𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 | Alice in Borderland

I

Ikari Fukumoto was always held at high expectations, his family always putting him in difficult situations in order to get him to strive. Being the only child, he bore a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders; he had to be the best, and he had to do all he did with precision.

From a young age, Ikari would sneak into his father's own cellar, where he held most, if not all, his alcoholic beverages ranging from cheap to expensive kinds. Ikari would drink and drink, developing some sort of relationship with the beverages-always looking for a way to have the bottle in his hand.

The glass bottles with intricate designs always caught his eyes, overtime he had acknowledged how addicting it was to feel the burning sensation go down his throat.

-

Ikari Fukumoto was once again thrown out into the world, now 25, and with a job. After the verbal beatings his parents would give him, he'd force himself into a job teaching younger kids mathematics. Overdressed for the job, he wore a rather expensive suit, navy, along with a set of pearl necklace.

The job was good, but the pay was mediocre at best; he had lost the right to return to his home once his parents kicked him out for stealing years' worth of alcohol.

The class was bustling. Ikari could hear his classroom from down the hall. As he walked in, he cleared his throat rather loud smacking the board with his fist to catch everyone's attention. It worked amazingly as the students scampered walking to their appropriate desks.

The day hadn't even begun, and he'd already experienced painful headaches. He wrote on the board the plans for the class. After an hour of endless teaching about algebra and trigonometry, a student raised their hand. Ikari nodded his head, giving the student permission to speak.

"Will there be a quiz on this?" the bell rang as if right on queue.

"Yes, but we'll go over this next time."

The classroom rumbled in sound as the sound of books and pages being rustled. Ikari took the time to grab his bag and clean the chalkboard, walking out before his students bidding them a goodbye.

Ikari taught because it's something to keep his parents at bay. He wanted the money, and he had nowhere else to go. The headache was still at large; he walked down the extremely busy street of Shibuya.

Bumping shoulders with strangers, his necklaces hitting each other as he attempted to rush through the crowd. He wanted alcohol; he was going through withdrawals after not consuming alcohol all day.

He found a bar that was nearby. He walked up towards the closed door holding the handle as he pulled walking into the empty bar. Only one person was there. It was a man clad in an orange Hawaiian shirt-cleaning the glasses.

"Rough day? What can I get you?"

Ikari sat on the high chair, his eyes traveling across the bartender's features, his rough face along with the stubble along his chin. He smiled at the bartender with a knowing smirk.

"Anything strong will do."

The bartender chuckled, handing him a glass, looking down at Ikari's attire, the expensive suit and the pearls which reflected the dim blue light off the surface.

"Genshu?" the bartender offered cautiously, unaware of Ikari's liking for sake. Ikari nodded, watching the bartender smile.

"Didn't take you for a sake person."

Ikari chuckled at his comment. His appearance was always made to make people think of him as a higher up, someone who is more refined and proper.

Ikari took the drink, drinking the rather strong alcohol, humming in approval as the burn he longed for ran down his throat, clearing his headache almost immediately.

He noticed the man's bleach blond hair and his rather captivating brown eyes. "Quite the look." Ikari commented. Karube looked up from the glass he held in his hand. "I could say the same about you."

"Well, nice to meet you.." The bartender paused, waiting for Ikari to fill in the information.

"Ikari. Ikari Fukumoto."

"Karube Daikichi."

They shared a chuckle after exchanging names. Karube continued to refill his glass and Ikari continued to drink. They unknowingly formed a bond, bartender, and drinker. Ikari, now drunk, rested his head against the table of the bar.

"Another one, Karube, keep them coming." His words slurred and his speech was rather slow. Ikari looked at Karube, finding his appearance more captivating than usual.

"You know, me and you? We'll get along well."

Karube chuckled, taking away Ikari's glass, rinsing it with water and setting it out to dry before wiping it down.

"I think that's enough for you. You've had more than enough." Ikari grumbled. Always alone meant no one could stop him from indulging too much. He couldn't resist the man's charm while being drunk.

Ikari attempted to fix his collar, which was uncomfortable, setting down one of his necklaces, which was near choking him from how it fitted.

"Guess I should get home." Ikari stood, swaying and stumbling, near losing his balance as he attempted to stand straight. Holding onto the bar table for a second before he moved.

His attention fully on trying to walk the best he could, ignoring Karube's calls, as he had forgotten a piece of jewelry leaving the establishment.

-

The next day, Ikari was once again walking through the Shibuya crossing. The huge group of people walking down the street, Ikari, once again bumping into multiple people, he noticed something was wrong.

Ikari's hand went towards his neck. Feeling that one of his pearls was missing, he sighed in disappointment, losing a valuable piece of jewelry. As he crossed the street, he heard a loud honk as he caught glimpses of 3 adult-males standing in the middle of the road, one holding the other on his shoulders while the other one recorded.

Unknown to Ikari, the one carrying the other was Karube. Regardless of what he saw or not, he made a snide comment.

"Children."

He flinched as an accident happened. Two cars crashed into each other, causing their horns to go off loudly. Ikari turned around once across the street to see the three run off after security chased them. He minded his business turning away to continue his walk before he heard multiple explosions up in the sky.

Colorful fireworks filled the sky. Everyone around him stared in awe. He walked away, hearing the crowd slowly die down as he walked into the school, finding it dark and void of students and staff, the noise outside completely gone. He ran outside. The streets are empty and no one to be found, the sky now dark after being in daylight.

Ikari panted, out of breath from running.

"Where-" He huffed.

"Where is everyone?" He questioned to no one, looking around.