Peaceful Moon | Chishiya x Reader

Chapter Two

☆ In which both Tatta and Arisu respectively compromise your lifespan. ☆

The car is thrown forward with the impact of the grenade.

Chishiya.

All of you in the backseat knock together again with a vengeance. All of you, minus Chishiya - you struggle to lean out of the window to look for him, for any indication that he might be okay, but the car is swerving around other vehicles on the road at an alarming speed and your mind is spinning.

Kuina pulls you away from the window to stop you from falling out.

You turn to her, desperation swimming in your eyes. "We have to go back for him," you say breathlessly. The remaining glass lining the bottom of the window digs painfully into your fingers. "Kuina, we have to." The car pulls further away from the massacre behind you but the burn of panic in your chest isn't easing, the rise and fall of your breath still staggered. Maybe you could jump out the window - you would probably survive, although you might compromise another limb. But you couldn't just leave Chishiya back there, not with the King of Spades. Not after he had promised you that you would do this together.

In the driver's seat, Tatta throws a glance over his shoulder. He doesn't hear your whispers in the backseat. "Alright!" he says, with shaky cheer. "We're safe for now."

Kuina gnaws on her bottom lip anxiously. Judging by the way her brow is starting to crease, she might just tell you that Chishiya can take care of himself again, and you're not too sure how well you'll be able to take that.

But before she can say anything, Arisu looks over at the two of you. At a loss, you can only stare back at him - the man takes in your anxious expression at a glance and you don't know what to expect. There's a slight pause where he blinks, eyes round and googly as the day you met him; he hesitates, an awkward smile making its way to his lips.

With impeccable timing, he imparts his words of wisdom.

"Chishiya can take care of himself." Arisu says.

Horror threatens your expression.

But even though you feel a few years of your life being chipped off, you try to muster up a smile back. Arisu's eyes are kind, at least - he means well. This is the man Chishiya betrayed back at the Beach, but he doesn't seem to hold a grudge against you for it.

Next to you, Kuina's chest rises and falls with a heavy breath. She looks conflicted - which doesn't bode particularly well for your shoulder, on which she has fixed a bone-crushingly firm hand in case you were to try flee through the window again. 

"What kind of game is this, guys?" She shakes her head in disbelief. "No rules. I mean, we didn't even register."

Usagi speaks for the first time since the car began to move. "We just have to take the bad guys down, right? Then we'll clear the game."

"And how many are there?"

"There's just the one." Arisu responds this time. A deep frown creases his brow, but he looks more thoughtful than anything. "There's only one King of Spades. He's like...the boss of physical challenges."

Ann's voice sounds from the front seat, sharp and articulate. "During the game, the blimp was flying around." You strain to hear her over the hum of the engine. "Maybe the battlefield spans the whole city this time."

You frown. You recall how you'd done your best to escape the blimp, hoping that would put you off the King of Spades' radar. If the King's game arena was the entire city, would you be spending the rest of your days here running from him as well as playing the new games? That hardly seems fair.