Life in Borderland

The Broken King

Kagami and Chishiya had been traveling for a full day and still found no sign of their former companions. After leaving Chishiya's house, their newfound relationship had taken a step back for the better as they both focused on keeping an eye out for Kagami's friends and for the King of Spades. Another two games had been defeated, the Jack of Spades and the Jack of Diamonds, leaving only four games left. Freedom was getting closer and closer.

Kagami looked towards Chishiya who walked beside her; she couldn't help but steal the occasional glance towards the man she loved. He met her gaze and for a split second she saw the mask slip as he smiled at her, before looking ahead of them. Kagami watched him for a few moments longer; the hood was back over his head. He walked with his head held high and hands resting comfortably in his pockets. He was so beautiful to Kagami and not just in appearance either. She had never seen anyone the way she saw Shuntaro Chishiya. While Niragi may have been more objectively attractive, prior to being burned, he had nothing on Chishiya. Taking a breath, Kagami looked ahead of her, she needed to remain focused.

Kagami tilted her head ever so slightly as they had approached the edge of Tokyo and found themselves looking at what could only be described as a forest. But, that was not what caused her to tilt her head. Kagami quickly looked to Chishiya, who raised an eyebrow at her, before looking back to the two figures that were making their way towards them. One of them, the young woman, she didn't recognize. But the man? The man they both knew very well.

"Ah, your majesty! You're alive!" Kagami exclaimed dramatically as she ran ahead of Chishiya and dropped into a low curtsy.

Kagami still held a lot of resentment towards Morizono Aguni, but this Aguni seemed different. Standing upright, Kagami locked eyes with Aguni who stopped dead in his tracks and met her gaze. He seemed almost broken. For some reason, the sadness in his eyes caused her resentment to float away. After all, he wasn't solely to blame for Niragi and had in fact saved her from certain death during the Ten of Hearts game.

"You..." He breathed as if he wasn't entirely sure she was real.

"Me... Long time no see, huh?" She smirked, placing a hand on her hip as Aguni started to walk towards her again.

"If you're looking for Arisu, he's gone." Aguni said. "He left last night after we tried to take on the King of Spades."

"Usagi wasn't with him?" Kagami questioned with a frown, causing the woman who walked beside Aguni to pipe up.

"Who even is this Usagi? Is she his girlfriend of something?" She questioned, looking to Kagami as she spoke.

"Pretty much. They're in love but also in denial about being in love." Kagami explained. "Who are you? I don't think I remember you from the Beach." Kagami said, looking over her shoulder as Chishiya who had stopped quite a few meters back. His eyes were locked onto Aguni and the mask was well and truly back on.

"I'm Akane." The girl said in response, "You're Kagami, right? Aguni's spoken about you before. You're the one who was with that crazy guy, Niragi and now you're with some Chishiya guy, yeah? Aguni said you used to flirt with Chishiya during meetings right in front of Niragi. I gotta hand it to you, I kinda respect you for that." She said in a tone that convinced Kagami that Akane thought of her as some sort of 'player'. "Is that him? Is he hotter than Niragi? Is that why you're with him now? Or are you fucking them both now?" Akane asked, looking passed her to where Chishiya was standing.

"Yeah, that's Chishiya." Kagami said, crossing her arms over her chest. "In my defense, my ex is more than just 'that crazy guy'... try murderous, rapey, completely psychotic guy who said to my face 'If I can't have you than Chishiya can't either' as he tried to shoot me in the face. That was before he tried to rape and kill me again during the King of Clubs game when he found out I loved Chishiya and not him. So, don't think of me as some sort of man-eater, okay kid?" She said seriously, causing Akane, who couldn't be older than 18, to look her up and down.