The Human Heart [COMPLETED]

Bold Moves

What makes the Borderland's games so interesting is that they are unpredictable. One doesn't know what type of game it is, what difficulty, or how many survivors are possible until one enters the game area. And once the line is crossed, there is no turning back.

That's exactly the kind of tension Chishiya looks forward every time his visa is running out. Will the players work together, or will they slaughter each other? Will there be betrayal and force, or will reasoning and logical thought be required?

Not even the location can be predicted, and here lays another benefit of the Beach. Since scouts are scattered all over Tokyo, new games will quickly be called out and with the Beach's cars, it is easy to get there. If only it didn't mean that he had to be so close to those idiots every time.

Chishiya sighs in annoyance as he nears the car he has been assigned to. It's already overfilled, the stench of alcohol and sweat greeting him the moment he opens the door. And on top of that, the only free space is next to that weird woman who tried to talk to him some mornings earlier.

While he squeezes inside and closes the door, she widens her eyes in surprise as if she didn't recognize him earlier. Chishiya waves despite the missing space, and her reactions almost amuse him. She is like a puppy again, breathing heavily as she can barely hide her excitement to see him. Her smile feels forced, and it quickly disappears as the drunkard next to her bumps into her. Whatever she sees in Chishiya, it can't be healthy for her. Not that he would care about the wellbeing of some pathetic woman.

As the driver starts the car's engine, Chishiya turns his attention towards the world outside of the car's window after plugging in the buds of his ear phones. Since his arrival at the Beach, he doesn't have to charge the iPod inside the game areas anymore, and he doesn't have to worry that the battery won't last until the next game. But in a crowded car like this, even the music barely manages to hide the noise.

His hands move into the pockets of his hoodie almost on their own, and Chishiya watches the abandoned and dark buildings pass by as the car jolts through the streets. Casually, he feels his seatmate's head bump into his shoulder now and then because of the driver's rough style, but he barely cares.

After a while, the casual weight on his shoulder increases and won't go away anymore. Chishiya looks down, surprised to see that this stubborn woman has rested her head on his shoulder. It comes unexpected that she actually made such a bold move. What is she thinking? That if he won't give her attention, she will just force him to?

Her widened eyes examine him with anticipation, as if she fears to be chased away immediately. Which is exactly what Chishiya should have done, but for some reason, he allows it tacitly. The extra weight doesn't bother him, and maybe this lost puppy still has potential to turn into a useful puppet one day.

Chishiya's eyes turn to the window once more, but he does realize the way her breath is fastening and how her body slightly trembles against his. She is obviously so nervous that he lets her do this, and Chishiya is sure that she would have to fight with her tears again if he told her to stop.

Most humans are just so predictable, and this one doesn't even try to hide her thoughts. He can even feel her face twitch, but whatever is disturbing her, she doesn't stir. She'd rather accept the disturbance than moving away from him, and that's another point in humans that Chishiya just can't understand.

But he quickly pushes those thoughts back to his mind and loses himself in the rhythm of his music and the sight of the nightly city. It's quite a long drive, and Chishiya just hopes the game will be worth it. He could use some proper intellectual challenge, thus Diamonds would be gr-

A sudden touch on his hand causes him to tense, and he glares down into a pair of surprised eyes, as if she didn't realize herself her hand had tried to hold his until they actually touched. She quickly retreats before he can do anything, but Chishiya isn't even sure if he would have reacted in the first place.