The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]

Pirates of the Caribbean - Only this time in Tokyo

"Welcome! Are you ready!?" Hatter's voice rang happily through the large entrance hall and tens of thousands of voices answered him with a loud shout. Why did this atmosphere remind me so much of a cult?

I tried to push my way out of the crowd, but I couldn't move back and forth. I guess I was now forced to take part in this event - how unlucky could I possibly be?

"Borderland - a land that takes away our last strength and sends us into a bloodbath every night. But with our combined strength - we are stronger! With every card we collect, we are one step closer to the return journey! Soon there will be the first who is able to go back to the real world, and so many will follow!" he paused, which got the crowd quite excited. "So, guys! Let's collect the cards and defeat this crooked world together!"

Chaos erupted as he spoke the last words. I was pushed back and forth again as everyone suddenly started moving. I wasn't prepared for that.

And they all had the same goal: a table. I suspected that the location numbers were distributed there.

What now? I still had enough visa days, so I didn't really want to leave again so quickly, but on the other hand, it was a good opportunity to finally be able to breathe again.

Yes, no, yes, no...

"You're new, aren't you?" a voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I looked next to me. I recognized her immediately. It was the young woman with the dreadlocks that I had already seen in my game of diamonds.

"Um... yes!" I replied, realizing that she was waiting for an answer. She nodded knowingly and then gestured to the table.

"You've been listed, just so you know. That's how it works for every new entry... ya know - to prevent your visa from expiring on the first day. A kind of security precaution if you want to put it mildly. From then on, you're free to decide your game nights," she explained to me, and I was grateful for any information I could get.

"Thank you so much!" I said again, bowed and then rushed to the counter to get my number. I only noticed that she was following me after I had already received my note.

"Oh! We're lucky!" she smiled and showed me her number, "We're on the same team!" Was that really luck? I have no idea, I couldn't tell, but she seemed nice.

"I'm Kuina, by the way. Your name is Hayashi, right?" she asked as she led me outside.

"Yes, but I prefer my first name Ayuna," I replied, and we headed towards several cars. She looked at me curiously, but kept her mouth shut. "Tell me, Kuina, why do your cars still work?" I wanted to know. "And why do you have electricity and water?"

She started giggling. "There are so many questions. And you really want to know?" She turned her head a little, "I'll tell you when we get back from the game." She stopped in front of a car. There were two other people there, Kuina looked around. "One more person is coming, if I understood him correctly," she said quietly to me, and I swore I saw a slight glint in her eyes.

Then I noticed the clean slate and immediately knew who the last participant was.

Cheshire Cat aka Chishiya.

My luck didn't seem to be on my side. Another game with him, that could be fun! Somehow the way he approached things made me a little nervous.

I followed Kuina's example as she got in the back. However, I was practically pushed into the middle seat because he got in behind me. I caught a glimpse of him as he buckled up: his hood was in his face, and he appeared to be listening to music on a device. I didn't know how he did it.

I looked away from him as we drove off to observe my surroundings. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see anything outside, so I remained disoriented.

Luckily for me the drive wasn't too long, but unfortunately for me we stopped right on a beach. The area around the bridge was brightly lit and three people were already standing around a table that had been placed in the sand.

"We'll go one after the other," the guy who was driving instructed me. Then he disappeared. After he left, the other stranger followed. I wanted to go next, but Kuina was faster. She waved before disappearing, leaving me alone with Chishiya. I didn't dare say a word, even though I thought he wouldn't hear me anyway.

But to my surprise, he took the initiative: "You've aroused interest."

Wow... Great statement, applause! What should I do with these words?! Was he intentionally trying to make me nervous so that I would miserably quit?

"What's this-" I wanted to ask, but he had already started moving. I followed his stature with my eyes as it casually disappeared towards the location.

This was my chance, right? I could disappear to hide somewhere in Tokyo. It sounded like a relief, but... I didn't dare. I was too afraid that I would run into them again.

And so, I ended up following them too. With the familiar beep, my fate was sealed, and I had no choice but to face the game. So, I picked up a phone.

It had been placed in a waterproof cover, was that perhaps an initial indication?

Face recognition was running, and I tried to kill time by checking out my opponents. The three strangers were finely dressed: a man and two women. I estimated them to be between 40 and 50. They also seemed to know each other because they talked. They weren't dressed properly for a game. We had an advantage there.

I also noticed that two more people were coming. Two men - they were a little younger and dressed in sporty clothes. They had a frightening amount of muscle and a fierce appearance, which made them appear strong. Then there were two girls. Last to arrive was a woman, also more stylishly dressed. She was pretty but seemed inexperienced. Our cell phones beeped.

Registration complete. The game now begins!

Game name: Treasure Diving

Difficulty level: 7 of Clubs

Rules:

The participants are divided into two groups.

All participants are pirates who have recovered a treasure.

During a storm in the tropics, the treasure chest tipped over and the contents were distributed into the water.

Group A and Group B must try to recover as many gold pieces as possible.

Whoever has more in their treasure chest at the end wins the game.

Time limit: 90 minutes

The participants are now being divided!

An A appeared on my phone.

The game starts in 3, 2, 1...

The depths of the water... diving... tropics... Something wasn't right here. The level of difficulty didn't come from nowhere...

There was an even bigger task...