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HOURS FLEW BY AS Akuji ebbed in and out of consciousness. No matter what, she held onto Akane's hand as tightly as possible. If they had to die, they would die together.
All of a sudden, a multitude of colourful fireworks exploded into the sky. They were appearing and disappearing again like a child's jack in the box. It brought a smile onto Akuji's face, just like the toy had done in her youth.
"They did it. They must have completed the game." Akuji told Akane and the girl let out a feeble, overjoyed laugh in response.
A computer voice spoke up, "All surviving players will be presented with two choices. Players must now all decide whether to accept permanent residency in this country, or decline it."
Akuji looked to Akane, "We're going home together, right?"
Akane nodded, yelling to the sky, "I don't want it!"
"Me either!" Akuji shouted, "Let us go home!"
The two shared a laugh of relief. Tears stuck in Akuji's eyes as she let out a sob. Pain rushed clung to every part of her body. She wanted to go home and get help – but not without Akane.
She pulled her best friend into a hug, telling her, "I love you. Don't forget."
𖤐
"GOSH, AKANE! JUST LOOK at your nails!" One of her friends squealed, grabbing her hand and holding them up so she could see them better.
"They're so adorable!" Another friend exclaimed.
"Thanks, guys," Akane smiled before grabbing Akuji's hand and flashing it to the other two, "We match!"
The other two smiled although Akuji could tell they weren't too bothered. It wasn't that they hated her, they just...didn't fit. They cared about popularity and boys – Akuji didn't. Akuji liked biology and the human mind, which was considered nerdy, and she didn't like boys. She didn't really like anyone except Akane.
Akane was the same as the other girls but she and Akuji were practically inseparable despite their differences. They had clung to each other since the first day of high school, Akane swooping in and saving Akuji from bullying and embarrassment and the both of them shit-talking their mothers to bond. Akane was there when Akuji's dad died and she was there to support her when Akuji tried to rebuild her relationship with her mom.
"Where'd you get them done?" One of the two friends (one with curly hair) asked.
"The place really close to the station. We can show you." Akane offered.
The other friend, who had straight hair, nodded frantically, "Please! My nails are so ugly they burn my eyes."
"Yo, invite them!"
Somebody shouted and almost immediately after, a gang of boys ran up to the group. They were the most popular boys in school which made sense because the group were the most popular girls. Akuji was only popular since she had good looks and she was Thai, which made her hate her status even more than she normally would. Nobody cared for her personality except Akane.
"Barbecue on Sunday. Wanna come?" One of the boys questioned with a smirk, all of his mates snickering amongst themselves. It was clear their 'barbecue' was to get with them and not genuine at all.
"Meat on the grill, ladies!" Another boy laughed. "We need memories of our last high school summer."
"What do you say?" The first boy asked.
Akane shook her head, "That's the anniversary of my mother's death."
The prideful expression on the boys' faces dropped and one cleared his throat awkwardly, "We didn't know...Our bad..."
Akane scoffed, "Yeah, that's because no one knows. Like I want people to hear that bitch died while on a trip with someone she was cheating with! Anyway, who the hell would wanna grill meat outside when it's this fucking hot? You think you got a shot with us? What are you, idiots?"
The four girls walked off, laughing with each other as the boys stood at the back, dumbfounded by the fact that they had been turned down.
"That was awful." Akuji groaned as the girls made their way into town, "They definitely want us to grill their meat."
"What, you don't want some of their sausage?" Akane laughed.
Akuji pretended to throw up, pushing Akane away from her with her shoulder. "No! Gross!"
The friend with the curly hair frowned, tapping her chin in thought, "You don't like any guys, do you, Akuji?"
She shook her head, "No, they're all gross beasts."
"You mean the high school ones are? That's why I'm waiting for college, they're all mature then." Curly Hair replied.
The friend with straight hair waggled her eyebrows, "I don't mind taking on a few beasts."
"Of course you don't!" Akane exclaimed with a laugh.
"Hey, you're the same!" Straight Hair replied and the two snickered with each other.
"So, who do you like, Akuji?" Curly Hair asked, cutting through the loud guffaws of laughter.
Before Akuji could even open her mouth, Akane cut in, "Hey! Akuji doesn't have to answer anything she doesn't want to and she doesn't have to like anyone she doesn't want to. Stop pestering her with these questions, will you?"
Curly Hair sighed and rolled her eyes although she stopped. At this point, it was that whenever Akuji was seen, a question about who she liked was asked.
Akuji glanced around, wondering if anyone around was overhearing their conversation. Or were they just annoying school kids to everybody else? There was a woman with short hair in a white t-shirt, a woman with dreads and a man wearing summer wear talking to his friends, but they were all in their own worlds.
"Anyway," Akane said in a sing song voice, "let's get coffee!"
"What? Don't you need to go to archery class today?" Akuji asked.
Akane shook her head, "Nah, I don't feel like it."
Curly Hair suddenly gasped, "Oh my God! Apparently, Meg broke up with her boyfriend!"
"You're kidding!" Straight Hair exclaimed but once she saw her friend's straight face, she gasped too, "With Odaken? But they were, like, so in love!"
"Not so much in love..." Akane smirked.
"Do you know something?" Curly Hair asked.
Akane shrugged, "He said he was over it. And then he said he was into me!"
"Wait, did you sleep with Odaken?" Akuji asked in surprise, eyes wide.
"So what? He came onto me first." Akane laughed.
Akuji glared at her with scolding eyes as she scowled, "It's still bad! You did it behind Meg's back, that's really cruel and—"
"Hey, look!" Straight Hair shouted, tapping her friends to get their attention.
The rest of them looked up and to the sky where she pointed. Fireworks blazed across the sky, barely visible but still enough for the citizens in Shibuya to stare up at them in awe.
