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"I THOUGHT I'D NEVER see you again! I am so fuckin' happy!" Niragi shouted at the three, gun still raised.
Arisu, too, had his gun pointed at the man and Akuji had pulled out her knife.
"Did you mean to miss a vital organ?" Chishiya scoffed. Despite the fact that he had been shot, he seemed to be doing fine.
"I didn't want to end things with a surprise attack," Niragi returned. Akuji's body began to tense up just by staring at him. "So let's begin. It's a new murder game. Not like there's anything else for the four of us to do here."
"You want to start a game between players?" Chishiya asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm in." Akuji declared, glaring at Niragi. Her entire body was full of rage, full of pain. He simply laughed at her, a smirk forming on his lips, and it made Akuji more determined to punch that disgusting grin off of his ugly face.
"I don't have very much time left." Niragi stated and proved his point by coughing up blood. It reminded Akuji of her state a few days before and she wished, unlike herself, that Niragi died from whatever illness had invaded him. He addressed Arisu and Chishiya, "What do you two say? Do me one last favour. One more game, come on! I thought you were my bros!"
With that, he tossed a pistol toward Chishiya. The man carefully stood, one hand on his wound, and picked up the firearm. "Sounds fun. Arisu, what do you think?"
"What do you mean?" Arisu shouted.
"Come on, don't play dumb." Chishiya shook his head, "I know you've got a bone to pick with me. We might as well deal with it right now. We can settle things once and for all."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Arisu screamed at him, panicked.
Then, a gunshot fired.
Before Akuji could register what was happening, Arisu had grabbed her upper arm and pulled her with him as he dove behind a car for cover. They landed on the hard dirt and a momentary pain filled Akuji's body.
"You okay?" Arisu asked, breathless from anxiety.
Akuji nodded. She peeked over the car's hood to spot Niragi stood with his gun outstretched, smirking evilly. Of course it was him who fired first.
"That fucking asshole. I'll kill him." She promised herself.
More shots were fired – Niragi and Chishiya shooting at each other. Whilst this was going on, a plan was forming in Akuji's mind. Niragi had jumped on top of a car, and she wondered if she could sneak behind him and take him by surprise. Slit his throat, perhaps. She could use the other abandoned vehicles dotted around to hide behind, maybe?
Before she could fully come up with an idea, Chishiya dove behind a car, grunting in pain. Niragi was no longer distracted and Akuji's half formed plan was already ruined.
"Niragi! Stop this!" Arisu yelled at him desperately.
"I'm just acting like you guys." Niragi shot back, "Doing whatever I feel like. Every time you open your mouths, it's just to talk about yourselves. I've had to listen to your bullshit the whole time! Stop acting like you're better than everyone because you've seen people die. And don't say you're trying to survive for someone else because I know that deep down, you're just as selfish! The only thing that matters is that we come out on top."
"At least we don't try to rape people, you fucking sicko!" Akuji shouted from her cover behind the car.
"Oh, come on! It was only a bit of fun. Why don't you come out here so we can do it again?" Niragi cackled.
The hand that held Akuji's knife shook violently. Whether it was out of rage or fear, she did not know for sure, but she was definitely feeling both of those emotions overpowering her.
"Maybe we're all just supposed to kill each other in this place." Arisu stated loud enough for Chishiya and Niragi to hear, even though they had quite some distance between them.
"Now you're starting to make sense!" Niragi exclaimed.
Akuji peeked over the car's bonnet to find out where he was and if he changed positions. He fired at her and she ducked back down, luckily unscathed, cursing under her breath.
Arisu shook his head, "Niragi, I know what you're trying to do but it won't work! You're trying to wear us down. Except now it won't work. I'm not gonna act weak and selfish ever again."
Suddenly, he stood, tossing his shotgun to the side.
"Are you crazy?" Akuji hissed at him, trying to grab his wrist and pull him back down into hiding, but he stepped away from her. His back was to Niragi so he wouldn't even know if he was trying to shoot him or not.
"I'm out!" Arisu announced, on the verge of tears, "I'm not gonna pull this trigger so that I can survive."
Niragi scoffed at him, now pissed off, "You ruined it. Thanks a lot, asshole."
And then, Akuji saw her chance. Niragi was distracted. Arisu may not want to kill anymore and Akuji didn't either, but if she didn't rid the world of this vermin, who would? She thought back to when she was shooting the King of Spades. She had missed some shots and landed some. Surely, it would be easier to aim with a shotgun than a revolver, right? Snatching up the firearm, she aimed at Niragi.
And the bullet made contact.
AUTHOR NOTES im so excited for the next chapter!!! it's entirely self indulgent bc i hate niragi but OMFG AKUJI IS SUCH A BADASS IN IT 💞 also its gonna be a bit gorey so here's ur warning to not read if u dont like gore!!
