The End of the World As We Know It

For this game, you will need to pick a partner.

Those words would ring in the ears of many for a very, very long time.

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Sounds easy enough, I've still got Bokuto, thought Kuroo. He sat for a second, thinking over this notion. Yea, it'll be fine.

"Hey Kou, be my partner."

"That's what I was thinking too." Bokuto smiles and motions his partner to shake his hand. Kuroo follows.

"This is gonna be great bro. I'm sure this game will be a breeze." Kuroo may seem nonchalant, but he's trying to keep calm for Bokuto. He has no idea what this game entails and if it's half as hard as the last three, it's gonna be scary as hell. But he must keep his composure, not only for himself, but for Kou. Kou, it, all of this, is for him.

Man, Kuroo seems pretty chill, I'm scared as hell though. Bokuto sighs.

"You have 30 seconds left to choose a partner!" chimed a guard who was sported in a pink suit with a circle mask on.

Kuroo and Bokuto sat together in a corner waiting. For what, they had no idea.

The guards silence everyone with a gunshot. "Time is up."

Kuroo grabbed Bokuto's shoulder, "It's gonna be fine. We are gonna be fine."

"Yep." Bokuto felt sick.

We are gonna be fine, right?

"All players please line up, the game is about to commence. Good luck all."

All remaining players, which isn't many, are led into a large room that is seemingly decorated like a typical neighborhood. It's adorned with small houses, shops, and alleyways. The room oddly feels like home.

Bokuto and Kuroo are both given a small velvet bag. Bokuto opens his out of curiosity.

"There's 10 in here."

"Hmm, I've got 10 too," remarks Kuroo, "Maybe we're playing Geseulchigi?"

"Or it could just be Odds and Evens," Bokuto chimes back, "We used to play that all the time as kids."

Kuroo smiles, reminiscing on their childhood together, "I miss those days Kou, we were so innocent."

"Yea now look at you, you big hunk of man," Bokuto chokes out in between chuckles.

"Oh shut up, you're bigger than me asshole."

The pair laughs for a while. Then the guards speak again.

"You will be playing any game of your choosing with your bag of marbles. The winner will advance. The loser..." Silence wipes over the room. Kuroo's eyes become bloodshot and Bokuto looks at the ground and clears his throat. The guard speaks again, "...the loser will be promptly eliminated."

The harsh words rang in the ears of the pair for a while. Possibly too long. Neither of them were thinking. They were frozen in time. What were they to do? One of them was going to die after all.

Finally, the silence is broken.

Bokuto's lips part. He manages to choke out five words. "What game should we play?" Kuroo stares blankly at Bokuto. Although Kuroo's mind was full of thoughts, he couldn't seem to convey a single one to his best friend. He only manages to look at the fake cobblestone floor. One of us is going to die? Well, it has to be me, Kou has a family. Akaashi, Sekai, Hoshi... they need him. But my family. Kenma won't be able to take care of himself. I feel sick.