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After a while, Arisu starts to notice that most of the days at the beach are always the same. Listen to the overbearing sounds of partying outside, moaning and naked bodies in the club area, nonsensical interrogations in the conference room, and that weird guy staring at him every single meeting like he’s an alien from Mars. This was the normal he’s grown used to for the past month he’s been here. No one forms any meaningful connections, no one befriends eachother, and especially no making “allies,” because they’ll all die in the end. They always do.
In a way, he guessed he should at least be thankful. If he never decided that Karube and Chota would beat his ass if he died right after they said to “live on,” which would make their deaths in vain, he decided that waiting for death on a cold, blood ridden sidewalk isn’t how he wanted to go out. However, the deranged bitch (Hatter) is always sending him on suicide missions or interrogations that he always solved in less than twenty minutes. Most of the time he was dragging out the minutes anyways.
Instead of conversing with any of the people outside, hell even lose his virginity, he’s lying on his bed mindlessly doing some moves on a Rubik’s cube, throwing it up into the air, catching it, and solving again. He’s been on a loop for the past fifteen minutes. The game he just played was far from enjoyable, especially considering he was the only survivor. No one cares to check up on him unless they need something, or even say “hi” while passing by in the hallways. It was draining, to say the least. Being surrounded by people who can just decide at any moment that they want him dead depending on if he’s made himself useful lately.
Well, maybe not everyone was a total bitch. Tatta was nice, and even though the cat-like one always looked at him like he snuck onto planet earth, he didn’t have any animosity towards him (at least, from what he could tell). He once applied eyeliner on Arisu in silence, so either he was building trust or he was testing out if a new product was deadly or not. Seeing as though he still lives to see the day, he’s guessing the former.
Whilst he’s in the middle of his solve and toss routine, his door creaks and is basically forced open. That’s a sure fire sign someone is coming to kill you or kidnap you. His door handle slams against the wall as the person slowly inches closer. Usually, if it was like sometime last month, he would’ve immediately grabbed the gun he keeps in his bedside drawer and aimed it at the door’s hallway. However, he couldn’t be bothered to care if someone killed him at this point. They’d actually be doing him a favor, he’d rather get shot in the head than have to die by burning acid in one of the games.
As he continued his routine of solve and toss, he finally peers at the person now leaning on his wall, hands in the pockets of their white hoodie. “Beach sure fucked over your reflexes, Arisu.”
Probably the person he wished to see least in the world. Well, close to least. Unfortunately a lot of others have made that list. He sighs as he catches the cube mid air and places it on his bedside table. “What do you want…you.”
“Such a warm welcome. Can’t really blame you though, we haven’t really spoken.” The other smiles, yet it doesn’t exactly reach his eyes. It never did anyways. The cat-like man never shows any true emotions ever. If he even appears it, it’s always a manipulation tactic. Arisu rolls his eyes and quickly scruffs out his already fluffy (bordering plain messy) hair. He swings his feet off the bed, planting them on the ground, and pushing off. He stretches a bit before walking over, and the chesire (was that his name? arisu couldn’t really remember right now) starts walking off as a signal to follow him.
Arisu should know not to trust a man who only swears allegiance to a single brand of cookies. Of course, he didn’t exactly know that, but he looks at the ingredients like he’s reading ancient scripture. He guessed that the man is just one of those meticulous people. His voice also sounded like the psychiatrist his father took him to as a little kid in hopes to force—whatever it was that he disliked—out of his body. Not the same pitch, but the same tone. The “I know better than you so shut the fuck up and listen” type of voice.
The hotel had been quite big. He guessed it was because it was a luxury hotel that housed thousands of guests every night, but you would think there’d be an underground drug ring running in the background. However, it had really only been a scheme of blackmail and dictatorship behind the mask of a seemingly happy paradise. Chesire (he’s pretty sure that’s along the lines of his name) and Arisu were almost always put together whenever they had an interrogation, which seemed to be the case now. He usually would’ve brought his gun just in case the interogatee decided to try and get violent, but he lost the point in doing that long ago. However the hell the interrogations went down now he didn’t really give a damn.
“There’s my star intelligence team!” Hatter exclaims, but it still has that hint of sarcasm behind it. He’s barely ever genuine about anything. Arisu’s been having to deal with his bs for two months. Chesire(…?) keeps his hands in his hoodie, the hoodie they somehow let him wear when Arisu could barely even skate by with a baggy shirt and some swim shorts.
“So turns out one of our lovely beach employees here has been killing militants and informants behind the scenes. We know who it is, but poor guy won’t admit he did it, let alone why.” Hatter explains with a false sad look on his face. He takes a swig of whatever alcohol he had been currently nursing in a glass cup, and continues talking. Arisu and cat…eye… look at him with a bored expression. “The two of you are tasked with the job of finding out the exact motivations. Extra… motivational services… may be used.”
His smile suddenly drops at the mention of motivation. The two already know this exact rodeo. Motivation means torture, anything you can think of. If you even manage to get approval from Hatter, which he only gives out on rare occasions, you won’t be held accountable for anything. Without permission, you’d be lucky to escape with your head. Arisu and… him… share a look. Unfortunately, with this approval, it means their job would undoubtedly be even harder.
“My amazing diamond and my lovely heart players will surely not disappoint, will they?” Hatter asks, faux smile appearing on his face. Arisu and the other shake their heads, and both walk out as the one with the bleached hair waves his hand ‘goodbye’. Arisu sighs and keeps moving. He already was pretty sure who it was, but of course he needed proof rather than word.
─── ⋆⋅☆
About an hour later, in the dim lighting of the room, lie a half dead body that is currently heaving, trying to catch a breath. Arisu drops a gun back on the table and the dude next to him smirks, letting go of the grip he had currently held on the guys forehead, watching it sag down in front of him. Of course, the gun never went off. It was more jammed into any open wounds. It felt like a niragi type of action, which he didn’t enjoy at all.
The guy had been sitting there begging them to stop for around 30 minutes now. However, he hadn’t given them answers. Only admitted that he had did it immediately after seeing the loaded gun. Arisu was sweating to the high heavens. The other dude had turned the heat on high in protest that he would confess faster if he was in unfavorable conditions. Arisu had half a mind to think that he just wanted him to take off his shirt.
“Chishiya, you’re the doctor right? If I tell you anything, can you make sure I won’t die??” The ex militant had said. Arisu put two and two together to guess that the random dudes name had been Chishiya all along. He guessed he wasn’t very far off with Chesire then. Maybe he was thinking of that one wonderland character. Cat like and cunning, just like that man. Wasn’t a far off nickname either. “I can save you from your injuries temporarily.” Chishiya stated, which made the guys eyes glimmer.
“It was Annie. She made me do it. I was getting rid of trash for her that she didn’t want to deal with.” The man finally confessed. Arisu sighed heavily. He’d already known it was that girl the entire time. Well, the one behind it. He’d talked to this man enough to know he would be too much of a coward to orchestrate anything like this. Chishiya walked towards Arisu, tugging on his shirt lightly as if to signal ‘we’re done here’ and to that, Arisu sighed. He backed himself towards a wall and leaned on it, as Chishiya pulled some stitches off of the table and began to help the man, as he promised.
The man kept wincing as each needle piercing went in. Arisu couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Not because of the pain, but he guaranteed wouldn’t be making it out alive. Hatter obviously wouldn’t let him leave with his life, but he still had false hope he would live. One of the militants would probably finish him off, if not, Annie. Annie had been a regular beach citizen, hadn’t been apart of the regulars or anything. Arisu only knew her because she tried to flirt with him on occasion. But he figured she wouldn’t be much of a problem, to him at least.
Once Chishiya finished with his stitches, he walked over to exit the interrogation room, and Arisu followed. They closed the door and signaled that the info had been recorded, and shortly after, some of the militants had filed into the room. The man started screaming horror after two minutes, it slowly starting to silence after his life came to an end. Arisu stared at the ground outside the room, waiting for direction. The screaming reminded him of that night in that hearts game. Where he thought his life ended. Where it should’ve ended.
He began to fidget with his fingers as Chishiya watched. Arisu never knew what went on in his head, if he was planning a murder or just…analyzing. One reason he never liked him, because he could never get a read on the guy. His walkie began to buzz static before speaking could be heard on the other line. “Arisu, Chishiya, your main mission has been completed. Prepare for the both of yours games in three days, and enjoy the wait before your next task.” Before either could answer, the line returned to static.
Arisu sighed, starting to walk over to his room before Chishiya stopped him by grabbing onto his wrist. “We should…get a drink.” He said, and Arisu looked back at him like he grew a second head. To be fair, a lot of people dragged into drinking with Chishiya would be lucky to wake up alive and well the next morning, so Arisu was a bit skeptical. Well, until he looked into the other man’s eyes to see no type of ill intent, not even the faux one. He sighed once again and nodded his head slightly, before the hand around his wrist started guiding him to the mini bar hidden in the quiet part of the club.
Chishiya sat down and looked up at him expectantly, and Arisu hesitantly sat down as well. The bartender slid Chishiya some type of alcoholic concoction, and Arisu had a vodka infused Shirley temple. Chishiya smiled slightly at the sight, but continued to sip on his drink. That was the first actual smile he’d seen come out of the man, usually he’s just closed off or sarcastic, which unnerved him. “About that game you played today…?”
He’d been circling his thumb around the glass before he looked up to meet Chishiya’s eyes. He never noticed how Chishiya always seemed to look a mix of tired or something unreadable. Arisu cleared his throat before answering. “Some game that all of us could’ve survived, but everyone wanted to be fucking stupid and not pay attention to the rules.” He then answered. Kept it vague and simple, but still understandable. Chishiya stared a long while before nodding.
Arisu began to take small sips of his drink, not trying to get wasted but still trying to enjoy it. They both sat in silence for a bit, both slowly getting more and more drunk. “I’ve never genuinely seen you shoot a gun, Arisu.” He then spoke again. Arisu shrugged and began to drink again. Chishiya relaxed his cheek on the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the bar. Chishiya slightly smiled and his eyes dropped. Arisu could definitely tell he was intoxicated. But, he noticed how he started to kind of look a bit vulnerable. Pretty even. It was a nice look on him.
“Could I sleep in your room tonight? You have two beds, right?” Chishiya suddenly asks, and Arisu chokes and starts coughing a bit mid sip. Arisu looks back at his face, to find at least any sign of ‘I’m going to smother you whilst you sleep’ but all that remained on his face was genuine trust, love even. It made him feel a bit… scared. If he couldn’t tell anything appearing on the other man’s face, it could mean he would be even harder to read, resulting in his death. Arisu tilted his head, as if asking ‘Why’.
Chishiya picked up this hint and he smiled a bit wider, still remaining soft and calm. “Niragi thinks I’m on drugs so he’s having the militants search my room. Figured we could room for a bit?” Chishiya then answers. Arisu thinks for a bit. On one hand, he has another bed so it shouldn’t bother him. One the other hand, a dude that has been known to get people on his side to betray their trust in the future, or even kill them while they sleep, and sharing the same room as him, is a downright horrendous idea. However, not like he wouldn’t be doing him a favor by killing him in a peaceful way.
At least he could try and say to his two friends that he survived as long as he could. The inevitable ass beat would probably prevail, however.
Arisu nodded slightly, and Chishiya’s eyes glimmered in a bit of a scary/endearing way. He quickly showed the bartender both of their wristbands—because managers don’t pay—and he stood up, waiting for Arisu to follow. Arisu guides him to the room he has, upstairs on the fifth floor, overlooking the garden on the side of the building. He opens the door—being that none of them can lock—and waits for the other to walk in. Not like Chishiya didn’t already know the state of his room, considering he was just there to retrieve him earlier that day.
─── ⋆⋅☆
It just looked like a normal old hotel room, nothing really there that would signify it being occupied by anyone. Arisu didn’t exactly see the point in decorating a room he probably wouldn’t be able to go back to if he died in a game. Chishiya rubbed his eyes and stumbled over to the second bed, the one closest to the door. Arisu snickered and walked over to his bed, the one closest to the balcony outside. Chishiya instantly flopped onto the other bed, hitting the pillow in the blink of an eye. Arisu had insomnia, even before the hit of the borderlands. Ever since at least middle school, he’d stay up playing video games all night because his body physically could not sleep.
Some old friends used to help with that. Not that old, but still enough to count. Nowadays, if he tried to sleep, he would probably replay their deaths in his mind. What he could’ve done to stop it. He knew there was nothing he could do, always knew, but he shouldn’t have been the survivor. Chota had a job, people who cared about him. Karube was about to propose to his fucking girlfriend. Arisu screwed over any chance of them living a better life than he ever could of course.
“You think really loud.” Chishiya mumbles, half of his face in a pillow. Arisu’s head snaps up instantly, realizing he’d just spent fifteen minutes in his own head. Not like it hadn’t happened before, though. Sometimes he beat borderland games on autopilot. The other man slowly got up, sitting on his own bed to match Arisu’s position. He stared at him, almost like he was about to do something, anything, then sighed. Maybe deciding he was too pussy to do it. Arisu noticed, didn’t say much.
Arisu tilted his head as Chishiya laid his head back down onto the pillow, except this time he was facing Arisu, looking at him as if waiting for him to lie down as well. He picked up on the hint and laid down too, still facing Chishiya watching as the other’s eyes began to droop. Arisu took his sleeping pills out of the bottom nightstand drawer, and took two, swallowing with a nearby water bottle. He knew you aren’t exactly supposed to take pills with alcohol already in your stomach, and he mostly saved those for the night before game day, but he didn’t want the other to know that he was a bit incapable of closing his eyes off like he is.
Chishiya reached over and flipped a switch, making both lamps turn off. He was soon fast asleep as the other waited for the pills to take their place in his system. Arisu sighed and turned so he was facing the ceiling. Usually this position of sleeping always gave him sleep paralysis, but he was beyond the feel to care right now. He had a bit too much to think about, like he brought a known psycho into his room. He made a note to self never to trust anything he says, so he wouldn’t die by his hand.
Or maybe it would be fun that way. To die by the hand of someone you trusted before. Wouldn’t that be funny? Unfortunately, his friends probably wouldn’t have that sense of humor. He soon drifted off to sleep as well, letting the darkness take him and sink him impossibly further into the bed. He would be alright if he didn’t wake up the next morning, as he always had.
Spoiler Alert: he woke up alive and well.