The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]

Catch Them If You Can [1]

The light breeze made me shiver.

It had become cold - and the cold didn't help me feel any better. At that moment I couldn't fully understand the saying "Get some fresh air and you'll feel better" because now the "air" was doing me more harm than good.

Why didn't I just stay in the apartment? I could have snuggled up so nicely in my bed! Then I wouldn't have to go through all of this, then I wouldn't be shaking like a leaf right now.

But now I was here, I couldn't turn back.

The light signs had led me to the west entrance of Shibuya's Yoyogi Park. Even from far away I noticed that the park stood out from other parts of Tokyo: it was illuminated. There was electricity! But why? Why was this place different, what made it special?

These thoughts were the reason why I hesitated. I suddenly wasn't so sure whether it was a good idea to enter this park. But what else could I do? I had no idea if I would get anywhere by looking for answers here, but the light was an indication that maybe I should give it a try anyway.

So, I did it.

I stepped through the gate and - imagined that I heard a beeping sound as I passed through. But now I didn't trust my ears anymore, so I ignored the sound. I followed the path until I came to the small toilet house. And there were...

PEOPLE!?

There were other people! Was I perhaps saved after all? Could I get answers now and then go back home?

I immediately sped up to catch the small group. They were standing around a table that had a lot of phones on it. I read the sign next to the devices:

1 per person

I looked around confused. Only now did I notice how each person was holding a cell phone. So, I took one too and it lit up. I stared at the display in amazement and watched as a loading bar appeared.

Face recognition is running. Please wait!

Face recognition? Why did I have to be recognized? I wanted to put the phone back, but the bar disappeared, and a woman's voice rang out:

Registration complete. Player recognized: Hayashi Ayuna

The game starts in five minutes.

Number of participants: 9

Which game? What the fuck was going on here?

I wasn't confused – no – I was clueless. I no longer had any idea what was happening here. That's why I didn't notice two guys looking at me curiously.

"Hey, you there!" one of them suddenly barked and my attention went to him. "Are you Japanese?" he asked in a mocking tone, making sure to draw out the word. I just kept my mouth shut. Sure, I had been asked this question a dozen times already. It wasn't exactly common to see blonde-haired girls with blue eyes walking around in this country. But I was still born here.

"Apparently not, otherwise she would answer," said guy number 2 and laughed.

"What about Tokyo? Where are all the people? And what kind of strange game is this?" I ignored the mocking. Even if they made fun of it, it wouldn't change the fact that I was Japanese.

My question seemed funny because one of the guys started laughing. "She's a new one too! It'll probably be an easy game today!" Guy 1 scratched his chin and then turned away with his friend, so I wasn't expecting an answer from them. Instead, a younger girl emerged from the shadows and stood next to me.

"So, you're really new?" she wanted to know, and I nodded. She held out her hand and I looked at her for a moment before taking it and we shook hands. "I'm Fenji Seriana, welcome to Borderland," she introduced herself and I immediately noticed the last word.