Life in Borderland

The Search

Kagami kept on running until she couldn't run anymore. She would rather run into the King of Spades than Sunato Banda at this point. She couldn't exactly wrap her head around the conversation she had with the man. Niragi and Kagami had been careful. Very careful when they killed and then disposed of Masato Kagami. If Banda really had witnessed it, then that changed everything. It also made a lot of sense with some strange coincidences she experienced before Banda's arrest. Most of them could be chalked up to anxiety, but now she wasn't so sure. She had always had the feeling that someone was watching her and all four murders occurred not too far from where she and Niragi lived in Shibuya. Again, it all could be simple speculation, but there had to be a reason why Banda had the image of her that he did in his head. He thought of her as a cold blooded killer which couldn't be further from the truth. It seemed that his interest in her only came from three things that Kagami couldn't change about herself: One: she was a woman and he really had it out for women and two: she was a murderer whether she liked it or not and three: she was born and raised in San'ya. Not even Niragi was from San'ya and he was closer to the image Banda had of her than she was. People from San'ya viewed each other in a rather strange way and it created a connection whether you liked it or not. It was why Kagami was very secretive in the real world about where she was from in Tokyo.

Kagami collapsed and while she was sure that she hadn't been followed, she made sure that she pushed herself in between a couple of cars to keep her out of sight. The cardigan that once belonged to Chishiya was stained with her blood and hurt more and more as time went on. She hated her past and especially hated that no matter how much she ran away from it, it seemed to always come back to bite her in the ass. Between Niragi, Chishiya and Banda, Kagami was certain that she had some sort of sign on her forehead that said 'Crazies, Psychos and Manipulative assholes gather here'. In Chishiya's defense, he was a manipulative asshole to people that weren't her and she really only saw that side of him a few times. Niragi and Banda were two peas in a pod though.

"I'm glad you listened to me." Masato spoke once more. He was now sitting beside her, smoking a cigarette. She was really over this ghost thing and couldn't help but wonder if anyone else was experiencing it in this world or if she was just losing her mind.

"Why save me?" Kagami spat. "I killed you." Her eyes stared at her father's somewhat hollow face.

"Because you have the most potential to be something in San'ya. If you went back there you would run that district." He answered and Kagami immediately looked away from him. She never expected an answer and there was no way she would ever go back there. "You all have one of my flaws within you. But you were the only one who could make it a strength. Hachi has my addiction. Daiki, my wrath and you, my daughter, have my stubbornness. You're too stubborn to die." Masato said and Kagami simply nodded. She wasn't seeing his point yet.

"How is your stubbornness a strength of mine?" She questioned.

"Look at your brothers. Looking at Hachi is like looking in the mirror and Daiki is one of the most feared men in the Yakuza. But you, you are calculated and focused and killing me was probably the best way to bring that part of you out. You cannot escape who you are. Niragi has finally become the type of man you need by your side. Dedicated, loyal and not afraid to kill when needed. Between your brains and his devotion, you'll have complete control over San'ya. You could easily create ties with the Yakuza thanks to Daiki. You just need to let go of this fantasy you have of becoming a better person, when you're not." Masato explained and Kagami couldn't help but laugh.

"You definitely have to be a figment of my imagination." She said through her laugh. "I am not going back to that shithole. That life is behind me now, Masato."

"Killing me made you stronger." Masato replied and this time Kagami scoffed at him.

"Killing you gave me crippling anxiety and panic attacks. Shut the fuck up." She snapped. She was sick of this and it wasn't too far to get to the courthouse where the King of Diamond game was currently being played. So far, 5 Blimps had blown up and after Chishiya wins the Diamond game, whoever was left playing would have only half the games left. Things were looking hopeful.

"When you can finally accept your past and realize you aren't like everyone else here, you'll become a force to be reckoned with." Masato said, reminding her that he was still there. "You could be more dangerous than me, Daiki and even Banda."

Kagami was getting sick of Masato. This was barely the man she remembered from her childhood, but then again, they rarely ever spoke and when they did speak, it was empty promises and lies. It was what made her skeptical about his story about Banda. She honestly had the feeling that Daiki was involved somehow and when she played the King of Hearts game she would have her answer.

"Whatever." Kagami shrugged. "I'm not about to listen to the man who beat his children for no good reason other than because he's a dick. I will never become you. I want to be a good person now and you're not going to stop that. The past is the past and I know what my future looks like now." She told him.

Masato gave her a look like he had just lost before he looked away from her. Perhaps this too was all just a test from whatever overlords controlled the players and the citizens. A test to see if Kagami could change and become a better person. She could have easily become as evil as Banda or as cruel as Hachi or even as scheming and vengeful as Daiki. But, she wasn't. Not even Niragi broke her over the years and now, she felt as though she was a different person from who she was when they first entered this world. Chishiya had changed her and so had Kuina. Not even Masato Kagami could break her.

"You know, I'll never forgive you for killing me." Masato mused and Kagami could see that he was starting to turn to dust before her eyes.

"That's great, dad. I never asked for your forgiveness. Goodbye." Kagami watched on as the rest of his body disappeared along with a wind that seemed to echo her name. For some reason, she got the feeling that it was really over. She would never see her father again. The thought of him used to cause her stomach to turn but now, she felt nothing. She felt as though she had finally let go of the past. Neither Masato nor Niragi haunted her now.

Forcing herself to her feet, she continued to walk towards the courthouse. With all of the issues she had run into between Teio Prison and here, about an hour had passed. Kagami continued on her way but found that she could no longer run. The pain in her back was too much to handle anymore and all she needed was to find Chishiya. She continued to move slowly towards the courthouse and focused on slow breathing to combat the pain she felt. Based on her luck so far, now that she had come so far, Chishiya would probably die in this game. Kagami tried to smirk at the thought, but all it did was cause her stomach to turn. Losing Chishiya would probably be enough to turn Kagami into the person her father wanted to see. But, Chishiya was also so much smarter than anyone she had ever met before and if anyone could survive the hardest Diamond game, it was him.

As she made it about ten meters in front of the courthouse, she once again collapsed. Between her aching legs and the pain in her back, she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Thankfully for her, the blimp was still hovering high above the courthouse which meant the game was still going on. Kagami just simply sat and waited, trying to stay upright as she couldn't afford to get dirt in her wound considering medical care was basically non existent in this place. She really only wanted to find Chishiya just in case she died in the King of Hearts game. She would need a couple days to recover and wanted to spend those days with Chishiya.

Just as she was becoming comfortable with the sound of silence, she heard an explosion from above her and stared at the King of Diamonds blimp that burst into flames. Whoever was left in there had won the King of Diamonds game. As she looked back down to the doorway Kagami's eyes widened as her eyes fell onto the short man who had his hands in his pockets. She couldn't believe it was him. Something seemed to be troubling Chishiya as his eyes remained locked onto the ground and she had never seen a look like that on his face before. The King of Diamonds game had clearly affected him in some way. Kagami stayed frozen where she sat, simply watching him until finally his eyes shifted upward and he froze. At the sight of her, Kagami watched as Chishiya flashed her a grin that lit up his whole face. She had never seen him smile like that once. He looked at her as though he never expected to see her again. She had finally found him. Her Chishiya. Her love.

A/N: Short chapter sorry. I also had the idea that the ghosts Aguni, Akane and Kagami see are them facing the past and either letting it consume them or letting it go. So, I wanted Kagami to have her final character development by letting go of the past completely. Hope that makes sense.