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THE NUMBERS ON THE Challenger's Team was quickly dwindling down, leaving only Akuji and her friends left.
As the siren blared, she made her way to the clearing Arisu had pointed out earlier. She glanced up and, sighing in relief, spotted Usagi and Arisu there.
"It's only us and Kota left!" She called up to them, "What should we—"
"Akuji, behind you!"
Akuji turned, but not in time. A hand slammed onto the button on her back, changing the light to red and sending a shock wave through her. She crumpled to the floor, body jerking outward. If it was not for her tagging a player earlier and seeing the same response, she would have thought she was having another seizure.
Even though she hadn't, her body still felt utterly exhausted and she lay on the floor, although the shock from the taser had stopped long ago.
"Akuji! Shit, are you okay?" Arisu exclaimed as he rushed to her side, panting from running so fast. Usagi followed not far behind.
"Fine." Akuji replied through gritted teeth, having little energy to reply. She waved them away, knowing they needed to hide from the Queen Team, "Go."
Usagi nodded firmly, "We'll come back for you. Stay right here."
Akuji watched them rush away. Her entire body ached. It felt like with each breath she took in, a new pain entered her body. She couldn't even sit up.
And in that moment, she began to cry.
What the hell was she thinking? She couldn't beat this game, especially not in her broken state. Fuck will power, fuck determination. Where the fuck had it gotten her? Laying on the cold, metal floor, her body in agony – that's where. She should've just stayed with Akane because now she was sure she would never see her best friend again.
The siren blared and just like they had promised, Akuji's friends were back by her side.
"This is going to hurt, I'm sorry." Usagi said before pressing the button on her back.
Akuji's body shook again due to the electrocution. Her vision went black for a moment before returning to normal. She couldn't help but cry even more than before. It felt like her body was on fire and even on the Challenger Team, she wouldn't be much help.
"Come on, we'll help you." Arisu stated after a few moments of Akuji not moving.
Arisu and Usagi gently grabbed an arm of Akuji's each, using it to pull her into a sitting position. Then, they tucked their shoulders underneath her arms so they could be used as a sort of crutch for her.
They were going at such a slow pace in the arena that is was no surprise the Queen of Spades had caught up with them.
"Go! Run!" Usagi yelled at her friends, pulling away from Akuji and standing in front of the Queen. Her fists were raised; she was ready for a fight. "She's after you, Arisu!"
He didn't have to hear it twice.
As fast as he possibly could whilst sticking with Akuji, he rushed away. The two weaved between the obstacles on the floors, hiding behind machinery when they saw the odd Queen Team player or two rush by.
Luckily, the siren blared: it was the Challenger Team's turn.
"Leave me, I'll be fine. Go and make sure we win." Akuji told Arisu, collapsing to the floor in a mess of exhaustion. She noticed his hesitancy but once she gave him a smile of determination, he nodded and ran away.
Whilst Akuji was alone and exhausted, her mind began to wander. What if...What if she joined the Queen Team? Not forever. Just for a few games. She could get her strength back and when she was ready, she could beat the game. She could live.
Almost as soon as she thought it, guilt filled her. Not only was she harming Kota, she was betraying Usagi and Arisu. She was betraying herself, too.
Yes, she used to be an evil, cold hearted manipulator who would use anyone she could to live. But she didn't want to be that anymore.
Whenever she used people, she would feel awful. She would lay awake at night, overthinking and rethinking it, even though she would always reach the same conclusion: it didn't matter what she did, she had to live.
If she didn't live, the sacrifice of Akane's life meant nothing.
Except now Akuji knew she wasn't dead. And they were on positive terms. Akuji still needed to survive for her but if she went back to using people for her own benefit – killing them for her own benefit – she would never forgive herself.
So, she had to do this the hard way, then.
Using the railing for support, Akuji pulled herself to her feet and began to slowly make her way around the arena until she found somebody. Her breathing was raspy and she coughed so much she could feel her ribs rattling. But whenever she wanted to give up, she thought of Kato, of Kuina, of Usagi, of Arisu, of Akane and most importantly, everyone she'd sacrificed, everyone who had died because of her selfishness, and her determination was restored.
Soon, she heard yelling. Akuji picked up her speed and headed toward it. She soon found three recently tagged Challenger Team players and Usagi and Arisu. Usagi was trying to encourage the players to stay on the Challenger Team, but none of them seemed to care.
"If you actually want to live," Akuji stated, revealing herself as she walked towards them. "Then you can't be on the Queen's team. How many were on her team when we started? Four. And how many of us are there? Lots more than that. Don't you see? Even if you win on the Queen's side, she can only have a certain amount of players on her team. She will most likely pick the few players she likes and kill the rest. You won't end up living anyway."
Arisu nodded, "The face card guys, if they lose, they get killed; just like us. Which means if we beat them, then there won't be anyone else. This will all end if we win every face card game."
"That's just a guess and nothing more." One of the players argued.
"Yeah, a guess. And hope."
"Maybe hope is what we need to survive." Akuji mused half to herself, realising that it was what had kept her going since she arrived in the Borderlands.
Usagi nodded in agreement, "I won't give up. Sure, you can extend your lives here with the Queen. But what does that mean? You're spending the rest of your lives killing each other. That's not a life!"
"Why don't you take a chance with us?" Akuji questioned.
