𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 | Alice in Borderland

V

Ikari's first thoughts were, "How is he doing?" It was now nighttime. He knew for a fact Karube, Arisu, Chota, and the woman he never got to know were playing their game.

He never wanted to become a person who wished ill intent on people, but the woman never sat right with him, even with the short time spent together. Ikari wished for Karube, Chota, and Arisu to leave the game unscathed.

Being alone meant being alone with his thoughts. Ikari would reminisce about times when he was teaching his class. He missed it if he was being honest, although not everything was missed. Ikari hated when he accidentally overheard teachers and staff talk poorly about him.

Who could he blame for himself? He's come late to school on multiple occasions, often because of being too drunk or hungover. He remembered of a time when his class' whispers were too much for him and he threw a pop quiz in their face.

Ikari chuckled. His parents would think of him as a disappointment if they could see him right now. He was nothing in this world as much as everyone else. Ikari always strived for the approval of his parents. Showing no excitement whenever he would come home with an A, his parents didn't care as long as he was some prodigy.

Ikari reached the second to last beach on the list. Nothing once again. He was exhausted. Wanting to find the beach and be done with it. He wanted to lie on the floor and sleep. He continued his walk tiredly—only taking breaks when he needed it. Once again, another day passed and still nothing in sight. His visa was losing its days.

"Where? Where are you?!" He yelled out to the air, desperate for anything. Just wanting anything at this point. He wondered if the beach even existed, wondering if the person on the radio just lied to get people to look for something and waste their time.

—

Three days pass and Ikari spent the days reaching the last location only to find nothing once more. He ignored the games that popped up, thinking only about this so-called paradise. On his last day—Ikari spent most, if not all, of his hours walking back into the city once night fell on the white screen that lit up with the same sign as always felt taunting.

He sighed, following the sign his legs hurt and his wounds felt like they were buzzing. Ikari stood in front of an aquarium—some place he would've enjoyed if the circumstances were different. The signs led inside, meaning the game barrier was deeper inside instead of the entrance.

The empty tanks, and darkly lit interior gave him the chills. He stared at the exhibits as if he could see the fish swimming idly in the water. This aquarium had multiple floors—He climbed up the first set of stairs. The tanks on the second floor were lowered.

A "Live feeding!" sign was on display next to the tank, where you could pay to drop a couple of pellets of food for the fish. The price of the activity made Ikari chuckle.

Ikari made his way to the end of the feeding area to another set of stairs—which usually led to an unauthorized area. There he found a set of players idling by a rail.

This differed from usual: no phones or no extra devices were present, only six cages that were hanging on by a cable wire above the water tank. The tank looked like a big one where divers would enter the tank with the fish.

The cages looked unstable, and the cables looked worn out. A loud chime played through the arena—The cage doors opened, and a small bridge deploying from the platform upwards towards the cages. The players walked away from the railing and in front of a bridge of each cage.

Ikari took quick notice of the bracelets that two of the players wore, he's seen one before but he couldn't put his mind on it. He stopped the player with the bracelet. It was a man.