All For A Few Cards ➺ Alice in Borderland

episode 13 || tear stains from an unpreturbed girl

I stumped back into the hotel, limping. My face was stained with tears. I wasn't crying because others died there. I was crying because I was forced to stay in Sakura's dorm.

Her scent was everywhere. Her handwriting on paper, her photos, her clothes. Everything she owed was in that small room. And I was forced to burn it all.

The game was a scavenger hunt. The objects we needed to find were fireproof, so we had to burn down the entire school campus in order to clear the game in less than thirty minutes. The school was big.

I was overthinking everything, which i never do. If I had to be honest, I didn't want to clear the game. I didn't want to make it out alive. I was sick of this place. I was sick of living. I wanted to die so everything would be over. All the pain. All the guilt.

I burned a part of my hand during the procedure. I didn't feel anything. We cleared the game with four minutes left on the clock. I didn't help much. I didn't get the card. I didn't care.

All my good memories with Sakura were held in that school. All our photos. I held onto the printed photo of us. It was tight inside my fist in a little ball the entire game. I wasn't losing it. I had lost everything already. I'm not losing this too.

I limped up the stairs to my room. People were just about finishing their games now. They were headed down to the club to celebrate surviving. I unwrapped the paper in my hands as I walked down the hallway of rooms.

I looked down at it. Sakura had her arm around me. She was smiling, showing all her straight teeth. The corner of her eyes crinkled as she smiled. I was smiling as well. It wasn't a sneer, or a mocking smirk. It was a real sincere smile. My eyes sparkled. I don't remember the last time I smiled like that.

I wanted to cry again staring at the picture. I sniffed and whipped my nose, quickly holding back my tears before they came down. And if they do, I won't be able to stop again. I had to wait until I got to my room.

~°•Chishiya's POV•°~

There was a knock at my door. I walked over to open it. Kuina stood there. "Hey, have you seen Aria?" She asked. "No. Why?" I asked, going over to sit on my bed. Kuina closed the door and entered my room.

"I haven't seen her since this morning." She told me. "Maybe she joined a game." I shrugged. She shook her head. "No. She knows better than that, especially with her injured leg."

"Y'know she's stubborn." I said. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "But...she told me today she wasn't going to play," she frowned worriedly. "Why're you worrying? She's fine. She's probably hiding in Niragis' room." I tried to say, but Kuina was already going out the door. "If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her." She called, leaving my room.

I rolled my eyes and sat up from bed. I went over to my window and looked out. It was dark already. Could she have joined a game? Or is Niragi fucking her in his room? It's more than likely the second option. But like I told Kuina, Aria's stubborn. I'll just go check.

I turned away from my window and walked over to the door, exiting my room. I walked down the hallway. I memorized the way to Niragis room. that day. I followed them on Aria's second day here.

I went up to the third floor and turned a few corners. The room was just at the end of the hall. I took my time walking. My heart was beating faster. It always beats fast whenever I walk past the room.

I passed the room but didn't hear anything. I frowned slightly and walked past it again. Nothing. I did it again, but this time, stopping at the door. I tried my best to listen beyond the door. There wasn't a single sound. Could she have seriously gone to join a game?

But then I heard it. A moan. I sighed and backed away from the door, staring at it. Something filled me up. I don't know what the feeling was. It was a mixture of sadness, anger, and jealousy. Everytime. Every fucking time I pass the room, it happens. And yet, I keep doing it.

I turned around and walked away from the room, shoving my hands in my pockets and pulling my hoodie up. I shouldn't be shocked. Where else would she be? I wanted to leave the hallway. I went to the opposite side of the floor and walked on that hallway. Her room was in this hall. The middle room.

I slowly walked down the hallway, looking down at the floor. Why am I feeling like this? What the fuck is wrong with me? She's distracting me. From my plan.

I suddenly began to hear a few sniffs of sadness. It was probably someone sobbing about their loved ones dying in a game. The games are ending right about now. Some of them. The sniffing stopped. I shrugged it off. It was nothing. I walked more.

But I came to a halting stop the second I saw her a few feet away from me. She had tear stains down her cheeks. She looked devastated. Before I could do or say anything, she caught my eyes and stared back. My hands slowly left my pockets.

I looked down at her wounded leg. It was stained with fresh blood through her bandage. Her left hand was burnt a bit. She held a crumpled piece of paper in her right hand. She was staring at it before she caught me staring.

I couldn't see the front of it. Just the back, which was white. She suddenly closed her hand forcefully and wrinkled the paper in her fist in anger. I looked up at her. She glared back. A tear fell from her eye.

I frowned, my lips parting slightly. She quickly turned on her heels and hustled away from me, turning the corner and disappearing. I was frozen. I didn't know what to think or do.

So I did the first thing my instincts told me to do. I went after her.

•°♤♡◇♧°•

❝ [ɴᴇxᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ] ❞

"𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦."

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