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quack-quack-snacks · 1 year ago

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All In - Chapter 2: The Beach

The All In Masterlist

My Alice In Borderland Masterlist

My Navigation and Masterlist

My Chishiya Shuntaro Masterlist

Warnings: Non-important character deaths, descriptions of blood and gore, Niragi being a perv but a consensual and non-boundary crosser perv, let me know if there are any more. Word Count: 7,175

“All in.”

His grin grew to the point you thought his face would split in half. He started giggling, obviously crazed by the trauma of this world.

Or maybe he was crazy before it.

“ALL PLAYERS PARTICIPATING IN THIS ROUND HAVE GONE ALL IN.

IN THE CASE OF THIS HAPPENING, THERE WILL BE A BONUS FOR THE WINNER.”

Now this piqued your interest.

“THE WINNER WILL BE GIVEN A BONUS OF $500 FOR THEIR BRAVERY.”

There were shouts of protest from each of the players.

“That’s not fair!”

“What the fuck?”

You drowned them all out, noticing that once again, Chishiya Shuntaro did not join them in their complaints. Instead, he was staring at you with a blank look, one you couldn’t quite decipher. It almost felt like he was… analyzing you.

“ALL HANDS WILL BE REVEALED NOW.”

The sight of his hand made a small giggle slip through your lips. The giggle slowly grew louder and louder until you were laughing loudly. Fujita stayed still as he ran his eyes over each of your hands, trying to figure out how he could’ve possibly lost.

He’d gotten dealt the Two of Diamonds and the Two of Clubs.

The hand in the center was the Ten of Diamonds, the Two of Spades, the King of Diamonds, the Jack of Diamonds, and the Two of Hearts.

He’d gotten a Four Of A Kind.

It was unfortunate for him that you just got something better.

“The Queen of Diamonds and the Ace of Diamonds?” You heard Chishiya let out a low whistle. “That’s a Royal Flush.”

“No!” Fujita screamed, slamming his fists down onto the table in a fit of rage. He quickly reached down into his pocket, grabbed something, and pulled it out. Your eyes widened in surprise when you realized it was a gun. “If I’m going down, then you’re coming with me!” He screamed at you, placing his finger on the trigger.

A shot.

A laser.

The sound of a head thumping onto the table, deceased.

You laughed.

“Well fuck!” You said quietly, laughing breathlessly at the rush of adrenaline that shot through you. You hardly flinched at him pulling the trigger but it was a shock nonetheless.

“ATTEMPTING TO KILL YOUR OPPONENTS BEFORE THE END OF THE GAME WILL RESULT IN A GAME OVER.

A PLAYER HAS REACHED BANKRUPTCY. IT IS NOW GAME OVER FOR THEM.”

You all watched as the corpse of Hirose Fujita’s chest started to cave in on itself underneath the pressure of the metal pole surrounding him, his ribs breaking and sticking out through his skin while blood splattered across the tablet in front of him.

The sight caused a panic.

Many screamed. One person stayed still in their seat, hyperventilating and silent tears falling down their cheeks. Two started having panic attacks, trying their hardest to escape the bonds of the chair but to no avail.

The girl to your left turned to the side of her chair, throwing up at the purely atrocious scene.

You winced in disgust at the sight of his perishment, but other than the scrunch of your nose, you didn’t show any other sign of being disturbed. Your stomach had grown strong over the weeks you’d spent in the borderland. It was a necessary adaptation you needed to make if you wanted to survive and get through all the horrific sights you’d seen. Looking to the side at the back of your chair, you eyed the hole in the material. The shot had somehow - with some crazy, mysterious luck granted to you by the goddess of luck herself, Tyche - only barely missed anywhere vital.

The voice went on to announce that you’d won and scored the bonus $500 along with the $430 that was in the pot.

Your balance was now over a thousand.

As the voice continued on speaking, introducing the 6th round and who was going first, you brought a hand up to your left cheek. When you brought it away, there was thick red blood coating your fingertips and falling down your face from the bullet. You didn’t worry too much. If it was anything too serious, you would have been bleeding a whole lot more, that’s for sure. You decided you would just wait until the end of the game to try and do anything to solve it, occasionally rubbing the blood away with the sleeve of your jacket, not wanting the dress you were wearing to be ruined just yet. You failed to see how Chishiya’s eyes narrowed in on the wound.

The next round passed. You’d folded after the first person placed their bet, your cards not being too great.

It totally wasn’t also because the person who placed the bet was the eye-catching man named Chishiya.

That would be crazy.

Unsurprisingly, he won the round. One player, Akagi Tennen, started crying, his balance dropping down to $30 as Chishiya came out victorious with his balance rising to over $200.

Round after round, the players died off until there were only four left.

Sada Yuka.

Oishi Kaori.

Chishiya Shuntaro.

And you.

Your score had gone down to $860 while Chishiya’s had raised to $830.

Each girl was shaking in their seat. The metal bar was compressed tightly around them, enough so that it obviously was uncomfortable and maybe slightly painful, but not as painful as it would be when they lost the remaining $5 in their balances.

Your heart hurt in your chest as you watched them reach for each other’s hands desperately. Yuka tried to be strong in front of her friend but it was obvious she was having a hard time as tears gathered along her waterline. Kaori’s tears streamed down her cheeks like waterfalls, unable to control her sobs.

It painfully reminded you of the friendship you had with your best friend, especially when the two of you were children.

It was the first day of first grade, and you were nervously shuffling on your feet while standing in front of the school entrance. Your mother stood next to you, but the knowledge that she would leave when you entered the building had your five-year-old stomach turning.

She kneeled down beside you so she was at your level before caressing your hair lovingly. “Are you ready, sweetie?” She asked you. You gripped the straps of your backpack nervously before hesitantly nodding. She softly smiled before bringing you into a much-needed hug. It wasn’t surprising that she could tell you were only saying that for her sake; you weren’t the best at hiding your feelings just yet. “I’m so proud of you. You’re going to do amazing, I just know it. I’ll pick you up as soon as school ends, okay?”

“Okay, mama,” you agreed and she let you go, giving you a light nudge toward the door.

Ten minutes later, you were sitting in the second row of your class. The teacher stood in front of a whiteboard, wearing an ankle-length skirt made of different colored patches. On top, she wore a simple black turtleneck with some silver jewelry.

She turned around, writing her name on the board. You couldn’t read it, not really having learned to read yet, and you were thankful when she repeated the name she wrote.

“Hi everyone!” She started in a cheery tone and a big smile. Her ginger-dyed hair with brown roots just barely visible as they grew out framed her face gorgeously and you couldn’t help but marvel at her beauty. “Welcome to your first day in my class and congratulations on being in first grade! I will be your teacher for the rest of the year. My name is Ms. Hirayama,” she told you before cupping her hand around her mouth like she was telling you a secret. “But you all can just call me Rin!” She winked. “Today, we will be learning the alphabet. Does anyone know the first letter?”

A few hands rose but you lost focus when you saw the boy sitting next to you. He was sitting with a notebook in front of him, not focusing on the lesson as he drew a stick figure picture of three people and a dog in front of a wonky, crooked house. You watched him for a while longer before suddenly, your teacher stopped talking.

“Kids, would you mind paying attention and saving your drawing for when we have a break?” She asked kindly, looking between the boy next to you and yourself. You both nodded, the boy putting his pencil down and nodding as well. She smiled and returned to reading through the alphabet.

You turned and leaned over your desk so you were closer to the boy. “I like your drawing,” you whispered. He blushed in embarrassment at you seeing it but smiled nonetheless.

“Thank you.”

You introduced yourself, sticking a hand out for him to shake. He grabbed it, his grip hesitant and soft.

“I’m Aoki Dai. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too!”

“Kids!” The teacher raised her voice a little bit to get your attention. The both of you snapped back to be sitting up ultra-straight in your chairs and apologized simultaneously.

“Sorry.”

You and Aoki had become attached at the hip since that moment, only ever apart when you went home or were at a club of some sort that the other wasn’t involved in. Years later, when the both of you were in your second year of high school, you continued with those clubs. Aoki was in the school’s soccer club, doing well in team-based sports, while you enjoyed the chess club. You thrived on working alone. While you didn’t mind working with someone, you did your best when you worked alone.

It was after school on a Tuesday and you walked toward the big oak tree in the front of the school where Aoki and you agreed to meet up every day after school before you’d walk home together.

You were surprised to find your best friend with tears streaming down his cheeks, one of which was bruised black and blue. It was obvious the tears weren’t caused by the pain, however.

Your gaze hardened and his eyes found yours. Just as his mouth opened to speak, presumably to say he was fine or some bullshit like that, you spoke first. “Who was it?”

“It’s fin-”

“Who. The hell. Was it?” You repeated, interrupting him with your harsh gaze and demanding words.

He looked down in shame. “Ito Reina.”

That bitch. You knew exactly who he was talking about. She was on the soccer team with him and you would see her at every practice you sat in on or game you attended. You never liked her or her overly arrogant attitude just because she was the oldest on the team. She was a junior which she thought made her superior to everyone else.

Your fists clenched before the sound of a familiar, infuriating laugh sounded from the entrance of the school.

Aoki’s eyes widened as he saw the determination set in on your face, reaching out to stop you. “No, don’t-!”

It was too late. You’d already thrown your backpack down and started storming over to where Ito was walking with two of her, also arrogant and rude, friends.

Her eyes fell on you when you got within a few yards of her and she rolled them. “Oh great. What do you wa-?”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence before your fist made contact with the side of her face. The girls beside her gasped loudly as she fell backward and onto the ground. You didn’t stop, jumping onto her and throwing a few more good hits in. When her friends tried to step in to help her, you elbowed one of them in the ribs and the other in the nose, leaving both of them crying in pain on the floor. After the fourth hit you gave her, you were satisfied with the bloody nose and bruising cheek she sported.

You stood up, clenching and unclenching your fist to stop the stinging as the skin had split along your knuckles during your thrown punches. “So, here’s how this is going to go,” you started, crouching down in front of her and poking her throbbing cheek. “You’re going to apologize to my friend, Aoki, here, and then you’re going to leave him alone for the rest of your life. If I hear you’ve done anything like this again, I won’t stop at four,” you threatened calmly. She nodded fearfully, scared of the blank look in your eyes and on your face. After a few moments of her silence, you glared. “Well? I’m still waiting on that apology.”

She seemed to remember and frantically scrambled to her knees, kneeling in front of you and Aoki who stood a few feet behind you.

“I’m sorry, Aoki Dai. I will never bother you again.”

You let out a satisfied hum before reaching to condescendingly pat the top of her head. “Good girl. Now get out of here before I change my mind about stopping at four hits.”

She clambered to stand, her two friends following closely behind her as they ran away from the two of you.

When you turned around to face Aoki, he was staring at you with an amazed look and your backpack lightly clutched in his hands.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he breathed out, looking down at his feet in shame at the situation. He let out a gasp when he felt your arms wrap around his shoulders.

“Yes, I did. You’re my best friend, Aoki. I’ll always be here to protect you,” you promised him.

And it was a promise you kept, protecting him for years and years from anything that threatened to hurt the boy you loved like a brother until you were ripped out of your life and ended up not seeing him for months.

“ROUND TWENTY WILL BEGIN NOW.”

The remaining money in the two girls’ balance was immediately used as their antis into the round. No matter what, one of them, if not both, was going to die this round.

Taking a deep breath to control your emotions, you turned to face them, and their attention moved to you. Both eyes were fearful. Sad.

It broke your heart.

You gave them a forlorn smile. “It’s been an honor to play with the two of you. May the three of us be friends in the next life.”

Your words were enough to push Yuka over the edge as she started sobbing.

“PLAYER SADA, YUKA, CHOOSE TO RAISE, CALL, OR FOLD.”

She had to swallow down her sobs long enough to speak before answering. “Call.”

Her voice was raw with pain, cracking at the end and she hung her head low. Her hand still desperately reaching for Kaori’s trying to comfort each other as they were sure they wouldn’t live through the game.

The announcer went through each person’s turn.

Nobody chose to raise the bet.

It continued until all five cards were facing up in the center of the table. You sighed at the hand you were dealt.

In the center of the table, the faceup cards were as such:

King of Clubs. Three of Hearts. Eight of Spades. Jack of Clubs. Eight of Diamonds.

You were dealt an Ace of Spades and an Eight of Hearts.

Three of a kind.

“Fuck,” you whispered under your breath.

“ALL HANDS WILL BE REVEALED NOW.”

Just as you suspected. You’d won.

Yuka’s hand was nothing. Two of Clubs and Four of Hearts.

Kaori’s was a two-pair. Three of Diamonds and King of Clubs.

Finally, Chishiya had a single pair. Seven of Diamonds and Seven of Spades.

Winning wasn’t always fun.

“TWO PLAYERS HAVE REACHED BANKRUPTCY. IT IS NOW GAME OVER FOR THEM.”

You looked away, closing your eyes and trying to ignore the sobs. They screamed for a second as the metal bar closed in on them until everything went silent. You let out a little sigh, thankful their deaths were at least quick and hopefully not very painful. A small ding brought your attention to the phone you were given.

“ONLY TWO PLAYERS REMAIN.

GAME CLEARED. CONGRATULATIONS.”

“Yay,” you said dryly. The metal poles surrounding you and Chishiya retracted, allowing the two of you to step out of your chairs and leave.

Chishiya walked over to the body of his deceased companion. “Not so strong now,” he mocked the previous words the man told him earlier. Leaning down, he searched his pockets for the keys of the car they used to arrive at the game, finding them in the breast pocket of his blood-stained leather jacket. He tossed the keys into the air before catching them again with a smug but small smirk on his face. Just as he was about to speak, he turned to look at you and his words caught in his throat. You were pushing the chairs of the two girls together, panting at the exertion because of the heavyweight. It was when the two chairs were side by side, their armrests touching, that you stopped. You had a small, sad, smile on your face as you gently grabbed their hands, resting them on top of each other.

“What’s that for?” Chishiya inquired.

Without looking at him, you responded. “The last thing they wanted was to comfort each other. I thought they deserved to hold hands at the very least.”

Chishiya almost scoffed at the sudden personality switch from how you acted during the majority of the game versus now, not to mention how kind the switch was. How could you be so kind and considerate in the midst of a world like this one? In a world so selfish and uncaring about the lives of anyone or anything? It just didn’t make sense.

It intrigued him.

Using your hands to close their wide, scared eyes and taking a deep breath, you forced yourself to look away from the girls and bring your thoughts away from the loneliness you felt with the lack of your best friend. Facing the boy in the white hoodie to see him already looking at you, you smoothed down your dress. “What?”

He stared at you for a few moments. The eye contact was intense as he studied you and you tilted your head in confusion at his silence. After a beat, he finally spoke. “Come with me.”

The confusion visibly grew on your face as you scrunched your eyebrows together. “What do you mean? Where?”

“The Beach,” he said simply before turning around and heading for the exit.

“What? You’re going to the beach? Why?” You asked, reluctantly following behind him and watching as he grabbed the Six of Hearts card off the table on the way out. “We’re in the middle of Tokyo, there’s no beaches for miles.”

“Not the beach, Beach,” he clarified, and although it rang a bell in your mind, it still didn’t clear up your confusion.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” you told him and he rolled his eyes.

“It would if you were smarter,” he insulted and you slapped the back of his head instinctively - it was what you often did to Aoki when he would make a stupid comment. He stopped walking, turning to look at you, his eyebrows raised and his eyes set in a surprised yet slightly annoyed glare. You said nothing to explain your action, only crossing your arms over your chest and tilting your head with a cheeky smile. He sighed, turning back around and continuing his walk forward. “You’ll see when we get there.”

You just grinned to yourself as you skipped behind him. After a minute, an old, bright red Mustang appeared in your sights. It was parked poorly along the street in an area where it would most definitely be ticketed in the original Tokyo. It was beautiful and in very good condition. It was clear whoever the owner was - who you got the feel was not the bleach-blonde-haired boy leading you to the car - loved and cherished this car, keeping it as pristine as possible. “Why do you think I’ll trust you enough to get into a car with you?” You quizzed as the two of you got closer to the car with each step.

“If you’re smart, you’ll know you shouldn’t,” he told you without missing a beat or faltering in his movements. You scoffed.

“What’s with you and thinking I’m not smart?”

“Well, you haven’t done anything to prove otherwise,” he reasoned.

‘Funny. It’s not like you’ve done anything to prove you’re trustworthy either,’ you thought.

Once you reached the car, he stopped on the passenger’s side of the car - a fact that confused you considering he was the one who had the keys and you expected him to be the driver. It surprised you even more when he opened the door and held it open for you, leaning on it and gesturing for you to go in.

You schooled your expression back into a teasing smirk. “Ooh. A gentleman and an asshole. You’re just my type,” you joked before your face dropped to a more serious one. “I still don’t trust you won’t kill me the moment I get in.”

“Would you feel better if I pinky promised?” He asked sarcastically, his voice remaining in the same monotonous tone he’d used the whole night.

“It would, actually,” you told him, feigning being serious as you got into the car. “I guess I don’t have much to live for anyways,” you confessed.

‘I’ve been sleeping on a couch in a clothing store for the past week anyway. If this ‘Beach’ place is a base of some sort then maybe I’ll finally have a more comfortable spot to rest,’ you thought to yourself.

Chishiya closed the door behind you, making sure you were fully in and your dress wouldn’t get caught before he did, then walked around to settle into the driver’s seat.

When he turned the car on, the sound of an old song from the 60’s immediately started softly playing through the speakers.

“How do you have music? I’ve not been able to make anything work since I arrived here,” you questioned, looking at him curiously.

“Devices that have integrated circuits don’t work, though I don’t expect you to know what that is,” he insulted again, arrogantly. You just stayed quiet with a roll of your eyes as he continued. He pointed a finger at the cassette player that was a part of the car. “This car’s from the 1960s and has a cassette player; so if you have a cassette you can play music.”

‘The owner must have never used the car. It’s in almost perfect condition,’ you thought.

The drive over was relatively quiet, the music not playing too loudly and neither of you speaking. You decided to hold off on any questions you had about this so-called ‘Beach’ for when you got there. You really weren’t in the mood to hear his condescending tone when you didn’t know the answer to something and he had to smugly explain it to you.

To be honest, though, you didn’t expect him to answer even if you did ask him.

When you arrived at Beach, you realized it was a modern hotel that had the word ‘Beach’ spray painted over the original sign called ‘Seaside Paradise | Tokyo.’ Once Chishiya parked, you got out of the car and followed him into the building. You could hear the distant sound of loud party music, but you ignored it in favor of watching Chishiya as he walked. Each stride was filled with such confidence and nonchalantness that it was hard to not find him intriguing.

He led you further into the building until you reached an area protected by two strong-looking men who leaned against the walls. Although they looked like bodyguards, the sight of them clad in palm-tree-designed swimming trunks kind of lessened their intimidation. They looked alarmed at the two of your sudden appearances but one look at Chishiya was enough for them to relax again and allow him through.

You were not so lucky. One of the men roughly grabbed your shoulder when you tried to follow after him and pulled you back.

“If you don’t take your hands off me within the next few seconds, you won’t be able to use them for the rest of your life,” you warned him but his grip just tightened around you as he attempted to drag you back. Within a second, you had his arm locked behind him and his chest pressed against the wall he was leaning against not even a minute prior.

“She’s with me. She’s a newcomer,” Chishiya explained as the guard you had pressed against the wall groaned in pain. He stopped the other guard from intervening, not even turning around or slowing his steps like he expected them to stop you. The guard you had pressed against the wall stopped struggling and you slowly let him go. Giving the two men a charming smile, you followed the boy around the corner, nearly running into his back when he stopped abruptly. Examining the room, you noticed the dim lighting and the two leather couches facing each other. On one of those couches supported a familiar man with chin-length brown hair. He wore a thin bathrobe with a black backing and some patterns along the fabric. Underneath the bathrobe, you could see he was shirtless with only a pair of orange swimming trunks around his hips. He was sat with two girls who seemed to be in their mid-twenties on either side of him. One wore a black bathing suit with white polka dots decorating it while the other wore a hot pink bikini with ruffles.

And the man currently had his tongue shoved down one of their throats.

Chishiya cleared his throat to capture the attention of the man and after a few more seconds of making out with the girl, he pulled away. Leaning back against the seat, he manspread his legs as each girl cuddled up his side.

“Ah! Chishiya, my boy! What brings you here?” The man expressed.

He held up the Six of Hearts card in between two fingers before holding it out for the man to take. “I’ve also brought someone,” Chishiya explained, moving out of the way so you were more exposed to the man’s view.

When his gaze fell on you, you saw the way his breath stalled in his lungs. It was similar to your reaction when first saw him only a few moments ago.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you! Your uncle’s talked a lot about you.”

“Well, that’s never a good sign.”

“Would you guys turn that shitty song off? You know I hate it.”

“Oh come on uncle! Stop your whining and come dance with us! ‘Hey, I just met you! And this is crazy!’”

“‘But here’s my number! So call me maybe!’”

“What made you want to open up a hat shop, Uncle Tak?”

“It was kind of a surprise decision. Some unfortunate events happened and I needed a job to keep me afloat for a while. It ended up sticking.”

“I think it’s cool. You’re like the mad hatter from Alice in Wonderland, minus the ‘mad’ part.”

“Maybe we should keep it as me being the hatter, that hat doesn’t fit you at all.”

Takeru swallowed subtly before turning back to Chishiya who eyed the two of you intensely.

“I see,” he mused, his voice underlying with a certain tenseness, putting the card in the breast pocket of his robe. “I assume she is joining The Beach then, am I right?” Chishiya nodded, confirming his assumptions before walking over and leaning down to whisper something inaudible to you into his ear. The man looked at him with an impressed and moderately surprised look. Turning back to you, he grinned somewhat hesitantly. “Well then, have a seat,” he gestured to the couch in front of him and you snuck a glance at Chishiya before obliging and sitting down. “Everyone out. I’d like a moment alone with the newcomer,” Takeru commanded and everyone in the room stood up to leave, Chishiya being the last one. The two of you locked eyes as he walked past the couch and to the exit behind you. The look in his gaze was analytical, most likely of your poorly disguised relationship with his leader.

You and Takeru stayed quiet as you waited for everyone to leave the room and for the door to close behind them. The moment the latch of the door sounded, he was out of his seat and rushing toward you. You stood up just in time for him to pull you into his comforting embrace. You felt unshed tears burning your eyes but held them back with a shaky breath, gripping onto him tighter.

“I’m not happy you’re in this hellhole, but I’m glad you’re at least here,” he told you once the two of you pulled away. He sat next to you on the couch, pouring both of you a glass of bourbon and leaning back in the seat.

“When did this whole thing start?” You asked him, gesturing to the room and hotel around you.

“A few weeks after Aguni and I first arrived here. We set it up to give people hope of a better life while here.”

You paused mid-sip, turning to him with a hopeful yet fearful gleam in your eyes. “Mori's here?” You weren't sure if you were hoping you misheard him or praying you heard him right.

He nodded, smiling at the nickname you gave your uncle, and you let out a shaky breath. “We arrived in this world together. Both of us were really worried when you were late to show up that day. It didn’t help that the apocalypse happened and you still weren’t there.”

“My alarm didn’t go off,” you weakly defended yourself and he gave you a small smile.

“Well, besides that, Welcome to The Beach. It’s procedure for me to tell all newcomers the rules, so I’m just going to get that over with,” he told you and you nodded. “Rule number 1: You must always wear a swimsuit when you’re on the hotel grounds. It prevents anyone without permission from hiding weapons, specifically firearms,” he started and you nodded, marginally reluctantly but willing to get past the idea of constantly wearing a swimsuit if it meant a stable, consistent place to live. Bonus points if that place to live was with one of your uncles. Besides, you were positive you could come up with a creative way to make yourself more comfortable with the constant lack of clothing - something like a coverup would probably suffice. “Rule number 2: All cards belong to the Beach. As I’m sure you’ve noticed,” he continued and pat the pocket where the card Chishiya gave him was.

“Okay, but why?” You questioned.

He chuckled. “Well, that is a story for another day. Perhaps tomorrow I will call for you and explain more about that.”

“Sure, that sounds alright to me,” you approved before asking, “So, what’s the third rule?”

He took another sip of his bourbon before replying. “Rule number three: Death to all traitors.”

Your eyes widened, taken aback by the morbidity of his statement.

“Wait- really?” You asked, and he nodded, his face devoid of any particular emotion. “Well shit, there goes my plans of burning the place down,” you joked sarcastically and he cracked a smile at your behavior. It was clear he missed your mannerisms just as much as you missed his.

“It’s a good thing this world hasn’t taken your humor, I hoped it wouldn’t get gloomy. Also, I’m glad you took that rule well. The last recruit took the news rather… aggressively.”

You didn’t really want to know what that meant.

“Well, I’ll let you get settled in. I’ll have someone show you to your room and we can reconvene tomorrow. Tonight, you can go to the bathing suit room so you can choose one or two there. We definitely don’t have any shortages of them. Then, tomorrow in the afternoon, I will have someone come for you and I'll introduce you to the executives,” he planned. You stood up and nodded, giving him a hug and walking toward the door with him. Just before you could open the door, he stopped you with a serious look. “Oh, and… don’t tell anyone your relations with Aguni and me,” he whispered. You nodded in understanding and he smiled at you. He swung the door open and then gave a quick order to one of the guards, directing him to take you to your room. You shot a final wave at him before walking away.

You stood in front of the mirror, evaluating one of the swimsuits you chose around a half hour ago. It was a green bikini and you were just checking to see how it fit before deciding to wear it for the day. Doing a little twirl, you checked how it looked from the back before deciding it was a good choice. Slipping on the sandals you chose along with the variety of swimsuits, you exited the room now appointed as yours, and started heading for the stairs so you could join the party. It wasn’t too late according to the clock hanging in your room so you decided exploring the place you would be staying for the next… however long, wouldn’t hurt. Stopping by the bar, you ordered a simple drink, one that wouldn’t be too much like a shot, but enough for you to maybe get buzzed. You tried to ignore the many eyes of the people by the poolside watching you as you walked over and claimed an empty seat.

You weren’t alone for long as a dreadlocked girl in a blue bikini walked up and plopped herself onto the same seat as you, your knees skimming briefly before she moved hers away.

“You’re the newbie, yeah?” She questioned and you wondered how she got the information there was a newcomer so fast.

“Yeah, I arrived like 30 minutes ago,” you validated.

“I know. I saw you walk in with Chishiya and head to Hatter. I hear you’re a wiz in Hearts games. That true?” She asked.

��Hatter? Huh, so he really took my comment to heart,’ you thought to yourself before answering the girl’s question aloud. “I mean, I guess so. I’ve survived all the Heart games that I’ve done so far so I think I’m decent at them.”

She gasped and her eyes widened. “The fuck do you mean all the Heart games you’ve done? How many is that?”

You smiled sheepishly. “Well I’ve done 8 games in total, and 5 of those were Hearts games.”

She gaped at you before forcing her mouth to close and letting out a sound of disbelief. “Shit, I can’t decide if you’re the luckiest or unluckiest person to exist.”

“I’ll help. I’m very unlucky,” you joked mildly and she laughed. Holding out your hand, you introduced yourself to her with a smile that she genuinely returned.

“I’m Kuina. I’m sure we’ll be great friends.”

“I hope so,” you agreed. You got to talking about anything and everything that came up until the topic landed back on your experience with games.

“So eight games in total, huh?” She asked.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“When did you first arrive here?”

You sighed. “I’ve been here for about two and a half weeks. I spent the last week sleeping in a Plato’s Closet.”

She nodded in acknowledgment. “So you’ve done five Hearts games, right? What are the other three games you’ve done?”

“Yeah. Five,” you confirmed solemnly. “My first and second games were both Diamonds. Those, I was able to get past reasonably quickly but neither was a very high difficulty level anyway. The next three games were Heart games, the hardest of those was the Eight of Hearts that I did. Zero stars. Would not buy again,” you joked but she just looked worried. “Then the next one was a Spades game which wasn’t too bad. We had to scale the walls of a room while they were closing in on us. The rest were all Hearts. No Clubs though. I’ve heard those are about teamwork but-”

“But they’re also the easiest to get through,” you heard a voice interrupt from behind you.

“Chishiya!” Kuina exclaimed with a small smile. Turning around, you watched him as he casually strolled up with his hands in his pockets and sat down on the seat across from yours, facing the two of you.

“Kuina,” he acknowledged back with a slight nod before his eyes found yours.

“Hiya, blondie. You planning on abandoning me with another strange man?” You jested and you swore you saw his lips twitch in a smile. It was gone before you could be sure, though.

“Wait, what?” Kuina asked, glancing between you and Chishiya who held an intense staring contest.

“Hatter,” Chishiya answered for you and you saw Kuina nod out of the corner of your eye.

“Oh, that makes sense,” she understood. Chishiya’s eyes flickered away from yours to glance at Kuina and you inwardly cheered at him looking away first. It was childish, but you couldn’t help leaning back smugly as you also turned to look at Kuina. “Strange man?” She laughed and you joined in.

“Well, I wouldn’t consider a drunk man in swim trunks making out with a girl as another sat on his other side ‘normal’,” you scoffed playfully, remembering what he was doing when you first walked into the room and nudging your shoulder against hers.

“Neither would I,” she agreed.

You turned your head when Chishiya called your name, locking your eyes on him again. You were never one to shy away from eye contact so why start now.

It didn’t matter that he was as attractive as he was.

“How did it go?” He asked you monotonously, referring to the talk with Hatter.

“All things considered, I guess it went pretty well. He said he was going to call for me tomorrow and ‘introduce me to the executives,’ whoever they are,” you shrugged, taking a sip of your drink. The two shared a look, one you couldn’t decipher. You looked back and forth between them. “What?”

Kuina snapped her eyes back to you, smiling brightly. A little too brightly. “Nothin-”

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” Chishiya interrupted her and she rolled her eyes before shooting him a light-hearted glare.

“You shouldn’t interrupt people, by the way. It’s considered rude. Or maybe that’s not a custom on whatever planet you came from,” you deadpanned before casually taking another sip of your drink. Kuina let out a loud bark of a laugh before slapping her hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking from trying to hold back her laughs. You tried to suppress the grin that threatened to overtake your face but it proved futile. Instead, you hid it behind the rim of your cup.

That is, until, fingers wrapped around your hand as it still held the cup and brought it above your head. Turning around in confusion, your eyes landed on the culprit. He was tall, 5’10” - 5’11” if not already 6’. The black giraffe print long-sleeve button-up shirt he wore was unbuttoned, revealing the black tank top he wore underneath. He had a piercing through his left eyebrow and over his shoulder was an assault rifle which he held proudly. It was strange, he looked oddly familiar.

He’s kind of cute.

He used the hand holding your drink, as well as your own hand, to bring it to his lips and down the rest before shooting you a smirk.

Nevermind.

Loosening your grip on the cup, it fell through your fingers and hit the ground, shattering across the concrete. Slapping his hand away from your own, you stood up and turned to face him.

“Can I help you?” You asked and crossed your arms over your chest, ignoring the worried looks Kuina was giving you.

He smirked. “Well, if you’re offering.”

His eyes roamed down to your breasts with no shame and stayed there until you reached out to slap his chin to force his head up. “I’m not,” you mocked his tone and told him condescendingly.

He let out an amused huff, sticking his tongue out to lick his lips and you noticed another piercing down the middle of it.

“You a newbie?” He asked.

“What would you do if I was?”

“Well, I’d offer to show you around the hotel. I’m sure you’d have a very nice time.”

“Now who’s offering?” You sneered at him with a tilt of your head.

“Get lost, Niragi,” Chishiya calmly told the intruder as he stood behind you.

“Yes, Niragi. Please do get lost,” you reiterated his words with a little shooing motion of your hand.

“Yes, ma’am,” he complied, walking backward as he spoke before slowly turning around and strolling away. It was then you noticed the eyes that had been locked onto your interaction for the past minute or two. Some seemed impressed while others seemed fearful. You ignored all of them in favor of sitting back down next to your new friend and the man sitting across from you. The silent atmosphere soon faded and the loud conversations of the party continued.

“You really should stay away from him. His group is… well, they’re not to be trifled with,” Kuina warned.

“Who is he?” You asked her, looking behind you at the empty space where Niragi just inhabited.

“Someone you shouldn’t mess with,” she restated seriously, slightly irking you with how vague she was being.

“He’s part of a group called the Militants. You’ll learn more about them tomorrow, too,” Chishiya once again explained where Kuina was being vague about. Although Kuina was more sociable, his bluntness was the one thing you truly appreciated about Chishiya.

“Thank you,” you said quietly. “What exactly is happening tomorrow?”

He gave you a smug smirk. “I guess you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow and find out then, Amor.”

“God, you’re such a little shit-wait… ‘Amor’?”

He didn’t say anything else, just keeping the same smug smile on his face as he stood and walked away. You ignored the heat rising to your cheeks and just thanked the fact that he walked away so you wouldn’t have to deal with him while you were so flustered. “Ignore him,” Kuina rolled her eyes from beside you. “He’s probably calling you that because of your experience with Heart games. Amor is also Eros, or Cupid, in Greek mythology. Chishiya’s a sucker for that shit.”

“Oh. Okay,” you replied, feeling annoyed at yourself for the small amount of disappointment that settled in at her words.

You scoffed in annoyance as you remembered the shattered cup on the floor, glinting and sparkling in the moonlight as it sat like tiny crystals on the concrete. “That bitch stole my drink…”

~~~

Taglist!

None yet but let me know if you want to be added!

#alice in borderland #aib #chishiya shuntaro #alice in borderland kuina #alice in borderland chishiya #alice in borderland chishiya shuntaro #shuntaro chishiya #chishiya x reader #shuntaro chishiya x reader #chishiya alice in borderland #chishiya shuntaro x reader #kuina #kuina hikari

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