Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

King of Hearts - Part One

Walking on the streets of Tokyo did not feel the same as before.

Before Borderland, it was just life. People passed people, but one would not necessarily slow down for another. Arriving at Borderland, they walked around in search of life, of a way out. Now, entering this so-called 'second stage', it seemed like everyone was moving with more caution. No one knew what to expect anymore.

With a backpack each, they had enough supplies that could last each of them several days. These games were spread all over Tokyo, it seemed a little impractical to be coming back to Kurenai's apartment and heading out everyday. Not to mention, they had no idea what these games entailed. The normal card games they had been playing would never last longer than a night, but these were face card games.

Kurenai looked up at the blimps every so often, trying to think of what games they could be. Would it be possible for her to clear a game with Chishiya? Would it be smart of them to participate in games together or go their separate ways? With their intellect, there would not be a single game they could not clear together, but if the rules only allowed one to live, they would be in quite a conundrum.

Then, Kurenai noticed something odd.

She stopped suddenly, tugging on Chishiya's hand and pointed at a certain blimp some distance away.

"That one's moving," she said. "King of Spades."

Looking up, Chishiya frowned a little. It certainly was not there a minute ago, and ever so slightly, he could see it moving in another direction.

"We'll keep an eye on it."

Another fifteen minutes of walking, it was almost noon and they were standing underneath the King of Hearts' blimp. Kurenai strained her neck, looking at the giant blimp overhead. What was the significance of the church?

Unlike the card games, they were told what suit and level of difficulty each game was. Like the card games, however, they were not given much else. The only other piece of information was a piece of paper taped on the church door with the following written:

ENTRY LIMIT

ONE PERSON ONLY

It was as if it were fate.

Even if they wanted to participate in the game together, they could not.

Chishiya looked at Kurenai, trying to read what was on her mind. She had her eyes set on something in the distance though she looked away before Chishiya could see what it was. "Go on," she smiled. "I'll be alright on my own."

In all honesty, Chishiya was a little reluctant to go.

Though, there was nothing he could do when the game only allowed one person per entry.

He took a step closer to her, holding her face in his hands and leaned in for a kiss. It lasted longer than their usual kisses, and when he pulled away, he was still unwilling to separate. How astonishing it was, that there would come a day when Chishiya was unwilling to part with someone.

Kurenai closed her eyes, leaning her cheek into his palm. She did not want him to go either, because once they separated, there was no telling when they would meet again.

"Stay alive."

Both of them spoke at the same time, and they ended up smiling at each other.

"Stay alive," Kurenai repeated, holding his hand. "And we'll meet back here."

Pulling her into his arms, Chishiya held her tightly with her head against his chest. And for the next five minutes, they stood outside the church in each other's arms, neither of them willing to let the other go.

When they finally parted, however, Chishiya went on his way to his game while Kurenai focused her mind on the game in front of her.

King of Hearts, by deduction, should be the hardest Hearts game of all. Though, to Kurenai, it was just another game she had to beat and clear. She cleared plenty of games prior, even ones that she thought she was not coming out alive of. She just had to keep a clear and calm mind.

By the time noon came around, Kurenai was still the only player outside the church door. Then again, who was insane enough like her to be challenging a King first thing? And a Hearts game of all.

Hand on the door handle, Kurenai took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping through. She closed the door behind her, taking another step in. The church was quiet, eerily so. The pews were empty, and somehow, it was quite dark despite being the afternoon. At the altar was where the game was set up, with a big screen at the back.

A man was sitting at one end of the altar, and he looked in her direction when he heard her walking down the aisle. He smiled instantly, following Kurenai with his eyes until she sat down on the other end.

"Welcome, Kurenai," he smiled. "If you don't mind, there are some instructions in front of you. Please follow them and put on the equipment."

She gave the instructions a read through, putting on the equipment as instructed. She had seen this before, it was a polygraph. Essentially, her blood pressure, pulse, etc. were being measured for indications of a lie. Though, the accuracy of such tests was still up for debate; Kurenai leaned toward inaccuracy herself.

"How do you know my name?" Kurenai asked.

"I know everybody's name here," the man smiled. "But it is unfair that you don't know my name when I know yours. It's a pleasure meeting you, I am Ito Akihiro."

"Ito Akihiro?" she frowned. "That sounds very familiar."

"Let's begin with the rules, shall we?"

GAME - LIAR LIAR

RULES

- PLAYERS WILL SIMPLY CONVERSE

- PLAYERS ARE ALLOWED TO TELL LIES

- AT ANY POINT IF ONE PLAYER THINKS THE OTHER IS LYING, THEY ARE ALLOWED TO CATCH THEM

- IF CAUGHT IN A LIE, PLAYER WILL RECEIVE -1 POINT AND PUNISHMENT

- IF THE PLAYER WAS TELLING THE TRUTH, THE OTHER PLAYER WILL RECEIVE -1 POINT AND PUNISHMENT

TIME LIMIT

- NONE

GAME OVER CONDITION

- PLAYER REACHED -10 POINTS

GAME CLEAR CONDITION

- GET THE OTHER PLAYER TO -10 POINTS

GAME START