『Nakamura Hina 』
What would her reaction be when one moment she was visiting a coffee shop and the next, the entirety of Tokyo had disappeared?
Hina was minding her business with her little brother within a cute coffee shop that she had found onlin...
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Hina lay sprawled across the bed in her room, gazing up at the ceiling fan as it spun lazily above her. The hum of the fan and the distant noise from the pool outside blended into a comforting white noise that made it easy to forget, for just a moment, the chaos of the Beach and the games that ruled their world. It was a rare moment of peace, and Hina had learned to appreciate every second of it.
Beside her, Kuina sat cross-legged at the edge of the bed, fidgeting with a deck of playing cards, flipping them absentmindedly between her fingers. Yume sat in a chair by the window, her light hair framing her face as she gazed outside at the setting sun. They'd all survived another day, but the quiet moments like these were becoming harder to find.
Hina sighed, letting her eyes drift shut. The past games so far had been brutal, and though she'd stacked enough days on her visa to rest for now, the constant threat of being forced into another deadly challenge lingered in the back of her mind. Still, being in this room with Kuina and Yume made it easier. They had developed a strange but comforting bond, a silent understanding that, in a place like this, trust was more valuable than anything.
"So," Kuina said, breaking the silence, "anyone else think the Beach is getting more tense lately? People are acting like the next game could be their last."
Hina opened one eye, smirking slightly. "Took you this long to notice?"
Kuina chuckled, flipping a card into the air and catching it. "No, just feels... different, you know? Like Hatter's planning something big."
"Probably is," Yume muttered from her chair, not taking her eyes off the horizon. "He's always up to something. The question is, will it help us, or get us all killed?"
Before Hina could respond, there was a sudden knock at the door. The three of them exchanged glances, the calm atmosphere of the room instantly shattered. No one knocked on your door at the Beach unless it was important—and rarely good.
Kuina slid off the bed and crossed the room, opening the door cautiously. Two of Hatter's henchmen stood on the other side, dressed in the usual flashy Hawaiian shirts, but their expressions were all business. One of them, a tall man with tattoos snaking down his arms, glanced around the room before locking eyes on Hina.
"Hatter wants to see you," he said, his voice clipped and formal.
Hina's heart skipped a beat. A summons from Hatter? That wasn't something you ignored.
"Just me?" Hina asked, sitting up on the bed.
"Just you," the other man, a shorter, bulkier figure, confirmed. "Now."
Yume raised an eyebrow, and Kuina shot Hina a questioning look. No one ever wanted to be summoned by Hatter without knowing why. But there was no real choice here—refusing could mean a game you didn't want to play, or worse.
Hina exhaled deeply, giving a small shrug to her friends as if to say, What can you do? She stood and walked toward the door, feeling the weight of Kuina and Yume's eyes on her back.
