betrayal. Though he feared he wouldn’t.

The blonde turned his attention back to the group, he hadn’t really been paying attention but it seemed that a few cruel words had been exchanged between the two girls in his...absence of mind. Kuina looked pissed, and Usagi was hiding small sobs with her hand. He must admit, he never really thought their grand escape would lead to such negative emotions. Couldn't they just be happy that the mission was a success overall, despite the losses? People were so hard to deal with.

After a moment of silence, Kuina’s gaze softened and she turned back to the climber, who had also calmed a little.

“hey...I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

Usagi met her eyes with a sad smile.

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t really mean it, I’m glad we escaped...it’s just so unfair it had to be under those circumstances.”

The two women shared a moment of fond, yet silent reconnection, before Usagi turned to Chishiya, who hadn’t spoken since the start of the argument.

“I’m sorry to you too. Your plan was brilliant, really. It was cruel, but so fucking clever.” her voice cracked and Kuina pulled her into a tight hug. All their emotions today had run them dry, and the weariness on his teams face's was evident.

“Thank you Usagi. And...I guess I’m sorry too. You didn't have much of a choice whether to actually join us when you realized what was actually happening. We should have been frank with you from the start.”

She smiled, and Chishiya felt his chest warm slightly. Since when had he been so emotional? It was weird really.

Usagi and Kuina remained close to each other, both relying on the other for support as they faced him. Kuina looked hesitant to say what was obviously hanging over her mind, but eventually brought up what he had been dreading.

“So...Arisu’s game.”

He sighed, and Usagi spoke up when he failed to offer his thoughts on the matter.

“He never told me what actually happened to him during the game. I found him after he played, lying in the streets, not cared whether he lived or died.”

She paused, looking like she didn’t know if she should share the information or not. But after a comforting rub on the back from Kuina, she continued her tale quietly, as if she was afraid the trees would overhear.

“It was so horrible to see him like that...he had been there for days, in the rain as well. He had truly given up. If I hadn’t taken him to my camp...well, I think he would have given up and died were he lay. I-I assumed something heartbreaking must have happened in his game...but now I know the details...”

The climber’s voice trailed away, and she looked like she lost the words she needed, instead choosing to stare  into the depths of the forest around them, with an unreadable expression written on her face.

Chishiya wondered how it must feel, to have someone that close to you snatched away like Arisu's friends were. Truth be told, he had never been close with anyone before the borderlands. No friends, no relationship with his two parents...and no one who actually cared about him. He wondered, if it was similar to how it felt when he had seen Arisu fall away from him...only multiplied significantly. To know that you would never see your closest friends again, to blame yourself in fact, must have driven Arisu mad. Not for the first time, the blonde found himself thankful of how he had never formed friendships before. It sure saved a lot of heartbreak, until now at least.

“Maybe that’s why he’s so...intent on saving everyone?” offered Kuina as she continued to comfort the miserable girl seated next to her in the grass.

“He thinks it’s his fault his friends died...so he must have wanted to never have to go through it again. He tried so hard, but we did exactly what he was afraid of.”

As the realization dawned on her, Chishiya noticed how she angrily choked back a sob, wiping her eyes roughly.

He knew she was right though.

What they had done, must have been borderline torture for the younger man. To put him through a situation like that again, with people he had connected so quickly with.

It was all his fault.

Chishiya felt a curious burning feeling begin to well in his eyes, and he rubbed them slightly. His hand came away wet. Was he crying? That hadn't happened in so long...he snapped away from his thoughts and quickly wrestled down the tears, wich felt like fire on his skin. That was definitely something no one needed to see.

The dark was beginning to creep up on them, and Arisu still hadn't returned. It had been roughly an hour since he left, which was definitely more time than someone needed to gather food. The doctor had seen the shops that Arisu had probably made his way to, they weren't far. There was no logical reason for him to have taken so long. What if something happened to him?

With the foreign anxiety crawling back into his gut he rose quickly, and Kuina gave him a questioning look.

"I'm going to look for Arisu. He should be back by now." he offered bluntly, and the two girls quickly stood.

"We'll come too. It's dangerous to split up." said Usagi, and Kuina agreed.

"Yea, I wouldn't want to be alone, especially since it's getting dark"

He simply shrugged, choosing not to argue with his teammates and followed the path Arisu had taken before hand. Small twigs snapped under his rapid steps and leaves crunched, they were making fast progress. As the fading light drifted away from the vegetation, Chishiya looked around, surveying the scenery. He hadn't really been in such an area in a while...and he could hear the wildlife bustling through the woods. Unseen, but not unheard. With humans gone from the city, the animal population had risen significantly, and closer to the previous inhabited area, which brought a small wry smile to his face. If you ignored the deaths, and the misery, the borderlands were truly a beautiful place. They showed just how much mankind were marring the world, and with them gone the city had began to be taken over again by nature. It was quite poetic really. But soon, the shops they had spied earlier began to appear and they exited the cover of the trees together, leaving the other world behind.

"Well...he's not outside." said Kuina, looking around at the small abandoned street, where there was no sign of a familiar head of fluffy black hair.

"Which shop do you think he went in?"

"That one." said Chishiya after a moment of pause, pointing towards a small corner shop confidently.

"How do you know?" inquired Usagi, as he strolled towards it, hands rooted in his pockets.

Ah ha, a chance to show off his intellect. Wonderful.

"See the ivy on the floor? It's been torn off the door to open it, none of the other shops are like it." he said smugly, forgetting the glumness for a moment.

Usagi hummed in bewilderment, whilst Kuina simply rolled her eyes towards him. He smirked at her as placed a hand on the door handle. It was cool under his fingers, and he shuddered slightly. Squealing unpleasantly the door opened, and he peered into the gloom.

Arisu wasn't in there.

"What do we do now?" asked Usagi was they made their way outside, obvious concern in her features.

"Maybe he looked in a different shop? He might still be around if we call out for him?" Kuina said, peering around at the motionless shops around them.

"I think it's in our best intentions to be discreet as possible. We don't know this area well enough to go around yelling. Let's just split up to check all the other shops, and if he's not there we will meet back here ok?"

The other two nodded in agreement, and he eyed the sky with concern. It was nearly dark, where was he? Kuina left first, making her way to the furthest building with her braids swinging behind her. Usagi went the other direction, and he took that as a que to take the middle. The silence of the deserted area was eerie, and the gravel that crunched under his shoes seemed impossibly loud.

Dark shadows stretched though the next building's interior, and the next, as he failed again and again to locate their teammate. His hope was fading fast, and his fear was growing.  He wasn't here, or anywhere it seemed.

Seeing as the girls were now making their way back towards him with matching grim expressions, it looked like a new plan was needed. They regrouped, and moved to stand beside a small alleyway that lead behind a building.

"Chishiya...I know none of us want to say this but..." started Kuina, as she regulated him with a soft, yet guilty look.

"What if he's not coming back?"

Those words struck Chishiya's gut hard, and he blinked dumbly at her.

"What?"

She swallowed, and continued.

"Well...you saw how mad he was. I just think we have to take into consideration how he was feeling when he left. Maybe he decided he didn't want to stick with people like us. I can't really blame him to be honest."

"But...no he wouldn't do that." he said, refusing to believe what she was saying.

"I know it's logical but I agree with Chishiya. Arisu wouldn't leave us, even though he was upset, he hates being alone." Usagi added.

Kuina sighed.

"I'm just saying, maybe you guys are overestimating his kindness. If I was in his shoes, well I wouldn't feel safe with people who-"

"Wait!" Usagi suddenly interrupted, and her eyes fixed on something behind them, to the side of the alleyway's entrance. With a rustle she picked it up, and held it up for the group to see.

A discarded plastic shopping bag...

It was clean, no dirt or weeds covering it, which could mean only one thing: it couldn't have been there long. It must be Arisu's.

The heavy relief he felt at a sign of the man was quickly drowned out by more worry. He wouldn't abandon his food unless something had happened...what if he was attacked? Had the beach managed to find them?

Shit. Shit!

What do they do?

Chishiya rushed past where Usagi held the bag aloft and raced down the alleyway. He could hear footsteps running behind him as the other two presumably followed in the same direction, understanding what the sign had meant. A strange thumping adrenaline was driving him as he skidded round a corner. At the back of the alley, where it looked from the entrance to be a dead end, was actually a small dirty path which he now raced along.

Blood rushed in his ears as his heart thumped. Where the fuck was he?

He couldn't lose Arisu. Not now, and not ever.

As he ran on, the blonde thought back to the events of the last few days. How the dark haired boy had slowly melted away the thick icy from his carefully caged heart. The way his eyes showed every feeling so openly, the way his mouth turned when he smiled, the way his laugh sounded. Everything about the gamer was just so special...and he couldn't loose that.

It was only when he realized that Arisu might be gone forever, did Chishiya realize quite how largely his presence had effected him, even only along the course of a few measly days. He needed to find him. How could he have let him go alone!

Goddammit.

The path they took lead deeper into the city as more buildings appeared around them. It was night time now as the dark swallowed them. If only they had a...oh yeah.

Slowing to a stop, the girls nearly ran over him as he rummaged in his pockets. Kuina breathed deeply before addressing him with slight annoyance.

"Why did you stop?"

He brandished his treasure happily in her direction, before swiftly realizing that she probably couldn't see it. That was embarrassing.

"Er, I forgot I had a torch in here." he said slightly feebly, his breath coming in wheezy pants. Chishiya was not the most athletic of people, and had been running whilst exhausted and starving. It wasn't fun.

Gently illuminating the faces around him he switched on the torch, and Kuina let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh thank god. I nearly fell over so many times in the dark." she said.

"We should probably walk now, I know we need to find him but we are all exhausted. Especially you Chishiya." Usagi pointed out, to which they grudgingly agreed.

They needed to find him fast, but he knew Usagi was right. As they began to walk again Chishiya noticed small tremors making their way through his legs and he tutted angrily. Arisu was in trouble, he needed to to be there.

Chishiya walked ahead of the group, lighting the way, not really sure of where he was going. At some point the small path had opened up into a maze of small warehouses and various junk yards, everything looking pale and alien in the night light. He wondered if Arisu's side was alright...although if it was truly the beach's doing then his cut would be the last thing he had to worry about. The thought of Arisu dragged to that room, the same one that Joe and Aoki had been assassinated in brought rivets of grief and self hatred running down his spine.

How could he have let this happen?

Arisu was too pure, too kind and sweet to be put in such a situation. The younger man deserved the world, and fate had treated him harshly. Way too harshly.

All of a sudden, his ears caught something and he stopped quickly. Quickly covering the torch, the girls also halted and they stood listening.

Voices, coming from under what looked like a dark bridge ahead of them. They were quiet, and barely audible, but Chishiya could still hear them. He had keen ears.

Could that be Arisu?

Bitter hope began to spill into his chest as he crept forward slowly, wincing at how loud his footsteps sounded, not wanting to alert them of his presence. But if it was Arisu, then who was he with? It couldn't be the beach, they wouldn't have stayed here. He finally made it to the bridge and carefully peered inside, trying to get a look at the mysterious strangers. They had lit a small fire in the confined space, allowing the small light to show their faces clearly.

And then he froze.

Chapter Text

Panic clouded Arisu's senses as he was pulled backwards, dimly aware of him dropping his shopping bag in the shadows. He struggled blindly against the person behind him, they were stronger but he still tried his best to break free. Who the hell had attacked him?! Was it a militant, had they found him? Cold dread joined the panic in his system as he pictured what his fate held.

He had to get away-

"Stop struggling you idiot, you'll get us caught!" hissed his captor in his ear, voice low, hushed and distinctively male.

Arisu froze, and ceased his hopeless wriggling. What did he mean, was he not a militant? The person behind him seemed to decide he wouldn't do anything rash, and carefully removed his hand from the gamer’s mouth. He still stayed close though, stopping Arisu from moving away from the shadowed position they were in. What was going on?

"What-" he started, but the stranger quickly shushed him, and shrunk back slightly into the darkness, after gesturing to the street.

He looked curiously to where he had pointed, and noticed two figures had emerged from a dark path beside a shop, rough looking men carrying what looked like long knives. They held grim expressions of their faces as they strode on, not saying a word to each other. Who were they?

Arisu found himself holding his breath and he remained still as possible, as it was obvious the stranger knew who they were, and that they were most likely dangerous. The alley hid them slightly, but one move or sound would give them away completely. Eventually they lost sight of the pair, and he let a heavy breath of relief fall from his chest, that had been close. But now, who was the guy beside him? Did he mean harm, or had he tried to protect him? He took a careful step away from the figure, which the other man allowed, and turned to face him. Night was falling and the low light made his features rather hazy, but Arisu could make out the basics.

In front of him stood a man, who looked close to his age, with dark hair just a bit longer than Arisu's, but similar in style. He wore a simple dark jacket and black trousers, which bore various marks of wear. Rips and mud stains strewn across them. He carried a satchel as well, which he had securely slung on his side, he was a little taller than Arisu. He didn't look like a militant, and had no obvious weapon, so Arisu allowed himself to calm slightly, although his nerves remained on edge.

It didn't seem like he wanted to hurt him, maybe be was just another unfortunate player who had thought to help Arisu? He shuddered to think what would have happened if those men had found him, which they would have if not for his unlikely saviour.

"Who are you?" he asked quietly, aware that there could be more people around. The other had a worried look on his face, and bit his lip slightly as he looked down at Arisu.

"We can't speak here. Come on, I'll take you to a safer place."

With that he turned and walked briskly to the back of the alley, shoes crunching on the rough ground as he silently disappearing around the corner, not checking to see if he was following. Arisu followed hesitantly, jogging to catch up with the other. He knew it wasn’t smart, but perhaps he had some useful information? He looked like he had been here a while, was he on his own? The gamer knew his group would be worried, he was supposed to be back by now, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back just yet. They could wait, and he was sure they would appreciate any extra information he found out.

Arisu followed quietly behind his assumed rescuer, looking around at where the dirty path lead. It had opened out more as they passed through a maze of abandoned looking buildings and warehouses. He had never been in an area like this before, and he wondered how much further the man was going to drag him. Mournfully, he thought about the bag he had dropped, and all the precious supplies he had lost. Why hadn’t he though to grab it when they left? Maybe the rest of the group would pick it up, if they looked for him.

Would they look for him?

Or would they think he left them? He had to admit, whist sitting in the cool quiet of the shop he had debated going off on his own. He just couldn’t bring himself to work with, and help, such despicable people. They had murdered his friends...but still, something had made him want to stay. He wasn’t sure what, but the idea of never seeing them all, especially a certain blonde, made an uncomfortable feeling of wrong settling his gut. So, he had decided to stick around for a while, even though logically he knew there was no reason to.

Would they give up on him?

If they thought he had actually left, would they be glad?

But no matter, he would find them in a bit. Once he had found out what he could from the stranger then he would relocate them. Yes, that was a good plan.

Ahead of him, he saw the man walk underneath a bridge, out of Arisu’s sight. The area was small and covered, which made them unseen by anyone passing. It was a perfect hiding spot, and the night made them practically invisible to unfriendly eyes. He followed quickly as sat carefully with his back to the wall. It was uncomfortably curved, and the cement was slightly wet and cold as he settled. Now, was he going to explain himself? He opened his mouth to speak, as the stranger rummaged in his bag, pulling out various sticks and...a lighter?

“Who are you?” he said after a moment of careful silence.

“My name is Jona. What is yours?” he said without looking, too focused on constructing what Arisu now knew to be a fire. Handy.

“I’m Arisu...”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Arisu.”

Jona’s tone didn’t sound particularly worried, or rushed, and as the fire sparked to life the gamer got a better look at his face. He looked tired, and worn. Arisu felt a jolt of something akin to guilt as he suddenly looked up, catching Arisu’s staring. With a rustle of fabric, he made his way to sit by Arisu’s side, close enough that he could feel the gentle body heat coming off him. He knew he should be wary in his presence, but he couldn’t deny that he felt unnaturally relaxed next to him. The fire was crackling comfortingly, and the warmth settling over the pair was the most pleasant sensation he had had in a while. A small smile grew across his face, as his companion began to talk again.

“I’m sorry for grabbing you like that. Those men were coming and I only had a few seconds to act.”

"It's fine I guess..." Arisu mumbled, before adding:

"Who were they?"

"Members of a gang that functions in this area."

"A gang?" Arisu questioned, and Jona nodded.

"I don't know much about them, but I've been around here long enough to gather a few basic facts. They only have about twenty or thirty members max, but each are the lowest scum of society. Criminals, murders, all generally disgusting people. Their main initiative, as I understand it, is to assassinate as many players as possible. I think they believe it will help them get back home."

Arisu groaned, and hit his head gently against the hard wall behind him, which he found himself regretting almost immediately. It hurt, and he brought a hand up to rub it with a pitiful look on his face.

He had thought that after the beach, they would have seen the last of organisations like that. But to have stumbled into another, possibly worse, and definitely more deadly, one was insanely bad luck. Did the universe hate him or something?

Jona chucked slightly at his reaction, and reached over to pat his arm reassuringly.

"Don't worry, they usually stay in around the area I found you in, they don't come this far out."

He frowned.

"What were you doing there anyway? It's a wonder they didn't see you."

Arisu sighed, and blushed slightly as his stomach rumbled. The cereal bar hadn't done much to help. That was just embarrassing. Jona snorted lightly, before digging into a small alcove behind them that Arisu hadn't spotted. A small metal pan was pulled out, along with a water bottle, and two battered looking packs of ramen. His stomach rumbled again at the sight, and he turned a darker shade of pink. The gamer was glad the dark hid that.

"I'm guessing you're hungry?" he laughed.

"Maybe."

"I was saving these for when I met someone. They've been there a couple of weeks, but should still taste good." he said, still amused as he balanced the pot above the fire and added the food.

"Are you on your own?" Arisu asked curiously, and Jona's gaze darkened.

"I used to be with a team, but they died a while ago."

"Oh...I'm sorry." he said sadly, cringing slightly at his stupidity. He hadn't meant to reawaken sore memories for the other, and he scrambled for something to say to fill the sombre silence.

"You never answered my question though."

"Oh yea, sorry. I was trying to find food for me and my frien- team."

He quickly corrected his mistake, with a small amount of anger. They weren't his friends, not any more. He wondered, if they ever had been to begin with? Or had it just been a cruel way to draw him in, and manipulate him into helping them. Sick bastards. Jona's voice snapped him away from his resentful thoughts, and he turned to listen.

"You have a team? Won't they look for you?" the man asked worriedly.

His voice became smaller, and sadder.

"I don't know."

"You don't sound particularly eager to get back to them." Jona said softly, as the ramen bubbled quietly to their side.

Arisu found his voice caught in his throat as he thought of how to answer, should he really be getting into this with a stranger? He had no real reason to. But having someone to talk to about it all...would be nice. With his mind made up, he decide to test the water by giving him a vague overview. The iffy details could wait until later.

"We’re working through a few issues." he said after a moment.

"Do you want to tell me about them? It's good to get things off your chest. I won't judge, I promise."

He smiled sadly, it was crazy how someone he had just met could be so willing to help.

"I thought we were friends...but they did something behind my back, something awful. And I contributed to it, even though I didn't know it."

It probably wasn't a good idea to mention the cards, or the beach. They weren't quite on that level of trust yet.

"What did they do? It couldn't have been that bad, your still travelling with them after all."

"They essentially murdered two of my friends."

"What?"

He sounded taken back, and Arisu felt worried. Had he gone to far? He didn't want to scare him away. Well, he guessed he had to explain now.

"They had a plan, to get away from a situation we were in. They promised me that we would all make it out, but our two friends didn't. I thought it had just been a horrible mistake, and that they had tried to save them, but-"

Arisu's voice broke and he sniffed slightly into his sleeve. Chishiya's sleeve. Jona shuffled closer until their shoulders were touching and rubbed a gentle hand onto his back. Eventually he started again, but Jona remained close to his side, and arm around his shoulders. He found himself leaning into the touch as he continued, seeking comfort.

"We played a hearts game earlier today. Which made us answer questions. And it turns out, they had planned for my friends to die all along. I had been the only one who didn't know." he finished, and small tears welled in his eyes.

The gamer was unsure of how the other would react, and felt relieved when he simply hummed and nodded. He had been right, just talking about it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Are you going to stay with them?"

...

"I don't know."

"That's ok... I hate to ruin the mood but we should probably eat now." the taller man said with a hint of amusement as he noticed how Arisu perked up, and grabbed two plastic bowls from the alcove above them.

He really had everything here, what else was up there? Arisu turned his head and squinted into the small space, unable to make out anything but a few blurry blobs. A sat back down, slightly frustrated, and brought up what had been on his mind for a while.

"How long have you been here?"

"You mean this land in general, or under this bridge?"

"The bridge."

Jona split the noodles between them and Arisu are ravenously, savouring the flavour happily. This guy was great.

"Err, about a month now I think? I've not had much reason to leave to be honest, there are plenty of games within walking distance. And I like it, it's peaceful." he answered.

That was a long time to be alone, apart from socialising in the occasional game. Although that probably didn't count, people didn't exactly sit down for friendly chatter whilst playing for their lives. Maybe they could stick together...

"Don't you get lonely?"

Jona sighed and moved their bowls back to the alcove with a small grunt. He settled back to Arisu's side, his hair tickling the side of his chin as he moved.

"Sometimes, but I'm fine with it. It's not like people are lining up to be my friend." he said wryly, his voice slightly quieter than before.

Arisu could tell he was more bothered than he let on by the fact, and he felt pity for the other. Was this the first time he had had a genuine conversation since he said he found this place?

"...Can I?"

"Can you what?"

"Be your friend."

The other man stiffened slightly and Arisu felt a cold drop of fear settle in his stomach. Was that to fast? They had only just met, and that was quite a thing to propose. But before he could apologize the other spoke again, his voice flooded with hope.

"Really? You want to be friends?" he whispered as Arisu met his gaze. His eyes were wide and he looked truly baffled that Arisu had thought to ask him. That was kind of sad.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes! Definitely!" he grin and laughed slightly. The easy carefree mood had fallen back over them and Arisu relaxed.

"Oh by the way, what were you doing in that alley? Why would you go there if you knew about the gang?"

"Oh, I was doing the same as you I suppose. It's risky, but it's the closest place for food around here. I don't go there often though, and the gang don't really use the shops. I'm not sure what they eat, but they don't get it from there."

The gamer shuddered slightly at that thought, and decided he really didn't want to know.

"I did wonder why all the shops looked so overgrown, if there were people around."

"I'm always careful not to show I've been around, it's for the best they don't know about my existence." Jona said, clearing Arisu's confusion. He hummed, and stifled a yawn with his hand.

In all the excitement of this meeting, he had forgotten quite how exhausted he was. They had done so much today: escaped the beach, found out his friends were dead, mourned them, played a death game, found out his team were all backstabbing traitors, though for a moment he was being kidnapped...yea. It was a lot. And with the soft quiet around him, he found his head nodding slightly as he struggled to stay awake. Was there something he needed to do?

Jona also seemed tired, but didn’t close his eyes.

“You you want to sleep?” he asked quietly. The gamer muttered something incomprehensible in agreement, and rested his head on the other’s shoulder. Under normal circumstances, this would be quite weird, and embarrassing, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. Jona seemed fine with it too.

“Ok, I’ll keep watch.”

But Arisu didn’t respond, he had already fallen into a peaceful slumber. It was warm, and Jona was a surprisingly comfortable human pillow...but of course it didn’t last long.

He was brought to his senses by someone shaking his shoulder vigorously, and he straightened himself with a groan. He rubbed his eyes and looked around blearily, wondering what all the fuss was about. Were they in danger!?

“Err, Arisu?” Jona said to his side, gesturing to the entrance of the bridge. He could make out three figures standing there...oh balls.

“Arisu!”

Usagi ran at him amazingly quickly, relief in her voice. Before he could protest she pulled him into a deep hug from her position on the floor. He didn’t reciprocate, but also didn’t pull away, instead choosing to simply bear it.

“I’m guessing this is your team then?” Jona said, worry in his voice. He eyed Kuina and Chishiya nervously as they approached, shifting so he could stand to greet them.

“Hello-”

“What the hell did you do to him!” Usagi shouted furiously, standing up to glare at him.

“What?” Jona said, raising his hand in confusion.

“Did you drug him? Kidnap him!?” She shouted in accusation.

“No! I saved him from a gang, and he came with me!” he said quickly, looking terrified at the woman shouting at him.

Arisu got up carefully, his brain hadn’t fully woken up yet and he really wasn’t appreciating all the noise.

“Stop shouting Usagi. I’m fine.”

The climber turned to face him, worried.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Look, can you guys just sit down and talk?

She sighed, and sat to the far side of the circle, giving up her interrogation glumly. The gamer then turned to the other two, who hadn’t yet said anything. They all looked rather pink and flustered, like they had been running? But that wasn’t important. Arisu sat back down, and Jona followed, staying close to his side. Kuina joined Usagi hesitantly, and Chishiya followed grumpily. His eyes made their way to Arisu’s face, and his breath caught in his throat. There was an unreadable emotion buried in them as he observed them coldly.
“Do you want to explain why the hell you are here then Arisu?” said Kuina, looking suspiciously at the man beside him.

“And who is that guy?”

He groaned, and rubbed his head. The gamer could feel a headache coming.

“This is Jona.” he started with, and his new friend shuffled slightly where he sat.

“Hi there...”

“Jona, this is Usagi, Kuina and Chishiya.”

No one spoke as they were introduced, and Jona simply nodded. The air was thick with tension, and apprehension as he began to explain the evening’s events.

“So, I went to get food in those shops, and as I was coming back Jona pulled me into an alley-”

“Bastard! So he did kidnap you!” Usagi hissed, and Arisu felt annoyance spark in is chest.

“No! Well, not really. He saved me.” he replied, and the three looked at him in confusion.

“What?”

“There were two men near us, who belonged to a gang that functions there. They would have seen me, if he didn’t help. He took me here, and we’ve been talking.”

He watched as the information sunk into their heads, and Usagi looked guilty. He met Jona’s eyes, and apologized.

“Sorry...I’m glad you helped Arisu. Thank you.”

“No problem.” Jona said nervously, looking to Arisu for support. He gave his friend a quick smile before facing the trio again.

“But why did you go with him Arisu? You knew we were waiting for you.” said Kuina, and he looked towards the ground.

The truth was, he didn’t fully know himself. He had assumed it was curiosity that had riven him to follow Jona, but that didn't quite feel right. The idea of going back to his group at the time...well even though he had decided to stay, he still wasn’t particularly eager to be back in their presence. He couldn’t exactly ignore them forever, and the gamer knew they would have to talk about what happened soon enough. Going with Jona had been stalling the inevitable roller-coaster of emotions he would have to board around the others.

God, he was too tired for this.

“I’m sorry, I thought he might know something helpful. And I wanted to know who he was I guess.” he decided to say.

Chishiya had remained silent through the whole conversation, but now he spoke up, his voice neutral and hiding what he really felt, a nasty habit Arisu had noticed almost immediately when he met the other.

"We thought the beach found you."

"I-"

"We thought they had attacked you. That you could be lying in a ditch somewhere."

Chishiya's voice was quiet, too quiet.

"I thought you could be dead."

He finished, and Arisu was shocked to see his eyes begin water slightly. The older man rubbed them away before anyone could react, but they struck a heavy, and confusing pain into Arisu's heart. He had been too busy focusing on his own worries, that he hadn't considered just how affected the others would be about his disappearance, especially Chishiya. Arisu wanted nothing more than to comfort the blonde, but he hardened his gaze and forced himself to think logically. This was probably just another one of his endless mind games, to lure Arisu back to them. He didn't actually give a shit if Arisu had died, he just wanted Arisu back on their team.

But he had sounded so genuine...

Stop it Arisu. You hate him. You need to hate him!

"Sorry." was the best he could muster, and Chishiya scoffed.

"Sure you are. We should get going, we need to get back to the woods."

Did he really want them to walk back to the woods in the middle of the night? That was just cruel. Although Jona had never specifically said he could stay, or his group, so it was unfair to have assumed they could sleep here. He got up slowly, his tired body screaming in protest.

"You guys should stay here for tonight."

"We really shouldn't-" interrupted Chishiya, annoyed, but Jona spoke over him.

"I have food, a fire, and you guys can't walk all the way back now. Can't you see how exhausted Arisu is?"

He blinked slowly as their eyes turned to him, and he ducked back down to the floor. Jona smiled at him, and reached to get more food for the rest of them. Chishiya looked frustrated, but didn't argue, simply looked over to address Arisu.

"Is your side feeling ok?"

Arisu thought for a moment, gently patting the bandages through the fabric of Chishiya's hoodie. He felt his face heat up a small amount, before mentally hitting himself at how stupid that was. It was just a piece of clothing!

"It's fine." he answered, moving beside Jona like he had done before.

Their conversation had been short, and did nothing to sate the negative feelings that remained unsaid between them. The fire began to dim as his team ate their rations, Jona looking happy with their compliance. He probably hadn't spent time with multiple people like this since his group...

Arisu felt sleep pull him down again onto the other man's shoulder as he settled, the gentle sounds of talking fading as he waited for the he morning to come.

Chapter Text

Chishiya stood a good few meters away from the bridge’s underside, looking up at the sky with an unreadable expression on his face. The morning weather was rather pleasant, however, something that really ruined the mood for him was the multiple giant metal blimps he could see flying towards the city centre, giant cut out playing cards fluttering underneath them in the breeze.

So the face cards had finally made their appearance.

The doctor had to admit, their entrance was much more grand than he had been anticipating, but they were beautiful, in a way. Majestic, but most likely deadly. Kuina stood beside him, also marvelling at the sight with her eyes squinted against the glare of the sun. The rest of their group were still asleep, as it was still rather early, so they remained in each others company for a while.

"Well, I guess you were right about the face cards." she said quietly, looking both troubled and intrigued.

"I wonder what the new games will be like..." she mused, and Chishiya hummed his agreement.

The next stretch of time spent in the borderlands was likely going to be rather strenuous, he thought glumly. It wasn't like the previous games hadn't been, but the face cards were a massive step up, and the difficulty was bound to increase. Although, he was quite looking forward to the diamond games, they were usually quite fun. Kuina suddenly turned her head to the opposite direction, and looked confused.

"Hey Chishiya?"

"What?"

The girl pointed to where she was looking, and he turned to follow her finger.

"Is that...smoke?"

And so it was, a giant grey plume rising sluggishly from the direction of the beach in fact. The blonde could smell it in the wind, and it made his throat itch uncomfortably.

The beach's game must have ended, quite literally with a bang.

"That's the beach right? Chishiya?"

He paused, and sighed.

"Yes."

His simple answer told the other all she needed to know, and a grave mood washed over the pair. It was no doubt that most, if not all, of the beach's inhabitants were now dead. Judging from the sudden arrival of the face cards, the beach’s game must have been the ten of hearts, as he suspected, which was the last of the numbered cards they needed to complete. He clenched his jaw at the though of Tatta, and Ann, who had been trapped inside the venue.

It wasn’t fair.

But he swallowed those dark thoughts back, worrying wasn’t going to help, and moved his attention to Kuina again. She gave him a small smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“What are we going to do Chishiya?”

Now that was a question. From their position, they could see the blimps making a circuit around the centre of the city, ominous and silent. He only knew one thing: that the answer was to follow them.

“We should wake the others. It seems as though it’s in our best interest to make our way to the city as soon as possible. I assume any other surviving players will be there as well”

She nodded her understanding, and began to walk, but after a moment she hesitated and began to speak softly again.

“Do you think anyone survived the beach?” she said in a whisper, and Chishiya frowned, before he suddenly realised why she seemed so affected.

Ann.

To be honest, Chishiya really couldn’t give a shit for the majorly of the beach, along with it’s current dissolution. With it’s loud and obnoxious crowds, being lead by those who believed they were on top of the world. Not naming any names. But anyway, the doctor had despised most of the time he spent there, being used wasn’t exactly his preferred thing. He hated those who had both believed in, and contributed to the beach’s successful running, even if it never got the chance to reach it’s initiative.

However, in his time there, even a cold hearted bastard like him had managed to become fond of a small number of people, not all of whom he knew escaped. And that didn’t exactly feel great.

And Kuina, she had become rather close with Ann, the executive. To think of her dead, burning down with the utopia, must be close to destroying the woman. Even though she was putting on a brave face, Chishiya could hear the desperation in her voice, and could see the tears glistening in her eyes, as she waited for his insight.

He tried his best to wipe the grave expression off his face, replacing it with a mixture of sincerity and light-heartedness.

“Don’t worry...”

He paused, trying to find the right words to reassure his companion, before he continued.

“With so many in the beach, there must be a tone of survivors. The game master wouldn’t have killed them all. I bet Ann managed to solve it for them, she’s super smart remember?”

Kuina gave him a watery grin, and tried to laugh. Although it sounded suspiciously like a sob. He didn’t comment on it.

“Yeah. She is.”

“So stop worrying, lets go wake the others ok?”

They shared a brief moment of eye contact, before they both made their way back to the camp, a slightly more hopeful atmosphere in place than there had been before.

Inside he could see the three sleeping forms of their companions, shrouded by the shadows, although as they got closer, Usagi stirred and opened her eyes. The climber regarded the two of them groggily, before sitting up and whispering hoarsely.

“Is everything alright? Why are you two up already?”

Kuina held and hand out to her, and helped her to her feet.

“Come on, you need to see this.” She said, gesturing outside.

As the two walked away, with Usagi still looking dazzled from her sudden awakening, Chishiya found himself alone with the two other figures, their quiet breathing sounding incredibly loud in the silence of the bridge. He looked at them with a cold expression, clear annoyance building in his chest, as much as he tried to suppress it. Just as they had found them last night, Arisu and the guy he had found were sleeping peacefully together, Arisu’s head resting lightly on the other man’s shoulder.

When he had seen Arisu passed out with a stranger, after they investigated the fire under the bridge, Chishiya had immediately assumed the worst. Something along the lines of the younger man being kidnapped, drugged, or injured in some way. But after confronting them, and finding out that Arisu had somehow managed to make a new friend in the short time he was left unsupervised, well, he found it incredibly frustrating.

The man’s name was Jona apparently, which he had discovered last night, and it left a sour taste on his tongue.

The simple fact that Arisu had trusted him so easily, and how it was obvious that the man considered him to be his only friend already. Well, it was more than enough to put him in a foul mood. He really hoped that the Jona guy would stay here when they left, the bridge looked rather sentimental after all. He had managed to collect a rather large assortment of items in a hollowed out alcove, things like bowls, first aid and firewood, which Chishiya took a note of as he peered into it's depths.

He had probably been here a while.

Jona would want to stay, right?

He sighed and fixated his attention on the two, they needed to get going soon. The doctor shuffled closer, careful not to make any noise, and took in the pair's appearance's for a moment. It was probably going to be the best chance he got in a while, he tried to convince himself.

Glaringly slightly, his eyes swept quickly over Jona. He was what most people would consider conventionally attractive, he had a good face and build. But Chishiya didn’t really care for that, as he took note of his looks.

He wondered what Arisu thought…

Shaking his head angrily , he decided to ignore the frustrating presence for now, and simply focus on Arisu instead. A much more pleasant activity, he had no shame in admitting it.

The gamer’s face didn’t bear the usual exhaustion and worry that it usually did, which Chishiya had taken note of before. He was reminded of the few precious moments they had spent together in his room, just two days earlier, how peaceful the taller man had looked asleep. But that had been when he was with Chishiya, trusted Chishiya. And now it was with someone else, he couldn’t quite bring himself to appreciate it in the same way. He would probably never get to experience what he had previously taken for granted again.

Sleepily, a hum made it’s way out of his mouth as Chishiya watched, slightly zoned out and tangled in an array of different thoughts, the sudden noise making him jump little. He froze for a second as Arisu subconsciously moved his head closer to the crook of Jona’s neck, before he snapped out of it. Clenching his jaw he shook Arisu’s arm, not roughly, but certainly not gently either.

A small breath of surprise alerted the doctor that his action had worked, as the taller man’s eyes flew open and he looked around, landing on Chishiya’s moment. For a moment, the blonde could have sworn he saw happiness in the other’s expression as he noticed who had woken them, but it was quickly overridden by dark anger.

Ignoring the twisted feeling in his gut, Chishiya watched as Arisu heaved himself upright, wincing and clutching his side as he went. It honestly took all of his will power to stop himself from grabbing one of his elbows to steady him, as he had done before. But his wound his hand back just in time for the dark haired man not to notice. Embarrassing.

Arisu turned to face him once he had gotten over the pain, and regarded him with a flat expression.

“What is it, Chishiya?”

Those four words made his skin crawl, and for a moment he lost all his ability to speak. What was wrong with him!? As he gaped slightly, not that different from a fish in manor, his mind went into overdrive, thinking what to say.

He needed to be cool, not show his worries.

Maybe comment on the weather?

No!

He needed to answer Arisu's question!

Oh god.

"I-"

A loud yawn interrupted the beginning of his fragile speech, as Jona stretched loudly from his seated position. As the gamer's attention shifted to his friend, Chishiya mentally slapped himself. Now he looked like an idiot, hadn't answered the question, and had lost the priceless time he had alone where the other was actually listening to him.

Way to go Chishiya, he told himself crossly.

"Good morning" Arisu laughed to the man on the floor, his voice brightening significantly as he offered Jona a hand, which the other took immediately.

New anger bubbled in his stomach, as the two made contact and Chishiya forced himself to look away. He really should be so worked up about such a trivial matter.

"Morning Arisu, what going on?" Jona answered, letting go of the gamer's hand after a moment of pause.

"Err, I don't really know, Chishiya was just about to explain." he said, and their focus was on him again.

"Oh sorry man,  please continue." he said.

The doctor forced himself to appear unbothered, his posture relaxed as he gave the two a traditional Cheshire smile. Smoothly done Chishiya, he congratulated himself, before beginning to explain their situation.

"We need to get to the city, as soon as possible." He started with, and beckoned for them to follow him outside, which they did without complaint.

"Chishiya what-" Jona was cut off as the blimps came into view, stunned into silence.

Chishiya glanced to his side to observe their expressions, both equally full of surprise and vague terror. Though Jona's was a little more prominent than Arisu's. Scaredy cat. The two girls were still outside, chatting quietly about something the doctor couldn't quite catch, but they made their way over when they noticed they had arrived. Arisu looked at the ground as Usagi greeted him, not saying a word to the climber. She sighed and looked away, before addressing the group as a whole.

"So, like Chishiya said, we need to get going as soon as possible. Jona, do you have anymore food?" she asked, and Jona nodded.

"A have a small amount, but you guys had the most of it last night. I was going on a supply run when I found Arisu so I didn't end up being able to restock on anything. We will have to find some as we go, but I have some other stuff we should take."

We???

"Ah. Sorry about that." Arisu mumbled, before adding more happily.

"I'm glad you will be with us though!"

What!

Chishiya turned to meet Kuina's eyes, in a slightly panic, and she looked confused at his reaction. He looked back at Jona, and the man met his eyes with innocent curiosity.

"You're coming with us?"  He said after a second, concealing the panic in his tone with boredom..That was something he was good at.

"Errrr-"

"Why wouldn't he be?" Arisu cut in, glaring at Chishiya.

"You said we needed to get to the city."

Chishiya gulped as Arisu glared daggers at him, and noticed Jona put a steady hand on his shoulder. Bastard!

"Don't worry, I can go alone if that's better. I don't want to impose on you guys," The man said sheepishly, trying to settle the dispute between the man by his side and Chishiya.

Yes, that was definitely better.

"No, you are part of the team now. Chishiya doesn't get to decide that just because he doesn't like you." Arisu answered almost instantly, the venom thick in his voice as he walked up to Chishiya.

"Hey guys let's just calm down please." Kuina pleaded, but it fell on empty ears.

The doctor remained rooted to his spot as dark eyes bore into him, feeling ever so slightly intimidated. Well, this was terrifying.

"It's not that I don't like him." he tried.

"Don't think I haven't noticed the glares you have been sending him."

So they were not as subtle as he thought. Woops.

"I wasn't -"

"He fed you guys, saved my life, gave us a place to sleep and has just been generally amazing this entire time. What exactly did he do to wrong you?" he continued, speaking over Chishiya's attempt to calm him.

He let out a frustrated breath and met the others eyes, which were brimming with anger and hate. That stung.

"I just think we should be wary about trusting a guy you only met last night." he stated, feeling ever so slightly tingle at their close stance, although it really wasn't the time.

"Oh please."

"I'm just saying, we don't know him. How do you know he doesn't mean us harm?" He tried again, lowering his voice to stop himself from shouting.

"I thought I knew you, yet you harmed me in the worst way possible." he spat, and everything went silent.

Chishiya lowered his gaze to the floor and didn't reply, trying his best to wrestle down the tears that had threatened to spring up. He couldn't cry here dammit, not with everyone watching. A small amount of guilt seemed to have cleared Arisu's senses and he took a step back, softening his voice.

"I'm sorry Chishiya, but he's coming with us whether you like it or not."

And with that, the dark haired man quickly turned and made his way back to the bridge, after addressing the ready of the group briefly.

"I'll go and pack up all we need, you guys get ready to walk."

"Arisu wait." Jona said quietly, and jogged to catch up to the other, casting a worried look over his shoulder at the two women.

The pair disappeared beneath the shelter of the bridge together, and their conversation became too quiet to hear. He swallowed thickly, and took a few deep breaths to calm himself, willing away the sadness that was squeezing his chest.  Giving the girls a small unbothered smile, he settled cross legged in the green grass, perfectly willing for them to pretend that conversation never happened. Wishing it in fact.

But of course, that didn't happen. Kuina quickly took a seat to his left, and Usagi followed to the right, essentially trapping him in their all to knowing gaze.

Oh dammit.

"Are you ok?" Kuina started with, whispering as to not attract the attention of the men inside.

He clasped his hands in his lap, casually trying to conceal how they were shaking. He worried his voice might give him away,so he simply nodded in her direction. Kuina frowned, and Usagi spoke.

"Are you sure? You don't look it."

"It's fine. I don't care." he snapped, and they recoiled backwards slightly.

"Sorry..." the blonde whispered.

"But I will be fine, after a moment. We have bigger things to worry about." he added with finality.

"I understand that Chishiya,but this isn't just a small matter you can ignore. It's not going to go away on it's own." Kuina continued.

"I don't really know what you expect me to do."

"There's not much you can do at the moment, I just want you to know you can talk to us if you need it. We are friends after all."

He chuckled lightly, cringing at how wobbly his voice sounded, and thanked the pair of them.

"Also, I just though I should reassure you that I don't think Arisu is interested in Jona." Usagi said, and he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"What?"

"Romantically I mean. I assume that's why you, er, dislike him so?"

It took a few moments for the understanding to settle in, and what she meant by the statement. But when it did, he made a small noise of indignation.

"Why would I care about that! He can date who he wants..."  He mumbled, picking at the grass under his fingers. It felt alive, and wild.

Both of the women burst into hushed sniggers, and he flushed pink with embarrassment.

"Sure you don't Chishiya." snorted Kuina, and he gave her a glare.

"I hate you guys..." he grumbled, as the other two reigned in their laughter.

"Sorry but you make it really obvious. Anyone but Arisu can see it. Oblivious idiot." Kuina said with a frustrated sigh.

"I don't like him!" He fumed, and Kuina was about to shoot back at him when he saw the two men emerging from the bridge.

Jona was wearing the satchel over his shoulder that Chishiya had spied resting against the wall earlier, and Arisu was carrying a similar bag, presumably laden with all the supplies that were needed. The group quickly reigned in their laughter and became serious again, standing quickly as Arisu and Jona arrived.

"Are you guys hungry? I have a box of cereal bars we can have on the go." asked Jona, rattled a brightly coloured box at them.

Arisu remained stubbornly silent, already slowly chewing on a bar of his own, looking deep in thought. The blonde tore his gaze away as a similar item was pressed into his hand, and he cleared his throat.

"Thank you."

With one final glance at the bridge the group set off towards the city, unsure of what the soon to be future would hold.

They walked for about half an hour until the girls caught up to his side, sandwiching him between them as they had done earlier. He groaned inwardly, as he knew the following conversation was most likely to be uncomfortable, hence the way they had stopped him from being able to run away.

"You might want to stop looking at him every other second, I'm pretty sure he will pick up on it soon." Kuina whispered to his side, and he tensed.

It was true that he had been sending the occasional glance in the gamer's direction, perhaps a few times more than necessary, but it was purely out of concern! And definitely not every other second...Even if they weren't exactly on speaking terms right now, Chishiya still considered himself to be Arisu's doctor. And as a medical official, he had a duty to make sure the other man's side was not being to much of a bother. He doubted he would allow him anywhere near it, so he simply had to observe from afar.

"Although, maybe he won't." Kuina continued thoughtfully and Usagi laughed.

"Arisu is incredibly observant in the games, but he misses almost every social cue when his life isn't on the line. It's almost impressive actually..." The climber chimed in, causing the two to erupt into a wave of giggles again.

Chishiya groaned, and tried his best to block out their gossiping for the remainder of the walk, which was about an hour. After which, they had made their way to Shibuya crossing, where a giant screen projected the words "Next Stage" in the same font used for the game rules. There were no others around, even though this was obviously the right place. It seemed all there was to do now was wait, for something to happen.

Jona sighed, and plopped his bag onto the floor with a clatter.

"I wonder if other players will find their way here. Or maybe there are points like this all across the city?"

Usagi hummed in thought, and peered down the street.

"Yea, I imagine they will have set up multiple like they do with the game venues. There might be people around here though..."

The squeal of tires interrupted their pondering, and Chishiya snapped his attention to what sounded like cars. Cars only came from one place, as far as they knew, which was...

"Beach members" whispered Usagi, and Jona looked confused.

"What do you mean beach members? Is that a bad thing?" he questioned, slightly panicked.

But nobody answered him, all too focused on the barrage of vehicles making their way towards them. That was slightly amusing, and he felt satisfaction in his chest. He realized how ridiculous this was soon after, and wrestled down the smile on his face.

God he was childish.

He was glad not to spy Aguni, or Niragi in the crowd that was now around them, they really could do without their appearance. It was just some basic beach members, no one significant. The doctor allowed himself to relax a bit as Arisu and Kuina exchanged words with them, not fully focusing on what was being said.

When was something interesting going to happen...

And so, he jinxed it. One moment the crowd was standing peacefully in the road, and the next it was pure chaos. The King of Spade's blimp had rested over them just as gunshots began to tear through the gathering of people, coming from a source Chishiya could not identify. Screams rang out from all around them, and Chishiya raised an eyebrow at their pathetic scrambling, the crowd dispersing into wherever they could.

This was going to be interesting.

Chapter Text

Arisu's eyes widened in pure horror as the man in front of him was torn to pieces, blood splattering all around them. Mere seconds after the first attack, the woman beside him also fell, stirring the crowd into a confused screamed mess, everyone scrambling in no given direction for cover.

What the hell was happening!?

A familiar voice beside him broke the trance he hadn’t noticed taking over him, and he flicked his gaze to where the other man stood.

“That a rifle, we should get moving.” Chishiya promoted blankly, before adding:

“That thing’s an anti-tank rifle...”

He cast his gaze over to a man desperately seeking cover behind a nearby car, and smirked.

“So I would forget about hiding behind a car.”

Arisu cast a quick glare in the blonde’s direction, before joining the confused fray of people, tying his best to ignore the smell of burning and blood that was hanging heavily in the air. He quickly glanced up: a blimp was right above them, the face of the King of Spade's glaring down at the people below.

Could this be a game, one that had started without their knowledge?

Maybe it was due to the rules of the next stage, could games just randomly start like this, without the registration and phones they had grown grimly accustomed to?

That didn't seem fair. But was anything in this place?

Their group quickly ran through the chaos together, dodging stray bullets and other players as they tried to find cover. The gamer turned his head and watched as Chishiya managed to run entirely with his hands I'm his pockets, looking way to calm for the situation they were in. He looked away, deciding that the idiot wasn't worth his confusion. Eventually they settled behind a bus stop, and Arisu did a quick head count. All of his four other teammates were accounted for.

“Does this mean the game’s started?” Jona said frantically, and Arisu answered.

“I don’t know...they didn’t give us any rules either. This is just a massacre.”

He glanced at where his friend stood, clutching his satchel to his chest as he met Arisu’s eye. A silent moment of reassurance passed between the two, and despite the terror pounding in his chest, the gamer felt a little more clarity set in. What was important now was getting away from the other people, as the shooters were less likely to hunt down small groups. They needed to find somewhere to hide for the time being, and to make a plan. If this really was a game, Arisu knew it would take work to survive.

“That rifle can kill from a kilometre away...” Chishiya mused to himself, peering through the dirty glass as well as he could.

A familiar sound made Arisu freeze, and he groaned inwardly. He had hoped to have seen the last of those, with Niragi and all.

“Dammit, I recognize that sound.” Kuina said, voicing his thoughts exactly.

“And now we have an assault rifle. Lovely.”

"Where they hell are they shooting from?!" shouted Kuina, desperately whipping her head around in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the shooters.

"How many people are there!?" Usagi added, looking equally as panicked.

He watched as a group of people gathered together nearby, seeming to create an alliance of sorts. There were a lot more people around than he had thought, although they were all being quickly picked off by the gunfire. The shooter's tactic must have been to wait until as many players as possible gathered together for the next stage, in order to take out as many targets as possible. It was sick, but effective. A strategy that he could picture a certain white clad doctor using, should he have been placed into the royal shoes of this king.

A sharp stab of pain in his side made him grit his teeth, as he tried his best to ignore it. All the walking from earlier, and the sprinting he had just endured, well, it didn’t exactly help the matter. He was defiantly going to weigh their team down, if he carried on like this. He should have been more careful, and accepted Chishiya’s help more before the stage started.

But now wasn’t the time for pointless regrets.

“I had no idea there were this many players left...” Jona inputted.

“However many shooters there are, they’re almost here. We have to go.”

Arisu had noticed how the rapidly falling players were getting closer to where they were hovering: he knew they would not be able to stay here much longer. Quickly turning back the way they came, Arisu set off in a low sprint with the others following behind him in a vague line. Where they were aiming he had no clue, as long as he could temporarily escape the rapid onslaught of bullets.

They dashed straight into the centre of the chaos, in the corners of his widened eyes Arisu could spy people hitting the ground all around him, smoke and debris coving the road they had been waiting on barely ten minutes before hand. A bullet shot right over his head, the sound causing him to fall for a split second and hit the gravel with his palms. The sharp sting drove away a small amount of dreaminess this whole situation has held to him, small rocks digging into the skin of his palms. Beside him, as Arisu scrambled to his feet, he was dimly aware of Chishiya shouting out to them.

“We need to split up!”

It wasn’t ideal, he was all too aware of that, but what else could they do in this situation?

The air burned in Arisu’s lungs as he dashed madly away, his need to stay close to the others lessened by his desperate will to get away from this alive. He had enough sense left in him to stay close to the ground at least, and put one foot after the other as fast as possible.

Where should he go?

Where could he go!

The scene around him was painfully similar to the old survival games he used to play, locked up in his room. He recognised the patterns of the guns, the obstacles the cityscape offered, along with the hiding places. He knew how it felt to be the shooter, and how it felt to track the feeling, human targets.

But this time, he had changed roles quite drastically.

The hunter becomes the hunted. It was quite ironic really.

Eventually, his desperate path lead him underneath the grey concrete expanse of a bridge, where there were less people than before. He didn't dare stop however, as a person running in a similar manner mere metres away was taken down with a spray of near black blood. He wondered if any of the others were around here, if they were even alive.

Strangely, despite the bitter hate he had felt in his gut consistently since their groups betrayal, the idea of never seeing them again filled him with terror.

Even Chishiya.

No, especially Chishiya.

What was wrong with him? He should be glad if the shooters took down that vile excuse of a human, it would honestly be doing him a favour…

“Arisu! Over here!”

He cast his gaze over to where Usagi stood at the end of a road, breathlessly gesturing for him to follow her. He obliged, and together they continued to sprint though bullets and people, making their way back onto a normal road. The cars could offer a small bit of cover, just for a little bit.

To their right, the gamer spotted as they ran a man who had just been gifted a gaping wound in his chest, his breath coming out in wheezy huffs as he flailed on the ground to the best of his ability. Times seemed to slow as Arisu’s eyes latched into his face. It almost looked like…

“Arisu, we need to keep moving!” Usagi screamed.

It was then that he noticed he had stopped right in the middle of the road, and straight in the line of fire. Not thinking clearly, he made a lunge for the man on the floor, but before he could reach, a stream of gunfire cut him off, forcing him to change direction hastily.

A parked car offend them protection for the time being, and the dark haired man peered back at the man’s body. He had stopped struggling, and he couldn’t help but assume the worst. Maybe if he could get to the figure in time, then perhaps it wouldn’t be too late. Chishiya could help him.

His throat felt like sandpaper as he tried to catch his breath, and crawled over to the other side of the car to search for a sign of the others.

Whether it was just pure luck, or the universe was particularly fond of him in this minute moment, the gamer spied Kuina peeking out from behind a car, staring in his direction.

“Are you trying to get killed out there?” She yelled, before quickly retreating as the gunfire followed the sound of her voice.

Were the other two with her as well?

And, was it clear enough to run across to her now?

Perhaps if they hurried.

A loud mechanical rumbling cut of the man’s train of thought, his eyes casting up to the sky in grim fascination. The blimp that had appeared right before the massacre began, was moving directly above their heads, the emotionless face of the king still observing the scene below him. It was like a royal watching peasants fight for their lives whilst he lavished in the safety and luxury his position provided. And it make him feel sick.

So the game must be the king of spades.

‘This is our chance!” Usagi called across from the car next to his own, and the pair dashed out into the street again.

The gamer was nearly halfway, when he stopped the man on the ground move again- a just audible groan escaping his lips as he flipped over onto his side. Arisu couldn’t just leave him like that. Then what kind of person would he be?

No better than Chishiya was the answer.

He was at his side in an instant, the smell of fresh blood crowding his nostrils as he desperately shook the body before him. Usagi reluctantly joined him, shouting words of warning that flew right over his head.

“Arisu we need to run-”

“He’s still alive! Hey, can you hear me?”

The gamer glanced around the surroundings, just to check their path was still clear. But to his horror, a flutter of black fabric caught his eye, and soon their enemy came into sight.

“The Kind of Spades is here...” He whispered, more to himself than the climber, who was also staring at the newly emerged killer.

He was shrouded in black, a hooded cape keeping his face from view as Arisu struggled to take in his appearance. He couldn’t tell from this distance, but he knew the man must have at least two guns in hand, along with a decent amount of grenades on his person.

They needed to get out of his line of sight, and fast.

The two players lifted the injured man as carefully as possible, just as bullets began to cover the bloodstained pavement that they fled from. The body between them was a dead weight as they lugged him to their destination, with the stranger making no move to help run. And, just as Arisu feared, when they settled him down all the light had left his panicked eyes.

The gamer stared at him for a moment, just making sure he was really gone. Which he was.

But at least, he was not the man he had thought he was. That lessened the pain of their failed rescued attempt, just slightly.

“Hey, are you two ok? Are you hurt?”

Kuina spoke from the car beside their new spot, the faces of Chishiya and Jona behind her. Ignoring the girl’s question, he sent Jona a relieved look, which was happily reciprocated.

“I’m glad you’re alive, Jona.” He said loudly.

For a moment, the doctor’s eyes caught his own. He was surprised to see an uncharacteristic amount of emotion scrawled across his face. He didn’t speak, but Arisu knew what he was thinking.

You don’t care if I die?

Did he?

The gamer promptly looked away, as the other contained their conversation, blissfully unaware of the secret message passed between the two.

“It’s just one guy...” Usagi said, stealing a glance at the man I question.

If that was true, and the perpetrator was simply one human, then they were in trouble. Someone that deadly, that skilled, who had just murdered so many people with out a single scratch must been an incredibly hard enemy to take down. That must be the only way to clear this game: to survive and kill the king.

How pleasant.

Arisu almost wished he was back in a diamonds game, with all their little complications. At least he had a good brain for those.

“If we step out he will get us.”

It was at that moment, the absolute perfect time in fact, that one of the beach cars drove right next to where they crouched, sparks flying as metal grazed its darkly painted sides. Was that who he thought it was?

“Get in.”

“Tatta’’ he yelled back gleefully, the other man giving him a quick grin of acknowledgement.

"Don’t just stand there!"

Ah, so they had both survived the ten of hearts game. Not that Arisu had doubted either of the two's abilities, he was just glad to see them.

"Ann." Kuina shouted happily, before the woman pushed open the car door for them.

It would be a tight squeeze inside, with all seven people, but it was undoubtedly better than trying to stay alive on the streets. Starting with Jona, as he was the closest, the group began to pile into the backseat of the car.

It was at the doctor's turn however, when things took a turn for the worst.

The clatter of metal rolling brought Arisu's attention downwards, towards the shorter man's feet. And there it was.

A grenade.

There was no way they could make it to the car in time, before the small object became a seething mess of heat.

Arisu grabbed his arm and pulled him back roughly, the blonde seeming to calculate the same risk as him and shouting a warning to their group. As the car car sped away, taking their friends with them, the pair dove for cover behind a nearby car.

Those seemed to be offering an awful lot of aid in this game, despite Chishiya's previous observation of 'forgetting hiding behind a car'. He would certainly appreciate parked cars more from now on.

The explosion was deafening, and a wave of heat rushed over Arisu's face even from their covered position. Chishiya panted beside him, his cooler demeanour from before shattered slightly. That was amusing, in a way.

The sound of gunfire lessened a little and they remained in place, the explosion was still ringing in both of their ears.

How the hell could he have such bad luck?

Arisu's main focus, his main worry, had been making sure their group remained intact for the next stage. And yet, not even half an hour in, the majority of them were now god knows where, in what was most likely mortal danger. And here he was, left with the one person he had been trying to the best of his ability to avoid. Did the world hate him or something?

But never mind that. What mattered now was getting away from the King, and off the streets at least. He wondered how far the hunter would travel to reach survivors, and where they could go to stay safe. Along with trying to reconnect with the others.

"We should carry on. It's not safe here."

The gamer simply nodded in conformation, and peered over the side of the car. There was no sign of anyone around, anyone alive that was. A sharp smelling haze was hovering over their heads, filled with the scent of burning rubber and metal. He put a hand to cover his mouth the best he could, as the two carefully darted forward, Chishiya leading the way. Wherever they were going.

They walked carefully, sticking to the singed buildings as closely as they could. Arisu had been desperately trying to come up with a plan, to get out of this area somehow.

And that was when it hit him.

"Chishiya!"

The blonde looked back at him, looking both curious and annoyed by the sudden noise.

"What?"

"We need to go back to where we started. To Shibuya crossing." he replied, and the doctor's eyes widened, not a common occurrence for the man.

Now he had figured it out, it was obvious. When they had been waiting at the crossing for the game to begin, the beach people had showed up. In cars. Cars that were most likely still there, as their owners had both been scattered and shot down by the enemy. If they could use one to get away from this part of the city, then they might just survive.

It seemed that Chishiya had understood his idea, and he quickly changed direction: heading back to the crossing. Arisu filed behind, listening out carefully for a sign that the King was nearby.

Faint gunshots echoed out in the distance, along with some sort of explosion. That was good. The threat was far enough way for them to evade him, and before long, they came across the first parked car. And as luck would have it, the keys had been left in the ignition.

"Ok, forget stealth. We just need to go as fast as possible. Shall I drive?" Chishiya said, and Arisu nodded.

"Right...we need to see if we can find the others."

"That's a problem for later. We just need to get out of here first Arisu."

Not wanting to talk any longer, the doctor slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, which spluttered to life after a few painstaking attempts. He was annoyed, but he knew Chishiya was right. Their group could be any where by now.

He hoped Jona would be alright. He wasn't sure if he could handle loosing him already...

No. It would be ok. He was smart, and they would find a way to meet up again. What was important now was staying alive.

"Hang on?"

Nodding again, the taller man shifted into a position that would make the ride as easy as possible, with the speed and rough movements that they would be subjected to. If they didn't get out of this, then Chishiya's face would be the last he ever saw.

Wasn't that a lovely thought?

With a roaring jolt, the car began tearing forward under Chishiya's careful hand, the rubble and dents in the road making it as rough as he anticipated. With the issue of finding and starting a car sorted, now all they actually had to do was escape.

Which may be easier said than done.

Chapter Text

Chishiya gripped the car's wheel hard as he swerved around another corner, going as fast as he dared. The vehicle jarred alarmingly for a second, and he gritted his teeth in response. The whole speedy getaway driving was not really his thing. As surprising as that was.

Back in the real world he had learnt how to drive, but the doctor had never owned his own car. Public transport and walking were how he got to work, and he rarely went anywhere other than that. Even when he did get a chance to drive anywhere, it had all been rather slow and traffic jam filled.

And now, as they raced through the rubble strewn streets of Tokyo, he began to regret not getting in anymore practice while he had the chance. It briefly came to mind that due to his executive status at the beach, he probably would have been able to borrow a car every once in a while. It would have been more use to them now than constantly being hauled up in his room, obsessing over his plan and the drawing from the taggers pocket he had found. Which he would figure out eventually, just to note.

But what if his atrocious driving skills ended up being the death of himself or Arisu? To have survived this long just to be killed in a car crash was simply ironic.

He shook that thought out of his head, and quickly glanced at a road sign beside them. However, the speed they were cruising at made the words completely illegible. Not that it mattered massively, his only plan was to get out of the city centre. And judging by the increasing amount of greenery, the completion of his vague plan was becoming likely.

Would the others also think to head away from the city? Chishiya hoped they would find each other soon, they were at a disadvantage with only two people if they had to join any team involved games. That being said, he did enjoy not being trapped in a big group. Especially with that weirdo from the bridge.

And what was his luck, to be stuck with the one person that would work the worst with him, given their current emotional 'predicament'. The doctor couldn't quite decide between feeling concerned about their undoubtable setbacks, or feeling strangely lucky that the universe had given him an obvious chance to try and confront Arisu.

Was confront the right word? Maybe not, reconcile, or resolve tensions might work better.

Or apologize to.

Chishiya remembered how it had felt just earlier that day, after his silent companion had pretty much admitted that he wouldn't give two craps if he died. He remembered just how those cold eyes made him feel, the twisting in his stomach, and the overall sense of burning guilt. He had not felt that way in a long time, not in this world. In fact, the doctor had been sure that he no longer had the ability to regret something so heavily. It seemed that the years of forcing away any emotion he had had not left he as numb as he had thought.

Chishiya had seen many people die in the borderlands, had been the cause of their downfalls in fact, but he had never experienced the rock hard clutch on his chest that that split second moment of eye contact had caused, squeezing in his memories until it was hard to breathe. Arisu constantly caused far too many confusing feelings to explode inside of his chest, and it was starting to become a serious problem.

Actually, it had been a problem right from the start of it all.

With the taller individual hating him like this...well, let's just say it was making it hard to think straight. Recently, his mind had been covered in a hazy fog. Even now, he struggled to plan out even a simple tactic for his driving, instead hurtling along in a relatively straight line at breakneck speed. If he carried on like this, he was sure to be killed.

And Arisu was the problem.

Well, more specifically, the way they interacted was the problem.

And now he had the chance to put things straight between the two. When they made camp somewhere, Chishiya was going to force Arisu to talk things out with him, whether he liked it or not. Then everything would go back to normal, and he would be able to function properly, like the diamonds player that he was.

(That was if they survived getting away from the gunshots.)

It was in that moment that something clicked in Chishiya's mind. A detail so large, yet he had looked straight past it.

Arisu had pulled him back.

He had saved his life, just earlier that day when they had been separated from the others. Why would he do that, if he truly despised him? If it were him in the dark haired man's shoes, then he would have left him to his doom, no doubt about that. And come to think of it, how come Arisu was still sticking with him? Was he making use of him for survival.

Or could it be something more...

"Concentrate!" Arisu shouted out, obvious panic in his voice.

Chishiya snapped his eyes back to the road, and swerved just in time to miss the charred remains of a car, which was laying in the road. Cursing lightly, he readjusted his vice like grip on the wheel.

"Sorry..."

He didn't like how meek his voice always sounded when interacting with the other.

"We should stop soon, I haven't heard any firing in ages, and we don't want to end up too far away from game venues." The gamer continued.

That's was the most he had said to him in one go since the 'incident'.

But he was right.

The blonde simply nodded, and began to slow down. It was just as well that Arisu had suggested stopping, they were nearly out of fuel anyway, and they had ended up in the more rural outskirts.

The plant life seemed almost closer than they had before, as if there were creeping up into the city. Buildings that had once been clean and white or covered with tendrils of ivy, weeds that had grown much faster than they should. Abandoned cars that should have been clean were littered with grime and plant growth. And since when had the city centre been so close to the outskirts? The whole thing was suspicious, and curiously eerie.

Finally, the car slow to stop as Chishiya parked to the side of the road. It would have been a good idea to leave the vehicle somewhere more discrete, and hidden, but there were no obvious places around that would keep it from unfriendly eyes. They also didn't have the fuel to drive around in search any longer.

They stayed in silence for a moment, before Chishiya got up, closing the car door behind him.

And promptly ignoring the slight shake in his legs.

The air felt fresh as he took a breath, and looked around. The road pretty much stopped here, the plant growth would have made it impossible to drive much further, as it had taken over the road. The click of the other door closing alerted Chishiya that Arisu had followed suite, and he turned to address him.

"We won't be needing to come back here. The car is useless now."

He kept is voice as blank as possible, not wanting any of his racing thoughts to be readable.

"We should look around, try to find resources or somewhere to camp."

The gamer nodded in response, and looked towards the foliage. He narrowed his eyes for a brief second, before shrugging and beginning to walk, not waiting for Chishiya. Not that he wanted him to or anything.

The doctor did a small awkward jog to catch up, even if his presence was unwanted. It was unwise to split up, it didn't matter if they were close, the safest option was for Arisu to be within eye site at all times. And he had to admit that he was still rather anxious that the man would take the opportunity to run off and leave him. Though, he doubted he could stop him if he tried anyway.

They walked for a while, the vegetation slowly growing larger and more wild the deeper they went. It quickly got to the point where navigating in the car would have been impossible.

The walk was almost pleasant. The midday sun filtered through the few leaves that stretched above their heads, and a mild breeze ruffled his bleached hair. Speaking of his hair, it was getting quite long...

"Chishiya!"

Panic momentarily coursed through his system at the older man quickly glanced up, in Arisu's direction. When it became apparent that the man was not in immediate danger, he frowned.

"What?"

Arisu grinned to himself, and crouched down, peering into a bush. They had ended up in a clearing of sorts, with more grass and less overgrown shrubbery than before.

"I saw a rabbit!"

He seemed awfully pleased with himself, his miserable attitude forgotten. A warm feeling blossomed in the doctor's chest, which he quickly wrestled down.

"There might be a family of them-"

"There's another one!"

Arisu cut him off, scrambling off of the floor to follow the next fluffy mammal. The creature disappeared with a leafy rustle, and the man walked over to his side. Chishiya regarded him with a raised eyebrow, not quite understanding the excitement.

"We should try to catch one, that's what Usagi would do!" he suggested, still looking pleased.

"Do you know how?"

"Well, er, I watched Usagi do it when we were together before the beach...I don't really have the equipment for it though."

A sadder looked passed across his face as he realized his plan was doomed. Chishiya panicked.

"I'm sure you don't need all that, just catch them by surprise?"

After thinking for a moment, Arisu nodded.

"It might take a while."

"We have time." the doctor reassured him.

It was weird how quickly his mood had flipped, but Chishiya was just going to go with it. There was still a dark glaze to his eyes, but this might be the happiest that he had even seen him. Too bad he wasn't the cause of it.

The next forty minutes or so consisted of pure failure in the rabbit catching plan. At first Chishiya simply sat and watched as the other man ran frantically after the little creatures, but Arisu soon made him 'assist'. Saying that, he didn't manage to do anything other than falling on his arse multiple times. The rabbits were amazingly fast, it was almost like they were mocking the pair. They didn't run away like they should have, instead they kept darting out of the bushes, staying still just long enough to make them believe that they had a chance, before rapidly vanishing. It was all very frustrating, and the blonde found himself cursing at the buggers in his head.

Why couldn't they either leave for good, or let them catch one and get it over with? Satanic little bastards.

The two sat in defeat, and Chishiya found himself embarrassingly red faced as his panted a bit. Arisu was in a similar state to his own, in fact, he seemed more in pain. The shorter man watched curiously as his face briefly screwed up, and he looked down to where he was clutching his waist.

...oh shit!

He had forgotten about his injury, in all the panic with the King of Spades.

"Your side isn't feeling any better?"

Arisu's eyes wide slightly, and he lowered his hand discretely.

"It's fine." he muttered.

"No it's not, let me see."

"Seriously, it's fine, I just a bit of a twinge as I sat down-"

"Arisu." Chishiya interrupted, giving him a calculated stare.

It was obvious that it was worse than he let on, even if he didn't have the supplies to do much, it would still help to have a medical opinion on the matter. He hoped it had not become infected. Although, he hadn't noticed Arisu struggling too much as they had walked and ran earlier, he knew he would have noticed if he was in pain.

Arisu gave him a bit of a grumpy look, before nodding begrudgingly.

"But we should find somewhere to camp first. And some food." he added.

Chishiya wanted to argue, but he knew that was probably the best course of action. And come to think of it, he was quite hungry. They had not eaten anything since that morning, and the cereal bars hadn't been all that filling. He could still see the outlines of a handful of buildings through the foliage, which seemed to be homes.

It would be good to find somewhere where Arisu could sleep inside, and perhaps if they were lucky, there would find medical supplies and food. After conveying those thoughts to his companion, who seemed more sullen than before, the two made their way towards the closest structure. The entered through the back garden, which was wildly overgrown, and surveyed what they were working with.

The house was relatively small, but there were no broken windows or signs of a forced entry. Which was a good, as it only likened their chances of finding what they were looking for. No doors or windows were left open, so they entered via the glass back window, Chishiya carefully smashing it with a nearby rock. Well, as carefully as he could in the given situation. Arisu looked slightly doubtful as they peered through the entrance into the glumly interior, and he hesitated before stepping inside.

"Don't worry, we can open some curtains to get some natural light in-"

"Whatever."

Arisu stormed past him, like he was frustrated that Chishiya had sensed his doubts. That was vaugly amusing.

The doctor followed him, stepping over the broken glass that lay on the floor, glinting in the low light of the kitchen. He decided to let Arisu tackle the other rooms alone, while he looked around for food, as he obviously needed some space.

Chishiya bit back a warning about his side, knowing that it would neither be appreciated or acted upon as the other disappeared into another room.

"Shout if anything happens ok?"

No answer. Not like he had expected anything from him.

Shrugging off the renewing sense of misery that he felt creeping back into his bones, the doctor began making his way towards the kitchen window, which was shrouded by a blind. Once that was up, the light allowed him to see what he was working with better.

The room was in better condition than he had expected, aside from a handful of rodent droppings and bugs in the darker corners, it was pretty much as it would have been whilst inhabited. There was a dank smell hanging in the, which was unmistakably emanating from the fridge. He would avoid going in there, unless the cupboards proved unsuccessful.

Taking a breath, and wrinkling his nose, Chishiya got started.

Chapter Text

Leaving his companion behind, Arisu made his way through the gloom to the first room, a layer of dust coating his hand as the twisted the doorknob. It was the living room, large windows letting in enough fading light for him to be able to see the space clearly. It was neat, and obviously a family space, made up of two sofas, an armchair and several wooden pieces of furniture. There was a television, and a box of children's toys lined the far wall.

Stepping inside, he breathed in the musty air, feeling a surprising sense of calm. It was nice to be somewhere like this, it had been a while.

But still, this was somebody's home. What right did they have to just barge in here? Real people lived here, children lived here. What would they think if they saw them here?

Though, it was quite unlikely that they were around here.

Could they all in this world too? Were they all out there somewhere, in games, or lying dead in the street?

Would they ever come back here?

Arisu had been close to his home several times during his time here, but he had never really felt the urge to visit. Perhaps he had been scared about what had would find. Finding his own home like this, abandoned and empty, well, it wouldn't exactly make his day.

But still, the gamer had to focus on the task at hand. Medicine and all that.

There was nothing here that immediately caught his eye, so he exited, leaving the door swung open as he went, so that the rooms light could bleed elsewhere.

Chishiya was still in the kitchen, he could hear him moving around, so he decided to make his way upstairs, the air growing a bit more breathable as he went. He could see the sky was rapidly beginning to darken outside: the previously bright sun starting to disappear over the horizon. Arisu needed to work quickly and use the advantage of the remaining daylight to search. Once it got dark, well, looking for things like medicine without reading the packaging, or being able to see a lot of anything, would undoubtedly prove itself a tad difficult.

At the top of the stairs, there were three doors going along a corridor, all made of wood. The first one stood ajar, and from what he could tell, it had been the children's room. Judging from the toys scattered across the carpet, and colourful twin beds. He couldn't bring himself to rifle through children's belongings, nor did he think there would be anything of significance there, so he moved on.

The handle creaked as he turned it, slowly opening the second door. It was a bathroom, probably where he could at least find something to bring back downstairs.

The first thing he did was try the taps, their squeaky waterless groans as they were turned seeming deafening in the quiet room. He hadn't really been expecting anything, but it was still disappointing when no water flowed.

The bathroom was a relatively small space, but with plenty of cupboards that he began to search. The first few proved unsuccessful, housing only beauty products and related gizmos. However, after searching the final cupboard, the gamer discovered a sealed plastic box.

Even in the gloom, he could make out the distinctively bright packaging of painkillers, plasters, bandages and so on through its opaque sides.

Mission accomplished.

"Bingo..." the man muttered under his breath, scooping up the box and exiting the room.

Perhaps he would come back in the morning, when he had more light and time to go through everything else. And, there was only one room left, presumably a bedroom for the parents of the house.

He made his way towards it quickly, stepping inside without closing the door behind him.

His intuition has been correct, because, glancing around at the double bed and furniture, it was obviously inhabited by two adults. The bed was made, and besides the thin layer of dust coating everything, the place looked as though the owners had just popped out for a day, and would return any minute.

It made him feel strangely lonely knowing that would probably never happen, at least not here, in whatever this realm was.

There were three pictures along a small bookshelf, facing the bed in a way that they would be the first thing someone saw when waking up.

They were all pictures of the house owners: two young, grinning boys with their parents, all looking carefree and happy. They looked like the perfect family.

Arisu could feel a strange longing pulling at his chest: painfully raw. This is what he could have had, a mother and family that cared for him. But no, he had not gotten anything of the sort. Not even a smidge of love over the years, no smiling family photos. And now, it was too late.

Could he ever learn to love someone else, like the parents in the photograph, while his heart had been so damaged?

Would he ever be able to have a family of his own, should he one day beat the games and return? Hell, who would even want someone like him? He wasn't exactly lovable material.

He turned away from the memories, urging himself to focus on the task at hand. Feeling sorry for himself certainly wasn't going to help with surviving. He could save that for later, if there ever was a time.

A muffled crash from downstairs stopped the gamer in his tracks, and he froze, listening. Had someone followed them? Was Chishiya ok-

A grumbled curse cut his panicked thoughts off, along with a long exasperated sigh. It was then followed by a quiet stream of complaints about boxes, and Arisu relaxed.

He had probably just dropped something- judging from his tone of voice, which Arisu had only just managed to hear, he wasn't in danger. Just annoyed.

A small smile sprung to his face when a picture of the serious, scary hearts player getting mad at boxes crossed his mind. It was a bit...surreal?

He should probably make his way back to the other, and see if he had managed to salvage anything to eat. It had been forgotten during their mad car chase earlier, but now, in the calm, his stomach burned with hunger. And worry. And regret, anger, all sorts of emotions.

But hunger was the main one, which he was worried about the most right now. He left the room and his pondering behind, appearing in the kitchen with his box in hand. Chishiya was crouched on the floor with his back to him, trying his best to look around a dimly illuminated cupboard beneath the sink.

Clearing his throat, Arisu shuffled where he stood, trying his best to alert the blonde of his presence without making him jump.

Chishiya looked back, dark eyes meeting his own in curiosity.

"Find anything?" he asked awkwardly.

Chishiya looked a little caught off guard, as if he had not been expecting the gamer to return at all. Or talk to him when he did. But soon he got over whatever trance he had been placed in, and his face was remasked with the usual, non emotional expression.

It almost made Arisu sad.

"Yes."

He didn't elaborate, simply gesturing to a small pile of cans and sealed packets on the counter.

"There should be enough to take with us tomorrow. Did you have any luck upstairs?"

The doctor had gotten up, giving up on the space he had been attempting to explore. He stood in front of Arisu, who nodded, holding the box out for him to take.

Chishiya opened it, looking pleased with the contents. He picked out a roll of bandages, and a tube of white cream, which Arisu assumed was anti-septic. He swallowed nervously.

"Do you want to do this before or after eating?" the doctor probed, surprisingly softly, gesturing to his side.

He thought for a moment. He was hungry, but he didn't want to have the foreboding thought of that hovering over him whilst eating. He sighed.

"May as well do it now, while there's light."

Chishiya hummed in agreement, before opening the packaging.

"There isn't much in terms of water to wash it with, but..."

He pulled out several more, smaller packets from the box's depths.

"There are these alcohol wipes." he finished, holding them up for Arisu to see.

"Whatever."

He pulled his shirt up so that his stomach was revealed, wincing as the fabric grazed the tender area. Frankly, he didn't really want to look at it, so he stared straight ahead at the wall as the other man got to work.

He came forward and crouched, resting on the balls of feet so his eyes were level with the damaged skin.

It was an interesting position, but whatever worked he supposed.

Chishiya did the job quickly, and Arisu found himself zoning out, hardly noticing the stinging cold of the antiseptic, or the tight wrap of the bandages. It was nice that the other man still wanted to help him, despite...well, everything that had happened.

Even if on the outside he seemed cruel, unapproachable and logical, there was still some heart to the diamond's player. And, for what it was worth, he did appreciate him.

Hold on- what was he thinking? He was supposed to be hating him dammit! After what he did.

"But he was just surviving. And it saved your life." a voice in his head echoed, which the gamer frantically blocked out. Surviving or not, human lives were not his to manipulate and dispose of. The man was a machine, barely even human himself.

But was that coldblooded murderer the same man who was with him now, caring for him like this? This was all too confusing for him.

Chishiya stood and gave him a nod, finished with his task. Arisu looked down quickly, seeing blood stained wipes littering the floor, and the cut now wrapped in a new layer of white bandage. He let his shirt drop, and bent down to gather the litter into his hands. Probably best not just to leave it there. He looked at the doctor, who had been watching.

"Thank you."

"... you're welcome." he replied after a moment's pause.

He cleared his throat, and gestured again to his haul of cans.

"Food then? It will be cold I'm afraid."

"Is there a can opener?"

"They all have tabs. I checked."

"Right."

He moved to look at the various food items, their labels were hard to read in the dark. His stomach growled, and Chishiya let out a cough which sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Arisu frowned, deciding not to question it.

"Are there any candles or anything?"

Eating in the dark wouldn't be the most fun of activities.

Chishiya nodded.

"Yeah, I found a couple and a lighter earlier. I put them on the table."

Arisu walked to the dining table, picking up the plastic lighter when he arrived. The coloured plastic was smooth and cold in his hands as he lit the set of candles, one by one.

They cast dancing shadows onto the white painted walls, giving the pair an acceptable amount of lighting to eat with. Chishiya sat down opposite him, bringing the food, along with metal spoons, precariously balanced on a matching pair of beige plates.

Arisu gave the plates a slightly judgmental look, which the shorter man caught.

"There's nothing wrong with acting a little civilised Arisu. The perks of being in a family home." he chided, setting the plates down in their respective places.

Shrugging in response, he started to open various cans and packages, setting aside the ones they didn't need for the next day. As far as meals went, this couldn't be the most unpleasant. With the candle light it was actually fairly relaxing.

However, he soon realised the candles did give the whole ordeal a bit of a romantic feel. A sort of awkward first date.

That though was...disturbing to say the least. He was quite thankful of the dark being as it was, so Chishiya wouldn't be able to pick up on the embarrassed flush across his face. He just needed to stop thinking about it.

Picking up a spoon, he began to eat.

Chapter Text

Completely forgot about this I can't lie😬😬, I think I officially give up on updating...