DECEPTION (Female Reader) [SAKAMOTO DAYS]

19: "No Hesitation"

(Y/n)'s POV:

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After a long day of investigating every corner of that amusement park, from its eerie rides to the childish carnival games that had lost their charm in the shadow of this cage, I decided to call it quits for the night. I doubted the others had found anything useful either. The exhaustion was catching up with me, and my patience for the mysteries of this place was wearing thin.

Instead of heading straight to my room, I made a detour to the hotel café for a midnight snack. To my surprise, there was Rion-resting her head on the counter, looking absolutely drained. Earlier, I had tasked her with reading the history books from the library about this strange cage we were trapped in. She volunteered, especially since Uzuki was busy with whatever secrets he was digging up elsewhere.

As I approached her, I took a moment to observe the girl with Turquoise-colored(?) hair, noting how she was half-asleep, her breathing shallow. My gaze drifted down to the notes she had taken. I frowned in disappointment when all I saw were doodles-sketches of guns, knives, and other weapons. Classic Rion. There was nothing remotely useful in terms of information.

I studied her more closely and found myself wondering again why she had run away from the JCC with Uzuki and me. She had people waiting for her-friends she left behind and a family. Akira, and whoever was looking after her niece back home. 'What had made her throw all of that away?'

I flinched slightly when she stirred, her eyes opening to meet mine. Neither of us spoke for a moment, the silence heavy between us. Finally, I broke it with my usual sarcasm. "You overworked yourself, yet you haven't even found anything useful."

I sighed and shook my head. "Oh well! I guess this stuff isn't exactly your thing anyway-just fighting and killing people, right?"

Rion didn't say anything at first, still shaking off her daze. She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes, offering them to me. "Let's stay here for a bit..." she muttered as she raised her head from the counter.

I chuckled softly and took a seat beside her. "Man! I remember my first cigarette back then! Back when you tried to corner me, asking for advice, and then handed me a smoke to share with you?"

"Huh!?" she blinked, her eyes widening slightly. "S-so... that was your first smoke, huh?" Her voice softened, a hint of guilt slipping in.

I sighed dramatically before smirking. "Yep, teaching a minor how to smoke, huh? Thanks to you, the guys in the back alleys thought I was older than I actually was! They believed I was over 20 when I wasn't even close. Hahaha!"

"Ugh! Liar!" she shot back, her face flushed. "You looked like you'd smoked before when I gave you that cigarette! And you didn't hesitate to take one!"

I grinned, shaking my head. 'Huh, I wonder how we're even getting along with just cigarettes...' I thought, a bit bewildered by the strange bond we'd formed over time.

Despite everything-the trials, the killing game, the chaos-moments like these almost made it feel like we were normal. Just two people trying to survive, even if the world around us was far from real.

I sighed again, letting the silence linger for a moment before smirking. "Geez, Rion, who do you really like? Me or Uzuki?" I gave her a teasing side-glance, watching as her narrowed eyes locked onto mine, clearly annoyed.

"Hah!? What the hell makes you say that?" she snapped, her voice filled with indignation.

I lazily rested my head on my hand, drumming my fingers against the counter. "Well, you did leave the others behind just to be with us. You ran away with Uzuki... so, why? Why ditch everyone else and stick with us?" I let out a mock gasp, theatrically widening my eyes. "Oh wait! Is it because you feel bad for Uzuki? Poor guy, his friends back home are being held hostage, right? Aww, Rion, I didn't know you had such a soft heart~ Helping Uzuki save his family from that messed-up orphanage... so sweet of you~"