Alice in Borderland | Transmigration

Chapter 4

A seven floor building, illuminated by harsh white lights sat in front of you. You tried to calm your rapid heart, the trio standing behind you also seemed pretty nervous. Shibuki had decided to stay back, not wanting to waste her VISA days. You wish her the best regarding the seven of hearts game tomorrow.

Stepping through the entrance, you slightly winced at the bright lights all up in your face. You noticed Usagi to your left, looking up and making eye contact with Arisu. You picked up a phone from the table. You already knew the game, you already knew the ending.

You let your eyes roam around the participants. A certain softness when you realised Tatta was there. You did like his character, he was sweet, it's a shame he died. You also look at Aguni, feeling slightly intimidated despite basically knowing his entire backstory and cold exterior.

And Chishiya. He was leaning on the wall. His hood covered half his face, yet the strands of dyed hair were unmistakable from this distance. You noticed Arisu eyeing the walkman charging on the floor. Ah yes, the taser.

There was a certain happiness that came in seeing one of your favourite characters, in the flesh no less, and it felt so surreal that you didn't exactly know what to do with yourself.

He then looked up, feline eyes locking with yours. Almost immediately you looked away, you've never been good with holding eye contact, not to mention Chishiya's intense ones.

Dutifully ignoring his stare boring holes into your skull, the game's registration closed. You let the instructions wash over you, what's there to know that you don't already know? In the corner of your eye, you saw the hat guy approach Arisu, but promptly ignored it.

'Time limit, twenty minutes. After twenty minutes, the bomb hidden in the building will explode.'

At those words, you kicked off the wall and proceeded to head towards the stairs. Arisu tapped your arm, and upon turning back, he asked you. "Were you listening?"

"Yeah."

He looked unconvinced.

"I do understand. Don't worry."

The rest trailed after you, and you became slightly concerned regarding your plan for this game. You had no doubt a group of rowdy people in the corner of the apartment would catch the attention of the tagger, so you tilted your head back to speak to them.

"Hey. I think we should split."

"Why?"

At Arisu's concerned expression, you smiled, "large group, large target."

He bit his lip, obviously unhappy with the idea. Karube shrugged, "fine by me." Chota looked like he was gonna piss himself. Luckily, Karube noticed and offered Chota to tag along with him.

You did a finger salute, ignoring Arisu's worried gaze, and continued to climb up the stairs. Ideally, Chishiya's spot would have been the best, however, the rascal had called dibs, therefore you would have to settle for second best.

You stopped on the 6th floor, and upon stepping out, you noticed Chishiya already standing in the corner one floor above you.

Walking at a brisk pace, you headed towards the corner beneath him, not missing the way he stared at you. You felt yourself sweat, being under his gaze felt like he was pulling you apart and piecing you together again.

Once you settled in the corner, you sighed in relief. Letting the cool wind brush against your face, you watched the other players roaming around the apartment, some already testing doorknobs to see if they can find the safe zone.