YOU, ME & DEATH ━━ polyam ann & kuina

𝟮𝟱 win this game

   AFTER TWO DAYS of resting, Tomoko and Heiya (the high school girl she had saved) decided to move onwards. Tomoko desperately wanted to find Chishiya and Kuina again, and she knew that keeping Heiya inside any longer would cause the girl's mood to decrease even more. The poor girl was seriously traumatised and depressed. Tomoko could feel that same feeling weighing down her own bones but she had buried it down for so long that it was easy to ignore.

   "What about this one?" Heiya offered, holding up a bright red dress. The two had found a boutique and were trying to find new clothes that weren't dirty or teared like their current ones.

   "No, the colour's too much. What about this for you?" Tomoko suggested. She held up a black skirt and Heiya's eyes lit up.

   Rushing over, Heiya snatched it from her grasp before running off to the changing rooms. Tomoko watched the girl with an endeared smile. The two had bonded a little during the time they had spent together, though most of it was Tomoko trying to cheer the young girl up.

   Returning to her own search, Tomoko combed through practically every clothing rack before her eyes landed on a white jacket. It was much like the one her brother wore. She smiled at the memory of him, grabbing it as she already began to think of a joke she could tell him about their clear similarity.

   When she had looked through everything, Tomoko was close to giving up and keeping on the rags she was currently wearing for the unforeseeable future. However, she found a dark blue dress laying on a table with supplies still placed beside it. It must have been made right before everyone in Tokyo got transported to Borderlands.

   Instantly, Tomoko fell in love. She pulled it on, as well as a pair of boots she had found earlier, and wore her white jacket over the top. She smiled as she admired herself in the mirror. But that smile soon fell as she caught sight of her hair.

   Whilst it was true that she no longer cared too much about appearance like she used to, she still didn't like the fact that her hair was matted and dirty. She huffed as she grabbed a brush off of the vanity in front of her. Though when she tried to comb through it, she soon realised her hair was knotted beyond saving.

   She grumbled as she snatched up a pair of scissors from the table she found her dress on. She began to snip at her hair, which was difficult at first since she only had one hand to haphazardly cut with. Soon, the blonde matts were on the floor instead of on her head, leaving Tomoko with choppy hair that reached her shoulders accompanied by two long strips at the front to frame her face.

   "Look at you." Heiya commented with a whistle as she walked up to Tomoko, "Good as new."

   Tomoko snorted in amusement at her comment before grinning, "Look at me? Look at you! I think this is the first time I've seen you smile."

   The girl's smile instantly dropped for comedic effect, "Well, don't get used to it."

   "Now that we're done here, we should get going." Tomoko told her. Heiya agreed with a nod and so Tomoko grabbed the backpack full of supplies they had brought with them, and together the two girls set off.

   It wasn't long before they spotted shiny blimps in the sky, holding large banners that displayed cards.

   "So there are face cards..." Tomoko mused under her breath as she glanced between the two blimps before them. There was the Jack of Hearts north and the King of Spades east, the same distance for both of them to reach a game. "We should split up."

   Heiya stared at her as if she were insane. Although the girl didn't show it much, it was clear she had grown attached to her companion.

   "I know it seems crazy but we've been out of these games for a while. We need to know what's going on and if there's anyone who can help us. You can take the bag." Tomoko handed the backpack to Heiya. It had medicine, food and water inside. "You will go to the Spades game because you cleared the Seven of Spades, and I'll go to the Hearts one because I cleared the Ten of Hearts–"

   "You cleared the Ten of Hearts?" Heiya shrieked in shock.

   Tomoko gestured to her amputated arm, "Barely, but yes."

   "Well, I barely got out of the Seven of Spades!" Heiya snapped, pointing to her own amputation. Tomoko had managed to find the girl a prosthetic foot so she could function just as well as any able-bodied person could.

  "But we're still alive." Tomoko returned. "Look, let's complete the games and meet back up here. If you see a girl with dreadlocks or a guy with white hair and a smug face, tell them you're my friend and they'll help you."

   Heiya nibbled on her bottom lip, anxious, but she finally heaved out a heavy sigh and nodded, "Okay. Stay safe, promise?"

   "I promise. Do I look like a woman who would die?" Tomoko replied with a mischievous smile.

   "I guess we'll find out." Heiya said dryly.

   And with that, the two split off. Honestly, Tomoko was worried for her new friend. Face card games surely had to be harder than the games they had played before and it was obvious knowledge that they had barely made it out of those alive. But, Tomoko reminded herself of everything Heiya had survived through so far and her belief in the girl was reinforced. As she reached the Jack of Hearts game, Tomoko forced herself to focus on the situation at hand.

   She could and would win this game.

   The outside of the building looked castle like but once she read a sign outside, Tomoko realised it was far from a fancy fantasy. The game arena was a prison. Taking a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves, Tomoko entered. The first thing she set her eyes on was a table with a metal, mechanical collar placed on it. There was a sign that read: 'PUT ON A COLLAR AND GO UPSTAIRS TO THE CENTRAL GUARD ROOM'. It seemed that Tomoko was the last to register.

   Tomoko did as the sign said and was met with a room full of mostly random faces.

    But there was one person she did know.

🂱

AUTHOR NOTES
there was nothing i could do to stop her from cutting her beautiful blonde hair off vibes 😜😁 LMAO ANYWAY. dont ask me why all my aib ocs become besties with heiya idk i dont even particularly like her i just feel rlly rlly bad for her 😭 but now we're in s2!! yippee!!! y'all probably already know who tomoko saw, but kuina & ann won't be in the next few chapters for quite a bit sorry! :( but i can confirm that when they do show up, it will be fluffy af and we will get a tomoko x ann confession 🥰