take me back to eden | niragi x oc

七

Hiyori and Niragi haven't been teamed together for a game since their test game. Along with Last Boss, there's a couple other members on their small team, all following behind Niragi as they head towards the game arena. There's brightly lit arrows pointing them in the direction the subway steps, flickering lights wink from the dark tunnel down. They might as well have been flame-lit sconces with the eerie aura they give off.

Niragi starts down their stairs first, Hiyori at his heels, but the two stop at an electric sound from behind them. Turning back around, they watch the scanning red as the crosshatched laser field blinks to life, stopping Last Boss and the other players in their tracks and leaving them standing on the street outside. Niragi hops back up the stairs, careful to not touch the lasers.

"What the fuck?" Niragi murmurs, confused, his dark brows scrunching.

"Player limit reached," an electronic voice answers from an overhead speaker, echoing down into the dark station.

"Seriously?" he complains in disbelief, sighing.

Hiyori's stomach drops, their mind starting up a slow streaming prayer that this wasn't a game where there would be only one winner. They look nervously to Niragi, chewing their bottom lip. They should have realised it was a possibility, that playing any game together ran the risk that one of them might die.

Turning to continue down the stairs, Niragi huffs at the sight of a standing sign blinking at him. 'No weapons beyond this point', it reads in dots of LEDs. He weighs his rifle in his hand, considering forgoing the blinking order then just sighs roughly and turns around, going back up the steps to thrust the gun's stock towards Last Boss through the lasers. He takes it, then glances to Hiyori. Niragi follows his gaze.

"You have anything?" He asks.

They pause, fingers twitching by their pocket, slightly reluctant. Eventually, they reach into it and pull out their lighter.

"This count?" They asks, holding it up.

Niragi shrugs, clipping a walkie-talkie to his belt. For a moment, they thumb over the carved sakuras, watching the light glint of the lighter's surface, then shove it back into their pocket.

"You always carry that around with you?" He asks as they start walking down the stairs again.

"It was my sister's," they answer simply.

At the bottom of the stairs, three other players are waiting. Niragi passes them without a glance at any, heading towards the table where two phones waited. He picks both up, holding one out to Hiyori.

"There's only five players?" A woman asks, confused, looking between the small group.

"Maybe it's a club game," one of the men says quietly.

The phones vibrate, screens lighting up. Hiyori looks down as a card appears, they sigh in relief when it's not a diamond or heart. At least in spades, there was often more than one winner.

"4 of spades, Escaping Yomi." The robotic voice says.

"Yomi?" Hiyori repeats slowly. Escaping the Underworld?

The robotic voice continues, rattling on: "Game complete when all living players find the exit. Game lost if all players are caught by the yomotsu-hisame."

The lights above flicker and darken, casting long shadows in every direction and almost plunging them into complete darkness. It makes it hard to see anything, and the slight consistent glinting makes it difficult for their eyes to fully adjust. There's a soft, uneven scuffling sound in the distance and Hiyori frowns, hand digging into their pocket to find their lighter again.