Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Interval - Part Three

Wrapped in a blanket and curled up in a corner of the sofa, Kurenai had a calendar on her lap with a pen in one hand. The sun was starting to set, only about half of it visible above the horizon and her apartment was getting darker by the second.

It had been almost three days since the ten of Hearts game though something did not sit right with Kurenai.

She had been observing for the last two nights, sitting on her sofa and facing the window. Ever since they cleared the witch hunt, the lasers had not appeared. That meant for two nights straight, no one died from visa expiration. As sinister as it sounded, Kurenai did not believe that every player in Borderland managed to extend their visas.

Tapping her pen on the calendar, Kurenai was deep in thought. Both Chishiya and she had more than enough days on their visas that they could afford not to play a game for a while. However, it seemed a little pointless playing games with repeated cards when they had cleared all the number cards. If the face cards never emerged, they would still be stuck in Borderland.

Closing her eyes and leaning back on the sofa's arms, Kurenai let out a loud sigh. She never thought she would miss the real world when all she did was hated every second of it living there. She missed coming home to the aroma of Ayako's cooking. She missed opening the door and seeing her brother standing there. She missed the movie nights they would have, curling up on the sofa together.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Opening her eyes, Kurenai was staring right into Chishiya's eyes.

Just seeing his face was enough to put a smile on hers. She pushed herself up a little and Chishiya leaned down to meet her lips halfway.

"Where did you go?" she asked, following Chishiya with her eyes as he walked around and sat down next to her. "Looking for a new sugar mama?"

Chishiya flicked her on the forehead, smiling a little. "Just went to do a little investigating. I'm sure you noticed too, but the lasers did not come down the last two nights." Kurenai nodded, staring out the window. "I've asked around some players, apparently all games have been suspended. So have our visas."

"Suspended?"

"Apparently so. At the game venues, they mentioned something about the next stage, and that they are undergoing some preparations."

"Preparations? Face cards?"

Just as she said so, fireworks exploded in the sky, lighting up her dark apartment. Her TV suddenly turned on by itself and they were looking at each other, both confused and a little scared of what was going on.

"We will be broadcasting a live emergency press conference." Appearing on the screen was a woman with four dark figures sitting behind her. "Representing the citizens of Borderland, four of them have arrived at our studio. King of Diamonds, would you please greet the audience?"

"Congratulations, players. You have set the precedence for the fastest clear of the card games. To express our praises and honour for your achievement, you have fortunately gained insight about our existence. However, as before, the purpose and meaning of the games here in Borderland is not something I can tell you. You have no right to know, regardless of my obligations. Nor can you demand it. That concludes my announcement."

"Oh hi! This is the King of Clubs! Oh gosh...what should I say? I even prepared for this, ha! Oh right, I remember. The confrontation between players and dealers is now over. You who have won, now get to proceed to the final showdown! Let's do our best to finish with no regrets!"

"Next up is the King of Spades."

"This is necessary to eliminate all regrets. Those who seek self interest, birthed regret from their agony and remorse."

Kurenai took her attention from the TV and looked at Chishiya. This was a lot more different than what she originally had in mind.

She knew there had to be someone behind the games, a mastermind. With the existence of dealers revealed, it confirmed her theory. Though, she was not expecting to see four people, each representing the four suits. It seemed like these face card games would be completely different to the ones they had been playing so far.

Honestly, it was not sitting well with her.

Reaching her hand out, she gripped onto Chishiya's hand tightly.

"Last but not least, we have the Queen of Hearts."

"Perhaps many of you expected more. Are you thinking there should be something more vital that we could tell you? All those burning questions like 'Why do I have to play these games?', 'Why did I, of all people, have to suffer?'. Stop living in search of the answer. You'll feel better if you just resign to thinking it's misfortune. But, if you should press me for a response, it's because we are all sick. It's about time you stop seeking for an answer. As it implies, these are simply just games. Games are things to enjoy. So? Are you having fun?"

"And finally, regarding the next stage. The games will begin at noon tomorrow. This concludes our live emergency conference."

Just as abruptly as it began, the broadcast stopped and the TV turned itself off. Despite so, Kurenai was still staring at the black screen. Clearly, the little wheels in her mind were turning.

"Don't you think the Queen of Hearts was a little familiar?" she asked.

"Hm? Really? I thought the King of Diamonds was rather familiar," Chishiya commented. "Either way, this is getting interesting."

--

Early in the morning, Kurenai found herself standing by the window.

She could not sleep, thinking about the next stage the entire time. She watched as blimps carrying banners showing the different cards began appearing all over Tokyo. Already, a few of the blimps caught her eyes. The games she wanted to clear.

The Diamonds games were intriguing, though Kurenai felt that Chishiya would be more suited for those games. She had her eyes set on the Hearts games. The supposedly hardest games of all. Kurenai always liked a challenge, though she enjoyed proving someone wrong even more.

"You're up early,"

"Couldn't sleep," Kurenai sighed softly, not taking her eyes off the blimps. So far, she had spotted about six. "Come see."

Joining her at the window, Chishiya smiled. He was enjoying this a little too much. "Which one do you have your eyes on?" he asked. He already knew which games he was going to clear, though he doubted Kurenai would have the same ones on his mind.

Poking her finger on the window, Kurenai was pointing at a specific blimp.

King of Hearts.

Of course, out of all the face cards, she would choose the King of Hearts.

"Aiming high, aren't we?" he smirked.

"Please, you're the same," she said. "You're going to the King of Diamonds, aren't you?"

"I'm not as ambitious as you," he shrugged. "I'd like to try the Jack of Diamonds first. Work my way up."