As Above (So Below)

Chapter Ten: Observation

Suguru watched Riko disappear into the elevator. She stared up at her mentor, who surveyed the last few tributes in the hallway.

The woman was much older, Suguru couldn't guess how long ago she'd won. The fire in her eyes mirrored that in Suguru's. Like all of the tributes, she had a deep desire to come out victorious, to go home with relief on her shoulders. She'd clearly done it once before, why couldn't she make it happen again?

The woman shifted her stare from the top of Riko's head to Suguru's lingering eyes. The intensity did not waver, she laced as much certainty and drive as she could into a single look. But behind that was a sort of recognition. She knew Suguru was no threat to Riko. She saw the decision in his eyes. She saw Suguru as someone with a common goal. Perhaps not a friend, not even an ally, but not an enemy. Suguru could be trusted.

Suguru's focus broke as the elevator doors slid shut. He, Hanami and Yuki waited for their own, trying to keep themselves close to each other as the remaining people filed into the space at the end of the room. Hanami breathed out a short, judgmental laugh. It was clear she found Suguru's niceties to be a waste of time. Anyone else would have left Riko's dress tangled in the ends of Hanami's wearable sculpture. That would have been the smart thing to do. It would have been the easy thing to do. But Suguru couldn't bar himself off from the tug he felt. She was too young, too innocent, too similar to his two favorite girls to leave her there, scared against the cold floor.

Maybe it was crueler for him to have offered a helping hand. There was no doubt it would come back to bite him in the future. Yuki said it best that first night on the train, only repeating the one true rule of the Games. There was only one winner. There would only ever be one winner. There was no room for both Suguru and Riko on Iori's final stage. There was clear understanding in his mind that a single gesture had settled him into an impossible position. There would come a time when he'd regret crouching down, and he'd have to choose between two different forms of damnation. For the time being however, it was inconsequential. Thinking about it too much would turn his brain to mush.

The doors chimed and he felt Hanami retreat, just as the crawling, licking heat of that presence returned to the back of his neck. Suguru turned slowly this time as the warmth enveloped him.

Satoru was close to his mentor, practically pressed against his side. His face was painted with a smug look of bravado as paraded through the nervous remainder. The way he moved was different than before. His face was steady but his legs wobbled as he grew nearer on unsteady feet. With each step closer the intensity built, burning, burning, burning as their eyes finally met again.

Suguru hadn't realized how intently he'd been staring until Satoru's face fell. The mask dropped in an instant and Suguru caught a glimpse at what was hidden beneath the glitter. Satoru presented himself as the sure-to-win pick for everyone in that screaming crowd, but here, in this instant, he was something, someone, completely different. Suguru couldn't put a finger on it, what that spark of something was in Satoru's eyes, but it wasn't the shiny armor he wore elsewhere. Interesting.

Suguru could have stood there longer, sizing Satoru up, relishing in whatever he'd discovered, trapped in the moment they'd created between themselves, but Hanami was restless. She yelled, ready to leave the entire ceremony behind and finally be out of the clothes. Suguru blinked and moved toward the elevator.

Hanami was more exasperated than before, having witnessed every instance Suguru had made a poor decision. Scared as she was, the route she was taking was the smarter one. It was the one Suguru had intended to take as well. Flying under the radar and talking to no one was the easiest, safest option. Yet in one night, Suguru had turned his strategy into a game of cat and mouse, and he wasn't sure which he was.