Alice In Borderland: Riptide

EPISODE NINE: CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT

The pair of them land hard on the polished concrete floor, Niragi's head bouncing off of the surface.

"Fuck!" He exclaims, tenderly touching the rising goose egg before glaring at the offending woman on top of him. She smirks, flipping her hair.

"You took too long. I got tired." She shrugs, gracefully bouncing to a standing position and offering him a hand up, which he accepts with bad grace.

"Fine," he says, gesturing toward the door with his chin. "So go. Wait—" he stops her before she quite turns to leave. "Any idea where Aijin could be hiding?"

"None." Kuina responds, crossing her arms and tapping her chin with one long finger. "Although, if they're smart, they'll wait until time runs out. Then they win, and they get the prize."

"Tch-ahh," he says, flicking his own fingers at her. "Go on. Get out of here. I'm gonna win this."

Kuina shrugs and takes off.

Niragi presses his lips together, an intensely thoughtful look encroaching on his face like a storm cloud.

"Where could they be?" He wonders aloud—then he sees Takuma passing in the corridor. He quickly runs to question him.

"Hey—you seen the boss?"

"Not since the bonfire," Takuma shakes his head.

"Hmm. Okay then."

Takuma glances at Niragi uncertainly but carries on down the hall.

Over the next hour, Niragi checks every single public space he can think of where Aijin could have gone—there's no sign of them anywhere.

He finally ends up in front of their door, looking perplexed and dejected. He runs a hand through. his hair and sighs heavily. "Where the fuck could they be?" He turns to lean his back against the wall beside the door and taps his head repeatedly against the plaster, frustrated.

He sniffs, sighs again, and reaches for the knob, opening the door and stepping in.

"Where's the boss?" Karube asks. "Um—Aijin, I mean."

"Wait, you didn't find them?" Chishiya queries, forehead wrinkling in concern. Niragi shakes his head, plopping down into the chair and looking up at the other three, who are all stretched out on the massive bed, propped up on a pile of pillows between them and the headboard. They are all sharing a manga between them, held by Kuina sitting in the middle to pass the time.

The second bed, Niragi's bed, is empty except for extra pillows and a few manga and other books which were obviously decided unsuitable for consumption.

"Aren't you getting worried you'll lose?" Kuina asks nonchalantly, flipping a page. Karube and Chishiya are staring at Niragi. "I mean, it's nearly midnight. If you can't find them, Aijiin wins."

Niragi huffs and slouches in the chair, pouting.

Chishiya suddenly looks thoughtful, his gaze drifting to the ceiling as he crosses his arms, then his legs at the ankles. "Y'know," he says quietly, "be a real shame if you lost when they were in plain sigh the entire time. Hmm. I wonder where they could be?"

"If they were in plain sight I'd've found them. Puh. Brat." Niragi finishes under his breath. Chishiya merely smirks, still gazing at the ceiling.

"Shame," he says. "Such big talk, so little action..."

"Shut up, punk," Kuina tells him calmly, flipping another page. Chishiya side-eyes her, and she elbows him in the ribs. He grabs his side dramatically—and the alarm on Kuina's phone sounds. It's officially midnight.