Alice in Borderland

Chapter 84

I lie on the cooled asphalt and look at the stars in the sky. Arisu and his friends have left together with the woman, probably they are getting together and looking for a shelter for the night. Arisu asked if I would like to come with him, I only answered that I was waiting for a friend to pick me up. Fortunately, they didn't ask any questions about where we were staying or anything that would indicate the hotel.

Sighing, I look at the cloudless starry sky and play with my black rubber ball in my pants pocket. I've been waiting for a while, but I'm not worried that anything has happened to the others. The checker game was over quickly, it was hectic and the time constraints made it effective. But that means I have to wait all the longer for my ride.

Whether Kuina and Chishiya think I died in the game. I remember how anxious I was when Chishiya was at his heart eight game. I couldn't sleep at first, wiggling my leg and almost nibbling my lower lip bloody. I wonder if Chishiya feels the same way. I wonder if he's as worried, but I don't think so. Before, I could tell by the look on his face, like he's already shutting off his emotions in advance, that it won't affect him if I die. In games where we are separated I think it is worse. If we are together, we can control the situation to some extent, but this way we can do nothing and just wait.

I am engrossed in my thoughts and I notice a ray of light passing over me. I hear a car door and stand up. I brush the dust off my clothes and before I can look to the car someone closes me in a hug.

"I'm glad you're alive," I hear Yuudai say before kissing the top of my head. I appreciate the gesture, perhaps because he is deliberately showing himself weak in front of his military cronies. I wrap my hands around his now muscular back and hug him closer. Funny, when I first met him he was an already almost scrawny young man, which almost sunk in his green t-shirt after the college secret room party game. "No injuries, no drugs?"

"No," I say, smirking at his concern. "I'm glad you're alive too Yuudai," I say, breaking away from him, "And do you know? How you're going to propose to her?"

"Yes," he says with a twinkle in his eye and I can't help but smile. I don't ask any further, subconsciously I just know she's going to say yes. "Let's go home"

Home. Sounds weird, but I just nod and get into the back seat of the car while he jumps into the driver's seat. I have to keep thinking about his words: home. I live in the Beach, my friends are there and together we give ourselves support not to go crazy playing these games. Probably the hotel is my new home. But it is still strange to think about it in this way. During the ride I look out the window to my side and continue to look at the starry sky. Not because I'm nostalgic, but I try to ignore the fact that the men next to me have lots of blood stains on their clothes.

After fifteen minutes, Yuudai parks the car in front of the beach and I get out. He is already walking determinedly towards the entrance , but I grab his wrist and let the others run ahead.

"Good luck," I say to give him courage for the upcoming proposal.

"Thanks little one," he smiles in relief as if he needed it. He's a good man for Izumi, and the fact that she's stopped partying wildly shows me that he means a lot to her. She will say yes. "Say hi to Chishiya."

I automatically freeze at the words, but he just grins widely at me. How can he... I'm just too caught off guard at those words to react any other way.

"How... what do you mean?"

"I see something like that, it started that way with Izumi too," he grins and walks to the entrance without waiting for a reaction from me. Astonished, I still look after him, yet I break free of my stiffness so as not to draw attention to myself. With slightly shaky legs, I walk up the stairs in the entrance area, yet with a fleeting smile. I'm not worried, Yuudai has become like a best friend, like a big brother. He won't tell anyone, I'm absolutely sure of that.

"Sayuuri," the hatter's swinging voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I look up at the man in the bathrobe in front of me. It takes me a moment to realize what he wants from me. I pull the card out from behind my back and hand it to him. Suddenly he laughs and pulls me into a brief hug before looking at the map obsessively. "We're closer to the finish line, you've earned a special place with this".

He hands me a key bracelet with the number 28 on it. A little caught off guard, I slip my current Beach license plate off my wrist and press it into his hand before putting on the 28. That's damn near the lead rule.

Purposefully, I head for the roof and as I walk through the door I feel like my heartbeat is calming for the first time since the game. I spot a figure on the edge: a white vest, hood up and hands in his vest pockets. He doesn't seem to have noticed me yet, and if he has, he doesn't let on. I sit down next to him and let my legs dangle over the precipice like he does. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him not take his eyes off the people at the pool area. He snorts with a grin, not letting anything in his expression suggest anything.

Silently, I look at the brightening lights below us before resting my hand next to his. Without words, I place my pinky finger over his and even as I continue to stare straight ahead, I catch his smiling gaze. He eyes me for a moment, unable to resist convincing himself that I'm okay.

"You smell like smoke"

"Almost got burned alive a few times" I reply dryly as I notice his little finger raking into mine. But I don't want to scare him, so I just go ahead and talk. "There was a player, he's good".

"What do you mean good?"

"He's smart, figured out the game" I say noticing his curious look "He's not like you, but smart in a different way. Arisu has solved the game on his own, so to speak"

"Arisu," Chishiya says to himself, seemingly storing the name in his head. Should have guessed, yet it feels right to tell him about Arisu. I watch the action below us for a moment before tightening my grip on his pinky and then standing up.

"I'm going to go lie down in my bed, see you tomorrow?"

"Huh? Of course," Chishiya says with an absent-minded look down. He seems so deep in thought that I don't want to disturb him. I would love to kiss him goodbye on the cheek, but I don't think he would approve. Most people at the pool area are partying or busy with something else, but that doesn't mean no one would see it. So I just pull the hood of his vest deep into his face and get up to leave. But before I close the door behind me I hear his quiet laugh. With a slight grin, I walk into my hotel room to let myself fall exhausted onto the bedspread.