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The platform begins slowly spinning again, the room quickly filled with the sounds of the mechanics moving and an distinctively childlike voice singing an eerie song, the various blood splatters scattered around the large room only served to make the environment even more unnerving.
Giyuu was tense, waiting for the platform to stop so he could grab the right amount of players and run into the closest room. Many people had died already and he considered himself incredibly lucky since none of his group had been caught outside a room, he planned to keep it that way.
Quickly glancing around himself to find his teammates helped calm his nerves even if only slightly, knowing where they were would make it easier to grab whoever he needed and run. The Agatsuma kid and his Grandfather were in front of him holding onto each with a grip so tight it was impossible to even dream of separating the two. Giyuu felt horrible for them, they'd gotten separated during the last match and was worried the other had died, he couldn't imagine if Tsutako were here and he had to go through that with her. The memory of his late older sister shot a pang of grief through his heart but he pointedly ignored it by continuing to look at the people around him
Player 456 stood directly to his right, despite not knowing the man very well Giyuu respected him for helping other players get through earlier games, and coming back to replay the games just to help others survive was rather noble in his opinion.
Tanjiro stood just a few paces behind 456. Giyuu had grown really attached to the boy; Since they met during the Six-Legged Pentathlon they'd become inseparable, Tanjiro was quick to start referring to Giyuu as 'Aniki' and despite not saying anything about it in return Giyuu felt protective over the boy the same way an older brother would. And when Giyuu told the group of other players he'd been implemented into that he was trans Tanjiro was quick to show his support, even telling him that he is handsome.
Next to Tanjiro stood an incredibly quiet girl, Giyuu hadn't heard her speak once and in all honesty he didn't really know anything about her, but the old man was always quick to greet her and insisted on taking care of her. She seemed sweet and Giyuu got that same older brother like feeling when she was around, he wanted to keep her safe despite knowing next to nothing about her. He wasn't sure exactly why he felt so protective over her, maybe it was because of how she seemed constantly vulnerable and unsure of herself, something that he saw a younger version of himself in. Whatever, he didn't have the time to ponder about it now
To his right a few feet away stood player 246, he'd gone into the room with Giyuu and Tanjiro during the previous round. He hadn't actually interacted with the man until just then when they pulled him into a room, but throughout the game his attention would focus entirely on him, his odd appearance intrigued him. The man was incredibly short reaching somewhere around 160cm, his eyes were different colors on each side, one being a soft yellow resembling honey and the other a deep blue like the ocean, His hair was choppy and cut at odd angles leading Giyuu to wonder what led to such a bizarre hairstyle. The part about him that stood out the most though was the albino snake wrapped loosely around his neck, hidden just under his uniform so it blended in with the white of his shirt. How he snuck that in was beyond him.
His thoughts were abruptly cut off by the platform locking up in place, making a few people stumble. The music abruptly cut off and the same girlish voice they'd been taking instructions from throughout their time spent in the games recited the number of people needed
"Six" Her voice rang out, deafeningly loud as everyone held their breath to listen for the number
.
With that one simple word the lights turned a deep purple and started flashing. Instantly people were thrown into a panic as everyone scrambled to find five others and an open room. The people he'd familiarized himself with along with a few others quickly huddled together and player 456 started shouting without hesitance, Giyuu admired his ability to start strategizing without a moments delay but now wasn't the time to think about that
"Four women and two men, go!"
"Which two men?" A man next to Tanjiro spoke, Giyuu recognized him as the one who'd been with 456 since the first time they voted, the memory of the man switching to 'X' after originally voting 'O' made him think guiltily about his own changed answer
"I'm going with my gramps!" The blonde kid shouted as he spoke, fighting to be heard over the chaos around them. He had a tight grip on the older mans hand, clearly unwilling to risk being separated
"I-.. I'll go" a small boy wearing a Hyottoko mask he didn't quite know raised his hand, the rest of the group around him motivating him forward by patting his back as he ran towards Giyuu and his team.
The six of them rushed towards the first door they saw, forcing the door open and barging in. The moment the door was opened and he saw the six people already filling the room Giyuu ran off to find the next closest empty room. His heart beat wildly as he searched for a room, every time he opened a door only to be greeted by six other players made the seed of dread that had settled deep in his gut grow larger and larger until it was near nauseating.
Finally a few doors down from the one his group was just starting to rush out of at the screams of the players already inside was a completely empty room. He turned and shouted as loud as he could to be heard over the commotion around them "Over here! This room is empty! Hurry!" He held the door open with his leg and a single hand, using the other to motion the rest of his group to hurry over
It felt like time slowed down as Giyuu watched the others run over, the intercom announced that there were ten seconds left just as they passed a door where people were fighting over who got into the room. One of the men in said room got shoved backwards forcing him out of the room and making him collide with Tanjiro sending the both of them to the floor, he let out a sharp cry of pain that was drowned out by the shouting and general chaos that surrounded them.
Not noticing what had happened Giyuu ushered the group into the room, counting off each person as they entered
One.. Two.. Three.. Four.... Four?
Looking over the group now trying to catch their breath Giyuu noticed one person missing "Where's Tanjiro?"
"Aniki!"
Looking out from the door his eyes instantly caught on the sight of Tanjiro struggling to get back up after being shoved so harshly. He felt his heart quicken and his breath stop, there was only three seconds left, if he didn't get into the room then-
Without a second thought or moment of hesitation he moved to run out of the room, aiming to drag Tanjiro into the room if he needed to, three seconds was enough time for Giyuu to get to him and pull him back to the room, right?
Before he got the chance to even fully step out of the doorway he was harshly shoved back into the obnoxiously green room as another player ran into the room and pushed him out of the way, slamming the door shut as they did so.
The timer ran out ringing in his ears and grabbing all his attention, at the same time the latch on the door locked them in.
For a brief moment the room was completely silent, nobody said a word as everyone was trying to catch their breath and process what had just happened. Giyuu looked around dazed as his mind raced and his eyes searched for Tanjiro, he must've been the one to push Giyuu out of the way, he had to of gotten up quicker than he thought he could and ran to the door before it shut
"Aniki"
All the anxiety and dread he'd been feeling until now hit him directly in his chest, nearly making him double over with the pain of it. He felt like he couldn't breathe and his heart stopped beating as he locked eyes with Tanjiro through the small opening in the door. He hadn't even realized he was running forward until he roughly collided with door. Tears built up and burned his throat as he banged desperately on the door, maybe if he just hit it hard enough the latch would unlock and he could drag Tanjiro into the room, he'd even swap their places if it meant Tanjiro would live to see another day.
"Tanjiro!" He called his name over and over again, praying to whatever gods were out there that they'd just once have mercy and spare him this loss
Even from the other side of the door the gunshot rang out impossibly loud, echoing through his ears and worming its way deep into his skull. He watched helplessly as the life quickly drained out of Tanjiro's eyes, he went limp and his body fell to the ground leaving nothing but the guard standing a few feet behind where Tanjiro stood moments ago.
Out of shock Giyuu said nothing, unable to do anything besides stare. He didn't when when his hand has moved but once he registered that it was now gripping onto the small cut out window he pulled on it frantically, trying to pull the door out of place to be with him again
"No... No! Tanjiro!" He screamed out for him, repeatedly calling his name and openly sobbing as he clawed at and banged on the door out of pure desperation. His hands burned and began to bleed but he didn't dare think of stopping, he needed to get to Tanjiro, he could figure out a way to revive him if only he could just get the door open. Behind him he heard the others start to cry, the old man even called out Tanjiro's name. Every sound in that small room seemed to echo infinitely, ringing in his ears and bouncing around in his skull.
In a moment of clarity Giyuu turns and redirects his grief and anger to the man who pushed him into the room. Grabbing onto the front of his uniform to get the leverage needed to force him against the wall, his knuckles turned white with how hard he was holding onto the mans uniform
"It's your fault, Tanjiro is dead because of you!" His voice shook with emotion as he shouted at the stranger, not bothering to think his words through. Tanjiro wouldn't have died if it wasn't for him, if he'd just let Giyuu grab him then Tanjiro would still be alive right now.
"Dont kid yourself. If I hadn't come in, you'd be dead too." The mans face scrunched up in irritation as he spoke but he didn't do anything to make Giyuu let go
"It's your fault! I could have saved him!" A small part of him knew it wasn't true, he knew that there was no time. But he wouldn't listen to that tiny voice in the back of his mind telling him to listen to reason, right now he needed someone to blame, someone to be angry at
"There was no time! The moment you went out to save him you'd have died along with everyone else in here for not having enough people!" Now he was yelling, his face slowly reddening with anger at being falsely blamed. "I saved your lives!" With that he pushed Giyuu off of him and turned to the others in the room "Am I wrong?! Say something!" Nobody was able to meet his eyes, for the first time since the door locked shut the room was completely silent.
"He.. is right about that" The usually quiet girl that Giyuu had become attached to spoke up, her voice was low and she couldn't meet his eyes as she spoke
"It's true. There wasn't enough time" The small boy from earlier spoke, his mask hid his face but Giyuu could see tears soaking the bottom of the mask and his voice wobbled with emotion when he spoke
He knew they were right, no matter how fast he was there just wasn't enough time. But even so he wanted someone to be angry at, he needed something to pour his grief into that wasn't the overwhelming self-hatred he already felt start to creep into his mind. Now with nothing he could be angry at tears flooded his vision, he leaned on the door to support himself as he struggled to choke back sobs.
Outside the room he could hear the wooden box designated for Tanjiro being opened, he couldn't bring himself to look back out that small gap in the door as he heard them moving his body. All he could think about as everyone stood in complete silence was how bright Tanjiro had been smiling and how his eyes sparkled with determination just an hour ago
After all the bodies were collected the latch unlocked and the door slowly opened, one by one everyone left the room and as he passed through the doorway he did everything he could to ignore the bloody smears on the door and puddles of blood he knew belonged to the boy he'd considered a sibling.
Once again everyone gathered in the middle of the room, stepping up onto the soon to be rotating platform and waiting for the music to start. As the platform began to spin again and the music started up the women over the intercom announced that this would be the last round.
A few feet away Giyuu heard 456 and the people around him debating what the next number would be but he didn't care to listen in. Usually at this point he'd be thinking of the best way to get the people he cared about into a room, but now that Tanjiro was gone he couldn't do anything but numbly stand in place, staring at the ground. Even when the platform came to an abrupt stop and the number of people per room was announced he didn't move, too wrapped up in grief to care whether or not he made it into a room, only being pulled out of his dazed state by the man with the snake grabbing his arm and ushering him into a room.
He found that even now safe in a room with the man he'd wanted to get to know better, he wouldn't have cared if he was left still standing on that platform