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THE GROUP'S TREK WAS long and strenuous. The sun was high in the sky when they set off but now, it was beginning to set. They had reached the edge of a mountain and once Aguni had deemed it good enough, they began to set up a trap to capture the King of Spades.
Aguni handed an item each to Akane and Akuji, explaining, "These are smoke bombs. You'll use these to create traps. The traps will warn us of incoming attacks. We'll be alerted by them, even at night. It's too bad we don't have any grenades. Now, girls, you set up all the wire we have."
"Why just use wire?" Arisu asked.
"A trap doesn't have to be real to be effective," Akane told him, "As long as it makes the enemy go where you want them to go."
Akuji offered her a smile and a compliment, "You know a lot."
Smirking, Akane flipped her hair over her shoulder arrogantly as she agreed, "Sure do."
"I taught her." Aguni told Akuji and Arisu as he pulled his backpack onto one shoulder. He tossed Arisu a piece of material before walking off, saying, "Look after the tent."
And with that, everyone split off to carry out their duties.
Akuji and Akane began by circling the wire around trees, creating a medium sized area as a trap. This was done in silence - uncomfortable and awkward on Akuji's end, unbothered on Akane's. Eventually, Akuji decided she should say something. So, she said the only thing she could really think of, and the only thing she wanted to say to Akane:
"I'm really, really sorry."
Akane's head shot straight up, snapping toward her ex-friend. Her eyebrows furrowed, lips quivered and her eyes rolled so fast it was a surprise they didn't get stuck. "Shut up with that, will you? It's annoying and it won't make me suddenly like you."
"I don't want you to suddenly like me. I don't know if I want you to like me at all; we both know I don't deserve it." Akuji told her truthfully, shrugging. "I just want you to know how much I regret what I did. At that moment, I wasn't thinking straight. I wasn't really thinking at all. I had a thought and I immediately went with it, without considering it at all. Like with the water, I didn't even realise it was boiling, even though it was bubbling and spitting. I just knew I didn't want to die. And I thought that you, with your leg, would die no matter what I did. So, I left to save myself. But I was wrong, and I abandoned you, and I caused you a lot of pain. For that, I'm extremely sorry."
Akane's eyes widened slightly, though she quickly looked away. She stayed silent. Akuji couldn't read her at all, and she didn't really get the chance to either, because Akane swiftly left to find Aguni.
𖤐
NIGHT HAD FALLEN. THE forest was shrouded in darkness, making it hard for the group to see more than a few metres in front of themselves. Still, the plan to kill the King of Spades was to take place.
Akuji and Arisu had been tasked with guarding camp, which really was just a small, shabby tent. They both had their weapons – Arisu, his shotgun; Akuji, her revolver. Aguni and Akane were patrolling around the camp, searching for the King of Spades.
The night was quiet, apart from Arisu's occasional yawning and Akuji's sharp hisses to silence him.
It seemed the King was nowhere to be found.
Key word: seemed.
There was rustling in the distance and Akuji swore she could see a dark figure but when the two pointed their weapons at it, a bird rose into the air and flew away. She turned to Arisu to see that despite the fact he had been ready to shoot a gun a moment ago, he was now seconds away from falling asleep. His eyes had closed, his body relaxed - then, he let out a scowl when Akuji jabbed him in his side to keep him awake.
Before he could let out a scathing remark, a light was shot into the air. It illuminated most of the sky, sending out a billowing cloud of smoke after it.
The King was here.
Gunshots were fired before Akuji could even think about getting ready to fight. They came from behind her and when she spun around, she spotted the same dark figure from earlier (the King) being shot by Aguni.
The King fell to the floor, and it seemed the fight was already over. But then, he sat up and shot at everything he could see.
This included Akuji and Arisu, and they both ducked behind the cover of a tree.
"Fuck!" She exclaimed. All she could hear was gunfire, all she could taste was blood. She wasn't sure if she was shaking because Arisu was shaking or if she was that scared. She heaved out a long exhale to calm herself, "Are you shitting me?"
"Over here, c'mon!" Arisu whisper shouted to her, grabbing her wrist with one hand and dragging her with him as he rushed over to a nearby tree where Aguni was hidden behind. He hissed at Aguni instantly, "Were we bait for you?"
The idea had not occurred to Akuji at first, but now it made sense. Now, she knew it was unquestionably true. It filled her with a strong rage and she was half tempted to use one of her few bullets by shooting Aguni through the head - but she knew she needed him to kill the King of Spades, and it was clear Akane really cared about him, and upsetting her was the very last thing Akuji wanted to do.
Aguni shrugged, "You have a talent for it."
"You fucking bastard!" Akuji spat at him, her grip on her revolver getting tighter as her fury got bigger and bigger. She was still shaking, but this time it was with anger. Who the fuck did this guy think he was? He couldn't just decided who lived and who died! What made his life better than Akuji's and Arisu's?
Before Akuji could cuss him out, insult him or most likely do both, the topic of the conversation changed to the much bigger, more dangerous problem at hand.
"Is he invincible?" Arisu asked.
Aguni shook his head, "He's wearing a bullet-proof vest. We'll cover each other while we lead him to the cliff, alright?"
"What the hell makes me think I'm going to trust you after you tried to fucking kill me?" Akuji snapped at him, incredulous by his audacity.
"It's the only chance we have." Aguni replied simply and frustratingly enough, Akuji couldn't argue.
So, she went along with his plan.
AUTHOR NOTES sorry for not posting yesterday, i had school work to do :/
