#museum of contemporary art tokyo | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bts-story · 2 years ago

Text

LOVE IS CHAOS

Previous chapters

Chapter 10 - Hatter

The Hatter.

He was a strange character. Eccentric, arrogant, extreme. To begin with, the way he never took off his sunglasses, like an undercover movie star, made him absolutely ridiculous in your eyes. He must have thought he was the "Sun King" because the way he kept talking with big gestures and threatening words was a clear indication of how he was used to having a horde of minions at his command.

He may have been someone important in the real world before, but this was the Borderland. And in the Borderland, there were no labels, no class pyramids. Money was useless, fame and beauty were worthless.

It had been precisely twelve days since the eight of clubs, and with Niragi, you spent your days mostly trying to find food. This was no small task, and hunting was definitely not your forte. Still, persistence paid off, and eventually you found a way to trap those famous rabbits that wandered the city at random.

After a few days, a big discussion had once again taken place between you two. You had determined that the only way to learn more about this crazy country was to play games. There was always a sharp-tongued player to bring you new information, while outside of the threat of an arena, no one was willing to reveal anything.

One evening, while walking near the harbor, you came face to face with a group of players. Three women and a man who had literally liquefied in front of you. They were so frightened of running into other gamers that they took off running, abandoning their camp as fast as they could. Good for you, you got to taste their dinner and drink their water. It wasn't very nice of you, but it was their loss. They didn't seem to want to come back so soon anyway.

Another time, it was two men you passed near Koto's movie theater, and their menacing looks and the sight of their weapons held at their fingertips made you turn back. There was no point in confronting them when they didn't look at all convenient.

So, the only way you could get answers was to wait at the exit of a game arena and question the surviving players. You still had days left on your visa and there was no point in going into a game unnecessarily.

At the exit of a two of diamonds, you had stopped a woman in her thirties who was clutching her bloody left hand, which was missing a finger. "Hey, you," Niragi had called in front of the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, "tell me what you know about this country."

The woman looked at him incredulously as she caught her breath. Other surviving players passed behind, exclaiming and celebrating their victory. The woman leaned against the wall outside the museum, ready to hurl a well-placed insult. But you approached her gently before she could say anything, shooting an exasperated look at Niragi. "My name is [Y/N], I'm a doctor," you explained gently, hoping that this would help her relax. "I can probably fix your hand, if you let me look."

Suspicious, the woman looked at you from head to toe, and after a few seconds, when she considered that you did not represent any danger for her, she nodded. You had kept your backpack, the one where you had made a small stock of medicines and bandages that you now always kept with you.

The lady's hand was shaking and while you were looking in the bottom of your bag for some sanitizer and bandages, Niragi was standing at a distance, staring at you. It was better if he left you to it, he had a lot of qualities under his nasty shell but social and sociable were clearly not his forte.

"That's a dirty wound," you commented to get her attention on you so that she would forget about the way Niragi was looking at her with unimpressed eyes. "What was the game?"

"The hangman," she asserted breathlessly, already apprehensive of the pain you were about to inflict on her. "And you had to provide the hanged man with a body part of yours for every wrong answer."

Oh, that was nasty. Really nasty. It must have been a mess. Curious that it was only a twofer after all. She didn't seem to want to say anything more and you understood her. Reliving the horror when you had just escaped it seemed like a whole new ordeal in itself.

"Careful, it's gonna sting," you warned before pouring the disinfectant over the bloody hole between her thumb and middle finger. The woman hissed in pain, gripping her wrist tightly. A nasty insult flew through the air and after that, you prepared the sewing thread as well as the needle you had found in a sewing kit from one of the apartments you had been squatting in.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked to keep her mind occupied and not think about the pain that would ensue when you'd pierce her skin with that needle.

Niragi was looking at you intensely and you didn't need to meet his eyes to know what he was thinking. He was probably wondering why you were so intent on wasting your resources and medicine on a stranger, and you could have gotten information out of him otherwise. "I think the real world is already way too shitty for us not to help each other in this one, don't you think?"

It was a logical progression though. Helping her and expecting something in return. Information. It was a very respectable exchange according to you.

"My name is Seolhyun and I'm Korean. I've been here for thirty-two days, I've played six games, and I still don't know who the fuck is that put us here. I have no idea how we got here, no idea why we got here. All I know is that we have to play games to survive." She recited these words breathlessly as you finally broke through her skin. In the end, it didn't seem to hurt as much as she thought it would, as she barely moved at the pain.

Niragi sighed behind you. It was true that it was disappointing to know that this woman would not bring you more information and that the gaping hole of mystery of this world remained unanswerable. " Fucking hell..." he swore as he threw his head back, defeated at the words.

It was true that it was quite disappointing to know that this woman couldn't give you any more answers. It was as if, finally, it was absolutely impossible for anyone to unravel the secrets of this world, and that you were all destined, whoever you were, to play these games without question.

"You don't know... if there's any way out of here?" you asked carefully, as you finished stitching up the lady. You still had to do a bandage as you cut the thread, and she watched you do it carefully.

"You look like a good person to me," she began softly, still ignoring the way Niragi sneered at her words, "so I'll tell you something. There's someone here who thinks he's figured out the mystery of this world. But... he's not really a good person. He is a dangerous man who calls himself The Hatter. He thinks that if we put all the cards together, we can get out of here."

That was a good explanation. You had come up with the same one. It was a logical enough interpretation to come up with at the moment. And it seemed like a long, long time. You had only one card, and the second card, the eight of clubs, had been stolen from you callously by Chishiya and An. How do you get fifty-two cards together when everyone else is chasing them too?

"Has anyone ever succeeded? To get out I mean..." you asked as you placed the bandages on her hand, which soaked up blood directly, draping the cotton in a dark red.

"Not that I know of, it's just a myth after all." She affirmed and clasped her hand against her chest again as soon as you were done with her. She met Niragi's eyes, who this time, was waiting for her next words with impatience. His face was closed, eyebrows furrowed as he stood motionless in front of her, arms crossed against his chest. "You could look him up and ask him yourself, he's hiding out in a hotel he's renamed The Beach. But... Here's my advice for helping me... If I were you, I'd do anything to avoid him. Him and his minions."

"What makes him so dangerous, then?" Niragi asked firmly, unimpressed by her warnings.

She looked at him intensely, and after a few seconds, she continued, "He is looking for players to collect the cards for him, under threat of execution if they do not submit to his orders." She sighed and you exchanged a look with Niragi, "He is creating a dictatorship in that Beach of his, and the only solution to not dying because of him is to run away from him at all costs."

"And how do you know that, anyway?" Niragi accused suddenly.

"Those are the rumors... If you want to get out of here quickly, you should gather those cards on your own," she muttered as she finally stood up. She stretched her injured arm and patted her upper thighs to dust them off. With a smile, she began to walk a few steps toward the exit but stopped short at Niragi. She stared at him silently, judgment clear in her eyes. She turned back to you, and spoke again, "Thanks for your help. And beware of players with numbered bracelets around their wrists. They are the Hatter's minions."

The woman left and Niragi's incredulous look mirrored yours. If it was possible, she hadn't so much brought answers as even more questions. It was quite strange, and despite her warnings, the curiosity that hovered around Hatter would perhaps drive you to seek him out and find the answers for yourself.

Which leads us, ultimately, to this very moment. It was actually just a coincidence, but the woman's warnings had been of great help to you.

He was shirtless, wearing shorts and a long red and black Japanese vest. He had medium-length hair that fell over his shoulders and sunglasses on his nose despite the dark evening and the stars shining high in the sky.

It took only an hour and a few minutes after meeting this young woman, to run into the man who called himself The Hatter. It was not in your plans to run into him, let alone fall into his net. Even if the warnings of the player had not worried you more than that (you had bet on the small possibilities of running into him in the vastness of Tokyo to escape him), it was much more prudent to be wary of every word he said.

"Look, Aguni, two little lost sheep," he laughed with a cold chuckle as he got out of the car, slamming the door violently.

You really had to go over all those mathematical calculations, because running into someone who was warning you about somebody else, and running into that somebody very precisely an hour later, was a coincidence you found suspicious. And the headlights of the car speeding toward you as you walked down to the harbor had caught you off guard. Amazed to see a car running, the metal carcass had stopped at your level before you could hide from it.

Strangely enough, even before the two men showed up, you had a crazy hunch about the identity of these two thugs. Or at least one of them. He had this arrogance painted on his face that couldn't fool you. Niragi had stepped in front of you, protecting you from any threat that came your way.

The man named Aguni was tall and strong, wearing a tank top that showed off his muscles. He had a shaved head, a mustache and a goatee that vaguely reminded you of the military stereotype. Anyway, his face was closed, his jaw tense and his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the hood of the car he hadn't turned off after he left the wheel.

He said nothing and the other shirtless man walked around the car to greet you with two open arms and a smile on his face. "I don't believe we've met," he'd said and you'd taken a step back, more than a little wary at the sight of these strangers. It wasn't trivial to run into other players in the city, but the intentions of some were so questionable that it was best to stay in your lane and avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Who the fuck are you, and what do you want?" Niragi had threatened in a low, authoritative voice, offering his best dark look he had in stock.

There was a gun around the tank top man's belt and a bracelet around his wrist, and the Hatter stepped forward a little more, as if to block your eyes as they analyzed his friend's figure. "My name is Takeru Danma, but you can call me Hatter."

Niragi chuckled at the name. A small chuckle that slowly evolved into a mocking laugh and you watched him from the corner of your eye, somehow worried that he might offend the man in front of you. "You're the Hatter?" He chuckled some more before turning his head to meet your gaze. He had that little mischievous look in his eyes that you found absolutely no place for in this situation. "I was expecting some kind of big shot and a freak hat on his head."

"You know me?" the man asked curiously, almost surprised.

"You have a reputation," you informed before Niragi could, as if expecting him to say something tangential again.

This time it was the Hatter who smiled, and behind him the stone man did not move, did not smile, did not speak. "A good reputation, I hope," he tried to joke as if to lighten the mood. But it was futile. The woman's warnings remained in a corner of your head, far too prepared by the soft words or threats he might throw at you to rally you to his cause.

"Not really," Niragi chuckled as if it gave him pleasure to contradict the shirtless man, as if depriving him of such an illusion somehow gave him personal satisfaction.

"I take it you've heard of my Beach, then?"

"Your dictatorship?" Niragi asked innocently, as if the weight of his words didn't have the power to put you in danger. "Yeah, we heard of it."

The Hatter's smile faded for only a second, insisting with his deep black eyes on both of your figures to determine what attitude to approach after a confession like that, and finally, he clapped his hands and exclaimed again, "Aguni!" He turned around and the man behind him looked at him with a bored expression, finally dropping his insistent gaze from your face. "Remind me why the Beach was created."

Taking a breath, Aguni recited in a detached tone, as if every word he spoke pissed him off, "To gather as many players as possible and help each other gather the cards so we can all get the hell out of here."

"There, that's it," the Hatter nodded as if he wasn't sure why he had created his... company, or whatever it was. He walked a few steps to the right, then back, walked left, and back again. He was thinking, as if he was finally calculating his every word. Was he trying to win you over?

"Rumors say you get people to play games to collect cards for you," you pointed dangerously, cutting him off in his reflection.

He stopped short and stared at you for a few seconds before licking his bottom lip. Then he scratched the back of his head, exchanged a look with Aguni, and finally said, "You don't strike me as people who believe rumors."

Mmh. He was answering your accusation with another accusation, and that was smart, from your point of view. It didn't create affirmation or negation.

"I have the vague impression that you've been here long enough to know that the players of this world have to play to supply our visas, am I right?" He was right, indeed. But that didn't really mean much. It was as easy to steal other people's cards as it was to force them to play deadly games under threat of irreversible repercussions.

The master of this game was no match for the Hatter, who made his own rules in this crazy world.

"I have something to offer you," he finally began again, and Aguni straightened up behind him, offering a menacing look as a sign of his authority. "You join my Beach, play the games of this world, and bring back the cards you win..."

He knew he had piqued your interest, he knew you were waiting for the next part, to know what he was going to offer you in return. He knew he was onto something and that his proposal was enticing enough to make anyone flinch. It was only the beginning of his experiment, only the beginning of his creation, but he had faith in his values and expectations. He believed in it, and with that alone, the Hatter knew he could rally anyone to his cause.

"...and in turn, I offer you food, shelter, electricity, and most importantly, working showers. Hot ones, I might add." That last word could have been enough to make you groan on the spot. Your skin instantly tingled at the thought of a hot shower. It had been so long since you'd had one that you'd forgotten how it felt.

You longed for something carefully prepared, something warm and good that had nothing to do with canned food or rabbits caught on the run.

It was a tempting proposition. It was.

"How can you have electricity in that Beach of yours, when the whole city is out?" Niragi spat accusingly, and he was right to be suspicious. It was important not to forget the woman's warnings earlier.

"There's a power generator," he explained simply. It was still suspicious to you, why would this world go to such lengths to strip you of electricity, if it was to leave generators lying around the city?

The Hatter watched you intently, as if he had played his own cards and was waiting for your next move. He offered a smile as Niragi turned a second time to meet your gaze.

You had never mastered the skill of reading each other's minds, but the years spent together were a great help in deciphering what was hidden in each other's eyes.

Niragi's eyes were round, eyebrows raised as if to say, ‘What do you think?’

You only had to tilt your head slightly to the side and bite your lower lip, the intense look in your eyes to retort something that would have looked like: 'He can't be trusted!'.

Niragi smiled. He had something on his mind. His decision was made.

"And tell me, Hatter, in your beautiful Beach dictatorship there -"

"It's not a dictatorship." Hatter cut Niragi off, who glared at him.

Niragi rocked back and forth on his other foot, brushing away a lock of hair that fell in front of his eyes. He scoffed at the boldness that the other man showed him, fearlessly cutting him off. It was strange for him, because this person, the Hatter, seemed as unimpressed by him as by his threatening airs.

Everywhere he went, Niragi was used to seeing glances down, footsteps rushing by, and sometimes even seeing figures change sidewalks at the sight of him. He had this bad boy aura about him, like someone so unfriendly that it was better to avoid him at all costs. Without even opening his mouth to express in a deep and authoritative voice two or three insults often well placed, he had the attitude of a man with whom one did not want to have problems.

But the Hatter, or maybe it was only because of the bodyguard behind him who was looking at Niragi with a contemptuous look, did not seem to be afraid in the least. On the contrary, it finally seemed to suit him. As if you were exactly what he was missing.

"Forcing people to do what you want, I call that a dictatorship." You commented in a firm tone and the Hatter turned his attention back to you.

"Ooh, that one bites!" He exclaimed with a big smile as he clapped his hands excitedly. He took a step towards you, but was stopped short by an arm that blocked his path, Niragi's figure more imposing than his own.

Their faces a few centimeters apart, Niragi muttered something under his breath that was too imperceptible for you to hear. Behind them, Aguni straightened up and pulled the Hatter towards him, his gaze as black as the sky as he threatened Niragi with his imposing gaze.

"Aguni, my friend, remind me of the rules of the Beach, please," the Hatter resumed and the summoned man's shoulders relaxed once he felt that Niragi was not a threat.

"Rule number one, you must always wear a bathing suit," Aguni recited in a still detached, completely bored tone. Every word that came out of his mouth seemed to hurt him to the core of his being.

Niragi sneered and you raised your eyebrows. "You're kidding."

"This rule is only imposed on non-executive players, it's to... avoid carrying illegal weapons, I'd say," the Hatter explained and you wondered what the reason for this rule could have been. Had someone wanted to rebel, carry a gun and point it at him?

"Rule number two," Aguni continued, ignoring the little exchange that had just occurred, "You are free to live your life exactly as you wish."

"There, that... that's a good rule," the Hatter commented, taking his little steps left and right again. "That doesn't sound like a dictatorship, does it?"

Aguni was still staring at the two of you, as if he was only waiting for one thing, and that was to get the hell out of here. A simple "No," came out of his mouth before he finally uncrossed his arms to shove his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

"Who are the execs?" You asked curiously, and you needed a lot more before you knew if you wanted to join his cause or not. You had to take the opportunity to get away scot-free if it came up, or accept such an enticing opportunity if it did.

"They're players like you and me, who have proven their loyalty and brought high-level cards back to the Beach," he explained simply, and that damn smile that stuck to his face was starting to irritate you.

You could see past his fake politeness, past the appearances and this show he was putting on.

"Do you have any cards, by the way?" Hatter asked curiously, alternating his gaze between Niragi and you.

The trust was so far out of reach that you couldn't conceive of giving him the only card you had in your possession. After all, taking on a card hunter wasn't in your plans at all.

"What about you?" You retorted quickly, as if in the end, it was he who had to prove to you that he was worthy of this world. As if, it wasn't you who had to prove yourself, but it was him and his misplaced ideology that had to show that you could believe in him and what he said.

Hatter chuckled as his eyes locked on yours, and calling over his shoulder, he grumbled happily, "You hear that, Aguni? The lady asks if we have any cards!"

He chuckled at his own words, but the man behind him only bulged his chest, not a shadow of a smile on his face. You wondered then if this man had known joy in his life, even for a single second.

"Of course we have," the Hatter continued after a minute, "we're starting to have a nice little collection, by the way."

Once again, Niragi turned to capture your gaze and this time, it was you who spoke up. "Very well. We have a question though, before we join your amazing sect," The Hatter winced at the word but said nothing. "Your bracelets, there, what are they for?"

You pointed to the bracelet around his wrist that brilliantly asserted the number one, under the light of the moon. Aguni, behind him, was wearing the number two.

The Hatter exchanged a look with him, and scratching the back of his head again, he cleared his throat before explaining, "This is the hierarchy of the Beach. I wholeheartedly believe that if we put all the cards together, we can escape this world all together and return to our own. If only one person is allowed to go though... then the bracelets determine the order of departure. I created the Beach, so I am number one, it goes without saying."

"And if we joined you, what number would we be?" You asked and Niragi listened intently, still glaring.

The Hatter looked uncomfortable now, as if he had prepared his speech but not the questions he might have been asked. He hesitated for a moment, before answering that "It will depend on what you bring to the Beach. Either you're one of the reckless players who are obsessed with playing as many games as possible to bring back those cards, or you're one of the people who can help us outside the games. Mechanics, cooks, doctors, that sort of thing..."

It took a lot of effort not to meet Niragi's gaze again and perhaps silently admit that one of you would be of great help to their group. You had to keep your identity a secret until you knew more about The Beach and the other people in it.

But for the moment, with your status as a doctor, it was almost sure that it would bring you an undeniable importance there. Niragi, on the other hand, would be willing to play games to bring himself the importance he deserved.

"You wouldn't be a doctor, by any chance? It would seem that there is not one in this world..." You found the Hatter to be a man of many words. He had his mouth running on its own schedule, not caring how briskly he strung together each word he spoke. As if the whole alphabet was not concrete enough to form the words he wanted to transcribe orally.

He was a strange character. Yes. Arrogant, eccentric. It all blended awfully well with this gloomy world that reeked of danger and menace.

You largely ignored the Hatter's words, and as Aguni moved away from the vehicle to make room, you walked to the door. Opening the back of the battered blue BMW, you gave an inviting look to Niragi, who hurriedly sat down in the back of the car beside you. The Hatter clapped his hands, excited at the idea of having rallied two new recruits to his cause.

"That's wonderful, Aguni, I'm sure the four of us will get along just fine!" And Aguni rolled his eyes as he resumed his seat behind the wheel. Sitting on the passenger side, the Hatter put his feet up on the dashboard, as carefree as he was indifferent.

The engine purred loudly and Aguni accelerated towards his destination, the Beach.

You were curious to see what it looked like, and who you would have to deal with, once there. You had to brave your courage and even with all the boldness in the world, you still had to be wary. For now, a new adventure was about to begin, and discreetly, Niragi's fingers slipped between yours to press a reassuring pressure.

When you looked at him, his head was turned, eyes peering through the open window as the wind blew through his hair. He gave a second squeeze around your hand and as quickly as it had come, he withdrew his fingers and ruffled his hair as it fell into his neck. He pulled his bun tighter, and it was so hard to ignore the way his neck shone in the moonlight. Like he was inviting you to plant one, two, three, a thousand kisses there.

But the Hatter's insistent gaze in the rearview mirror burned your skin, and looking away - finally - through your own window, you tried to carefully memorize the address of that Beach.

The Seaside Paradise Hotel was large enough to accommodate two hundred people. It was an old luxury hotel, with a pool and tennis court, that had a great reputation in the real world. At the entrance, the name of the hotel had been scratched out with red spray paint, replacing the name The Beach.

From outside, it was easy to hear the thundering sound of bass music hitting the floor with every vibration. Shouts of joy and excitement could be heard, and as Aguni parked the car at the entrance, the Hatter stepped out of the car, a smile still on his lips. "It's a party here every day," he clarified to your incredulous look, curious as to where that sound was coming from. "Every moment we spend not playing is another moment of survival to enjoy life."

He was now entering the hotel and the entrance was adorned with a huge red carpet, and trinkets that carefully decorated the room. He walked through the room, and the people you passed were all wearing bathing suits, not embarrassed to show their skin so easily. They greeted the Hatter with a nod, offering their best smile to their leader. Then he headed for the exit and once you passed the glass doors that opened to the outside, an apocalyptic scene was revealed before your eyes.

Dozens of naked or almost naked bodies were dancing together on the tempo of a frantic music, the alcohol was flowing and the smoke that escaped from some groups suspected the state in which they had to be. "And how better to enjoy life than to submit to the debaucheries and sins that the original world forbade us?"

There were definitely a lot of players, much more than you would have imagined. Each one of them was getting carried away by the sound of the raging music, some were mouthing at each other, some were exchanging glasses of alcohol and some were even passed out on the cushions by the pool.

Niragi stopped beside you and the petty look in his eyes made your jaw tense. He was playing with the piercing of his tongue, amused by the debauchery that appeared before his eyes. You knew that look, you knew he was enjoying the show. It wasn't so much the bare legs of these girls moving their butts and breasts vulgarly that attracted him, but rather this space of chaos that opened the door to delinquency and crime.

"Welcome to The Beach," the Hatter enthused, his arms open to what he called a paradise.

The sound of the bass made your heart tremble with how loud the music was. It was strange that you hadn't heard that racket before, you were sure it was echoing throughout the entire city. Niragi watched with amusement as two men who had drunk too much started to get into a fight as one of them threw the first punch. He laughed, pointing at the one who fell to the ground at the power of the blow.

You weren't sure how to feel about it all. It was both completely crazy and absolutely amazing. On the one hand, you supported the idea that people could finally let go of their lives and barriers, that they could enjoy who they were without the social pressure of real life. On the other hand, it could mean the end of the world. Without faith and law, everything became dangerous. Every person you met, every action of anyone could cause an inevitable tsunami.

"I see you found The Beach," a voice came from behind you through the music, and you didn't have to turn around to recognize who it belonged to. Unconsciously, you closed your eyes for a second as the voice began again, "Or did The Beach find you?"

The last few days had been so tumultuous, considering the hunt for food and the quest for information to try to understand this world, that you had forgotten (or ultimately didn't care) that this meeting with the Hatter was not your first encounter with people from The Beach.

"Chishiya," you opened your eyes and offered as sincere a smile as you could as the blond approached. You could feel Niragi's stature tense up at the very sight of the other man, but he said nothing to let it be known. "What a... pleasure to see you here."

A pleasure, far from it. But if it was necessary to play dumb so as not to start off on the wrong foot, then so be it. Hatter called out to himself, looking between the three of you as he tried to figure out what was going on. "Oh, you two know each other already?"

"We've met, yes." Chishiya agreed, offering a smile to the Hatter who looked at him excitedly. You weren't sure how to react to him, you weren't sure yet if he was one of the bad guys or the good guys. Knowing each other in the real world didn't mean that much here. He had always had this mysterious air about him, and he enjoyed seeing the confusion on the faces of the people he talked to. It was a pet peeve of his, and with his amused look crossing yours, you wondered how he ended up here, too.

"By the way," Niragi stepped in front of him, taking advantage of the way he towered over the blond with his height. He was trying to be imposing and intimidating in front of the other who didn't flinch under the threat. Chishiya looked at him curiously, and Niragi resumed, "you stole my card."

"Stole it?" Chishiya wondered, his eyes round.

"The eight of clubs, that was my card," Niragi growled, his jaw tense.

You could have rolled your eyes at this little testosterone war that was slowly taking place between the two of them. There was a rivalry that was starting to take hold that had no place here. You knew that Chishiya had the nonchalant attitude that could easily get on anyone's nerves, but you thought that Niragi would be smarter than that. Apparently, he was falling for it too easily.

"I think what you mean by that is that it was your card as much as mine. It was a team win, haven't you forgotten?" Chishiya retorted and God forbid he was right, because if Niragi didn't restrain himself, he would be able to throw his fists in his face. Niragi had little patience and arrogance was something that irritated him to no end. It was quite ironic, for someone as arrogant as himself.

Yes, if your only hope of getting out of this hellish world was to partner with the Hatter, then giving him your cards was the only way out. Chishiya had probably already given it to him, and the seven of diamonds that was still in the back pocket of your jeans seemed to burn your skin through the fabric.

Even though what he was saying made sense, Niragi still considered it theft. He didn't like the way Chishiya looked at him with that condescending look on his face, as if he considered everyone around him as mere pawns in a world that only deserved his own survival.

"I guess not," Niragi mumbled after a few seconds, still holding his gaze in Chishiya's irises, which didn't flinch either.

You weren't talking about stealing, but you thought it was much fairer to provide a card for each surviving player, than one card for all. This would avoid situations like this that would inevitably cause arguments about who owns the cards. But here, as Chishiya so aptly put it, it didn't matter. All the cards were going to the Hatter anyway.

"Excuse me," you snuck between their two bodies in an attempt to pull them apart. You knew that it would take Niragi only three times as much to jump on Chishiya, it was as if he was just waiting for the other to weaken so he could get a good punch in the face. Both of them took a step back when your shoulders hit their torsos, and stopping right in front of the Hatter, you held out your card. "This is a seven of diamonds. Our other cards were stolen six days ago, so... we're starting over."

It was much smarter to lie than to admit that you had only played two games so far. You had to showcase your survival skills if you hoped to move up in this hierarchy. The Hatter didn't know anything about you yet, but for now, he would just have to take your word for it.

"I hope you won't hold it against us, and that you'll give us a chance to prove our loyalty to you." You were far from agreeing with everything the Hatter had put in place, it was all what you would call dictatorship, no matter what he might say.

"Ah, my dear friend, don't worry about the cards," he put an arm around your shoulders, as a slightly too invasive friend would do, and pulled you a little further away. Immediately, Niragi on your heels and his eyes piercing the Hatter's skull with his invisible laser beams coming out of his eyes for touching you as you walked down the stairs to the pool, leaving Chishiya where he stood. "We'll see about that tomorrow. For now, I want you to enjoy your evening in your new life as a resident of The Beach!"

He let go of your shoulders to slump down on a banquette near the pool, and immediately, two babes came to settle down beside him, planting languorous kisses in his neck. He was greeted by a cocktail glass containing a bluish liquid which he hastened to drink of only one sip. He slapped the buttocks of one of the girls, and the other lit a cigarette to put it in his mouth.

If that wasn't a dictatorship, you wondered what was. Niragi, at your side, was laughing playfully, as if he thought that this place wasn't so bad after all. You couldn't conceive the idea that all these players were stupid enough to forget what world you were in, while Niragi probably supported the idea that forgetting was probably the only way to relax and let go of death's grip on you all.

"My room is on the top floor terrace. The execs have the rooms on the fourth floor, the rest belong to the players. I'll let you find the one that suits you best." The Hatter added between two kisses with the girl on his right, and you understood that was the end of the discussion. There was nothing more to add, nothing more to understand, nothing more to explain.

Niragi pulled you by the wrist, and led you through the small crowd of players towards the interior of the hotel. You passed Chishiya who had stayed in the same place, giving you a curious look before heading to a place you didn't know. Back in the lobby, a few players were bickering as they made their way outside, something about the game they had probably just played earlier.

You were surprised to see that the elevators were working as a girl in a bathing suit came out. She was wearing nothing but her blue floral bikini, her body naked. A lollipop was nestled in her mouth, which she sucked absent-mindedly as she played with the dreads in her hair. She walked past you, without giving you a single glance, and walked away to a door behind the reception. Niragi entered the elevator, still dragging you by the wrist.

He stopped in front of the buttons on the shaft, thinking for a second before pressing number four. "The fourth floor is for executives only, baby."

Niragi smiled. Yes, he knew that. He didn't need you to remind him. "We didn't come here to be underlings, princess. From now on, we're execs, you and me." Okay, that was a pretty radical decision. Still, the Hatter and his minions had to agree as well. If a hierarchy had been set up, it was surely to avoid coups like these.

This did not surprise you from Niragi. After all, he had put behind him all those days when he followed orders like a common animal, and you knew that he would never again agree to submit to the ways of the shepherd.

The ding of the elevator rang out and the doors opened onto a long hallway. The light from one of the sconces flickered on the right, all the doors were closed, and Niragi stepped forward. It seemed that each occupied room was marked in a different way.

To the right, the first door had a large X painted on the wood. Opposite, there was a poster of a naked girl hanging. Then there were three rooms with nothing at all, then there was another door with bullet holes that had pierced the wood. Next to it was a blank door, with nothing to differentiate it from the others except for the dozen or so dead empty beer bottles that littered the floor.

A small pink bow hung on the door opposite, and next to it, several empty rooms again. As you made your way through the floor, you had this funny feeling that you couldn't ignore. It was something like a foreboding. Good or bad, it was still hard to tell. But something was waiting for you, you could feel it.

You were trying to open a door, finally, when you were interrupted, your hand around the handle, "Hey, you there, what are you doing here? This floor is for executives only," a man rumbled from across the hall, and as he stepped through the dim light of the sconces, you could make out a gun in his hands, pointed at you.

Despite everything that had happened in this world so far, this was the first time you had a gun pointed at you. It wasn't as scary as you thought it would be, or maybe it was just the fault of this country that seemed to have redefined all your fears and beliefs.

The man was small, he had a bandage around his neck and he was holding a machine gun in his fingers that looked much heavier than he was. His voice was shaking, his fingers were shaking and even his hair seemed to be shaking. He had on a bathing suit that fell well over his hips, and a dirty t-shirt that stuck to his skin.

Niragi slowly stepped forward, not afraid of the tip of the device sticking to his own torso. "That's a nice toy you have there," he muttered and the man stammered under his breath. You wondered who the idiot was who had appointed him executive. Or was he just providing security for the floor? To prevent people like Niragi or you from trespassing in a forbidden place like this one. "Can I borrow it?"

"Ba-back off!" The man said, and he looked more like a teenager than a young adult with his frail body and pretty angelic face.

Niragi seemed to be amused, he had a small smile on his face that didn't bode well for you. "Come on what, I just want to hold it for a bit..."

"Stop it, I said back off!" The man shouted, taking a step back. He seemed much more impressed with Niragi whereas he was the one holding the weapon. "Go back to your rooms, immediately or... or I'll shoot!"

Niragi laughed and if you were smarter than that, you would hold him back by dragging him further away, so you could go back downstairs. But you knew that Niragi would not forgive you if you did. You knew not to hold him back at times like this, as if holding him back or preventing him from doing what he wanted to do in front of someone would make him feel inferior. You couldn't do anything, you couldn't call him out, bring him to his senses. It was futile and unnecessary.

"Please..." Niragi stepped forward and the man stepped back. You could only stand in your corner, your hand still on the handle as Niragi's menacing aura continued to intimidate the man. With one blow, Niragi's right hook slammed into the man's nose and he took several steps back. He didn't have time to point his weapon at Niragi again, who grabbed it and smashed it against his forehead. The man fell to the ground, and Niragi grabbed the machine gun and pointed it at his victim.

"Please..." he echoed, his voice even more shaky, if that were possible. "I... I'll do anything you want, I won't tell anyone you were here, I -"

Trrratata!

But Niragi had pulled the trigger. The deafening sound of the machine gun echoed through the hallway, and the noise chilled your blood. You couldn't conceive the idea that Niragi had just pulled the trigger when in fact, the young man's lifeless body laid against the floor, the scarlet blood from his abdominal wounds running down the carpet. "What the fuck, Niragi, what have you done?"

You couldn't take your eyes off the inert body that sat before you, and as Niragi stepped up beside you, taking your face in his hands, he whispered, "Look at me, princess, here, look at me!" His hands were icy despite the warmth within his walls, and finally taking your gaze off the dead man, you found Niragi's intense gaze looking for some reassurance to transfer into your eyes, "We will not be slaves to the Hatter, do you hear me? I'm going to do everything I can to get you and me out of here, and that means we're going to have to make sacrifices, you understand?"

If you thought about it, you would remember that you had also sacrificed a man's life in the game of eight of clubs, but everything was different in the arena. In a game, you had to make choices and decisions to ensure your survival. But here, right now, it was a completely gratuitous act that was anything but necessary.

"You fucking killed him, what were you thinking?" You were beginning to feel your heart racing, your throat dry as Niragi's hands applied light pressure to your cheeks to draw your attention to him.

This was far from your first body, you had seen so many deaths in the hospital that you had found the strength to detach yourself from the feeling it could give you when you saw this. But here you had witnessed a cold-blooded murder, something that was undeserved, you didn't understand. "To fear or to be feared, which do you prefer?" It was neither an explanation nor an excuse. "I'll chomp all over them, right here, okay?"

You knew what he was thinking. If you were just a little more twisted than that, you would understand Niragi's way of thinking. That holding a gun established fear and respect, and that with it in his hands, no one would dare say anything to him, or do anything he didn't like. He was taking strength by force, and he was in a good position to know what it felt like, and how to do it.

It wasn't a bad strategy, but you wished he had chosen another.

Yes, the Borderland had no laws or rules. There was no punishment for murder here. There was no one to take justice where it should be applied. Here, there was only the law of the strongest, and the strongest today was Niragi, who carried his new machine gun with a proud look. He was going to take care of his weapon, he was going to pamper it and caress it as it deserved. Because with this, nothing and nobody could touch you.

He knew that with this, he could ensure that you would always be safe. He would take great pleasure in keeping away anyone who might want to harm you. It was a protection, more than a real weapon. You had to see it that way. It wasn't so much the idea of killing that excited Niragi, no, don't get him wrong.

It was the idea that here he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

He would never say anything, never let on that you might get hurt in one of these fucking games. Or by one of those assholes who didn't like how you talked to them. Because he knew that all it would take to hurt him was to hurt you.

No, he had to set his law here, no matter what the Hatter said. A new era had to start, the one of Niragi Suguru.

And you, in all this, would always be safe. Always safe.

//////////////////////////////

Oooh lalalalala, I am SO sorry for the delay! My son had the flu all week, so he didn't go to daycare, and with work, I just didn't have time to write anything!

Anyway, we are in the thick of it! So, forget what I said about writing the story in one go, I'll have to make little time jumps otherwise it'll be endless

I've got a few more chapters to write that you're going to love, so I hope my little Niragi stans are still there, and that you still like what I'm making!

I hope to take less time for the next chapter, look forward to it, please!

Nageoire

#Niragi Suguru #niragi #niragi aib #love is chaos #niragi x you #niragi x reader #aib #alice in borderland #alice in borderland x you #alice in borderland x reader #aib x reader #aib x you #dori sakurada

59 notes · View notes