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TENSION WAS THICK IN the air. Usagi and Arisu hadn't spoken a single word to Akuji since the night before. They hadn't even spoken to each other apart from a few small words.
The group had decided to move on. Despite the number of days on their visa being a decent amount, they saw only two blimps in the sky, meaning there was only two more games until they could (hopefully) return home. They had, without even speaking to one another, decided to meet up with their friends again.
"I think we should split up. You two can stick together, I'm fine on my own." Usagi stated once they reached the outskirts of Shibuya.
Arisu and Akuji turned to her with incredulous looks.
"Not for long. Just to cover more ground, find more people." Usagi explained, though it was clear to the other two she had an ulterior motive. Whether it was to get away from Akuji, to try reconcile Akuji and Arisu's friendship or both, they weren't sure.
Akuji glanced over to Arisu, who looked more than annoyed at the idea, and shrugged, "I don't mind." She didn't think Arisu would speak to her but it was worth a shot.
Arisu pursed his lips, clearly displeased. Still, he pulled Usagi into a hug, "Stay safe and come back soon."
Usagi hugged him back, "Of course. You need to do the same." When she pulled away, she did not offer Akuji a hug, but gave her a simple nod.
Akuji returned it, putting on a brave smile, although the simple action made her heart crumble. She and Arisu watched for a few minutes until Usagi's figure turned into a small dot in the distance before they continued on their journey to the middle of Shibuya.
It was not long until they came across a field of dead bodies. Not a literal field, of course, but it could have been considered one due to the thick undergrowth and dense vegetation that had consumed everything in sight. Everything except corpses.
Akuji felt sick, almost throwing up in her mouth a little.
"Don't look." Arisu told her and she did as he told, glancing the other way.
When she turned back around again, Arisu was holding a shot gun. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Akuji realised he had pretty much stolen it from a dead person.
"For the King of Spades." Arisu stated.
Akuji nodded. As much as she hated it, she knew she would do the same. It was something they just had to do now in this world. "Good idea."
The two pressed on further. By the time they reached the middle of Shibuya, exactly where the face card games had started, the sun was high in the sky. Everything was overgrown to shit, simply put. The buildings had accumulated masses of grime and were covered with vines, bushes, shrubs, leaves – nature had taken over.
"Hey!"
The two turned to see who had called out to them. They expected it to be Usagi but the voice was not well known to Akuji, so it couldn't be. Instead, it was the man who had been split off from the group: Chishiya.
"Fancy meeting you here." Chishiya stated to Arisu. "There are only two games left. Players are starting to gather in Shibuya. I had a pretty good hunch that you were probably still alive."
"Is that the only thing you've got to say?" Arisu teased him.
"So?"
Arisu shook his head, a smile on his face, "Nothing. You're a lot less grumpy now."
Chishiya laughed at that, "Oh, less grumpy, huh? Well, I've been through a hell of a lot. Hey, Arisu, can I share something with you that I've never told anyone before?"
"Am I allowed to hear? Or are you going to send me away?" Akuji asked good-naturedly.
Chishiya shook his head, "No, you can stay. I believe this might benefit you." Suddenly, it felt like he could see right through Akuji, deep down to her core; like he knew all of the atrocious acts she had committed.
Before Chishiya could open his mouth to speak once more, a gunshot rang out against the clearing and Chishiya fell to the ground.
Akuji turned to see who had shot him and the sight both shocked and enraged her.
