drainslo

[drainslo]

Brains & Brawn- Chapter 14: Round 2

“Usagi, she’s not affiliated with Chishiya. Or Niragi.” Arisu hit the side of Usagi’s shoulder playfully then sombered. “You’re not– right?”

“Not anymore,” you smiled sadly. 

Kuina had introduced you to the pair in an effort to make a truce. Unwittingly, they had formed a grudge against you before you became properly acquainted. First, it was Niragi. You both were the most  well-known militant pair. Then, they knew vaguely of your relationship with Chishiya, and the combination was enough to mark you as an enemy.

Usagi grimaced, and staggered forward as Arisu pushed her. She begrudgingly stuck out her hand, and you shook it vigorously. It had taken a miracle for her to get to this point.

“If I see you around either one of them, I’ll beat the crap out of you. Got it?” Usagi smiled threateningly. She didn’t need to reference who she was talking about directly. 

You nodded, flinching slightly.

“Perfect! Nice to meet you, I never introduced myself properly since Hatter dragged us in. I’m Usagi.”

“Arisu.” He bowed his head before grinning again.

“What’s so funny?” Kuina interjected, laughing loosely as the tension finally broke. She had to play the role of the mediator for the past hour, delicately explaining your situation until Usagi was willing to come near you.

Arisu fiddled with a phone he had in his hand, tossing it back and forth. “It’s just I never imagined that we would end up here. All together like this and alive.”

“I just have one concern. If we cleared all the games, then why are we still here?” Kuina frowned.

Kuina was addressing everyone, but she was looking at Arisu. He lowered his head sheepishly once more when he noticed everyone else looked towards him.

“I don’t know,” Arisu admitted. He glanced down at the phone he was carrying and clicked the side. The bright white of the screen flashed as it powered on. “Wait, it works?”

You wrinkled your eyebrow in confusion. The only phones you had seen were for game registration. “Where did you get that?”

“I picked it up during the 10 of Hearts…” Arisu trailed off as he flicked a few buttons on the screen. “Oh my god– look at this.”

You all huddled around Arisu holding the phone as video footage played. Two girls appeared on screen, whom you recognized to be the Witch who died– Momoka and her friend Asahi. They were talking about how they got there, you realized.

“We wanted to show you,” Momoka explained, weaving through the plant-covered city. “The nature of this world.”

They entered a subway station, and walked through the tunnels to a steel door. There was a keypad next to it, and they showed the code.

The room inside had dozens upon dozens of screens littering the walls. People everywhere were frantically watching what was on them, while cheering and yelling. It was like they were watching a sports game, but with an additional air of desperation.

Momoka walked closer to the screens, close enough for you to see what was pictured on them.

It was you. All of you. The people in the room were watching the players during the games.

And they weren’t cheering when the players won. They only did so when they lost.

“Hey– get that phone out of here!” A man’s voice yelled. The camera footage immediately cut to black.

“So they’re the ones who ran the games,” Kuina said slowly. “What subway was that?”

“I think I know where it is. Maybe they’re still there. We can get our answers,” Arisu said and immediately started trekking towards the city.

You blinked nervously at Arisu’s back and watched the rest follow. The thought of what happened at the Beach made you pause, dropping towards the back of the group. There still could be survivors outside of the Beach with weapons. And you all weren’t armed. “Wait– it might be dangerous.” 

Arisu stopped and waited for a moment.  You grabbed a gun that a militant had left behind, the cool feel was reassuring and familiar. Shooting was all you had ever known. It was what had protected you for so long– even from Chishiya. It was safe.

The pang from the shooting you had done with Chishiya briefly felt painful, yet nostalgic. Most times you had your weapon of choice, it was around Chishiya. 

Arisu led the group towards downtown Shibuya. You gasped as you saw how much foliage there was. Somehow in the past couple of days you hadn’t been out, it seemed to triple.

“Look– there’s a deer!” Kuina exclaimed giddily. A fawn and its mother stared at you from afar, then skittered away quickly.

Usagi stared off in the direction of the deer. “How is it possible for it to grow so quickly? It’s not like the real world at all.”

“I think we left the real world behind a long time ago,” you said solemnly.

The map that showed travelers which train to take was outside of the tunnel that led to the subway. The monochromatic color of the concrete and the entrance starkly contrasted with the vividness routes marked on the map. 

“Let’s go in, yeah?” Arisu said reassuringly. He pulled out the phone and skipped to the part of the video where the girls were walking into the subway. He disappeared into the darkness of the subway, the girls’ faint voices going with him.

You felt ill at what you might discover. The people down there were the ones running the games, and you had cleared them all. Were they still there? What would happen now since you had discovered their secret hideout?

A light touch from Kuina grounded your fears, her hand grazing the back of yours comfortingly. “It’ll be okay,” she murmured. “We’re all together now.”

But you weren’t. He wasn’t there.

You swallowed painfully and smiled. “I hope so.”

The chatter of the group ahead bounced off the walls, sounding like murmurs as you and Kuina followed the sound. Water droplets from the humidity dropped into puddles, a rhythm forming with your steps. 

Drip. Drip. Splash.

Drip. Drip. Splash

Drip. Drip.

Silence. The final splashing sound was interrupted– like something had stopped it from falling into the puddle. You turned around for a brief moment.

“What?” Kuina looked confused as you whipped your head around. Her forehead wrinkled further when you held your finger up to your lips as a gesture.

Through the palpable silence, you still only heard Arisu. It didn’t feel right. The silence was as if someone was holding their breath since you stopped walking.

You exhaled a shuddering breath. “I guess it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

Kuina grabbed your arm and brushed the strand of hair out of your eyes. She looked concerned, her tired eyes imploring you for an answer. Her eye bags were dark and set, outlined further by the shadowy atmosphere. She was too young to have such old eyes.

“Yes I’m su-”

A rustling sound came from behind. You didn’t mistaken it at all. It floated around the edges of the tunnel before disappearing.

You traced the path of the figure with your eyes, but you truly had no idea what or who it was. Or where it was going. It was a lost cause to try. “I’m sure.”

“Hey!” Arisu’s voice filled the tunnel, reverberating off of the walls.

“What?” Kuina yelled back. She looked at you quizzically and you shrugged in reply. You had no idea what was going on in Arisu’s head, much like Chishiya’s. 

They were eerily similar in their logic at times, but their personalities were so different. One was human, and the other seemed to be pretending. 

“I found something!” Arisu yelled, interrupting your thoughts once more. The splashing of water followed as you and Kuina approached a familiar metal door Arisu was standing in front of. “Look at this.”

Arisu then held up the phone recording to the frame of the steel door’s keypad Momoka had entered. 

Silently aside from the clicks of the keypad, you watched helplessly as Arisu slowly punched in each number. With a creak, the door swung open to reveal the same room Momoka had shown before the screen blacked out.

Instead of bustling people and bright television screens, the room was barely lit. You gasped as you looked to the floor to see it littered with bodies, with some of the televisions having a hole punched through. 

“Doesn’t this look fun?” A voice said from the corner of the room in his telltale smug tone. 

Before any of you could reply, all of the televisions lit up at the same time, revealing the face of an executive you knew well.

Mira practically beamed with joy as she made her announcement to the Borderlands. “Everyone, this stage has all been great fun! You’ve been through so much together. You’ve watched your friends die in so many ways.”

The screen shifted as she spoke, portraying each of her words as if she spoke them to life. “You’ve watched them lose, get burned, and even betray others– themselves included. But it’s all over now, you’ve won!” 

You nervously looked at the others in the room, their faces lit up with fleeting happiness. Aside from Chishiya, who absentmindedly was staring at a corner in the room.

Mira hemmed and looked to the side of the screen. Her smile became even wider. “The fun isn’t over! We have prepared a special second round of games for you. I can’t wait to see you soon,” she winked and the screen was promptly replaced with a countdown to the second stage.

"Just what we needed, another fucking round!" you exasperatedly exclaimed.

“Oh god, do you think we’ll have to face Mira?” Kuina frowned, “I saw the way she cleared hearts games as an executive– it was scary.”

“Obviously,” Chishiya sighed, turning his attention to your group. “It would at least be interesting to see who else is running the games.”

Arisu made a sound like he was choking. “You can’t be looking forward to more games?”

Chishiya’s blank gaze at Arisu was unreadable as he smiled faintly. “It’s something to pass the time.” He turned towards you with his hands in his pockets. “Can we speak–” he gestured at the rest of the people in the room, “in private?”

“She has nothing to say to you,” Kuina interrupted before you could even think of a reply.

“She can speak for herself,” Chishiya retorted.

You looked up at Chishiya, hoping to find some semblance of familiarity in those eyes. He crooked his head to the side as if questioning your next move, but didn’t give away any feelings he may or may not have had. You weren’t sure if the throbbing pains in your chest were greater from his presence or absence. 

Suddenly, a waft of peppermint reached your nostrils, and you answered without hesitation. “I’ll go. I’ll follow you.”

Kuina grabbed your wrist tightly, but you gently shook her off. “It’ll be okay,” you said, without glancing back, hurrying forth.

Chishiya had already set off, not checking to see if you were behind him. The dripping noises in the empty tunnels set your walking pace– drip, step, drip, step. It was a comforting rhythm, something reliable when you were with someone so unpredictable. 

There was a small room, barely bigger than a broom closet that was hidden in the corner of the subway. He led you there and pulled on a string to illuminate the empty area.

He murmured a question that you didn’t quite catch, his brown eyes dark as his back was to the lighting.

“What?” you asked, trying not to gawk at the situation.

“Nevermind, it was nothing,” he offered in return.

The constantly frustrated feeling from his mercurial behavior arose once more, your veins burst with fire as you remembered how he had behaved in recent days. “Honestly, what do you want from me? You’ve made it quite clear how you feel about me— why the fuck are you even here?”

Chishiya, as always, somehow managed to give a non-answer. “I wanted to continue observing you.”

“Rest assured, your guinea pig doesn’t have any plans of dying quite yet,” you snorted. “Just fuck off for this stage, won’t you? I don’t plan on being your sacrifice.”

You pulled the string to turn the lights off, leaving Chishiya in the shadows as you returned to Arisu. He said something to your back that you didn’t quite catch again, but when you finally turned around he was walking away once more. 

A/N: guys i'm not dead everything is fine... i just have so much work to do </3.... i swear this will b finished!!! (eventually)

[drainslo]

Author Update- Brains & Brawn

heyyo! i just wanted to say i have not forgotten about B&B and I do plan to finish it! i've been very busy with work recently and i kinda just come home... dead inside

i promise i will update when i find time (hopefully soon wink)

love u guys xoxo

drainslo out

ps: next chap preview..

You all huddled around Arisu holding the phone as video footage played. Two girls appeared on screen, whom you recognized to be the Witch who died– Momoka and her friend Asahi. They were talking about how they got there, you realized.

“We wanted to show you,” Momoka explained, weaving through the plant-covered city. “The nature of this world.”

They entered a subway, and walked through the tunnels to a steel door. There was a keypad next to it, and they showed the code.

The room inside had dozens upon dozens of screens littering the walls. People everywhere were frantically watching what was on them, while cheering and yelling. It was like they were watching a sports game, but with an additional air of desperation.

Momoka walked closer to the screens, close enough for you to see what was pictured on them.

It was you. All of you. The people in the room were watching the players during the games.

And they weren’t cheering when the players won. They only did so when they lost.

[drainslo]

Brains & Brawn- Chapter 13: Flames

“The Beach is on fire, we have to go,” Chishiya said quietly.

You blinked away a couple of tears that burned your cheeks slightly. They tasted salty on your lips, like the sea after a long day.  “What?”

“The Beach is on fire,” he repeated again.

“How..” Your voice trailed off as you saw bright orange flames licking the sides of part of the building. You couldn’t believe it, until you saw the building blazing. The few remaining people that weren’t killed were streaming out of the unburnt side of the Beach, near where the bonfire was. 

The bonfire appeared to be the only controlled area of where the fire was. You became vaguely aware of a faint pressure that slowly digged into your shin. It was from the dropped gun, you realized.

“It was likely one of the militants.” 

The realization washed over you quickly. Only an idiot would try to burn down the Beach with the fire of judgment, and many militants were the most impulsive people you had met. 

Chishiya gently prodded you to rise, and you shifted your position to hold the gun in a more comfortable position. “Thanks for the gun, even though it wasn’t used.”

“Ah, it was nothing.” Chishiya waited for you to stand shakily, and moved towards the door. “Try to breathe through your clothing to minimize the amount of smoke you inhale.”

You put your sleeve to your mouth to breathe and pondered. What he had just said–it felt like another lie somehow. From anyone else, giving up a valuable weapon like that would have to mean something. It meant something to you.

Dead body after dead body littered the floors as you walked through the remnants of the Beach. In some hallways, there were more bodies exposed than carpet.

One question kept hounding your thoughts after you watched Chishiya use Hatter’s cards as a distraction. Hatter was so paranoid that he would only pass down the secret in the case of his death. There was zero chance he would pass it on to Chishiya.  “How did you get the cards?”  

Chishiya blinked lazily, his eyes skimming through the burning hallways. “After Hatter died, Kuina and I found where they were. Some people tried to break in before us, and Aguni’s eyes darted to the location of the cards.”

You mulled over this information silently while you climbed down another flight of stairs. This fact had to be more significant that he was letting on, but you couldn’t figure out why. Was it what Kuina was involved in for a while?

“Wasn’t there a code for a safe of some sort?”

You saw Chishiya nod his head dismissively. “Yes, it was written on his ring.”

The ring. You immediately recognized what he was talking about. It was the only item of jewelry that was practically inseparable from Hatter. He used it to seal the envelope that contained the code for where the cards were kept. Aguni now wore it, you assumed.

“I thought the code was in the letter?” You asked, still confused.

“It was a decoy. What was actually in it was a location– where the safe was located. The code was the ring.”

“It said boss?” 

Exasperated by the fact you hadn’t caught on, Chishiya sighed heavily. “BOSS, capital letters. 8055.”

You fell into silence partly to mull over Chishiya’s genius, and partly out of shame. The only sound came from crackling and the shuddering breaths Chishiya took from the oxygen-deprived atmosphere. 

Ahead, you could see flames start to spread quickly towards the path Chishiya and you were walking.

Chishiya grabbed your hand that wasn’t holding the gun. His hand was rather cold, making you flinch slightly from the contact. “We have to hurry before it spreads towards us,” he said while pulling you along slightly faster.

You quickened your pace to match his. You could see that you were almost at the exit, you were close to the lobby.

“How did you know Niragi was going to be on the rooftop?” You said in between breaths.

“There could’ve only been one person killing people with a sniper rifle from that roof. Nobody else other than you maybe would have that good aim. And you wouldn’t kill people,” Chishiya glanced towards the gun you were still holding and added as an afterthought, “Probably.”

You laughed at the morbidity of the whole situation. “I’m glad that you don’t consider me as psycho as Niragi was.”

“Do you think I killed him?” Chishiya asked, almost vainly.

 “You know, part of me thinks he survived.” If anyone would be able to survive, it would be Niragi after all. He was like the annoyance of a cockroach you failed to squash, the one that kept skittering after being stepped on.

“You can set him on fire and push him off the roof of a large resort, but only that weasel would manage to survive. I certainly wouldn’t miss him.”

“I don’t think anyone would,” you replied truthfully.

Squinting, you entered the lobby that was now full of smoke. You swatted the air in front of your eyes in a vain attempt to improve your sight. Chishiya squeezed your hand tightly, and he led you carefully through the area. 

Pausing next to the exit, Chishiya hurriedly glanced back at the flames. “Wait here.”

You couldn’t possibly imagine a reason to go back into that hell. But before you could say anything, he disappeared back into the smog, your fingertips lightly brushing the back of his hoodie as he left. 

Did he forget something? You racked your brains to think of what could possibly be that important. You had the gun still. It was the only weapon you both possessed now as both the taser and the water-gun-flamethrower were left behind in the burning building. As the thought hit you, you realized simultaneously that it meant Chishiya was defenseless if anything happened.

A falling pillar from the fire could pin him down– or another maniac like Niragi could still be trying to make their way out. 

Worst case scenario, it could be the last time you saw him again. You already came close to losing him that night.

Without thinking any longer, you took a couple of steps tentatively into the gray that surrounded you, peering left and right to see if anyone else was there. Coughing, you put your mouth into your sleeve and ventured further into the lobby.

Straight ahead, was a white blur that you assumed was Chishiya. As you approached closer, the outline solidified to confirm that it was him. He was standing in front of the table where the phones were for registration, staring intently at a small object he held in his hand.

He didn’t acknowledge that you were coming closer, and when you stood by his side his face was expressionless.

You glanced down, and saw what he was holding.

Anger flowed through your veins almost immediately, your emotions rising to the same level of the flames that surrounded you. “You came back in here for the fucking card?”

“Of course I did. It was always about the cards.”. 

The words stung on your skin like they were acid. The cards. He said it so casually like it was obvious there was no room for anything else for him.

Not even you.

Blinking back the liquid welling in your eyes–from the smoke, obviously, you tapped his shoulder with more force than you planned to. “Hey. You’re going to die if we don’t leave soon.”

“Would that really be so bad?” 

You rolled your eyes, and practically dragged him out of the lobby once more by pulling the arm that wasn’t carrying the card. You avoided looking at it. The bright red lettering felt almost dirty, stained by the blood of the falsely accused. You couldn’t believe that he was willing to risk his life after so many deaths for the card that caused them. 

You had no idea what he could be planning to do with it, anyway. If Hatter’s theory about returning to the old world with the deck of cards was true, that ship had long sailed after Chishiya threw the rest away. The breeze had carried it far out of reach, and some were sure to have fallen into the pool. It seemed like such a waste of both his and your own time. 

The cool night air felt refreshing against your skin as you set the blazing inferno behind the both of you. You hadn’t realized that the Beach had become so hot until you were outside once more. 

Voices coming from the side of the Beach alerted both of your attention. The varying tones and cadences indicated the presence of many.

“Survivors?” You asked Chishiya while he gazed contemplatively in the direction of the sound. He abruptly stopped, causing you to stumble slightly and almost trip over a nearby tree root. 

“Evidently. The militants didn’t kill them all in the end,” he snorted as he watched you almost fall.

“Shut up.” 

Chishiya for once decided to listen to you, and you silently came across the remaining survivor camp together. They were gathered around the fire of judgment. You estimated that there were around 30 from the looks of it, a mix of both militants and the ones who hadn’t died from them. 

“Why is everyone gathered here?” You verbalized your thoughts loud enough that Chishiya wasn’t the only one to hear.

You expected Chishiya to roll his eyes, and give some obvious answer that you wouldn’t have thought of. Instead it was a new voice you heard: “To honor those who died.”

That tone of voice could only belong to one person.

“Kuina!” You hugged her and pushed her back to inspect her. “You’re okay, right? You didn’t get burned or anything?”

She winced slightly at your touch and rubbed some parts of her limbs. “I got into a fight with Last Boss who obviously had a sword. It wasn’t great as you can see.”

You immediately backed off as you spotted the cuts and bruises that littered Kuina’s arms and legs generously. Last Boss certainly hadn’t held back when he fought her, and you found it hard to believe Kuina was still standing.

“Hello Kuina. Congrats on surviving,” Chishiya said rather coldly.

Kuina glanced up, and froze as her eyes met Chishiya’s. Her smile dropped quickly, and she backed up a few steps. You could feel the air shift as she spoke. “Chishiya. Get away from us.”

“Us?” You looked between Chishiya and Kuina as they exchanged a silent conversation beyond your understanding. Kuina appeared standoffish, but Chishiya was cool headed as ever. 

She seemed to be getting progressively more frustrated at Chishiya. 

“He hasn’t told you?” Kuina asked while Chishiya shook his head.

“It isn’t necessary, Kuina,” Chishiya said, his voice cracking slightly. “I explained enough.”

To your astonishment, he sounded like he was fighting to keep his voice level. Even though he kept his composure physically, you had never heard him sound so nervous.

 “Either you tell her, or I do.” Kuina’s tone had a dangerous edge to it as she threatened Chishiya.

You both watched to see if Chishiya would do anything, but he just stood with his arms crossed and blinked blankly at the two of you. Kuina tilted her head in confusion, but he just shrugged like he couldn’t care less. He stared Kuina down, challenging her to call his bluff.

“Remember Arisu and Usagi?” Kuina began.

You nodded, thinking of the newcomers who were forced to join the Beach at your last executive meeting. The ones who you constantly saw Chishiya with, for unknown reasons.

“Chishiya used them to steal the deck of Hatter’s cards. He framed them initially as traitors– almost getting both of them killed in order to locate where the safe was,” Kuina said slowly.

Kuina then uttered some words that made your stomach churn. “Aguni sent them to Niragi.”

Chishiya had no reaction. He didn’t even flinch, or avoid eye contact out of guilt. It was like he was just letting the words roll off of him like water, completely unaffected by the weight of them.

What Kuina had just said had a completely different impact on you than Chishiya. They overwhelmed you, drowning you with the weight of how horrible a thing Chishiya had done in order to achieve something fruitless. He was willing to give up two lives for cards that were now scattered on the rooftop by the wind. And to Niragi, no less. Niragi, that sadistic sociopath.

Kuina paused to let you ponder on what she had just said. Just when it felt like you were able to come up for air to breathe normally, she spoke once more.“But (Name)...it wasn’t always going to be Arisu and Chishiya.” 

She inhaled steadily and swallowed loud enough that you could hear. 

“It was going to be you.”

Chishiya had spoken so quietly that you barely heard him, but you did. You wished that you hadn’t. 

You studied Chishiya, hoping against everything that it wasn’t true. But the anger of Kuina, and the poker face Chishiya kept only proved that it was. The wave pulled you over, and the pain of grief crashed over you like the tide had just come in.

You lost the trust you had in Chishiya. You lost the friendship you had developed, the late nights spent with a terrible cocktail in hand with terrible jokes to accompany the evening. But was it ever a friendship? Were you ever something more than a scapegoat to him?

But above all, you mourned the loss of the man you had thought Chishiya to be. In front of you was a stranger who you had just walked through a burning building with, and nothing more.

All you ended up being able to utter was one word. “Why?”

Something undecipherable flickered in Chishiya’s expression. “After Hatter assigned us to stay together, I found everything to be perfect. I thought if I spent enough time with you, you would agree to the plan. You were so trusting, spilling your secrets to me over a glass of alcohol. But you were also so unaware. You were afraid of dying from Hatter, unable to see the true conflict between the factions. You were too gullible to even notice what Niragi was.”

You felt numb as Chishiya’s words kept pounding into you.

“There wasn’t any way you would’ve realized the true nature of the plan, but you were too naive to take part. You were skilled with shooting, however, and so you were useful in another way. I blackmailed you into teaching me how to shoot for my convenience. That’s all there was to our relationship.”

And with that, Chishiya had burned the last pillar remaining. The candle of hope you held ardently close to your heart was snuffed out as quickly as the Beach burned down.

Kuina’s warm hands reached out for yours, and before you knew it she was embracing you. You closed your eyes, knowing that when you opened them he would be gone.

A/N: sorry it took so long it's been hard balancing work this summer

:( tho this is the longest chap yet so i hope it made up for it somewhat!!

[drainslo]

ponytail chishiya......

wow guys, guess who finally figured out how to draw a side pfp 💀

[drainslo]

“wow you respond so fast-” i would die for you in this and every lifetime. btw

[drainslo]

Lovers To Enemies- Masterlist ( & Final Art) <3

felt like drawing this, it's the first *mini* series i've finished!! i hope you stick around to see more :)

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

Read Part 3

Read Part 4

[drainslo]

Lovers to Enemies (Chishiya x Reader) (Pt 4/FINAL)

"I was lying," Chishiya said slowly through deep shuddering breaths.

"What?" I replied. I brushed strands of his silvery hair behind his ear, ignoring the flecks of blood the coated the tips. After all the face card games, he had no time to maintain his hair and I could see his roots growing in clearly. I remembered fondly how he asked me to dye the roots at the Beach a lifetime ago.

The cold pressing against my back was the side of a rusted car. It was a stark contrast to the warm puddles of blood oozing from our bodies after an encounter with Niragi.

I was the lucky one, it was only coming from my leg.

Chishiya? Not so much. We left it unsaid, but he was going to bleed out quicker than I would. Niragi's bullet that was intended for Usagi struck him in the chest instead. Chishiya had informed me that the bullet had almost hit the artery in my upper thigh, and I was also slowly bleeding out.

"When I said I knew my symbol, I was lying. I only had a 50% chance of guessing right. I figured I didn't deserve to know from you."

Symbol? I almost had forgotten. The Jack of Hearts was in my distant past, one I didn't like to revisit. But I knew what he meant-- that I would never forget. That moment in the warehouse, where everything became clear.

It was a hearts game that tore us apart, but it was another hearts game that brought us back together.

"I didn't know, I would've told you," I said quietly. I felt lucky that he was here with me, that we beat the coin flip. In another world, I would be dying alone. Or I would already be dead.

"I never said sorry to you. I think that was my greatest regret, that I never apologized. When I sat alone after beating Kuzuryu, that was what I was thinking. I should've said sorry."

"You didn't have to. I already knew you were, I felt it."

While he was clearing the King of Diamonds, I had taken down the Jack of Clubs. He left without saying a word to me about it, but I knew where he was.

And so I felt there was nothing else to do than to play a game.

"Did the Jack of Clubs say," he paused before wincing briefly. "--Say anything meaningful?"

I didn't hesitate before responding. "No. He was mainly a jerk. It was a little like the Jack of Hearts. He was an insider within trying to sabotage our teamwork. They might've been friends."

"Friends. What a world they live in. Designing death games together."

I heard a shuffling noise and I looked to see Chishiya turning his head towards mine painfully. He flopped his arm out and I felt warmth flood through my palm as our hands touched. "Chishiya--"

"Kuzuryu ultimately died for his ideals. I manipulated him into making the decision. I felt so empty afterwards. I went looking for someone to talk to. I wanted to do something uncharacteristic. I think I was simply looking for you."

A tear started rolling down my cheek, the salty warmness making me shiver. Chishiya reached up carefully, then clumsily wiped it away.

"Forgive me," he blurted unabashedly. He seemed taken aback with how it came out, but he repeated, "Please, forgive me."

More tears joined the first, and I was hardly able to speak. "I don't think I ever will, but I'll love you instead."

He tried to laugh, but it mostly came out as coughing. I reached over to steady him. "That's more than I will ever ask for."

Our conversation was broken by loud cracking sounds. Trails of light danced up into the sky, before exploding in a cascade of colors.

"Arisu did it," I said in disbelief.

ALL SURVIVING PLAYERS PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING: YOU HAVE BEEN OFFERED CITIZENSHIP FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF GAMES AND HAVE PERMANENT RESIDENCY. DO YOU ACCEPT OR DECLINE?

The answer to me was obvious, and as soon as the announcement finished I answered: "I decline."

Chishiya was silent for a moment. He appeared to be weighing options that were clear to nobody but himself. Finally, he spoke. "I think I'll decline."

I smiled upon hearing his answer. "I'm glad you've declined. Let's return to the real world together."

"Truthfully, I don't think I deserve to go back with you. In another world, I would have to spend the rest of my life making up for what I've done to you."

"You better start soon, then. You were a medical student right? I wish you would take care of my leg." I joked.

He rolled his eyes blatantly.

"My name is Shuntaro," he then said suddenly. "Chishiya Shuntaro. When I see you-- that's my name."

"I love you Shuntaro," I said, his name rolling off my tongue in an unfamiliar way.

Everything exploded into white, but I swore I heard him mutter that he loved me too.

---

I tried to breathe, but the ash in the air made it hard to. There was so much dust in the air that it settled to the very bottom of my lungs.

I turned left and right, and tried to move. I felt a weird pressure on one of my legs. I looked down to see rubble piercing through it, the only thing preventing blood gushing from the rest of my body.

"Don't move miss! We're getting you out of here," a first responder yelled.

I blinked to see that my surroundings were in chaos. Ambulances and first responders swarmed the place, and with most of the buildings nearby being destroyed there was debris everywhere.

"I think I'm going into shock," I said calmly before blacking out. Before it became all dark, I saw a flash of silver in the corner of my eye.

The second time I woke up, it was to the uncomfortable sensation of pinpricks over my body. I wriggled side to side, to find that I was confined to a hospital bed.

There was a man with the same shade of silver hair I saw waiting next to my bed. He was quite handsome, and for a moment I seriously considered that I died. I had never seen him before in my life, but when I saw him I felt another stabbing pain.

I coughed loudly, which alerted him to my presence.

"Sorry- how are you feeling? There's a severe lack of medical staff after the accident, so they've started recruiting anyone they can to assist."

"Accident? And what do you mean by anyone?" Confused, I tried to sit upright but he pushed me down.

"Stay like that, your leg needs to heal. There was a meteor accident that killed and injured thousands. I'm truthfully only a medical student," he rolled his eyes briefly then continued, "When they found out I was a medical student at this hospital, as soon as I was cleared to walk they enlisted me to work. I mostly monitor patients."

I pondered the information he told me. Accident? I felt lucky to be alive. I craned my neck forward to see the thick cast that encased my leg. I guessed I wouldn't be walking for a long time.

I felt especially sorry for the man who was working while injured. "What were your injuries?"

He smiled wickedly and reached up to pull his medical coat open. I gasped, thinking he was flashing me but instead there were bandages wrapped all around his chest.

"What the fuck! You shouldn't be walking," I exclaimed. The extent of his injury seemed bad enough that he should've been bedridden for weeks.

"I shouldn't be," he affirmed. "I insisted. I've been in the hospital longer than you have, you were transferred here recently."

I gasped again, and hit the side of his leg playfully. "What would prompt you to do something like that? Are you just an angel? I don't think many people would disregard their own safety for others."

The man stared off into the distance for a moment, like he was entering a world that was far away. The sunlight glinted off his silvery hair.

"I woke up feeling like I had to atone for something. I realized that I was an empty person, and I had the urge to do something uncharacteristic."

Another pain. I should've focused on the fact that a stranger had opened his heart to me when we hadn't met. Instead, I thought about how I had definitely heard someone, maybe even him, say that before. All of a sudden, I saw puddles of blood lining the floor in a field of grass. I felt the warmth of a hand next to me. As quickly as I felt those sensations, they vanished.

He looked down to check a watch strapped across his wrist. "The doctors will be in soon. I'll tell them you're conscious."

He pushed the bedside chair away, and I grabbed the cold metal of his watch to stop him from leaving. "Wait-- you never told me your name."

"Chishiya," he said and hesitated. "Chishiya Shuntaro."

Chishiya. The name suited him, and I got the vague feeling that deep down I had already known who he was.

"Well, thanks for checking up on me Dr. Chishiya. I hope I'll be seeing you soon," I winked, hoping he would catch on to my blatant attempt at flirting.

He did, and avoided meeting my eyes. "Not today, maybe another time I'll make it up to you."

"Sorry, was I too forward? I just felt that there might be something..." I trailed off and paused. "Nevermind."

"Familiar? How interesting." Chishiya pulled out a notepad and scribbled something down on it and handed it to me. "My number. Give me a call when you can."

And without saying anything more, he walked out of my hospital room. Normally, this would mean he was walking out of my life. Yet somehow, I got the feeling that our lives were inextricably entangled at some point. Maybe in a past life, our paths had crossed. Or maybe in a distant world full of bloodshed, he was my companion.

One thing I knew for certain, is that I would be calling him soon.

FIN

[drainslo]

Lovers to Enemies(Chishiya x Reader) (Pt 3)

"Hearts."

Chishiya's voice echoed through the empty grocery store-like aisle I was in. He grabbed some brand of cookie- it was strawberry flavored-- and tossed it towards me.

I fumbled with the wrapper, and the crinkling sound filled the room. I couldn't trust anyone of the 5 remaining alive. Ippei had died recently, choosing to take his own life rather than continue through this hell.

I didn't know if it would be better or worse to keep fighting. I blinked away the fatigue of not sleeping for the past couple of days.

"Your symbol is hearts," he repeated once more, startling me. I dropped the cookie, watching new formed lines run through its structure as it landed on the hard floor.

The light above flickered faintly, and my eyes darted around as I scanned for signs of anyone else. We were completely alone in the warehouse section of the jail. There wasn't much of anyone left anyway. I only had a couple options for who would realistically be the Jack of Hearts, and the last thing I wanted was for them to overhear our conversation.

I didn't trust Chishiya, but he was the only one I was familiar with out of those left. I could say he was definitely not one of those options. "How would you know I'm not the Jack?" I chose my words carefully, gently sidestepping our history.

This was the first time he had talked with me since the start of the game.

"You think I would let you die that easily? Of course not. Did you know that before the Borderlands, Banda was a female serial killer? He tortured his victims extensively until they finally died. He might have some fun with you."

His eyes twinkled in amusement, shining brightly even in the dimly lit room. "Besides, it wouldn't be the first time you betrayed me in a hearts game."

I felt my legs slightly shake at the mention of another threat. I had survived for so long, I wasn't going to let Chishiya make another attempt on my life. I decided to reason with him. Pitifully.

"Chishiya-- it was a mistake. It was a game. I couldn't do anything else--they would kill me!" I knew he could hear the desperation in my voice, but I didn't care.

"I would consider it."

"What?" I felt the innards of my stomach shrink in a mix of dread and surprise. "You can't be serious. You weren't even fucking playing, don't tell me you'd consider it."

"Have you read 1984?" Chishiya tilted his head questioningly. "I would be surprised if you have. It's written by an American novelist."

I shook my head in silence.

"At the end of the book, the main character is forced into a room. Room 101-- the name isn't important. What is important is that in the room he's forced to face his worst fear."

I held onto the side of the shelf as memories flooded over me. Chishiya didn't even pause to let me catch my breath as I recalled the horrors I had seen. There was crimson surging everywhere, painting the floors and ceiling of the game venue.

Chishiya's voice brought me back to him, away from the red that had decorated my game.

"His worst fear is rats. And what they did to him is they strapped him into a chair. A chair where he was physically bound by his arms and legs-- sound familiar?" It was too familiar, the parallel was exactly the same. There was a burning desire within me, to say something to detract his attention, but he kept resolutely speaking.

"They put a cage of rats over his head. His torturers, that is. The cage was slowly approaching his scalp so that the rats would tear through him. They didn't tell him what he had to do to escape. They just sat and watched. But he had a lover. And he realized what he had to do."

Chishiya suddenly grabbed my chin, forcibly making our eyes meet. "He sold his lover to them, that's what he fucking did. 'Put her in my position,' he yelled to his torturers. 'Anybody but me.' They let him go after that, they had gotten what they wanted."

I writhed as the pressure on my face and chin was now painful. He was squeezing the sides of my face tighter to the point I knew there would be marks. I yelped in pain, but Chishiya ignored it.

"His lover was watching. She saw it. Every. Single. Fucking. Minute. She saw exactly what she meant to him. And you know what? Things will never be the same after that."

I blinked the tears away and hit his arms to loosen his grip. "Chishiya..."

"That's what your nine of hearts game was based on I imagine. I watched you sit in that chair, screaming at some unknown force. I watched you beg them to trade positions without even considering to give yourself up, which made the game clear. But I always wondered...what was your fear?" He finally let go of me aggressively, and I fell to floor. The cookie was now eye-level, and I could see the small scattered crumbs. I looked away at Chishiya watching me intently, planning on torturing me the same way I was in the nine of hearts.

"Oh Chishiya, you're so fucking stupid." I shook my head, laughing amidst the tears. After all this time, everything made sense. I betrayed him for the game, but I thought he had known everything. The last piece of the game's design at last clicked into place, and I realized why it was ranked so highly.

I inhaled sharply, then I spoke, the explanation rolling off my tongue smoothly. "After we were separated, and I was strapped in the chair, I was put in some sensory chamber where everything was all black. I was isolated from everyone else, and I all I heard was the automated system letting me know that I would be released when the game was over. It warned me I had to watch everything, or I would be lasered. Then around me everything lit up and I was shown visuals of you being tortured. You were being dismembered, cut open in so many different ways that you would think the room was never black with how much blood there was."

I shuddered briefly, and my shallow breaths quickened as I relived the moment before Chishiya. "I was screaming at them to stop. I was so afraid that it was a live feed, and they were showing me in real-time what they were doing to you. Then a choice popped up on a screen in front of me-- stay like this or switch places. I was sobbing and I immediately begged them to switch places. I couldn't bear for you to be hurt in that way-- I would've done anything for you. Even if you would've had to be in my position, I would rather you be alive than anything else. As soon as I made my choice, they let me know that the game cleared and I was released. I had no idea that you were only watching my responses to torture you couldn't see. I guess the misunderstanding was designed for us."

Without glancing upwards, I heard Chishiya laugh. The sound echoed through the room, and I shook slightly as it reverberated through my body.

"A proper nine of hearts. All this time I thought you played me for a fool. But it turns out the gamemasters did." he said. I nodded and let him continue to ponder aloud.

"When we were paired together for the nine of hearts, I thought one of us would die by betrayal. I mentally braced myself for the fact it would be you. Then a small voice crawled into the back of my head, bringing the idea with it that it didn't have to be that way. Then we were separated, and I was brought into a cam-room with the other half of pairs. We all watched our partners scream, and I indeed only saw how you reacted to the torture, quickly choosing to put me in your place. It took me by surprise."

"Did the others have the same decision?" I asked quietly.

"I thought so then. Now I believe it was slightly different for everyone. Customized to maximize emotional effect. Most near me were immediately lasered when their partner made their choice. I walked out alive and heartbroken."

"Maybe it would be better to be dead."

Chishiya smiled and reached down to tug me to my feet. "It always is. But you die on my terms. I would never let a gamemaster kill you before I did."

The game chimed over the intercom, warning us that there was now 5 minutes in the round remaining to get back to the cells.

"What's my symbol Chishiya?" I hoped silently on everything I believed in that he wouldn't lie to me.

"Hearts, I swear on my life it was the truth. I know my symbol already, you don't need to tell me." He rushed through the second part of what he said, and I didn't know why.

I walked out side-by-side with him, until we were about to exit the food and supplies warehouse. I grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie to stop him from walking further.

"If I die Chishiya, I just wanted to tell you that I still love you. There is no word strong or low enough to describe how much of an asshole you are, and you've almost gotten me killed multiple times now. But my love for you is so deeply ingrained into me it physically hurts. I've been incapable of removing how I feel for you this entire time."

Chishiya appeared startled, and rubbed the sides of my face where I was sure there were bruises gently. He did it with the same affection he used to treat me with. It hurt in more ways than one, because no matter what either of us did it would be impossible to go back to what we once were.

I thought he would do something more uncharacteristic, or unusual like he tended to sometimes. Instead, he abruptly removed his hand and dropped it to his side.

"I do too," he said hurriedly and rushed towards where the cells were located.

I followed behind him, watching the piece of his white hoodie I could see disappear into his cell. I glanced around to see if there was anyone else I could check symbols with, but they were all already in their cells except for Banda. He winked at me before I entered mine, and I recoiled into the cell.

The door shut behind me, blocking out most of the light from the exterior. A faint glimmer shone through the small window, like the faint chance of me leaving the prison alive. The robotic voice shortly prompted me to state my symbol. I would know soon if Chishiya lied, and if there would be a way to fix things.

Maybe we could agree that in this world, it would definitely be easier to die. Still, I thought there was some worth to keep living.

So I straightened myself against the wall, closing my eyes.

"Hearts."

----

Part 4

[drainslo]

Brains & Brawn Chapter 12- "I'm sorry."

felt like drawing, idk which scene feels more impactful... pls lmk so i can upload it :sob:

[drainslo]

B&B Planning

hi!! haha I thought it would be fun to share my planning process for Brains & Brawn as y'all wait for the next chapter :) i mainly just bulleted a rough outline for all the chapters that have to be written & i'm writing them as we go!

without further ado.... here's how the past chaps have been sketched out if you want to compare them to the plan!

[drainslo]

Brains & Brawn- Chapter 12: Sorry

You reread the note until the words seemed to blur together: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, “I’m sorry.”

That was all which kept running through your mind after you picked up the gun and raced to the Beach’s lobby. You held it behind your back in a way which you hoped was at least somewhat discreet. You blinked dizzily in the lobby. It seemed like the whole Beach gathered in that one spot. 

You spotted the phones for registration, and snatched one up aimlessly. Your eyes drifted, scanning each face looking for one in particular. For once, you couldn’t find the only one you wanted to see.

You barely were able to pay attention to the instructions of the game. There was a witch you all had to hunt down, one which had killed a member of the Beach. Once you found the witch, they had to be burned in the fire of judgment. You vaguely recognized the dead girl. The only notable thing was that she always stuck next to her best friend.

Immediately after the rules were stated, came the people accusing her friend. You watched as she blinked tearfully that she didn’t kill Momoka. 

You didn’t think that it was her friend who did so. The solution was too obvious for the highest ranked hearts game. It was sure to be something more cruel beyond measure.

An had tried to mediate as the only reasonable executive there. She was of course promptly ignored for proposing a sensible way of finding the witch. The hysteria of the crowd, and the dismissiveness of the militants shut her down swiftly.

The crowd began to break as a group of heavy footsteps forced itself into the middle. 

“Doesn’t the solution seem simple,” said the last voice you wanted to hear running this game.

“Niragi,” Aguni lowered his voice dangerously. The two exchanged a meaningful look, one where they somehow reached a mutual understanding without anyone else being part of it. The rest of the militants behind them shuffled nervously as they awaited further instruction from their bosses.

“Does the witch want to reveal themselves now?” Niragi teased, his tone indicating he had no delusions about the question he proposed.

“Well–” Niragi began shooting into the crowd without any warning and the rest of the militants drew their guns as well. 

“We have to kill everyone, burn them until we find the witch” he shouted at the rest. 

Before running with the rest, you stole a glance at Aguni. For a moment, he paused before shooting the menacing automatic in his hands. You hoped with all of your heart that he wouldn’t pull the trigger at that moment. As soon as the hesitancy appeared, it vanished.

New sounds of gunshots exploded throughout the room as Aguni and the other militants joined the fray.

You stumbled to your feet very ungracefully, without any of the athletic skill you had learned from training with Kuina. You sprinted out of the room, the sound of the gunshots fading as you left.

You almost began to panic when you tried to think of a solution to this crooked game. You were essentially blacklisted from the militants now. You weren’t even supposed to have a gun.

If not for Chishiya, you would be entirely defenseless and alone. You almost laughed to yourself as you realized that because Chishiya left, now you were alone with a gun.

In the midst of your thoughts, you almost sprinted directly into An. You halted before you collide into the woman who was carrying a knife.

“You armed yourself too?” You attempted to joke lightheartedly. 

An instead did not seem quite amused, choosing to reply seriously. “This is the knife that was lodged in Momoka. I’m going to try to lift the fingerprints off of it to identify the witch.”

“Ah, I can stay with you. Make sure that Niragi doesn’t try to kill you,” you responded somewhat cheerily. You were glad now that you were no longer walking through the hallways alone.

As you trailed through the hallways with An, you passed more than one dead body. Some you recognized, more you didn’t. None of them were Kuina or Chishiya. You knew that they were both likely to survive, but you still checked every body you passed nonetheless.

Continued screaming and loud gunshots filled the Beach’s once drunk-on-happiness crowd, disrupting the chances you had for a conversation with An.

“How are you going to, you know,” you gestured at the knife when you failed to recall what An said she planned on doing.

An opened the door to the little lab area she had led you to. The faint fume of some unknown chemical made you cough quietly in the sterile room. You had only seen this part of the Beach once in your initial tour of the Beach, before Hatter had ushered you quickly out. “I was in forensics for the police before and we lift fingerprints to identify suspects when they’re left behind at crime scenes. Normally we have better technologies to do it but we’ll have to make do. It can be done rather crudely, like with a faint powder and tape.”

An placed the knife on a tabletop and laughed almost to herself. “I’m not going to do that obviously. It’s possible to lose the prints that way and I’m not willing to risk it knowing the stakes. I’m going to fume them rather.”

“Fume? Like with heat?” You were completely out of your element with forensics. You had barely passed science classes in your youth, all your teachers seemed to enjoy almost flunking you out of pure malice.

“Something like that,” An said and began shuffling through the miscellaneous items scattered throughout the room. “Can you help me look for super glue?” 

You sifted together through the magazines and papers piled on the desks. Theories about what the Borderlands was filled the pages in presumably An’s handwriting. “Afterlife???” was written on one of them in red ink, and circled multiple times. 

“I found it!” An yelled, and began rummaging throughout the room once more to grab a glass tray. 

“I would try to make a fuming chamber, but I don’t think we have time,” she said quickly while pouring the glue onto the tray. She grabbed a lighter that was strewn nearby and held it out to you with the tray.

“Hold it like this, with the lighter underneath,” An demonstrated and pulled on gloves after passing the items to you. She grabbed the knife and carefully held the handle directly on top of the fumes that the superglue was now creating.

“Try not to inhale too much,” she said almost like an afterthought.

“I thought you knew I loved the scent of superglue,” you said drolly. You held your breath deliberately as the faint outline of fingerprints barely materialized. You squinted to try to visualize them better, but to no avail.

Once the outline appeared, she inspected them carefully with a magnifying glass that appeared out of nowhere. She gasped and checked them again when she saw something you didn’t.

“The fingerprints are backwards,” she said suddenly.

“Backwards?”

“Normally when someone stabs someone they grip the object this way.” An showed you how she would grip the knife. “But when someone stabs themself–”

“They hold it the way the fingerprints are oriented on the knife,” you concluded. 

An nodded grimly, but almost absentmindedly kept holding the knife over the fumes. She seemed to be pondering the implications of the fingerprints. You couldn’t understand why Momoka would kill herself-- for the game? Why would someone die to trigger all these deaths?

The door creaked open and you immediately pointed your gun at the intruder. “Woah there!”

Kuina raised her arms high above her head and watched you lower the gun. “That’s better. I was looking for An in case she needed someone to look after her, but it seems like you’ve got it covered.”

You grinned and walked over to hug Kuina tightly. 

“You’re okay, right?” you murmured into the hug.

“I am, but (Name), I was also looking for you,” Kuina said slowly. She avoided meeting your eyes as she continued to speak. “I think Chishiya is going after Niragi.”

“What? Where the fuck is he?” No matter how smart Chishiya was, you couldn’t believe that he was this stupid. Niragi had access to all of the guns the Beach had to offer, while Chishiya gave up his only line of defense to you.

“Last I heard, he was heading up to the roof. He said he was scoping it out as a hiding space, but I’m pretty confident Niragi is sniping people from there.”

Without saying anything further, you rushed out of the room and almost ran into a militant with a gun. He promptly attempted to shoot at you. You drew your handgun and without hesitation, purposefully missed him.

“(Name)!” the militant gasped when he recognized you. He lowered his gun and bowed. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

You shook your head and brushed past him to go to the stairs. You didn’t realize that your lack of militant status wasn’t entirely publicized yet. But with this game wreaking havoc everywhere, there must’ve not been enough time for Aguni to let everyone know. 

When you arrived at the top of the stairs, you inhaled deeply before you pushed the door open quietly. Niragi had his back to you, sitting on the edge of the roof as he fired shots while humming.

He carried his huge sniper rifle on his shoulder with multiple rounds of ammo strapped to his chest. You didn’t miss the other guns on his sides.

You glanced around the rooftop to find a noticeable lack of anyone else there. It was just you and Niragi. If you drew your gun to his back– you could stop him from killing dozens of other people.

You carefully aimed the gun, ready to position it for firing when someone carelessly pushed open the same door you had come from.

Niragi whipped around as you felt a weight drop around your shoulder. Without dropping your hand, you saw in your peripheral vision Chishiya had placed his arm around you.

Niragi heaved his sniper off his shoulder and laid it to the side carelessly. “Has the happy couple come to kill me together?” he sneered and began to load a smaller firearm.

“We’re not together,” you blurted on instinct. You silently cursed yourself that you chose to respond to that part of his sentence and didn’t dare to glance at Chishiya.

“Please,” Niragi scoffed. “I’m not a fucking idiot.”

“I would beg to differ,” Chishiya said quietly.

Niragi paused before cocking his revolver. “I can’t fucking stand your smugness. What makes you think you’re so fucking clever?”

“But I am clever,” Chishiya responded with a smile on his face. 

“What are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed?” You hissed at Chishiya by your side.

“Now what I don’t understand is why you’re fucking here, lover-boy. This is between me and her.”

Chishiya only smiled and you felt him prod something that felt like hard plastic at your back that he was holding in the hand that was slung around your arm. He was trying to tell you that he was carrying something, but you had no idea what it was even after that. 

“I hate you outside of Chishiya,” you confirmed for Niragi. He looked briefly offended, before he settled back into his sneer.

“Bullshit. This all started when Hatter set you up together. It was supposed to be you and me.”

You almost dropped your gun in disgust when you heard Niragi say that. “I would rather shoot myself.”

Niragi pushed himself upwards without pointing his gun at either of you. He drew his gaze to the gun you held that was still facing him and scoffed. “You can barely harm people in games. What makes you think you can kill me?”

“Don’t threaten me,” you lowered your voice dangerously and cocked your own gun shakily in a mock threat. The truth was, he was right. No matter how much you hated Niragi you still couldn't do it. Niragi didn’t miss your trembling hands and deliberately stalked closer to the two of you.

“Face it, (Name). You’ll never be able to hurt me,” Niragi laughed. “Now, which of the two of you should I kill first? Romeo or Juliet?”

“We’re not together,” Chishiya affirmed once more suddenly as his arm dropped off of you while your heart dropped as well. You had said it to minimize the threat of Niragi, but Chishiya didn't have to reciprocate. Niragi paused, almost in confusion and Chishiya took it as his opportunity to strike.

He pushed you to the side without warning and you yelped in pain when you hit the floor. Niragi immediately moved to pull the trigger of his gun when Chishiya threw up a deck of cards which you recognized to be the ones in Hatter’s office. You had no idea how he had acquired them.

“The fuck?” Niragi watched the cards fall for a moment but that was all Chishiya needed. He pulled out a child’s toy gun which somehow spurted fire on Niragi. He stumbled backward by the force of the makeshift flamethrower and fell off the edge of the roof screaming.

Finally, you were able to lower the gun and it clattered to the ground as you squatted on the floor. The stress of the situation being over washed over you at once and you started shaking visibly.

All you saw were Chishiya’s shoes, then he suddenly became eye-level with you too. He wiped the tears threatening to leak from your eyes carefully and pulled you into his arms. 

He kept repeating, “I’m sorry,” while stroking your hair as you sobbed. You stayed like that not because you were crying. He continued to hold you long after the sobs subsided. You stayed like that with him only because you were able to calm down from watching the glittering stars behind him which so closely resembled his own eyes.

[drainslo]

Brains & Brawn- Chapter 11: Loyalty

You rose up slowly, observing the unamused expression of Aguni. You had never seen him be so serious before. 

An icy feeling of fear dripped down your spine like someone had actually dumped cold water on your back. You felt frozen in his gaze, unsure of what was waiting for you.

And like how the dawn breaks, Aguni relaxed slightly and became less official. 

“Did I scare you?” He laughed gently while you let out the breath you were holding. “I took the opportunity to do so while I could.”

“Aguni, that was the worst joke I have ever heard in my life,” you groaned and dropped back against the bed you were sitting on.

You heard rustling as Aguni sat on the bed that was Chishiya’s across from you. The clacking of his guns rubbing against each other were a stark reminder of his militant status. 

“(Name), you actually have been accused of being a traitor.” Your eyes fluttered open as you noticed Aguni’s tone shifted away from the lightheartedness that was once there.

“But don’t worry,” Aguni added after seeing the look of confusion you flashed at him. “It was from Niragi. I have taken everything he told me with reservations.”

“What exactly did Niragi say?” You said slowly. You thought back to everything you had ever done but couldn’t find a reason Niragi could frame you as a traitor.

“Well..” Aguni trailed off and you traced his gaze to the wall of guns you had. “I will merely say that he saw you and Chishiya at the shooting ground for militants. Non-militants aren’t allowed to handle weapons.”

Oh god. The rustling you heard when you were with Chishiya the other day. 

It was Niragi. He saw everything, and now he was determined to punish you both for it.

Aguni was still talking, you realized, but you hadn’t heard half of it. “--and the punishment I’m willing to give you is quite lenient. You will be stripped of your executive and militant status for a temporary period. You will no longer be eligible to come to meetings, nor keep your carry-on or other guns.”

“It’s not personal, (Name). Consider this a formality–like a probation. You’re one of my best militants. This is only necessary for appearances.” Aguni finally stopped talking and you watched as he went over to your wall of guns. He pried each one off the wall carefully and put them into a large black bag he had pulled out. Your heart was in your throat, and you felt afraid to swallow.

Breathing felt painful even. Aguni removed the last one and walked over to you. He held his hand out expectedly and you drew out the gun from your waist to drop it into his waiting palm. Satisfied, Aguni began to walk to exit your room.

When he was at the door he turned and said, “Chishiya will be taking over the #9 position. You can remain here if you’d like, I will take care of Hatter.” The way he said the last part about Hatter sounded foreboding, but you didn’t care enough about Hatter to dwell on it further.

You nodded without saying anything. How could you? Any words of the betrayal of Niragi, of Chishiya, of Aguni even died on your lips before you could utter them.

You heard Aguni mutter a quiet apology and close the door behind him. You sat motionless on the bed, unsure of what to do. 

The door slowly creaked open, and you heard footsteps approach as you covered your face in shame. “What, Aguni? Did you forget to take something else away from me?”

Familiar fingers pried your hands off your face and you blinked to find Chishiya hovering over you. “Not quite,” he said.

“You!” You jumped up and walked to the other side of the room. You were close to leaving, but you liked Chishiya enough to stay. It was rich of him to waltz back into the room after Aguni had taken practically everything away from you.

Not to mention that when Aguni was speaking, you thought that you had also lost Chishiya.

“Me,” Chishiya affirmed. He lazily reclined against one of the beds and motioned for you to come near him. When you didn’t, he merely sighed. 

“I was out to check something important. I hoped to make some coffee when I got back as a sort of peace offering. I saw Aguni enter your room, and I assumed it was not safe to enter. What did he do?”

You vaguely gestured to where your guns had been. “Niragi saw us at the shooting range and told Aguni. I’m no longer a militant or executive. Congrats on being #9 by the way.”

You watched Chishiya gaze at the empty wall before his lips formed a silent “ah” as he connected the dots. 

“I thought that might happen,” he said earnestly.

“Of course you did. A heads up would’ve been nice.” Your voice dripped with sarcasm like venom, taking every ounce of your frustration out on Chishiya.

“It was only a matter of time really. You know what Niragi is like. He likely decided to follow one of us one day and…” Chishiya trailed off as he stood up to walk over to the coffee machine.

“I’m only surprised it didn’t happen earlier,” he concluded and poured water into the pot. 

“How can you be so nonchalant about it?” He had put it so simply, like there was no other course of action that could’ve happened. Chishiya’s words only made you feel more like a fool who didn’t see with their own eyes something that should’ve been obvious. 

He pressed the button and the coffee bubbled into the mug he had placed there. “There are other things at hand. Did you know Hatter is going to die tonight?” 

“What?” You never saw any direct conflict between the two leaders, and Chishiya’s comment came as an unprecedented shock.

“Hmm,” Chishiya affirmed and added a couple of creams to the coffee. He handed it to you and said, “The conflict between the idealist and militant factions keeps escalating. I believe Aguni and Niragi wanted to keep you out of it, but when you aren’t there Niragi likes to establish his dominance with weapons to everyone nearby. And I’m sure you’ve noticed how deranged Hatter is. This situation is only proof of it.”

You mulled over what he had said for a second. It seemed plausible. Aguni and Hatter didn’t clash obviously, but it wasn’t like they got along quite well either. Anyways, you would take Aguni as a leader gladly over Hatter. 

It still felt odd though how much Chishiya knew. Did he have informants, or did he always deduce it himself? Instead of questioning him, you asked,“--but how do you know Hatter is going to die tonight?”

“He’s playing in a game tonight with Aguni. Aguni is going to kill him and blame it on the game,” Chishiya revealed the information carefully, as if he were hiding something further. “You should be glad you’re not involved.”

You laughed bitterly. The saying is that ignorance is bliss, but they never let the fool decide what he should be ignorant of. 

Chishiya sidled next to you playfully and planted a kiss on top of your head. He ruffled your hair and said vaguely, "It just has to be this way.” You flushed at the unexpected gentleness Chishiya showed and avoided his eyes.

He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. The second hand was broken, but the minutes still ticked by obstinately, as a reminder that you couldn’t stay with Chishiya forever. “Shit. I have to go– check on something again.”

He rushed out without another word and with a hefty slam the door closed. 

——————————————————————————————————

You were sitting next to a large leafy potted plant that was poking into your sides as you listened along with the others. Hatter was giving another one of his obscenely patriotic speeches. The whole Beach immediately rallied behind him when he said he was participating in a game tonight.

The cheers of the crowd were rather deafening, and it was becoming hard to even think. You didn’t see Chishiya for the rest of the day, and couldn’t find Kuina either. 

There was a brief flash of a blue swimsuit in the crowd which made you turn your head. It wasn’t Kuina unfortunately.

The cheers rose to an apex, and you watched as Hatter descended with the other executives. To your surprise, Chishiya was one of them trailing behind him. Hatter parted the crowd like Moses, and Chishiya’s feline eyes locked with yours abruptly as he passed by before he was ripped away by the surging masses.

You trudged back to your room and skimmed through TV channels to pass the time. It had been so long since you took a break. At some point you must’ve dozed off, because you awoke to the sound of a door shutting.

“Hatter is dead,” a voice stated simply. 

You opened your eyes to see Chishiya plop next to you on the bed. He stroked your hair aimlessly and continued to speak.

“It’s being kept very discreet while they sort out the politics. I just came back from the executive meeting.”

“How was your game?” you muttered and rolled over to one side.

“Simple. Seven of diamonds. I was the only one who cleared it,” he said apathetically.

You bolted upwards and grabbed the sides of Chishiya’s face to inspect him. “You’re okay right? God, seven of diamonds must’ve been brutal.”

He laughed quietly and gently took your hands away from his face and held them. “It was fine, no need to worry.”

You thought that nobody could’ve been perfectly fine after being the sole survivor of a game, but Chishiya was different somehow. Perhaps he was already so broken that it was hard for him to worsen.

“Aguni is giving his speech as leader of the Beach soon. He wants all the executives there as support,” Chishiya said slowly, not meeting your eyes.

“Ah, I don’t feel like going,” you yawned and lay back down. “You’ll come back after though, right?”

You blinked lazily and studied Chishiya’s face. He looked unsure for a moment, but his face settled back into its normal placid expression so quickly you thought you imagined it.

“Of course.” He smiled so sweetly it felt like a lie.

Chishiya got up to leave, but before he did so, placed a kiss on your forehead. You thrust your arms around his neck to kiss his cheek. “Let me know what nonsense Aguni spews.”

He nodded carefully and untangled you from him. “Goodbye, (Name).”

“Don’t be so serious! I’ll see you soon,” you winked and watched as Chishiya left. You would’ve been much more sober if you knew he was intending to leave forever.

You dozed off once more but woke up to the sounds of screaming and the bright white TV flashing in your face.

“What the fuck?” You said aloud once you read what was written on it.

 10 OF HEARTS

ALL PLAYERS TO THE LOBBY

The Beach somehow became the game venue for what was about to be the deadliest and most dangerous game remaining to complete.

You quickly ran to the door and almost tripped on something hard that was on the floor. You kneeled over to find the gun Chishiya initially wanted you to teach him to use. 

Next to it was a note that read, “I’m sorry.”

author's note: gosh, can you believe we're almost done with the first arc of AIB?? it's absolutely wild to me... i thought i would cut this series off at 10 episodes max and here we are <3

[drainslo]

Lovers to Enemies-- Chishiya x Reader (Pt 2)

Read Part 1

Read Part 3

Read Part 4

===============================================

The card. He took the card and left and so I was left with nothing.

To say everything seemed grim would be an understatement.

I walked outside the flaming interior of the Beach to find Arisu commemorating the dead. Noble for someone who was condemned by the very people he now tried to honor.

"Hey," I said walking over to Arisu and Usagi.

"You're alive," Usagi smiled and gave me a side-hug. In her eyes there was an unspoken sense of trauma from what we both had gone through.

"What do you think comes next?" Arisu asked, staring absentmindedly at the roaring flames which consumed the Beach.

The flames licked upward, destroying what had been our former utopia. The air was filled with a light smoke that reminded me of cigarettes every time I inhaled. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but it felt like an appropriate reminder of the ones who had fallen.

"It could be more games." A familiar voice joined our conversation and we all turned to find An standing behind us, limping with Kuina at her side.

"God, I hope not," Kuina said.

"Are you okay?" Usagi exclaimed and chattered with the others over Kuina's injuries. Apparently she had gotten involved with Last Boss in a Karate fight to protect An. I never knew Kuina had done the sport.

The only thing I had known about Kuina was that she was close with Chishiya. I frequently saw him whispering to her during the Beach. She stayed away from me mostly. I never played games with her either.

"You're not-- with him right?" Arisu said slowly, breaking the flow of the conversation. For a second I paused, racking my thoughts to find who he was talking about until I realized who the "him" was.

"Chishiya? Hell no. I'm so sorry to you both for what he did to you. I wish it could've worked out another way," her voice trailed off as the others began to comfort her. But she never denied having any involvement in the plan.

She always knew, then.

I drifted off to the sound of soft whispers between the survivors of the Beach. Before I fully fell asleep, I could've sworn I saw the ghost of a white hoodie on the outskirts of the makeshift campground that vanished.

-------------------------------------------------

An's prediction echoed in my ears as the collar clicked around my neck. The robotic voice of a woman who I now had known to be Mira announced my registration. It of course had to be more games.

After almost dying from the King of Spades, I chose the Jack of Hearts as my venue of poison. I always did fairly well in hearts games at the Beach, and after being separated from the others I wouldn't have to betray anyone I knew. It was my specialty after all.

There was no guarantee I could find good teammates at clubs venues, and forget Spades or Diamonds. Those would have me killed faster than Chishiya tried to.

The dimly lit jail was a dismal site for a game; the walls and floors had traces of mold covering them. The players around me eyed each other with suspicion. A few chatted.

The sound of moans coming from a cell nearby made my face flush as I awkwardly craned my head to see the source of where it was coming from.

Big mistake.

A man with broad shoulders was ramming his girlfriend against the wall quite passionately. I didn't look away for a second, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when a silky voice spoke almost directly into my ear.

"Like what you see? My my, I didn't know you were into... things like that. But I guess we never tried anything like it."

Unknowingly, I instinctually backed towards the entrance of a cell that was away from the couple. I turned to find Chishiya who followed my steps until we were both in a cell.

"What--" I trailed off as he closed the door behind him with a faint click. He looked at me hungrily, the way he looked at me after he was the only survivor in a game.

I felt the cold wall touch my back as I pressed against it. Chishiya stood mere inches away from my face, threatening my very existence.

He traced my jawline with one of his hands, and with the other braced himself against the wall. I could hear the sound of his breathing amidst the faint background noise of everything else.

"I knew I'd find you here," Chishiya smiled quietly, almost to himself. "You would choose a hearts game, and the lowest one to maximize your chances of survival." He answered the question I had before I ever asked it.

He was impossibly close, and yet impossibly far away at the same time. I could've sworn he leaned in slightly, until the sound of the game starting chimed.

Without saying another word, he vanished into the main area the others were congregating. It was like he was never there, never with me.

Just as it always had been.

[drainslo]

hi guys.. it honestly feels like yesterday when i only opened this account months ago! thank u to everyone who has supported my work & i hope you'll continue to stick around (ps my month has been crazy... will get brains & brawn chaps out as soon as i have time)

😉

[drainslo]

i laughed aloud at this lmaoooo

Arisu: You mean we steal all the cards?

Chishiya: No, Arisu, I mean we rub ourselves with sweet mustard and sing show tunes.

[drainslo]

Brains & Brawn- Chapter 10: Confession

“Hey.” A voice you vaguely recognized woke you. The other day you had immediately collapsed into a dreamless sleep when you got back, exhausted by the mental and physical games you had played.

You blinked a couple of times to shake off the grogginess of the morning. You wanted more than anything for the voice to go away so you could fall back asleep.

“Hey,” it repeated again, softer this time. You waved your hand impatiently in the general direction of the voice, but whoever was there was clearly not going away. You groaned and sat up in bed to make eye contact with your intruder.

It was a pleasant surprise to find Kuina sitting on your bed. You smiled genuinely when you realized that she was the only person you truly wanted to see.

“Let’s go sparring,” she said. “It would be good to let off steam.”

“Okay,” you said smiling and got up to change.

You sparred, and expectedly lost over and over again with each round of fighting. Kuina would hesitate to strike the final blow, but she never needed to. You were always out of breath, or keeling over in pain by that point. 

You knew you needed to get over that mental barrier. It was only practice, and although Kuina had problems with the final blow she didn’t hesitate to deliver the bruises that littered your extremities. It was a problem that would be fatal if it came up in a game.

You had to be able to directly hurt her and other people. 

Initially, you couldn’t figure out why you could leave the other team to die in the five of spades without losing too much sleep over it, but you couldn’t get over yourself to take sparring more seriously. No, you did know you finally realized.

You could attribute their deaths to the games, but it was different when all the responsibility was on your hands. You had blood on your hands once, and you didn’t relish the feeling of having it happen again. 

Over the next week, Kuina kept dragging you out of bed to fight. You had no time to even think about going to the shooting range. You were either training strenuously, or felt so physically exhausted it hurt to move. 

Even though you never won, you got noticeably better. Especially with your dodging.  Kuina didn’t let you rest by just getting away from her in fights. She made you practice punches and kicks with a bag instead, criticizing your technique until you became more precise and accurate.

You felt yourself closing the gap between the difference in skill, slowly but surely. Eventually, Kuina had an especially hard time pinning you down from how nimble you became. Once, you even reached a stalemate from both of you being too fatigued to continue.

The days floated by, sending the rest of the week into a blur. You sparred with Kuina until you were so physically exhausted that most nights you barely had the energy to drag yourself to the Beach’s bar. Sometimes, when you went that way, Kuina instead disappeared with Chishiya, returning the next day with a guilty look in her eyes that you hadn’t seen since you initially met.

You felt that you weren’t supposed to have a part in the thing she was hiding. Whatever it was, it involved Arisu and Usagi, the newcomers. Frequently, you saw them together in discreet places within the Beach that few people knew about. They were always talking in hushed whispers.

Sometimes when you snooped around Kuina, you bumped into Niragi. You tried to avoid him like the plague. When he saw you occasionally he vainly attempted to talk to you, but you adeptly maneuvered away from him every time. He was always with a different woman now, and when he didn’t think you were looking he leered at them like they weren’t human. 

You also avoided Chishiya. Or kept extensively planning to at least. You stayed true to your word, and wrote on notes of paper when the militants would be out so Chishiya could use the shooting range in his free time without you. You even left him a pair of earplugs, which felt rather generous compared to what he did.

You only could tell that he went to the range sometimes when the earplugs would shift their position, moving slightly left or right from hands that moved them when you were out of the room.

You still couldn’t believe that he kissed you, and let you disappear from his life without a question. It was you who avoided him, but he did nothing about it. Nothing to fix it. He was probably staying with Kuina. You felt used, full of a hurt so deep, so indescribable that it practically hollowed out your insides.

Tuesday came around as it always unfortunately did, and for once Kuina didn’t wake you. You felt ironic. If you weren’t going to spar, you only had one other way to spend your time: shooting. 

You slipped out of the room to the range with your favorite gun and glanced around cautiously. Nobody was there. It was always so much better when you were alone.

Your aim got ever so slightly worse due to the days you had gone shooting. Or maybe just the target felt particularly difficult to hit that day, you couldn’t tell the difference. 

You squeezed the gun to fire a round that barely missed the center. The clear ringing sound of the gun made you realize that one of your earplugs was in fact not in your ear.

You turned to the side to find a familiar man in a white hoodie standing by your side. You almost dropped the gun in surprise, but ungracefully kept a handle on it. He had to have snuck upon you extremely quietly and carefully in order to remove the earplug.

You realized with a deadening feeling that you were at the shooting range and again– it was Tuesday. Of course Chishiya was so meticulous to track you down on your appointed training schedule without forgetting about it.

Silly you. You didn’t consider the fact that he wouldn’t let you just cancel the lessons you planned because of your feelings.

This is why you were the spades player, and he was diamonds.

“Why are you here?” You lowered the gun and pulled out the other earplug as you spoke.

“I admit I’ve been doing some thinking.”

 You snorted. “Really?” This wasn’t exactly groundbreaking news for Chishiya.

He paused, gently prying the gun out of your hand to place it on a wall nearby. “I am quite an empty person,” he said quietly before making eye contact with you. “I don’t think I’ve ever genuinely had feelings for somebody. I’m not even sure about you.” 

You were glad that he took the gun away from you, for you would’ve actually dropped it from surprise. 

“But,” he continued without waiting for a response, “I feel different about you now. I can’t explain it. I had my own reasons for being around you originally that I contrived, but suddenly–.” Chishiya looked unsure of himself for once as he broke eye contact for a moment, then turned back to you. “I was doing things without thinking. You made me start to consider things that I never imagined I would think about.”

Your face flushed at his confession. Could it even be a confession?

“I kissed you to see if I would feel anything,” he said softly. He looked away and absentmindedly traced his hand over the gun. So that was all he had to say after so long.

Your heart was in emotional turmoil. It managed to simultaneously drop into your chest and race at the same time. You didn't want to ask if he felt anything or not. It would be more than awful if he didn’t. So you said something that was sure to leave you with more regrets if it didn’t go right.

“Do you want to try again?”

Chishiya’s glittering eyes lifted to meet yours, his face expressionless. You immediately wondered if you had made a terrible mistake. Then he approached you so slowly that you thought he would never reach you. He carefully placed his hand to the side of your face and leaned in. 

For a moment, he stayed like that. You could smell the faint mint on his breath.

You thought he was going to pull away when he kissed you for the second time. Soft. Sweet. Slow. You shivered even though it wasn’t cold after his lips met yours.

His tongue teased your bottom lip clumsily, and you smiled into the kiss. He didn’t have to say anything about how he felt. The way he kissed you told you everything and more even if he wouldn’t verbalize it.

Chishiya broke the kiss, and you thought of what to say until you felt his mouth on your neck. He found the spot that felt sensitive almost immediately and teased it gently with his teeth before sucking on it. Your mind immediately went blank. It was so good, he was so good you couldn’t possibly remember being mad at him ever.

Even still, the crackle of someone stepping on grass nearby didn’t escape your notice. You gently pushed Chishiya off of you and looked around. Somebody had to be there to make that sound. But you could only see Chishiya.

“Maybe,” your voice cracked with uncertainty. “We should continue talking in my room.”

He nodded almost seriously before giving you the ghost of a grin. You carefully linked your arm around his, looking at his face to read his reaction. He stiffened slightly, but didn’t do anything to shake you off. 

“Follow me,” was the only thing Chishiya murmured quietly. He took you through the Beach’s halls in an intricate way, taking so many detours and turns that you had never seen before. Somehow, without you realizing how you got there, he found the familiar hallway that led to your room.

You didn’t know why he took such an extensive way back to your room until you realized that you hadn’t seen or passed any people. He was hiding you. You didn’t want to be treated like some secret. 

It felt like you weren’t good enough for him.

“Chishiya I think–” you began to speak as the door to your room shut behind you. He interrupted you with another kiss, pressing your back to the wall eagerly.

“Let me do the thinking, yeah?” he said in between peppered kisses. 

“No Chishiya–” you awkwardly stepped back away from him and flopped over backwards onto the bed. 

He raised an eyebrow as he watched you do so and said, “I didn’t know you were this spontaneous.” You reddened as you registered the implications of going on a bed.

“Oh,” you covered your face in embarrassment and felt the bed shift. It was like a heavy weight suddenly dropped onto it. “No it’s not that. It’s just I feel like there’s always been this distance between us, and every opportunity you get you try to extend it. You’re there, but you aren’t.”

You removed your hands from your face and scooted backwards so your back was leaning against the headrest of the bed. “You’re like this now,” you smiled sadly and made eye contact, “but tomorrow it’ll be different.”

Chishiya’s face became expressionless once more as he watched you coolly. You had no idea what he was thinking.

“Come sit next to me,” you patted the side of the bed. It was like you were calling over a skittish dog. Chishiya maneuvered his position to be next to you somewhat clumsily and hesitated before attempting to put an arm around you. You leaned into him so it wasn’t as clumsy, and finally it felt right.

“With that face, I bet I’m not the first girl,” you said quietly. To your surprise, you felt Chishiya’s body shake gently as he laughed to himself.

“You’re right, but not because of what you think,” he smiled and caressed the side of your cheek. “I was with a girl once back when I first entered medical school. She even met my parents.”

He watched your surprise with amusement as you playfully slapped his arm. Chishiya ever dating someone was news to you. He was very attractive, but his cold demeanor would be off-putting for most girls. “She met your parents?” your voice raised as you questioned him. “What happened to her?”

“We broke up fairly quickly. There was nothing between us. My parents once mentioned that their coworker thought it was odd that I wasn’t dating anyone for being such an eligible male. So I brought somebody they could talk about to their colleagues.” Chishiya’s voice was so monotonous as he recounted this fact that you could hardly believe anyone dated him.

“You’re a heartbreaker! I knew there was something off about you,” you exclaimed which made Chishiya laugh again. 

“Maybe.” The corner of his mouth quirked up which gave you the urge to lean to the side to kiss him.

“What did you plan to be in the real world?” Chishiya suddenly asked.

“I wasn’t sure,” you confessed. “I was considering going into shooting competitively but it’s hard to make money through a sport. I love sports, so I wanted to do something like sports medicine. I was considering moving to Shibuya before I landed in the Borderlands.”

“Medicine is quite difficult. It’s highly intensive, and stressful for even very bright doctors.”

“Are you calling me stupid?” You made your voice serious to poke fun at him, and saw a flash of concern flicker over his face although he kept it even. You burst out laughing and he flicked your forehead in annoyance.

“Very droll. Though the patient care aspect is the worst part,” he remarked sarcastically.

“I can imagine that it is for you. Apathetic diamonds player. Have you played many hearts games?”

He ignored your question about the hearts, choosing to instead continue to ponder thoughtfully. “You know, a patient once gave me his dying wish.”

“What was it?” 

“I actually don’t know. I couldn’t be bothered to deliver it so I threw it out.” Chishiya drawled and looked at you impassively.

“What?” you blurted, your mouth moving before you could even consciously process what he said. It was just as you said earlier. There was no reason for him to confess this unless he wanted you to think of him differently. It was that distance again.

“That’s so…” your voice trailed off as you thought about it once more. “Why?” you asked gently.

“It’s just as I said. I had no interest in his final affairs.”

There was a brief silence, and you focused on Chishiya’s chest rising and falling and the sound of his faint breathing. He was so alive, but so empty too.

“Would you do the same here?” you asked, thinking of how he watched you leave for games.

“Probably.” His vague response made you feel like there was something more to it, but you didn’t press the point.

You fell back into a silence that eventually lulled you into sleep in Chishiya’s arms. His rhythmic breathing was comforting, and you didn’t feel like arguing further with him.

You woke up with Aguni standing over you, and no Chishiya.

“Get up.” Aguni’s harsh voice roused you compared to what Kuina had made you used to.

“The fuck?” You groggily felt the side of the bed where Chishiya was. It was barely warm, the only trace that he was ever there. 

“(Name), you’ve participated in acts that are considered traitorous to the Beach.” Aguni’s words snapped you out of your sleepiness and you froze in fear as the reality of the situation hit you. 

Aguni was standing before you, delivering what was basically a death sentence.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for being off so long, I had to finish this chapter properly. This bad boy is probably the longest one so far, and perhaps my favorite. Hope you liked it :)

[drainslo]

AHHH my heart flatlined

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