Alice in Borderland

Chapter 61 - Expiring visa

Chishiya's view

The discussion of the leadership rules is finally over and I head for Sayuuri's room again. When I left earlier, she was still asleep and I didn't want to wake her up after such a day. I look around inconspicuously to see if anyone is watching me, and when I spot the Hatter's number two, I stop and wave at him provocatively. He looks at me with narrowed eyes for a moment, but then he starts moving and walks in the direction of his room. His obsessive behavior lately shows me that he doesn't underestimate me as easily as he did in the beginning. It amuses me, but in order for my plan and Kuina's to work, I should hold back a bit in the near future.

I make sure one last time that no one is watching me and then go into the room. The light is off and I notice from Sayuuri's shallow breathing that she is still asleep. I sit down on the chair next to the bed and grab the black rubber ball on the nightstand. I turn it in my hand and look at it more closely. I still don't understand why she is attached to such a small, insignificant thing. On the way back, she even put up with beatings from the crazy man just so he wouldn't break it. But I understand that this little thing is important to her, and I like the idea that I gave her the black ball.

"What time is it?" suddenly comes Sayuuri's sleepy voice and I look from the ball into her eyes.

"Twenty-two thirty," I reply, putting the black ball back on the nightstand next to me. She sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes before stretching slightly and wincing. Every time she wakes up she seems to forget that she's only hurting herself with this but she just doesn't learn from it. "We should change the bandage"

She just nods and flaps the blanket back to get up. I run to the table by the window and grab some disinfectant and new bandages. I disinfect my hands and out of the corner of my eye I can see Sayuuri slowly peeling off the adhesive strips. When I see the wound, which has been sewn up several times, I slightly furrow my eyebrows. The injury is not fatal but I don't want to imagine the pain she must be in. As I renew the bandage, my thoughts briefly go back to the moment when we were in the hospital. My hands were full of her blood and I don't remember ever freezing over anything like I did at that moment.

"You were at a meeting, weren't you?" she states and I just nod in confirmation, "What about the man from the hospital?"

"He's still alive. They locked him in room 475 and are waiting for his visa to expire," I say truthfully and she slightly screws up her face. Even if I had wanted to stop it, he would have died right in the next game. It was easy for me to stay out of the discussion and after what happened in the hospital I realized that I have never been so indifferent to a death as his.

"His visa expires today, doesn't it?"

Again, I just nod in affirmation. The military squad couldn't get a sensible word out of him but I can't imagine he participated in a game. I guess he's only been in Borderland since today which has aggravated his psychosis and that's why he went after Sayuuri. When I finish and put the things away again, she suddenly takes my wrist. She seems wide awake and I look at her a little puzzled as she pulls me with her.

"That room is the other way," I remark, but she seems to know exactly where she wants to go. I follow her through the restaurant into the kitchen and stop a little staggered behind her.

"Katsu?" she calls, and like a mangy dog he comes running right away. I put my hands in my vest pocket and can't stop them from clenching slightly into fists. I just can't stand the man and I don't understand why she even bothers with him.

"Sayuuri, I heard about what happened. Are you okay now?"

"Yeah yeah," she just waves it off and I snort with a grin at her reaction, "Is there anything left to eat, maybe spaghetti bolognese or something?"