Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Stolen - Part Three

"How are things on your side, Kuina?"

"Aguni is still in his room. I'm so bored now."

"Then shall we proceed with our plan? Honestly I don't know if Arisu is clever or stupid. There's no way the cards would be kept in an ordinary safe."

Kuina sighed softly, listening to Chishiya. Honestly, she did not know where the cards would be kept either. When Arisu was busted, Kuina was just as shocked as everyone else. Then again, this was Chishiya they were dealing with. There was always more to his plan, it was just a matter of who fell victim to him.

"So this is what you used Arisu for?"

"To gain something, you need to lose something. He's just a sacrifice. Things like this happen all the time, don't they?"

"No, they don't. I really don't want to be your enemy."

"I get that a lot."

"What about Kurenai? You could have at least told her your real plan. She's locked herself in her room now, she won't even open the door for me."

Chishiya went silent at the mention of Kurenai.

He thought she would understand. Of all people, should she not be the one who would understand him? In all honesty, it hurt a little to see the hurt in her eyes when she realised what he had done. But he had to do what had to be done.

Taking the painting down, Chishiya punched in the code to the safe. It opened, revealing a wooden box inside holding all the cards they had collected so far. Chishiya opened the box and took all the cards out, inspecting them before putting them into his hoodie.

"Poor Arisu."

The sudden voice startled him, and Chishiya turned to see Kurenai walking out of the dark corner. She had been waiting for the past hour. When she finally calmed down, there was only one question in her mind that she needed an answer to. And she knew Chishiya would be coming back here. His objective was never to gain Aguni's trust by betraying Arisu, it was always to leave this place.

"Don't tell me you've really fallen for him?"

"You're an asshole."

"Didn't you know that already?"

"Don't get me wrong, I always knew you're an asshole," Kurenai said, standing just a few feet from him. "But I admired you for it. Now, you're just an asshole like anybody else. Like Hatter, Niragi, and my father. We're nothing but marionettes to you. We move when you tell us to, and you cut our strings and let us fall when you're done."

"You of all people should know that to survive, sometimes we have to sacrifice those around us."

"Again, don't get me wrong. I don't care about Arisu because I would have done the same. Probably. What I care about, and I'm here for, is who would it have been if Arisu did not come to the Beach?" Kurenai asked. "Kuina? Or me?"

This plan of his, there was bound to be someone sacrificed.

There was no way they would have been able to find the safe casually, Chishiya knew that from the moment he thought of the plan. While he and Kuina did not have any prior relationship, she was a good partner to keep around. That was why they waited. For the perfect opportunity, and the perfect sacrifice.

If he were to be honest, he thought of all scenarios. He thought of sacrificing Kuina, letting her take the fall. It would not be hard though he would lose an important ally who could be useful in future games. He thought of sacrificing Kurenai too, though that thought did not last long. First of all, she was smart. If there was anyone who would figure out his plan, it would be her. More importantly, however, he could not bring himself to put her in that position.

"So are you here to stop me?" Chishiya asked.

"No...go. This is your way of survival. I'll find my own way."

She did not have the will, nor the energy to fight him for an answer. Because deep down, she knew the answer. It did not matter whether it was Arisu, or Kuina, or her. To Chishiya, they were nothing more than pawns he could sacrifice whenever he liked. The answer was always there, because it was the same answer her father would give her.

Because he can.

Her response was not one Chishiya anticipated. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or at least that was what he thought.

He walked up to her, reaching out with one hand and touched her cheek, wiping away the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. Kurenai had been trying to hold them in but she could no longer control herself. And it hurt Chishiya to see her like this. Why did it hurt so much to see her crying like this?

"Let's survive together."

"You liar..." she whispered. "You liar..."

They were running out of time, they had to get out of here.

Reaching into his pocket, Chishiya pulled out a card. This was the only way he could think of to gain her trust. He held her hand, handing the card over, and Kurenai looked down to see.

Nine of Hearts.

Of all the cards collected here at the Beach, he gave her the nine of Hearts. It was originally her card. Her very first game here in Borderland. It was one of the cards responsible for her promotion to executive member when she first joined the Beach. But most importantly, it was the only nine of Hearts they had in the deck.

"We have to go now."

Coming to the back exit of the hotel, Kuina was already waiting for them there. She was a little surprised to see Kurenai with Chishiya, a little more than surprised to see them holding hands. Did they make up? Did they finally admit their feelings for each other?

"Time to say goodbye to this too," Chishiya smirked, taking the key off his wrist, and Kurenai's too.

"Don't you feel bad for him? Arisu, I mean," Kuina said, stopping Chishiya in his tracks. "I feel really sorry for him."

"Is there anything we can't do in order to survive?"

Kuina never expected Chishiya to understand. He was never the type to care much about others. She was just lucky he did not decide to put her in Arisu's position. Kurenai, on the other hand, her reaction was one that threw Kuina off. She always acted cold-hearted like Chishiya, but Kuina knew deep down that Kurenai was a good person. While she was known to be unfazed by deaths in her game, she always played her games to make sure they survived with as many players as possible. Was she not at all bothered by what Chishiya did to Arisu?

It was then that Kuina realised, to both Chishiya and Kurenai, no one else mattered. They were in their own world, one where there were only two of them.

"If you're so worried, then you should help him, Kuina," Chishiya smiled.

Turning to leave, Kurenai suddenly grabbed Chishiya's arm to stop him from going any further. She had a gut feeling, one that did not sit right with her. Something was telling her not to take another step forward.

"Something's wrong, very wrong."

"Don't tell me..."

Throwing the key in his hand, a frown settled on their faces as they looked at the key on the floor on the other side of the exit. It had a hole right in the middle.

The Beach was now a game arena.