human nature [niragi] DISCONTINUED

Chapter 7

You thanked God as you survived the remainder of the drive without having a heart attack. You swore that you were going to absolutely throttle him for his actions when you got back to The Beach, but for now you needed to focus on the game at hand.

Phones rang out to announce the rules.
"Game: Beast Hunter. Using this scoreboard as a reference, please cooperate and defeat the beasts in the area together."
You looked at said scoreboard and there were varying amounts of points depending on which animals you killed. Hunting the biggest ones, which were worth the most points, didn't even seem like a challenge to you, considering all the militants had weapons with them. You could tell that you would be the only ones scoring any actual points in this game. Meanwhile, those who had arrived empty-handed looked rather nervous and vulnerable. Who could blame them, they weren't exactly in a great position to fight tigers or such.

"Game start."
And so it began. You all scattered from the registration area and wandered off around the fun fair. Since the last game, you felt more confident that you could handle things yourself so you headed off on your own. You never doubted your skills but you didn't want to mess up in your first game since joining The Beach. In other words, you didn't want Niragi to be right. However, this time was different. You were certain that you would be fine.

You found the first few minutes to be fairly uneventful, having only found a couple of creatures. Of course, though, you still had those few dead in seconds.
After some more patrolling, you came across some unarmed players hiding from a tiger on a carousel. Being a militant, they were just as frightened of you as you strolled up to the ride but they were thankful for your saving them as you shot the beast down with your MP5. Some of them flinched or were visibly unsettled at the sight of killing an animal but you left just as soon as you arrived, rather emotionless about the matter. This was nothing new to you and you had therefore become accustomed to this life of blood and gore.

Shortly after, you found yourself approaching a swinging boat ride. Maniacal laughter and gunshots could be heard from aboard it and you knew there was only one person that could be. You slow-clapped as he hopped off the ride swiftly and approached you.
"A one-point crow. How impressive." You stated sarcastically.
"Probably still better than what you've caught." He snorted.
"Oh really? Then what about the 80-point tiger I just killed for a bunch of the useless ones?" That comment wiped the smirk off his face and was replaced with a look of genuine surprise.
"Really?"
"Really. I thought I already proved that I could take care of myself."
"So you did. Now milady, please lead the way and save me from these awfully terrifying beasts before I am overcome with fear." He put on a mocking voice and bowed to you.
"Alright, alright, no need to milk it."
And with that, you both explored the rest of the fair together, shooting down each animal you found and racking up a considerable amount of points. You thought you actually made a pretty good team and, you hated to admit it, but it was unexpectedly fun playing a game with him.

At the end of the game, you got back to one of the cars and it seemed the only ones who didn't make it were a few ordinary members. That wasn't exactly surprising since they were defenceless in a game against tigers and panthers. Their passing did leave room in the car though, so you wouldn't have to risk heart failure again due to a certain someone.

When you returned from the game, a massive party was occurring at the pool per usual, but it seemed Niragi was not in the mood for it, as he had something to say about the high-volume dance music playing.
"Hey, stop playing that tacky music."
His voice made the party go silent instantly and everyone looked afraid as all of the militants walked in, wielding their guns and weapons. Everyone cleared a path for you all, too intimidated to even speak as your group came through.

Aguni stopped in front of two girls and a thin man sat on loungers at the edge of the pool. The girl in the pink hoodie and the man were definitely new members. You realised that the two of them were at the game of tag. Aguni must have recognised them too because he started speaking to them.
"What happened to your pal?"
The man gave him a sad glance that said it all. You were surprised because after seeing the other one fight in the other game, he seemed quite tough.
"I see. He died. What a shame." Aguni spoke the words you were already thinking. They must have stung to hear out loud for the man sat in front of you, but seeing as you didn't know him, you couldn't really care less. This world had turned you heartless, and being a militant only hardened that.
"So only the small fish survived." Aguni was really rubbing salt into the wound.

After a period of awkward, deadly glances, he looked to Niragi and spoke again.
"You, bring that woman over."
Niragi complied and went to grab the girl in the pink jumper. This angered the man beside her and he jumped up to shout before being pulled back by Kuina, the other member sat with them.
"Aww, look at him protecting his girlfriend. Maybe we should teach him where the authority lies around here." You snickered and rolled your eyes. Your own words made you realise you had definitely been spending too much time with these cold-hearted lunatics.
"Our boss says he wants to have a taste of you. Come." Niragi spoke to the woman and grabbed her arm again. And once again, the man got in the way and pushed his hand off her.
"Stop it." He sounded like he was trying to be aggressive but it just came out sounding a little pathetic.
"What should we do about this kid?" Niragi looked over to Aguni.
"Break his legs so that he'll die in the next game." He deadpanned.
"Alright. Y/N! Bring the woman to him. You, come with me." You were called before he turned and grabbed the scrawny man beside him and started walking away.

"Stand up." You pulled the girl from her seat and followed. The man resisted again and turned to stand in your path.
"Eh?" You squared up to him. He looked down, clearly too scared to take up this fight he keeps trying to start.
Niragi observed, amused that he's even startled by you. His fun was cut short though, and he rolled his eyes as a voice called out from within the crowd.

"Is this a fight?"
Hatter emerged and stood with an air of authority.
"Back off, Hatter. This doesn't concern you." Aguni spoke.
"I can't do that. As the Number One, I'm obliged to maintain order at The Beach. Could you let off the newcomers on my account, Aguni?"
Everyone just watched intently at the intense exchange between them. Then, Hatter turned his attention to you and Niragi stood close behind.
"Niragi."
"I only take orders from the boss." He looked away in dismissal. You knew his careless attitude wouldn't get him anywhere with Hatter but you would probably act the same at that point so you just grunted, humoured by his childishness.
"Then let me ask your boss." Hatter went back to Aguni.
"Who is your boss, Aguni?" His words were slow and emphasised his control over us.
"It's you, right?" Aguni held tense eye contact with him as he responded to the question.

After their hard glaring, Hatter was the one to break first.
"Go take a shower." He moved to let the militants past.
"All executive members are to gather in the meeting room! From now on, that includes you, Y/N." He announced as you all strode away.

A/N

I didn't have time to write yesterday because I was doing stuff for my sister's birthday but I hope this longer chapter kind of makes up for it. Sorry, there isn't much advancement with Niragi and Y/N here but I do need to focus on the actual plot sometimes😌

And thank you so much for 4k reads! It was only in the chapter before last that I was thanking you for 1k! I don't always have time to reply to them, but I do read your comments and they always make me smile :)