The Game (Neku x Reader)

Chapter 11

I barely stepped out of the way in time as the imagination in the air where I was standing moments ago condensed and expanded in a massive explosion that sent the fallen metal on the floor flying in different directions. I gripped the two pins in my hand tighter as I moved out of the way to avoid another explosion. A piece of metal scraped my arm, slicing the jacket I was wearing. Fortunately, it barely grazed my skin, not drawing any blood. He snarled and a bead of sweat ran down my forehead.

Damn it! I don't know how to use these pins! Joshua didn't say how! Why didn't I ask?!

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the ground around my feet light up. White flames circled around me and as they drew closer, the heat began to burn my skin, turning it a shade of red. I reached for the other pins in my pocket and as I pressed down on one of them, I found it hard to breathe, as if I was being squeezed through a tube. All of a sudden, I found myself a few feet away from where the fire had originally trapped me. The flames seemed to grow, and I held an arm up to my face to protect my eyes from the blinding white as the fire then shot out in all directions, leaving no space left untouched. I shouted out as the fire raced across my arm, severely burning it.

The scalding of the fire had caused me to drop the pins I was holding in that hand, jumping backwards to narrowly dodge another attack the man (or Angel, I'm not too sure) had sent. I heard a faint grunting noise from behind me and saw Koki struggling to prop himself up with one arm.

"J. . . Just g-go!" Koki attempted to say something else but a coughing fit cut him off as he doubled over, his face twisted with pain as droplets of blood hit the ground beneath him. Uzuki still remained unconscious not too far away.

Finding no time to reply, I looked at the four pins I had left. As a set they would probably be more beneficial to me with all the pins together. I'll have to kill Joshua later for not telling me what the pins did. I stole a glance at the ground, desperately trying to remember where I dropped the other pins. I looked up at the man as he flicked his wrist, causing white chains to emerge from the ground and circle around him like a viper, waiting to strike. In one swift motion, he brought his arm up to point at me as the chains raced towards me at inhuman speed. With a yelp, I felt something grab my ankle and yank me down as the chains flew above me, narrowly missing the top of my head. I glanced down and saw Koki let go of my ankle before he laid his head down, closing his one open eye. I rolled to the side as the chain struck the ground where my head once was, effectively cracking the concrete ground. I saw a glint in the corner of my eye and dove towards it, scraping my elbows and hands on the ground as I clumsily picked the pins up, dropping one in the process as a throbbing sensation flared along my left arm. I reached for the fallen pin with my good hand and picked it up, holding it so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

As I held the six pins to my chest I let out a sigh of relief with them all back in my possession but that didn't last for long as one of the chains hit my leg, causing me to scream loudly at the searing pain. The chain then wrapped around it, pinning me to the ground. My heart thumped wildly against my chest as a feeling of panic spread throughout my body. Another sharp pain hit my side as more chains wrapped themselves around my body, limiting my movements. I heard light footsteps as a body crouched by me, grinning maliciously.

"Well you certainly didn't last very long," he said as he reached for something in a pocket on his jacket.

"What the hell do you even want?"

"You've got fire in your eyes, I can see it," he muttered as he pulled a pin out of his pocket, holding it delicately between his thumb and forefinger to show its design to me.