Forget Me Nots • CHISHIYA SHUNTARO

iv

THE HANGED MAN

♤♡◇♧

The city was dead silent. The usual sound of cars rushing through the streets, the chattering bustle of people, the angry honks of horns at pedestrians who stupidly ran out on the road, balancing on a thin line between life and death. All of that was gone.

The comfort that was once the busy streets of Tokyo had disappeared all of a sudden. Arata and his friends spent the first days searching for the faintest signs of life to no avail. The streets remained eerily empty, leaving them swimming in their confusion.

Then the games happened.

Despite their shared unawareness of how things worked in this strange parallel universe, the three made it through their first game intact. A miracle in Arata's eyes. Now he found himself exploring the empty city in a search for supplies, finding an odd comfort in the quiet. At least, that's what he told Hajime and Mika. In reality, he needed a distraction from what he'd witnessed the previous night. The body falling limply to the floor, trailing wisps of smoke rising up from the hole burnt through his head. The laser had come from the sky, out of nowhere. If the games weren't a sure sign this was not their world, then the mysteriously appearing red laser that struck a hole through a man's skull surely was.

Coming across a curious shop, Arata stopped by the window as a sparkling glint caught his eyes. Like a magpie, his gaze was lured in by the crystals glittering in the sunlight. For a moment, he admired the uneven, jagged surfaces that reflected the sun's rays, before entering the shop, mystified by the contents. He recalled visiting a shop like this with Mika once, the woman a firm believer in the so called energy these crystals emitted.

Alongside the raw crystals, the shop displayed necklaces and bracelets. The bracelets in particular caught his attention, and he picked up a few, pocketing them to give to his friend later. She would love them. His eyes flickered around the shop, settling on a tall, dark oak cabinet. There was a tugging sensation in his gut that had his feet moving automatically, and he found himself at the open cabinet without realising.

On one of the shelves, lay a stack of cards. But upon looking at the top one, he could tell immediately that they weren't standard playing cards. The card on the top depicted a regal looking woman on a throne, surrounded by nature. She was crowned in a sea of stars and draped in pomegranate patterned robes. The eyes were stern, yet gentle, fixing Arata with a motherly stare. He never imagined he'd find comfort in an image on a card, yet here he was, gazing down at a woman granted the title of 'The Empress', a warm blanket shrouding over him.

His hand reached out, and he picked up the stack. Three cards fell from the bottom of the pile, landing at his feet. Two landed with the writing facing him, whilst the other faced away.

'The Hanged Man'.

'Judgement'.

And facing away from him was 'Death'.

♤♡◇♧

The arrival to the game venue was unceremonious. Neither of the three made any conversation on the car ride, the awkward silence unsettling Arata's nerves. Kuzuryuu's expression remained serious behind his glasses, his face reminding Arata of a stone statue. Whilst he drove, he kept stealing glimpses at Chishiya who was the sole occupier of the backseat, watching as the man observed the city passing him by.