King of Diamonds

Part I

Fireworks lit up the sky, rainbow-colored explosions that proved what we all had hoped for: the very last game had been cleared. Parts of the Hearts Queen's blimp were still falling down from the air, leaving trails of sparks and ash where the airship once hovered. The very last game. We made it.

We could finally go home.

It was a beautiful sight, and I felt tears running down my cheeks. My wounds burned whenever I took a breath, but I didn't look away from the fireworks. So many of them. So many injuries... dozens of scars on my body that would never heal.

All those games I had been forced to play. All those people who died next to me... who died because of me.

I was no murderer. Somehow, I had managed not to kill a single person with my own hands. But nonetheless, people had died because of me. People in opposite teams... people who had less points than I...

They had left not only the physical scars on my body. My whole soul had been scarred in this world, my heart shattered into so many pieces that it would be impossible to fix it. And yet all I wanted was to finally go home, into the arms of my family and far, far away from this horror.

I could go home now.

With a shaking sigh, I turned to the side, where Chishiya was still leaning against the corpse of a car. His white body was completely soaked red now, and his eyes were fluttering. His pain must be massive, and he wouldn't make it much longer with those severe injuries. I didn't need to be a doctor to know that.

I wanted to reach for his hand and tell him to go home. I was sure he'd decline the citizenship, more than anything because he was dying and doctors in the real world could help him. Besides, who would want to stay in such a madhouse?

And yet, Chishiya Shuntarou never stopped to surprise me. He coughed more blood that covered his lips and the already pale skin on his face, but the smirk didn't leave his face. It never did. His eyes found mine for a moment before they turned towards the sky, and his voice was almost too silent to hear when he said:

"I'll accept."

My heart dropped to my stomach and I almost forgot to breathe. "What? But... Chishiya! You'll die if you stay here!"

Chishiya chuckled, a sound so pained and rough that it made me shudder. Even though I wasn't the one suffering so much pain, it was agonizing to see him that way. Not only because of the way I felt for him.

"I don't want to go back to a world without you..." I whispered, almost begging him to change his mind. We could meet again in the real world, live a life without games. We could be together and be happy.

"That world has... nothing for me", Chishiya muttered under a pained breath, "so I... accept."

My body dropped back against the car. I wanted to ruffle my hair, but my hands were covered in blood. Chishiya's blood. Blood that was still pouring out from the bullet holes in his body.

"You bastard", I sobbed, but tears blurred my sight now so I couldn't even see the condescending smirk on his face.

We had gone through so much together. All those games we had survived, moments we had had together. And yet he wanted to stay... wanted to continue. I didn't have to explain to him that, once he became a citizen, he could never turn back. He would continue to play games, and one day, other players would defeat him, killing him just like we had defeated the face cards.

I didn't want that. I did not want to die here. But Chishiya had made clear that his decision couldn't be changed, and I didn't want to be without him, either.

"You bastard", I repeated with a desperate laugh.

And then, I once more looked up to the fireworks. They were still beautiful, but it had taken mere seconds for me to hate them. I didn't want to stay here. I didn't want to die.

I sighed and blinked away the tears. "I'll accept, too."

•♦•♦•

Hello, hello! I'm back again with something I had to write after finishing season 2 (: It's basically a "what if they decided to stay and become a citizen"-scenario, and it won't be too long compared to my other books. But I hope you'll enjoy this nonetheless!