YOU, ME & DEATH ━━ polyam ann & kuina

𝟯𝟭 queen of diamonds

TOMOKO AND CHISHIYA had left the Jack of Hearts, the blimp exploding behind them to show that they really were done with that wretched game. The two were heading back to the place where Tomoko and Heiya had split, hoping to find the high schooler waiting for them. Tomoko could imagine the girl's scolding words at disappearing for so long.

On the walk there, Tomoko explained to her brother exactly how she had escaped the wreckage of The Beach, why she had been stuck inside in the first place (Chishiya could barely stop smirking when she told him about killing Niragi) and how she had met Heiya.

Then, Chishiya told her all he knew about the face card games in return. By the time they had reached the spot they were supposed to meet Heiya, the two had exchanged the information of everything they had missed whilst separate from each other.

But there was a problem: Heiya wasn't there.

Hands shaking, Tomoko's breathing increased rapidly until she was close to hyperventilating. She knew this would happen, she knew she had killed Heiya, but she at least had a little bit of hope left. But now, she knew it plain and clear; she had killed the girl.

Even though she spun in circles, searching for the girl, and screaming her name like she would magically appear, Tomoko could not find Heiya at all.

Tears fell onto her cheeks before she could stop them. Tomoko didn't even have enough energy to wipe them away, the void of sadness consuming her until she couldn't think properly.

   Chishiya cared. Of course he cared, it was his fucking sister. He just didn't know how to show it — he didn't care about Heiya but he cared for his sister. He'd always had a problem of not caring enough and being too emotionless.

   Even though the pats on her back given to her by her brother were awkward, Tomoko managed to crack a smile at him. She brought him into a hug and he squeezed her tight, and the sadness melted away a little. Though small remains clung to her still, Tomoko felt a little less despairing.

   "Maybe she just joined another game instead waiting for you." Chishiya reassured her, "We can go look for her."

   "Yeah, I guess so." Tomoko murmured in response.

   "If we split up, we might be able to find her quicker." Chishiya suggested and Tomoko's eyes widened.

   She stared at him like he was crazy and in her eyes, he was. "I lost her because I split off from her. I could lose you, and I'm never letting that happen again! If you die, I will never forgive myself."

   "That's why I won't die." He returned, "And I know you won't either."

   "I'm not doing this, Chi—"

"Listen, when you split off from Heiya, you found me. And if we're in different games, we can cover more ground. And you told her to look out for me so she's not totally clueless in what to look for."

Despite the fact she hated it, Tomoko knew he made some good points. Eventually, she sighed and nodded, "Fine. But if you– I swear to God, if you get hurt..." She trailed off, unable to think of what to say.

Simply, life without him wasn't worth living.

"I won't. We'll meet her again, alright? And after your game, don't move from this spot unless necessary." Chishiya stated firmly.

Tomoko frowned at him, "You better make it."

"You better make it."

🂱

   THE GAME TOMOKO had registered for was the Queen of Diamonds. She had picked it because she was the best at Diamond games, though she supposed she could also add Heart games to that list as well. The game venue was in a car parking lot with multiple levels.

Tomoko had already registered when she noticed a school girl enter the arena. She was Heiya's age and she hoped it was the girl although it was impossible since they were different heights and the girl had short black hair, not long brown locks.

The girl's eyes surveyed the room before she turned to leave. Before Tomoko could even stop herself, she darted forward and pulled the girl back by her shoulder.

"Don't! You'll be killed by a laser. You're in the game now." Tomoko told her, wondering if the kid had only just arrived at Borderlands.

   Before the girl could respond, a robot voice announced, "There are twenty players. Registration has now closed. Difficulty, Queen of Diamonds. Game, Parking Puzzles. Rules: find out the answer to five puzzles to win the game. There is no time limit. The game starts when all players are on the first level."

🂱

AUTHOR NOTES
sorry for all the split ups lol i made chishiya and tomoko split up bc i have no idea how to write the king of diamonds/beauty contest game. anyway!!! we get to see kuina & ann soon (in maybe 4 chapters?)