➹ LEFT TO LOSE ➷ chishiya s.

➸ CHAPTER THIRTY

NOW PLAYING ...
Leaving Tonight • The Neighbourhood

! AUTHORS NOTE !
celebrating over 30k reads on chapter 30? little craaazy, haha thank you!

! AUTHORS WARNING !
mostly talking about weapons and hypothetical scenarios when fighting and killing someone in the game, though none of it happens yet.

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➸ "Time's up!" Seito's voice was a good enough excuse to look away from Banda, your new partner for the game, and pay attention to the upcoming instructions. Banda stepped beside you closely, as if you were already comfortable friends, and kept a menacing smile on his face. He didn't expect to be teamed up with you, of course, but he considers it a pleasant surprise.

"I say," The King of Hearts' words trailed for a while, like he was making up his own game along the way. "Each duo go to a different table on the field." Before you could question it, there was now white tables spread out on the grass. You don't remember them being there before, but then again you were fairly distracted by something else far concerning. Nonetheless, you and Banda slowly walk up to the table closest to you, the other duos follow the motion. Every table was no different from the one beside it; there were a variety of weapons laid out on showcase, from tweezers to axes. You watched Banda graze his fingers along the different shapes of metal, his face beamed awfully similar to a kid on Christmas.

What a weirdo, you took a step back in disgust.

You desperately wanted to look at anything but the former serial killer, so you observe the other duos. Some did the same as Banda and touched the items, while others were too afraid to because Seito hadn't ordered them to. That was the smartest play, so you keep your hands behind your back until told not to.

"Ah, I see some of you have taken a liking to your new collection!" The man in charge amuses while looking down at those who look like nothing but mindless ants. "I love to see it. You'll love this game, then! I say, choose how many weapons you'd like. Remember, once the timer is up, you can't re-choose."

You waited nervously far behind Banda, giving him free range to have the honors of picking up his choice of weaponry. Unlike the Jack of Hearts game, your safety isn't guaranteed in this arena, meaning Banda could strike at any given moment. Then again, the more you thought of it, the more grateful you've become to being alone in this game. It'll be no surprise when the King of Hearts orders you to either kill other duos or your own, as betrayal is the whole point of the Hearts symbol. Hopefully, this game will be short, and you can get back to Chishiya and never have to participate in another one again.

Banda slid two unknown weapons in his back pockets, too small in his hand for you to catch a good look at before he turned around to face you. Not moving his eyes away from yours, he walks past you and away from the table. You took that as an invitation to choose your weapons from the selection, overwhelmed by your various options. There were all sorts of things, from scissors to saws, though all of them had one thing in common; being used for solely close-range combat. No guns or bows were available, which forced everyone to get close up and personal when fighting in the predicted future.

Although you only saw Banda take two weapons, there were three opened spots in the cluttered mess of metal. So, you turn around to eye him once again, though he wasn't looking at you. Instead, his eyes were fixated on another weapon in his hand; a butcher knife, too big to be one of the items he shoved in his pockets. His finger poked the top of the knife as he twirled it, not even flinching at the small trail of blood streaming down his hand. That must be the third item, and it's very likely that he took two more knives, as there's none left on the table. You thought angrily, What a freak.

Uncomfortable, you took a deep breath before focusing back on the weaponry, not too worried about the time as Banda didn't take very long during his choosing. So, you examine every option with care, imagining yourself how you'd use them in worst-case-scenario.

You and another person are charging straight towards each other, not able to rely on a surprise element, just your difference in weapons. The military-built men would go for the heaviest items, like axes and crowbars, as it easily dominates their opponent with a small item. You don't want to have to carry a heavy item for the remainder of the game, so you don't even give the largest choices on the far right side a second glance. Still, you don't go too far to the left side of the table where the smallest items are, as they put up no match to the others. So, you grab what's directly in the middle, a tomahawk. It's small but certainly not lightweight, however a lot more manageable to swing around compared to half of the leftover choices.

Now, consider yourself in a "1 v 2" situation, where a duo corners you and Banda's nowhere in sight. So, you need a weapon that's quick and easy to injure one person so you can move onto the next. If that's the case, you'd prefer not to use your tomahawk, as swinging it into someone's skin won't latch itself off as easily as a knife would. Speaking of which, it also needs to be concealable, so you can still take advantage of a surprise factor in the heat of the moment. A pocket knife would be perfect for this, but you assume Banda already has his hands on the only remaining one, so you choose a screwdriver instead. It's a quick jab-and-out, enough to stun the opponent.

Your third weapon, however, is much more... personal. Hypothetically speaking, of course, if Banda were to attack you, it would be smart to have a backup weapon concealed from his knowledge. Right now, he knows you have a screwdriver and a tomahawk, nothing he can't handle. But, you've been eyeing a syringe in the far corner of the table, a syringe already filled with a undetermined liquid. You aren't an expert, however, but that liquid could only be something deadly if it's sharing the stage with other deadly weapons. Maybe it was a poison so lethal that you only needed to inject it once for almost immediate results.

However, if you take this, you only get one shot at it, and that one shot has to be for Banda. You cannot allow Banda to leave this arena alive, and you know he's thinking the same for you too. It's either one of you or neither of you.

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THANK YOU FOR READING!