Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Eight of Hearts - Part Three (Side Story)

It felt so surreal, to see the woman waltzing and twirling with a rabbit in her arms, humming a tune softly, right in front of the lion enclosure. Her behaviour was scarier than the fact that the enclosure's glass was broken.

As she was dancing about, the woman kicked something from under a bench. She stopped, tilting her body slightly to see what it was. A small wooden box was hidden under the bench and by chance, she found it. Squatting down, she held onto the rabbit in one hand and opened the box with another to reveal a vial and a note.

"Lucky!" she grinned, picking up the vial.

"I thought you said that's poison?" you asked.

Ignoring you, she picked up the note too and read it:

Congratulations! Please keep this vial safe and do not consume until the last thirty minutes. Good luck!

Putting the note back into the box, she kicked it back under the bench and walked off. Following after her, you did not understand what the woman was thinking at all, and it was both frustrating and puzzling at the same time.

What she said before still bothered you.

"They wouldn't trust anything I say, and frankly I wouldn't either. And neither should you. When it comes down to it, I will not hesitate to sacrifice you."

It was hard to believe that you were in such a place, somewhere that only existed in movies. And when characters were always portrayed as selfish and merciless, it was hard to believe that true humanity would act in the same way. The truth was, when it came down to it, humanity was as selfish as in the movies. It was a dog eat dog world and you had to come out on top.

"Attention all players, one hour and fifteen minutes have passed. I repeat, one hour and fifteen minutes have passed. If you have yet to find a vial, you better work harder!"

Although you understood the game, with each passing minute and each time announcement, you could not help but feel anxious. What if she was wrong? What if the poison was delivered to them somehow? She had a vial but you did not. Were you tricked?

Coming to the petting zoo, the woman made herself comfortable in the building where they used to keep the rabbits and guinea pigs. She stroked the rabbit gently, kissing the top of its head.

"Is this where you lived, hm?" she asked. "Did the bad man lock you up in here?"

"How long have you been in this place?" you asked, sitting a few feet from her.

"It's my second night here," she answered.

"You seem to know a lot about this place."

"I don't know much more than you do. This is Borderland, and you play games to survive. That's all I know."

It was practically nothing, prompting you to think that she was withholding crucial information.

"What's your name?"

"Chuya Kurenai."

"I'm-"

"I don't need to know," she said, interrupting you. "Nothing personal, but if you died, I wouldn't feel as bad."

How could one become so detached? Not once did it cross your mind not to ask someone for their name because you would feel bad if they died. Something in your guts was telling you that this was just the way she was, even before she arrived here in Borderland.

"There you are."

Standing by the door was a man covered in blood, holding an axe in one hand. You stood up instinctively, moving toward Kurenai but she was still sat on the floor, holding the rabbit. The man walked in, stopping about two metres away, and yet, Kurenai was unfazed.

"You are chill, aren't you?" he asked, looking down at her. "Did you find the vial? If you want to live, hand it over."

Letting out a soft sigh, Kurenai pushed herself off the floor and stood up, brushing her dress. She looked at the man, not showing a shred of emotions in her eyes.

"I said hand it over, bitch! I know you have it!"

"So what if I do? I found it."

"I'll fucking kill you! I'll kill you like I did all those others! The less of you there are, the more chance there is that I'd survive. Hand it over, bitch!"

"God, keep it down will you? Use your indoor voice, please. You're scaring the rabbit."

While you were not as clever and adept as Kurenai was in these games, you could not help but feel that she was being absolutely reckless right this moment. She found a vial not too long ago, and she deduced that it contained the poison, not the antidote. So why would she not give it up?

This man did not look like he was kidding when he said he would kill her.

Was the vial holding an antidote after all?

"I said hand it over!"

"Hand this over?" Kurenai held the small vial between her thumb and index finger, and the man's eyes widened. "Are you sure you want it?"

"Give it!"

Holding the vial toward him, as he approached, Kurenai suddenly threw the vial to the side. Desperate, the man jumped in the same direction, catching the vial. By that time, however, Kurenai pulled out the dagger she took earlier in the game and strapped to her ankle. She jabbed the dagger in his knee and he screamed out in pain.

It was never part of her intention to hurt people in these games, though she would not hesitate if it was to protect herself.

As the man waved his axe about, Kurenai clutched tightly onto the rabbit and made her way around him. She was about to leave when she saw you staring in horror. The man was incapacitated for now, but it would not be long before he overcame the pain and came for you.

For a split second, she thought of being selfish. Better you than her.

Against her better judgement, she grabbed you by the arm and pulled you out of the building, running as far away as possible.

When you finally stopped running, you were both out of breath and Kurenai sat on a bench nearby, trying to catch her breath. She looked down at the rabbit with a little frown, stroking it gently and whispered softly in its ear.

"You stabbed...you stabbed him."

"I had to," she said. "It was just a jab to the knee, he wouldn't die from that."

"You took me with you."

Kurenai was quick to look away when your eyes met, not saying a word but instead, continued talking to the rabbit. All this time, she talked about this being a Hearts game, and how one would have to be selfish and know how to toy with other people to survive. The fact that she grabbed you back at the petting zoo, however, was telling another story.

As much as she would like to be completely heartless, Kurenai could not bring herself to do it. She saved you this time, but you might not do the same. Although both were Hearts games, this was different to the one she played last night. This, they could survive together.

"Time's up! Congratulations to all players still alive, it's game clear for you!"

"Oh, it's time to say goodbye," Kurenai pouted, kissing the rabbit's head. "It's been nice having you around, but off you go!"

Somehow, you felt like those words were meant for you.

"If we have to keep playing these games, maybe it's a better idea if we stick together," you suggested.

"No thank you," she smiled. "I'm better alone. And so will you."

"Wait!"

"Maybe if you stay alive, we'll meet again."