I am still working on Chapter 3 of (Love Is) A Dangerous Game so today I offer you smut instead <3
Pairing: Chishiya x gn reader
Rating: M
Summary: You and Chishiya are coworkers/friends, one day after a bad breakup, you ask him for a very special kind of favor.
Other notes: I kept the reader gender neutral so this could be read as either a male or female reader. I hope it sounds good.
It was a strange moment of calm at the hospital between rounds. You were standing outside by the entrance to the ER, not so much waiting for the next ambulance to arrive but to get away from everyone and think. Your personal life had always been complicated and messy, your present situation—your third breakup in less than a year—was just another proof.
The night was chilly, but it didn’t bother you; you could have stayed there all night but your shift was far from over, you were lucky you had been able to sneak out as it was. You were about to go back inside when you felt his presence.
‘Hey,’ you said even before you could hear or see him.
‘Night,’ Chishiya acknowledged your greeting. ’Are you hiding from the nurses so they won’t make you fill out patient charts?’
You shook your head. ‘No. I… It’s over. They finally left.’
‘You don’t seem too crushed about it.’ Chishiya observed.
‘Should I be?’ you sighed. ‘I don’t know. I am… disappointed. In myself, mostly.’
‘But not sad.’
‘No. I guess I saw it coming for a while. Still, you could say “sorry to hear that” or the usual things people say in these situations.’ You snorted. Chishiya didn’t care about personal drama.
Almost as if he were reading your thoughts, Chishiya raised an eyebrow and studied you in silence. ‘Sorry to hear that,’ he finally muttered.
You threw your head back and laughed. ‘Thanks. Yeah, it’s… whatever.’
Both of you stood there in companionable silence. Chishiya was gazing at some indistinct point in the horizon and you turned to look at him. You could say you liked him. He was a good doctor, a very intelligent man; and if you two weren’t exactly friends, at least he’d never been outright rude towards you. But there was something else. You couldn’t deny that you had always been curious about him in a very specific way: what would it be like to have sex with him. Would he be cold and distant, detached and clinical? Or would he unleash some other facet of himself?
‘I just wish…’ you whispered, lost in wayward thoughts.
‘What?’ Chishiya asked.
Did you dare speak your mind? On one hand, you knew almost every doctor at the hospital screwed each other as if it were a competition. On the other hand, you didn’t know if you really wanted to cross that line with Chishiya, what if you spoke out of place and ruined things between you? On yet another hand (who was counting?), he wasn’t a particularly close friend, just a coworker who shared your sense of humor—occasional witty remarks and banter—what was there to ruin?
Chishiya was still looking at you, waiting for you to continue and you decided to throw caution to the wind. ‘I know I’m not your type, but I… Would you do me a favor? Fuck them out of my system.’
He stared at you with that analytical, piercing gaze of his that could be both understanding and intimidating, and you were sure you’d ruined things; there was no coming back from a request like that.
‘Do you mean it?’
Did you? The loud siren announcing the imminent arrival of an ambulance interrupted your conversation. It was probably a good thing too, since you had suddenly lost the ability to speak. The frantic activity around the incoming patient saved you from having to think about a way to dig yourself out of answering that. All of five minutes later you were scrubbing in for an emergency surgery.
You were professional enough to put that awkward conversation out of your mind while you worked in the OR, but you had to admit you were glad Chishiya wasn’t there. If you were lucky you wouldn’t run into him in a couple of days and by then he would have forgotten about what you’d said. Probably.
After the surgery, you were considering taking a nap on the old couch in the on-call room, you didn’t want to go home just yet. But you didn’t get to the couch because the room wasn’t empty, Chishiya was there. As soon as you closed the door, he repeated the question he’d asked earlier. ‘Do you mean it?’
‘Do I mean what?’
‘That you want me to fuck them out of your system.’
You could feel your face turning red. Had you really said those words? Had he? You felt as if you’d been struck by lightning. You had to say something, either dismiss what you had said as a crass joke or commit to it. It didn’t take you long to decide. ‘Only if you want to.’
He gave a short nod, walked towards you and locked the door, pinning you against it. Chishiya put his hands on your hips and kissed you just on the right side of roughly. You tugged at his hair and got a moan out of him, then he took your hands in his and took a step back.
‘You said this was a favor, right? Is this something you would ask from anyone?’ Chishiya asked, and you shook your head. ‘And how would you go about asking for a very big favor, something you were almost desperate for?’
You caught his meaning in an instant and dropped to your knees.
‘That’s right.’ He guided your hands and pulled down his pants.
You took his cock in one hand and pumped your fist a few times before taking him into your mouth, making eye contact as you did. He was so thick you almost choked around him.
‘You look gorgeous,’ he said. ‘And you’re doing great.’ You preened, who knew you had a praise kink? You felt him shudder and you took him deeper in, but he pushed you back gently.
‘Come here.’ He helped you stand up and kissed you again, tasting himself on your lips. ‘Turn around.’ You faced the wall and then felt his chest against your back. There was a slight crinkling noise and you shivered. Chishiya shook the condom wrapper beside your right ear and leaned to whisper into your left. ‘You can still say no, you know.’
‘I want this.’
‘Good.’ He tore the packet open. You wish you could turn around to see him rolling the condom on but he was still holding you against the wall.
Chishiya pulled your pants down and took his time making sure you were ready, fingering you until you were begging him to enter you. And then he did, burying himself inside you, making you see stars. He grabbed your hips, his nails digging into your skin, and began thrusting with a relentless rhythm. ‘Don’t think about anything or anyone else,’ he whispered in your ear. You couldn’t do that even if you tried. Chishiya was everything, everywhere, in you and around you.
Your mind went blank. You came with a shudder, your knees buckling. Chishiya followed you a minute later, he came with a deep groan. You stayed pressed together until you recovered enough to speak.
‘That was mind blowing,’ you said in a raspy voice.
‘I thought it would be.’
‘You’d thought about this?’
‘Once or twice.’
‘Well, it was great. My mind is clear now.’
‘I did my best.’
You laughed at that. ‘You truly did.’
‘Do I get a “thank you?”’
‘You can get anything you want. Later.’
‘Later.’ He nodded. He helped you pull your pants up and walked you to the couch. ‘Get some rest and call me tomorrow.’
A/N: Written for @sleepysnk Valentine's Day Event 💖 I hope you like it, it's short and sweet. I meant to post this yesterday but then life happened.
Pairing: Doctor!Chishiya x Doctor!Reader
Warnings: None, it's all fluff
Summary: Your friend Kuina convinces you to let her set you up on a date. What could go wrong?
You were late. You checked your watch for the third time in as many minutes and sighed loudly as you made your way to the hospital’s cafeteria. It wasn’t your fault, you weren’t doing it on purpose, it had just been a very busy day. Why had you agreed to do this? Your shift had been brutal, you could be on your way home but instead you were begrudgingly joining someone for lunch.
‘Kuina, I swear I will strangle you,’ you muttered under your breath as you scanned the tables. You were about to give up when you spotted him, sitting by himself, reading a book like Kuina had said.
Kuina had been insisting for the longest time to let her set you up with her dear friend who happened to work at the same hospital. You refused at first, because you didn’t really see yourself dating a doctor, but eventually you accepted just so she would drop the subject.
When Kuina finally told you who her friend was, it took you by surprise. Chishiya didn’t strike you as the kind of guy who would ask a friend to set him up with someone. You had never really spoken to him before but you had seen him around the hospital. You knew he was aloof, professional but standoffish, though apparently he was great with patients. All in all, you would be lying if you said you weren’t a bit impressed and intimidated by him. You were reconsidering agreeing to do this but you were already at his table.
‘Hi,’ you said as you sat in front of him.
‘Hello?’ He raised an eyebrow.
Your heart skipped a beat. Was he disappointed because maybe he expected someone else? ‘Hmm, look. Let’s be quick about this and then we can tell her it didn’t work out,’ you said. Chishiya stared at you with genuine curiosity. Had you been rude to assume he wasn’t interested? ‘We can still talk of course.’
He gave you an assessing stare and then put his book down. ‘What would you like to talk about?’
‘...’
After an initial moment of panic, conversation flowed naturally between you. You were starting to think Kuina might be a good matchmaker after all. A shrill sound interrupted you. An alarm on Chishiya’s phone.
‘It was nice talking to you, but I have to go now. Rounds,’ Chishiya explained.
‘Right, of course. This was actually kind of fun… not that I expected it wouldn’t be.’
‘Just a question. Who are you?’
‘I’m… what? I’m Kuina’s friend, she must have told you. She begged me to have lunch with you because she said you asked her to set you up with someone… she said—’ Comprehension dawned on you like a bucket of ice cold water. ‘You never asked her to set you up with someone, did you? Oh, I am going to kill her!'
‘Please don’t, she’s a good friend.’ The corners of his lips twitched.
‘Fine, Kuina is off the hook. I’ll just go deal with my embarrassment somewhere else.’ You kept your eyes down, blushing crimson.
‘I hope that doesn’t take long, but in any case see you tomorrow?’
‘Tomorrow?’
‘To continue our conversation.’
‘Yes, of course.’ You nodded.
‘It’s a date,’ he said and then turned around and left.
‘It’s a date,’ you repeated to yourself. ‘Our second, by Kuina’s count.’
I had been reading your (Love Is) A Dangerous Game fic, and saw your requests were open, so I was wondering if maybe you'd be able to write a Chishiya X Reader where reader is like, 5'3", has medium length dyed crimson colored hair with sideswept bangs, auburn eyes, and she's got a fairly shy personality until it comes to someone she cares about? So if she hears someone talking badly about someone she cares for, particularly someone she's developed feelings for, she gets really hotheaded and will legitimately physically fight them?
She doesn't realize she's developed feelings for Chishiya until she overheard someone talking badly about him during a game (can be any game really, but I envision either S1 with the Witch, or S2 at the prison), and after she's had her little spat, she takes one look at him wide eyed and realizes she's fallen HARD for him and just gets super stressed about it to the point of *attempting* to cry to herself about it in private, but he happens upon her afterwards?
There can be a resolution/response from him or not, I prefer a happy resolution, but we all know Chishiya is difficult when it comes to feelings.
If not, that's totally okay, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask!
Ah! my first AiB request ♡♡♡ thank you, Nonnie! I hope this is close to what you imagined.
The Borderland wasn’t an easy place for anyone, but it could be especially hard for someone who wore their heart on their sleeve, someone like you. In your day to day life you were able to keep your emotions in check, and even though you felt things deeply, you didn’t usually struggle to avoid injudicious reactions. But being surrounded by stressful situations all the time was affecting you.
All things considered, The Beach was not a bad place to be, you could even say there was a slight sense of security in it, even if you felt like you really couldn’t trust anyone. You figured maybe everyone felt the same way so you were guarded.
You could give the impression of being extroverted or even extravagant, with your hair dyed a bright shade of crimson, in any case it made it hard to go unnoticed; but you were reserved, some would even say shy. The only thing that could really get to you, make you lose control and show your hotheaded side, was to see someone you cared for get hurt. If anyone attacked your friends in any way, there would be trouble.
The first few days after arriving at The Beach, you kept to yourself. The last thing you needed was to get on anyone’s wrong side. You did know how to take care of yourself, but being 5’3” it was still unwise to go around picking fights. And just like it happened in any place, like at school or at work, there were people you knew you’d better stay away from, and people you were growing to like.
For instance, you’d liked Chishiya since the first time you’d heard him speak, he was smart, observant, it made you feel better to have him around during games. But you could have said the same about other people at The Beach. It wasn’t anything special.
Sometimes, on days where you didn’t have to go out to play a game, you would find yourself wondering where Chishiya was, if maybe you could go talk to him. He was standoffish but he had never been openly rude to you and refused a conversation. You wouldn’t say he was your friend but perhaps the borderland equivalent of a friend, something like that, you didn’t need to define it.
The first time you realized your feelings toward Chishiya might have evolved, was when you lashed out at someone during the witch hunt game. As chaos—and fire—erupted around the hotel, you were trying to figure out how you could help and get away. You were scared, running around searching for the few people you felt you could trust. You found Chishiya first and you were relieved, he’d know what to do.
Both of you were looking for Kuina when someone grabbed Chishiya’s arm and called him a “fucking traitor” you didn’t think twice, you punched them so hard you knocked them to the floor. Your reaction took you by surprise but you didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, you wrote it off as a side-effect of the adrenaline rush.
The next time it happened, it was a different story.
After the incident at The Beach, you got separated from the group while escaping the King of Spades, so you were glad you’d found Chishiya at the Jack of Hearts game. You were confident that if anyone could come up with a way to win the game, it would be him.
Wary of everyone else, you teamed up with Chishiya. Even though you trusted him, you couldn’t help but feel uneasy as every other player became suspicious and started accusing and betraying each other.
When two players, a guy and a girl, cornered you behind a shelf while you were picking a snack and tried to convince you Chishiya was telling everyone you were the Jack, you snapped.
‘You can trust us,’ the girl said with a simpering smile.
‘Leave me alone,’ you mumbled, shouldering past her.
The guy stood in front of you, blocking your way. ‘We’re just trying to help you, we don’t believe you’re the Jack but that means he’s a lying bastard and—’
Before you could stop yourself you had raised your arm, your fist balled, ready to hit him. But something did stop you. You turned around to find Chishiya was holding your arm.
‘No violence allowed, remember?’ Chishiya said. The guy and the girl walked away.
You nodded but you couldn’t speak. It had suddenly dawned on you why you were reacting to any provocation against him. You felt strongly against that because you felt strongly for him.
‘Hearts,’ Chishiya muttered.
‘What?’
‘That’s your suit.’
‘Right.’ You wanted to run away, far away.
‘Wait. Can you tell me mine?’ He turned around.
‘Hearts, too,’ you said, your voice on the shaky side, and then you ran to a cell. ‘Hearts!’ you almost yelled when the robotic voice asked. ‘Hearts, stupid hearts,’ you kept muttering to yourself.
You heard the remaining players stepping outside their cells, whispering to each other, getting ready for the next round, but you couldn’t bring yourself to open the door. How could you see Chishiya in the eye? You were sure he’d see right through you, just because you had been slow to recognize your feelings it didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed. You sat on the floor with your head in your hands, you wanted to cry. A tear was running down your face when the door to your cell slid open.
‘Why are you still here?’ Chishiya asked.
You shrugged, determinedly looking at your feet.
‘I thought someone else had tricked you into saying a different suit and your collar had exploded.’
‘Like it matters,’ you muttered.
‘It matters. I don’t want you to die.’
‘Right, because you need a partner to win this game.’
‘Not just because of that.’ He offered you his hand, you took it and stood up. ‘Come on, let’s clear this game. And then we’ll talk.’
Not me waltzing into a fandom late again, is it? maybe
A/N: Alice in Borderland has all of my heart right now. Loved the first season when it came out, finished watching the second season a couple of weeks ago and the plot bunnies attacked.
I haven’t written a “character x reader” story in a long time but this is how the story came to me. I will also crosspost it to AO3 in the next couple of days.
Pairing: Chishiya x fem!reader (I tried to keep it neutral but I did think up this story like that)
Rating: T for this chapter, rating will most likely go up in future ones, this chapter is not shippy, it’s the introduction
Chapter summary: During a game, you notice someone interesting. You get invited to join a group of players and you play your first game with them.
Feedback and requests are welcome (but please be nice <3)
-----
Tonight’s game was deceivingly simple, something close to an escape room: solve puzzles, gather keys, use the keys to move from room to room towards the exit before the time ran out. The players could even work together, there were no rules about there only being one winner. Sure, there were some deadly traps here and there, and of course, if the players could not solve a puzzle and get out of the maze of rooms in time they would all die but as games in the Borderland went, this wasn’t the worst.
While everyone was buzzing with adrenaline, cheering every time they got a key, screaming when someone fell into a trap, someone was observing everything, everyone, face partially hidden by a white hoodie, only speaking when the other players seemed stuck. But he wasn’t the only one circling the group, watching. You also kept to yourself, wary of the apparent ease of the game.
The guy in the white hoodie was really good at solving the puzzles, scary good. You wondered why he bothered waiting for the other players to do something before he chimed in with the correct answer. Hell, he probably would be out of the maze already if he chose to. Was he maybe enjoying this? Well, you might as well try to have some fun.
The next room required two keys, White Hoodie found one almost immediately and pocketed it, you walked by him and took it without him noticing, it was a silly thing to do but so was everything else about this. When the second key was found White Hoodie walked confidently to the door and looked for his key, only to realize it was gone. You smiled and put the key in the lock, winking at him. You took a step inside the next room but stopped to make sure there were no traps and could it be?
The room was almost empty. There was an ‘Exit’ sign bright and clear over a door right across from where you stood, the only thing in the room was a table with three small boxes on it and a clock. You turned around and looked behind you. There were five players left including you, it looked like everyone would make it out.
Before you could announce what you were seeing, someone pushed past you roughly, making you lose your balance and stumble to the ground. A second person hot on their heels ran inside and almost tripped over you. You were getting up and muttering a curse when it happened. Both players grabbed a box and it exploded. ‘Three players then.’
Just as you said this, the remaining two players entered the room. The guy in the white hoodie looked from you to the table and the dead bodies. The other player rushed to the table but stopped short of touching the boxes. The clock was no longer static, it was counting down a minute. He stomped back towards you and grabbed White Hoodie’s sleeve.
‘Which one is it?’
‘Which one is what?’ White Hoodie said in a soft voice.
‘The key! Which box has the key? We could all get out of here, we need to get out now!’ The man tightened his grip and dragged the guy in the hoodie to the table. ‘You solved all the other puzzles, solve this one!’
‘There is no puzzle,’ White Hoodie said calmly.
‘There is no puzzle?’ You repeated his words and looked towards the door with the Exit sign.
The other player lost his patience, he grabbed a box in each hand, maybe thinking he could throw the wrong one but the second his hands touched the boxes he received an electric shock, a fatal one, if you had to guess.
‘There is no puzzle because there is no key, because the door doesn’t have a keyhole, so… all we need to do is push the door open?’ you asked.
White Hoodie nodded and you both crossed the room at a run, pushing the door. Your heart was beating so fast you almost didn’t hear the slightly robotic voice announce ‘Game cleared’.
‘I’m taking this, if you don’t mind.’ He lowered his hoodie revealing bleach blonde hair, took the game card and started walking away.
‘Hey, wait!’ You caught up with him. ‘Well played.’ You offered him your hand, he took it, gave you a curt nod then turned around and kept walking.
*
Outside of the maze-arena, there was a car with the engine running. An attractive woman wearing a white blouse opened the driver’s door and stepped out, apparently signaling for White Hoodie to get in. She looked at you in what you thought was an assessing way, sizing you up. You were starting to get nervous, thinking they might want to pick up a fight but as soon as the guy in white was in the car, she drove off. You smiled to yourself and walked slowly, no need to hurry, you were just going to look for a place to sleep. You’d worry about food tomorrow, you had just won 4 days on your visa. You did wonder how long it would take him to realize that you had taken the card.
*
The next morning, as you were looking for something to eat, you ran into the woman. She approached you showing her hands were empty, so you wouldn’t run or attack her. She said her name was Ann and she talked about a safe place where you could pass the time between games. You hesitated because no one had been nice in this place for no apparent reason.
‘And you’re telling me this is a safe place?’ you asked.
Ann shrugged. ‘Safer than being out on the street.’
‘Huh.’ You looked around, suddenly missing the feeling of having a place to go back to.
‘You wouldn’t need to worry about food and shelter or desperate players. We help each other.’
‘So you are a team?’
‘Of sorts. So?’
You looked around once again and a sudden gust of wind made you shiver and made your mind up for you. ‘Let’s go.’
*
You tried to hide your amazement upon entering The Beach, it was kind of awesome what they had going on there. Ann showed you to your room and told you about the clothes rule. You weren’t exactly thrilled about the dress code. ‘At least it’s not a thong,’ you muttered to yourself choosing biker shorts, a sports bra and a mesh tank top.
In the lobby, Ann waved someone over, a very pretty girl in a blue bikini sucking on a lollipop. ‘This is Kuina, she can show you around.’ Kuina and you smiled at each other and it felt genuine, part of your anxiety at being in a strange place disappeared.
Kuina introduced you to some other denizens of The Beach. Some seemed nice, some not so much. ‘Keep away from the guys with guns,’ she said, ‘not all of them are bad but–’ she put the lollipop back in her mouth. You wanted to ask ‘but what’ but thought that maybe it should have been obvious and didn’t press the point.
As you two were walking around the resort you spotted a familiar white hoodie in a chair by the pool. You were about to ask Kuina about him when she made a beeline for him, as if she’d read your mind.
‘Chisiya! We have a new arrival.’
He looked at you with mild curiosity for a fraction of a second, then his face became expressionless. ‘Welcome, then.’
‘Why are you sulking?’ Kuina asked him but he was already looking away, towards Ann who was approaching the group.
‘Injured pride, she stole yesterday’s card from him,’ Ann explained. ‘Chishiya, they want us upstairs now.’
Chishiya stood up and muttered something that sounded like ‘my pride is not injured, but how can a thief help us?’
‘Hey! Would you say it’s easy to steal from you? Then give me some credit.’ You felt you had to stand up for yourself. ‘Besides, I’m not a thief, that was a crime of opportunity.’
‘Well, I hope that’s not the only skill you have.’ He walked away before you could say it wasn’t.
Kuina shook her head. ‘Don’t mind him, he’ll get over it. He’s not one to hold grudges, too cool-headed for something so petty. Come, let’s go get a drink.’
*
A couple of days later you had to join the groups going out to play. You wondered if being on a team before knowing what the game was would help. What if you couldn’t help them? What if they didn’t help you? What if you had to fight them? What if you had to watch one of them die? You got in the back seat of a car, so preoccupied with these thoughts that you didn’t even notice who else got into the car with you.
‘Hey, are you alright?’ Kuina asked, touching your arm lightly. You were glad she was sitting here beside you.
‘Yeah, it’s just…’ you waved around. ‘It’s insane.’ You shrugged and Kuina nodded, nothing else needed to be said. You looked up to find Chishiya sitting beside Kuina, staring at you in the rearview mirror, but whatever he was thinking he did not share. You recognized the two guys in the front as Aguni and Niragi, militia guys.
The game was Capture the Flag: two teams of five players, whoever captured the other team’s flag first won. One member of the team would have a weapon to protect the player with the flag, a gun with one bullet, but they could not attack the other players if they weren’t actively threatening their flag-bearer. The game area was like an obstacle course, with ramps, ropes, a lot of room to run and very little room to hide.
You joined your team in a huddle to discuss your strategy. ‘Who will have our flag?’ you asked. ‘Do we want to give it to whoever runs the fastest? Or do we want to hide it?’
‘We could also take turns with it, there are no rules against that,’ Chishiya suggested.
‘And what about the gun?’ Niragi asked, all too eager to take it.
Chishiya shook his head. ‘You would be an obvious choice.’
‘Who cares if it’s obvious, all that matters is that we win,’ Niragi hissed. Aguni put a hand on his chest asking for silence. ‘So what are you saying?’
*
The game started. Kuina, a piece of white cloth tied to her waist, took off at a run to try to draw the other team out. When two players from the other team ran after her, you sprinted in the opposite direction, with a similar piece of cloth around your waist, and two more players took the bait. It took a fraction of a second for their fifth player to start running, and in that second they had revealed who had their flag. Aguni and Niragi launched themselves after him. Chishiya watched all the action going on around him.
Meanwhile, the two girls running after Kuina had realized she didn’t have the flag and they were already making their way back to help their teammate. The two players chasing you also realized you were just a decoy and turned towards Chishiya.
You looked towards Niragi and Aguni, they were fighting the two girls who had chased Kuina, trying to get to their flag. Kuina was running towards Chishiya who was probably about to need help, but you were closer.
One guy had Chishiya backed against a wall, the other was aiming the gun at him. You acted on instinct, screaming to get their attention and shooting the guy with the gun, spraying Chishiya with blood. The guy collapsed to the ground, dead. After that it all happened too fast. Kuina almost flew in the air, launching herself at the other guy, knocking him out cold. At that moment, Aguni and Niragi got the other team’s flag and the game was over.
*
It was a silent ride back to The Beach.
‘Maybe you should join us, that was a great shot, square in the chest,’ Niragi said when you got out of the car, mimicking shooting with his finger.
‘I was aiming for his arm,’ you muttered
Niragi hollered with laughter and walked away. Aguni nodded at you and followed him inside. Kuina squeezed your shoulder and said she’d be around if you wanted to talk.
You didn’t want to talk, you wanted to get away from this place, to go back to your normal life. You started making your way to your room.
‘I’d say that was a decent shot at any rate,’ Chishiya said. You hadn’t noticed him leaning against the car.
‘Sorry about your hoodie.’
‘Hey, at least it’s not my blood.’ He offered you a hint of a smile. ‘Thank you.’
‘Sure.’
‘Don’t feel bad, if you hadn’t shot him they would have taken our flag and we’d all be dead now.’
‘That… somehow doesn’t make me feel better.’
‘It will pass.’ He pushed away from the car and turned around to head inside.
‘You know, you are too calm for almost having died tonight.’
Chishiya stopped walking and shrugged. ‘But I didn’t, no point fretting about it,’ he replied, his back still to you.
‘Oh no, you don’t fool me. You’re not that detached, you may want to be, but you just think you are.’
‘Oh no.’ Chishiya turned towards you. ‘I truly don’t care.’
A/N: As always, thank you for reading! This chapter turned out to be a bit more angsty than I expected, but there’s also smut so I hope you like it.
Snippet: The kiss started slowly. He could have almost tricked you into thinking he wasn’t really into it. Almost.
Pairing: Chishiya x fem!reader (alternating POV, indicated by ***)
Rating: This chapter is M (for sMut), descriptions of violence are not graphic
Chapter summary: When pushing someone away doesn’t work, you try to pull them closer. If you trust someone with your body, can you trust them with your life?
Chishiya knew he’d done the right thing, pushing her away. If lives had no value in this place, feelings mattered even less. Besides, he had to focus. ‘Finish the game, see this through,’ he said to himself. If only his thoughts didn’t stray towards her every other minute. He even considered leaving The Beach for a moment, but he dismissed the idea almost immediately; he was sure the others were right about the cards, so sure in fact that he had even begun planning how to steal them. Yes, that’s what he had to focus on, not rushed makeout sessions in the dark.
To Chishiya’s credit, this time around his resolution lasted for a few days instead of mere hours.
He had decided to act like nothing had happened between them, he was not trying to hide or avoid her on purpose. But what was she doing? She was not avoiding him either, but where there had been a hint of shyness before, there was something very much like cold indifference in her eyes, if they met his at all. It was better that way, Chishiya decided. Then why was he wondering what she really thought about him now? ‘No, that is not important. Focus. Get the cards.’ That was his mantra.
Chishiya had just talked to Arisu about his plan to get the cards when he ran into her in the kitchens. It was the first time they had been alone together since they had kissed in the corridor.
‘I wasn’t following you,’ he blurted.
She looked startled for a second, but she recovered immediately. ‘Yeah, I know that.’ She tried to appear calm, but Chishiya could see her squeezing the pack of cookies in her hand.
‘Are those any good?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘You’d have to try them,’ she said and walked away.
Chishiya stood there for a moment, he had forgotten what he’d come down for. He turned around to leave but he overheard her talking to someone just outside the door. Niragi.
‘So the pool and the basement are not enough? You two are making out in the kitchen now?’ Niragi said, scornfully.
‘Move. It’s not like that,’ she muttered.
‘Right. Not that you asked, but here’s a piece of advice. Don’t get overly involved with him. Chishiya is only here because it is convenient. Everyone might think he’s very smart, hell, he always thinks he’s the smartest person in the room, the arrogant bastard. But, he feels no loyalty to anyone, not to this place, not to Kuina, and certainly not to you. If push comes to shove and he thinks he will lose he won’t hesitate to kill you. I should know, he’s just like me.’
‘Noted.’
Chishiya heard Niragi snorting and then her steps fading away. He was glad he didn’t have a hotheaded disposition but he still recognized anger flaring up inside him, not because of what Niragi had said about him but because of the veiled threat directed at her. Granted, Niragi’s words were pretty similar to what he himself had told her but Niragi had no right to dispense that kind of advice, they weren’t even friends. He closed his eyes and sighed. He had to talk to her.
The Beach didn’t feel as big as it was until you were looking for someone. Chishiya checked the courtyard, the pool, the lobby but she wasn’t there. He didn’t know what he wanted to tell her, but he knew he had to say something, he wondered idly whether “I wouldn’t kill you” suffice. He went to her room. He knocked a few times but she didn’t answer. He walked around the hotel some more but eventually decided to go to his room, mild annoyance still at the back of his mind. Which was why he couldn’t entirely hide his surprise when he found her leaning against the wall by his room.
‘May I?’ she asked.
Chishiya nodded once and she pushed herself away from the wall. He opened the door, stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind them.
***
Under the pretense of observing his room, you took a minute to calm down. Your heart was beating a violent tattoo in your chest, that cool demeanor of a moment ago vanishing into thin air. You had almost talked yourself out of coming here but you had to know, you had to see if he really didn’t want you, you had to…
‘Is it your turn to watch me sleep?’ Chishiya asked, derailing your train of thought; he had his arms crossed, guarded.
‘That could be interesting, but I have something else in mind.’ You undid your loose bun and shook your head, letting your hair frame your face. ‘Your hair tie.’ You took a step closer and offered it to him but he didn’t take it. You sighed and slid the hair tie up your wrist, then closed your eyes and started lifting your mesh tank top.
‘I’m sure your wound is healed now,’ he said, his voice low.
‘I know, doctor,’
‘Then why—?’
‘Why not? I want to,’ you interrupted him, looked straight at him and took off your tank top before you lost your nerve. Now you were standing in front of him in your sports bra and biker shorts. You took another step towards him, you were now as close as you could be without touching him. You were afraid that he would step back, that he would ask you to leave, that he would reject you. But a full minute went by and he didn’t try to move away. You could almost hear his mind racing as much as your heart was.
‘Why would you want to do this? I’ve been—’
‘An asshole?’ you offered with a smirk. ‘Well, you did say I am stupid, maybe I am. I want to do this, if you want to.’
Chishiya uncrossed his arms and stared at you. You held his gaze, projecting confidence you didn’t really feel. You thought he was about to point to the door, tell you to go, but you still held his gaze. And then he closed the distance between you.
The kiss started slowly. He could have almost tricked you into thinking he wasn’t really into it. Almost.
You couldn’t help but wonder how far he’d let you go, thinking he would push you away at any second. But he let you unzip his hoodie and let it fall to the floor; he wasn’t wearing a t-shirt under it. You were sort of grateful for The Beach’s dress code at the moment. He let you walk him back towards his bed, his hands never let go of your waist. And when you broke the kiss to look him in the eye, asking without words if he wanted to continue, he was the one who sat down on the bed, pulling you with him, your sports top joined his hoodie on the floor seconds later.
Chishiya took his time kissing you, your lips, your neck, your shoulders, getting maddeningly close to your breasts. You pressed yourself against him, pushing him lightly to make him lie down on the bed but he held your wrists, keeping you in place sitting astride him. You could feel him smiling when he brushed his lips against your left collarbone and you shivered. Then he pressed his lips harder against that spot and sucked on your sensitive skin. That would leave a mark. You tugged at a strand of his hair in protest and he let himself fall on his back then rolled on top of you.
He kissed you again, his left hand at the back of your neck, his right hand sliding inside your shorts. You squirmed under him, unable to suppress a moan. He bit your lower lip and very slowly moved his hand up and down, teasing you.
You were rocking your hips to match the movement of his hand, but just as you found the right rhythm, Chishiya stopped. He looked towards the door and then leaned closer to whisper in your ear. ‘As much as I would like to take my time, this is really not the place for that.’ He looked you in the eye, as if saying ‘your call’. You would have wanted to take your time as well, enjoy every second, but you knew he was right. You nodded. ‘Hard and fast it is, then,’ you muttered.
The corner of Chishiya’s lips twitched in a mischievous grin. He yanked down your shorts and took his off. His cock was big and fully hard, he was ready. He knelt between your legs, lifted your hips and eased himself inside you.
You gasped at the sensation. He let you become used to the feeling before he started moving. Once he found his pace he was relentless. You had to bite your lips not to moan too loud. Neither of you would last too long. You dug your nails into his back and he groaned as he came. It was that sound that finally pushed you over the edge after him.
He collapsed beside you.
You rolled on your side to look at him. ‘Does this count as hate sex?’
Chishiya snorted. ‘Do you hate me?’
‘No. Do you?’
Two knocks interrupted your pillow talk. He stood up gracefully, dragging his shorts and hoodie on.
‘Kuina?’ you asked, your voice still husky.
Chishiya shook his head, his expression neutral as if he hadn’t just fucked you senseless. ‘Stay here.’
***
Chishiya knew it couldn’t be Kuina, because she wouldn’t have knocked, so he was somewhat grateful for that small courtesy. He’d hoped it would be Ann or Arisu. But it wasn’t either of them.
Mira greeted him with a sly smile, trying to look past his shoulder as soon as he opened the door. ‘Evening.’
Chishiya stepped outside his room and closed the door. ‘Is everything alright?’
‘Is it?’ Mira cocked her head.
Chishiya didn’t answer, he would not allow Mira to drag him into her game. He waited for her to keep talking.
‘Not in the mood for small talk, I see. Let me get to the point then. Concerns have been raised about whether you’re losing your edge. You were, ah, distracted during a game recently? And I’ve heard an interesting theory about you and—’
‘Niragi has no idea,’ Chishiya interrupted her, regretting it the same instant.
Mira smiled again. ‘About you and participating in a Hearts game. I must say I find the idea very intriguing.’
‘So send me.’ Chishiya turned around, thinking the conversation was over.
‘Oh, you know how these games can be, what if you need someone you can trust?’
‘I’ll do just fine by myself.’ Chishiya looked over his shoulder at Mira.
‘I don’t doubt that. But you will go with her.’ Mira pointed to the door with her chin. ‘That should even the odds, who knows, maybe both of you will come back. Enjoy the rest of your night.’ She flipped her long black hair and left.
***
You noticed he was quiet when he came back into the room. Well, quieter.
‘I should go.’
He shrugged. ‘You can stay.’
‘I don’t want to invade your personal space.’
‘Too late.’
He lay down on the bed beside you. He didn’t kiss you again but he grabbed your hand and locked his fingers with yours. Your eyelids felt heavy. As you were drifting off to sleep you heard him whisper ‘we have to play a game tomorrow.’ Maybe it was your imagination still running wild but you thought you could hear a note of distress in his voice.
Ann came to collect you earlier than usual the next day. It felt weird, somehow more dangerous to go to a game with him after last night. On one hand, you felt you had a better chance to clear any game with him, on the other, you were afraid for him. No one said a word on your way to the game, it felt ominous.
The car rolled to a stop and Chishiya all but jumped out. ‘I’ll see you soon. Both of you,’ Ann remarked. You wanted to give her a lighthearted reply, ‘why wouldn’t you?’ but suddenly you were not so sure and you couldn’t bring yourself to say those words.
The “arena” seemed to be a regular office building, not too many floors, nothing special about it. There was a large rectangular table in the lobby, with blindfolds, knives and handcuffs. There were already some people around the table, examining the objects.
‘Blindfolds, huh?’ You whispered to Chishiya, trying to ease your nerves by appearing more relaxed than you really were. ‘We should—’
A robotic voice interrupted you. ‘Choose a partner and handcuff yourself to them. Everyone should have a blindfold and a knife. Rules will be explained when everyone is paired up.’
You selected a pair of handcuffs and turned towards Chishiya just as you heard a click. He had cuffed himself to someone else, giving no sign that he had even considered pairing up with you. You stared at him, not quite believing what he’d just done. The robotic voice urging everyone to pair up brought you out of your reverie and you moved around to find someone to cuff yourself to.
A guy in jeans and a bright shirt looked as lost as you were. He pointed at his wrist and you nodded, it wasn’t like you really had a lot of options.
‘Thank you for picking me,’ he said. You just nodded, staring at the back of Chishiya’s head, still stunned. ‘Didn’t you two arrive together? I thought you knew him,’ your new partner said, pointing at Chishiya.
‘Yeah, I thought so too,’ you muttered.
***
After the last people to arrive ran around to find a partner, the robotic voice spoke again. ‘There are two Killers among you. If you identify your partner as a Killer, you must kill them, but beware: part of the game requires two players to work together. If a Killer is left alive, they will kill the person paired with them at the end of the game. You can use your knife to open the handcuffs after you kill your partner. You are not allowed to remove your handcuffs if your partner is still alive. If you kill your partner without reason, you will die at the end of the game. You can’t kill someone else’s partner.’
When the rules were explained, Chishiya realized Mira had tricked him. Only two other players had arrived together, and they were playing together, so they didn’t have to worry about the killers. The best strategy for this game was to play it with someone you knew, someone you trusted. Mira had mentioned he might need someone he could trust, but she had made it sound like only one of them really had a chance of winning. And now it was too late.
***
The first part of the game required both players to work together. There were deadly traps but they were inactivated easily enough, provided you still had a partner. Someone had reacted too rashly to a sudden movement and slit their partner’s throat, mere minutes after the game started. Even if their partner had been a Killer, they now had no hope of clearing that part of the game.
The next part of the game involved the blindfolds, one of the players would wear the cloth over their eyes, the other as a gag around their mouth. The objective was to cross a flimsy bridge some 100 feet above the ground, guiding the blinded person without words. It was easy enough in theory, but no one wanted to wear the blindfolds, afraid their partners might take the chance to uncuff themselves and push them off the bridge since the part of the game that required participants to be paired was over. Sure enough, quite a few players met this fate.
Finally, the remaining pairs had an extra test. The two partners would stand in the center of the final room and they would ask each other one question to determine if their partner was a Killer. Pairs went into the room one at a time, so you didn’t hear what Chishiya’s partner asked him, you caught yourself hoping Chishiya wouldn’t reply with some witticism that would get him killed.
All too soon it was your turn.
‘Have you killed someone?’ your partner asked, smiling, as if he were sure your answer would be ‘no.’
You bit your lip. You could lie, but what was the point? If he didn’t believe you, you would be dead anyway. ‘Yes.’
Your partner looked shocked but he didn’t say anything. He raised his knife but shook his head and let it fall.
‘I don’t really have a question, I don’t suspect you.’
The game had been brutal. In theory, only two people—either the two Killers, or the people paired with them—had to die. But of course, everyone started distrusting their partners. Forty people had registered, only 6 people made it out.
Ann was there as you made your way out of the building. You walked to the car beyond upset, angry tears rolling down your cheeks.
***
‘I’m—’ Chishiya said.
‘Don’t,’ she hissed.
Chishiya didn’t want to tell her about Mira, about how she misled him. That would sound like an excuse at best. ‘I thought the game would be different, that we would have a better chance on our own.’
‘Well, you’re always good at thinking, and you clearly are better on your own.’
‘That’s not—’
‘No. It’s not just that you think you are the smartest person in the room, it’s that you don’t think anyone else even comes close. You didn’t even hesitate to cuff yourself to a stranger, because you thought I would slow you down.’
‘First, I would never underestimate a rival. Second, I didn’t do that because I don’t trust you. I thought they would make us kill our partner, I didn’t want to have to hurt you.’
‘Bold of you to assume I would have let you. You didn’t want to have to hurt me? No, you were just willing to let someone else do it.’
‘I—’
‘I’m done talking.’
Just as he had done when they arrived at the game earlier that day, she almost jumped out of the car as soon as Ann parked by the courtyard. She slammed the car door and stormed away.
‘What did you do?’ Ann asked.
Chishiya didn’t reply. He avoided Ann’s judgmental glare and prayed he wouldn’t run into Kuina. There were loud noises coming from inside the hotel. He was just going inside when Mira stepped outside.
‘See? Wasn’t it a great idea to send the two of you together? I knew you both would make it back!’ Mira smiled sweetly. ‘Careful now, another Hearts game just started here, and people are getting, ah, nervous.’ As if on cue, the sound of glass breaking, shots being fired and people screaming rent the air. Chishiya threw the card at Mira and hurried inside.
He looked all over the place for her, like he’d done only the day before. Had it only been one day? It seemed like the previous night had happened a very long time ago. He couldn’t find her and he feared the worst when he saw the fires.
A/N: Look at me posting an update within a week, I hope you like it <3
Pairing: Chishiya x fem!reader (I tried to keep it neutral but I did think up this story like that)
Rating: Still keeping it at T; descriptions of violence are not graphic
Chapter summary: You try to figure him out and an unexpected interaction takes place. POV switch at the end of the chapter.
---
For a few days, you didn’t see much of Chishiya–not that you were looking for him, but his presence (or absence) was noticeable; so you couldn’t help but realize that he seemed to disappear on purpose. You’d spy a hint of white just out of the corner of your eye only for it to be gone the second you turned around.
You were just getting used to that when it suddenly evolved into him popping up unexpectedly, especially when Kuina wasn’t around, muttering something like ‘Always visualize how to win, think what the other players would do and stay ahead of them’ which you gathered was probably his idea of giving advice for the games, but before you could even begin to think about how to reply he’d be gone again. In a word, irritating.
As much as you tried to pretend you didn’t mind, you were very tempted to ask Kuina about him, but ask her what exactly? You couldn’t put your finger on why he was getting under your skin like this, it wasn’t as if you had nothing else to worry about. Like the apparent lack of hair ties anywhere in the resort; or the fact that Niragi had taken to making finger guns at you and you weren’t sure if that was his idea of a fun greeting or if he was actually threatening you. And then of course there were the games themselves.
After a game—a laser maze with actual lasers—you were sitting in the lobby with Kuina. She was sitting on a plush couch brushing your hair while you sat on the floor in front of her drinking a peach soda.
‘This is a mess,’ Kuina mumbled.
‘Well, I wasn’t exactly worried about my hair during the game, it got sort of singed.’
‘I can see that. Why didn’t you tie it up?’
‘With what?’ you gritted your teeth.
As if on cue, Chishiya showed up just a few feet from where you were sitting and made a point of tying his hair into a low ponytail. He smiled at both of you and left the next second, almost leaving that half grin hanging in the air after him.
You glared in his general direction. ‘Of course.’ You had to make a conscious effort not to crush the soda can in your hand. ‘Is he always this… unsettling?’
‘Hard to say, but he’s usually aloof,’ Kuina said. ‘Actually, that was almost friendly.’ Kuina used a piece of shoelace to hold your hair. ‘This will do for now.’
‘If you say so,’ you murmured, not specifying if you were referring to what she’d said about Chishiya or the shoelace.
At your next game, you were half relieved and half disappointed that Chishiya wasn’t there. It had nothing to do with actually wanting to see him, you reasoned, it was just that you respected his opinion on how to play, on how to win because he was usually right. Yeah, that was about it.
Tonight’s game was tug of war; the losing team would die, of course. To get into the right mindset, you pictured what he’d say, probably something like: ‘It’s not just physical strength, strategy matters here.’ You closed your eyes and you could almost hear him. ‘Right,’ you said to yourself. ‘Let’s do this.’
It hadn’t exactly been a walk in the park but your team won. You tried not to think about the losing team, it wouldn’t help. You heard Chishiya’s voice in your head again: ‘It’s you or them.’ You didn’t quite agree with the sentiment but for the moment, you were glad that tonight it was you.
Back at The Beach, you made your way to the kitchens. Chishiya was there, leaning against the counter. You froze for a moment, considering whether to just go to your room but why should you? It wasn’t as if you were scared of him and you had to talk at one point or another; you didn’t know if you were on speaking terms but you could be civil, and you wanted to tell him that channeling him might have helped you.
‘Hey,’ you said, brushing your hair away from your face. ‘I—’
‘I see the shoelace didn’t make it,’ Chishiya interrupted you, his enigmatic smile tugging at the corner of his lips. ‘You look flustered.’ (but I’m glad you did)
‘Right.’ You rolled your eyes, feeling your face going red, and stretched to grab something from the cupboard behind him. His fingers closed around the can at the same time. The last peach soda. ‘Do you mind?’
‘Not at all.’ He pulled the tab, took a sip then turned around and left.
‘Is this your revenge for stealing from you?’ you asked, but he was already out of the kitchen.
A couple of days later, as you were getting ready to leave, you spotted that familiar hoodie. You thought he’d join one of the other cars but he went to stand beside Arisu and Usagi who had been assigned to your team.
Kuina ran towards you, on her way to join her team. ‘Take care, alright?’ she said to all of you. ‘See you later.’
You thought maybe this time you’d get a diamonds or clubs game, but the driver had dropped you off at a spades game.
The game: Wall climbing.
The rules: Climb the wall, ring the bell at the top to clear the game.
The catch: Ten teams would participate, with only five buzzers; if the first person of a team rang the bell, whoever was still climbing would die; so if a whole team wanted to clear the game, they all had to reach the top. And the wall? Not a regular climbing wall, this was a smooth metal wall with grips that were barely there, and spikes coming out of the wall at random that could be used as grips but that could also go through a climber.
Arisu, Usagi and you turned to look at Chishiya. He sighed. ‘I can’t deny I was expecting something less physical.’
‘We can make it.’ Usagi spoke while you all were putting on your harnesses. ‘I will lead, Arisu can go behind me.’
‘Then me and then Chishiya,’ you said. Usagi nodded.
The ascent started slowly. Usagi was good but she couldn’t go too fast, she needed to find the best route and be wary of the spikes. If she slipped, the team was doomed. You were focused, determined to see this game through. When you were halfway up the wall, you heard a bell ringing. No rush, four bells left. You could also hear screaming and cursing, as if someone had decided to sacrifice their team to ring the bell; you tried to block out the sounds.
A spike pierced the wall just an inch away from your face, startling you making you lose your grip momentarily. The rope connecting you to Chishiya vibrated. ‘Get a grip,’ you heard him say from below. You would have retorted but you heard another bell ring, you needed to keep going.
You heard Usagi yell that you were close, she could see the top. Arisu slipped and stepped on your arm to recover his balance but you didn’t mind, you couldn’t stop, you were almost there. Almost. Usagi reached the top and knelt down to help Arisu, and then they both helped pull you up. In that last pull, a spike popped out of the wall, grazing your abdomen. You pressed your lips together to suppress a scream but you could feel blood running down your side. And then you heard something snap.
‘Chishiya!’ You jumped without thinking and managed to take one of his hands in both of yours. Arisu and Usagi grabbed your legs. After a few seconds of panic, Usagi and Arisu managed to pull both of you up. When all four of you were safely standing away from the edge, Usagi ran to the bell and rang it. Game cleared.
Relief ran through you. You jumped in the air, forgetting about the wound on your side, fresh blood pouring out reminded you that you probably shouldn’t move much.
‘You’re injured,’ Chishiya stated.
‘It could have been worse.’
When you got in the car, Chishiya sat next to you in the backseat.
‘Why did you jump after me like that? That was irrational. Reckless. You should have let me fall. One dead player was better than two.’ He was looking out of the window, so you weren’t sure if he was actually addressing you but who else could he be talking to?
You rolled your eyes in annoyance. ‘You know, a “thank you” would be sufficient. Arisu would have jumped. Or Usagi. But I was closer. And besides, are you mad? Kuina would have murdered me if we came back without you.’
Chishiya snorted and didn’t say anything else the rest of the way to The Beach.
Late that night, you were having trouble sleeping. The realization that you had actually jumped off a cliff (sort of) was sinking in. You were sweating, and your hair was sticking to your face and neck. You prayed that the wound wouldn’t get infected, it wasn’t deep but it felt as if it reopened every time you moved.
Drifting in and out of an uneasy sleep, you heard two muffled knocks at your door. You were about to dismiss the knocks as a figment of your imagination when you heard them again. You stood up, wincing and went to open the door. ‘Kuina, can we talk later? I’m not feeling…’ It wasn’t Kuina. Chishiya was standing outside your room, face fully hidden by his hoodie, a small black bag in one hand. ‘...well. Can I help you?’
‘I thought I might help you.’
‘That would be nice, for a change.’ You stepped aside to let him in, brushing your hair out of your face in exasperation. ‘If you happen to have scissors—’
Chishiya slipped the hair tie off his hair and offered it to you. ‘Thanks,’ you muttered.
He nodded. ‘Lie down and lift up your shirt.’
‘Excuse me? If that’s your price for the hair tie you can keep it.’
Chishiya stared at you impassively. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ He showed you the contents of the black bag, a first aid kit; almost empty but with disinfectant and bandages. ‘I was saving this for a serious injury.’
‘What, you’re a doctor now?’
‘Something like that.’ The corner of Chishiya’s lips twitched. ‘Now lie down.’
You sighed, put your hair up in a bun and did as he told you. He sat on the edge of the bed and stayed quiet as he cleaned your wound, focused. You had never been ticklish but you were finding it very hard to stay still, you closed your eyes and willed yourself to imagine you were somewhere else. He startled you when he spoke again. ‘You know, I thought you’d ask for the hair tie, or steal iit. I was showing you I had it.’
‘How could I have asked for it when you disappear all the time? I thought you were just taunting me. And the soda?’
Chishiya shrugged. ‘I know you always go straight to the kitchen after a game to get a peach soda. That was just, what did you call it, a crime of opportunity?’
‘Sociopath.’ You laughed, the wound didn’t hurt as much. ‘How does it look?’ you asked, pointing at the bandage.
‘Stitches would be better but you’ll live.’
‘Will I?’
You smoothed the bandage and your fingers grazed his, your eyes met and the levity of the moment evaporated. He stood up and left your room in a hurry, muttering something to himself.
***Chishiya’s POV***
As soon as Chishiya was out of her room, he felt better. What had happened? The room was too stuffy, his head had started to spin. He leaned on the closed door, took a deep breath and he felt like himself again. He’d done what he’d come to do, as a thank you for saving his life, yes, he could admit that. But that was it, he would have done the same for Kuina. There was no point in forming attachments in this place, if life had little value in the real world, it had zero value here, he knew as much.
Still. He had mentioned her to Ann knowing that Ann would most likely look for her and bring her in. Had he wanted to help her then? ‘Not particularly,’ he answered his own question. And yet, he couldn’t deny he’d done it for a reason, even if he didn’t want to voice it. The simplest way to say it was that he’d found her genuine, interesting, which were qualities he valued. But it didn’t matter.
He could get to know her but what for? Everything was so meaningless. Nothing mattered, certainly not some girl willing to foolishly risk her life for a stranger. He’d find it amusing to goad her but only because she seemed to react to everything. ‘Too hot-headed.’
Something moved in the shadows bringing Chishiya back from his brief reverie, then he heard the sound of a door closing nearby. Someone had been in the hallway. He was fully alert. Had they seen him? He hoped not. He didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea, there was no way to know how that would affect him. Or her. Why should that bother him? He didn’t know—or didn’t want to admit it—but it did. ‘Right, no fraternizing. It’s a waste of time.’ Then why didn’t it feel like that?
A/N: The end of this story. Finally. Masterpost will follow soon. As always, thank you for reading!
Snippet: A sudden feeling of dread gripped you. You remembered who you were, your life, your family. So why did you feel like there was something missing? And not just anything, something important. Someone.
Pairing: Chishiya x fem!reader (alternating POV, indicated by ***)
Chapter summary: After leaving the Borderland, who remembers first?
Bright lights. After so much darkness… Everything was too bright. You could feel the white light over you, all around you, even through your eyelids. You were afraid to open your eyes for fear of where you’d wake up. That state of panic lasted minutes, hours maybe. And you drifted back into an uneasy sleep.
Eventually you gathered enough courage to open your eyes and felt utterly lost. You did not recognize the place, you had no recollection of how you’d got there. With your heart racing it was hard to think.
‘Focus,’ you commanded yourself, taking deep breaths. You were lying down, dressed in a hospital gown, tied down. No. Not tied down, your left arm was hooked to an IV bag, that’s why you couldn’t move freely. You calmed down somewhat, fine, you were in a hospital bed. But why?
You looked down, your arms were covered in bruises, your right arm in a cast. Nothing too awful. Good. Next, you looked around. The room was pristine, quiet. Clearly meant for patients that were not in critical condition. There was a girl on the bed next to yours, unconscious, long dreadlocks framing her face. She looked familiar, something in you recognized her as a friend, but you were sure you didn’t know her. Did you?
A sudden feeling of dread gripped you. You remembered who you were, your life, your family. So why did you feel like there was something missing? And not just anything, something important. Someone. Was it her? Maybe, but shouldn’t there be someone else? You forced yourself to remember what you had been doing before waking up here but all you could recall was strange lights in the sky.
The small TV mounted on the wall distracted you from letting anxiety consume you, providing neutral background noise. Your eyelids felt heavy with sleep, you would have given into that drowsiness but the newscast caught your attention.
‘...The strange meteorite event also caused significant material damage in and around Shibuya, where dozens of people died and hundreds of people were injured.’
A meteorite? Yes. Those lights.... Memories came back to you in pieces. You’d been driving, waiting for the traffic lights to change at the busiest crossing. You’d spotted three guys running among the crowd, one of them riding on his friend’s shoulders; a guy with white blonde hair wearing a light gray t-shirt and a white sweater, seemingly lost in his thoughts. He had walked right in front of your car and for a second your eyes had met… your heart clenched at this image. Why?
A nurse came into the room startling you out of that reverie. ‘You’re awake! How are you feeling? Are you up for a walk? You need to get those muscles moving again.’
You nodded and she came over to help you stand up. She secured your hospital gown and gave you a pair of slippers. You did not take her hand at first but the second you were on your feet your balance betrayed you. ‘Take it easy, you were in a coma, you know?’ she said in a soothing voice.
Reluctantly, you took her hand and let her drag the IV stand so you could concentrate on staying upright.
The two of you walked in silence, allowing you to get lost in your thoughts again. You had only been walking for a few minutes when an alarm went off at the nurse’s station.
‘I’ll walk you back to your room now,’ the nurse said.
‘Can I please stay out here a little bit longer?’ you asked, not eager to go back to bed just yet.
‘I can stay with her,’ someone said before the nurse could answer. It was that white-haired guy! But who was he?
‘Doctor! You should not be out of bed either,’ the nurse scolded him.
‘I take full responsibility.’
‘Very well, but no more than ten minutes.’
He took the IV stand in his left hand and offered you his right. Something flashed before your eyes. Did you know him? Had you met before the meteorite?
‘I was wondering when you’d wake up.’
‘Do I know you? Doctor…’
‘Chishiya. You do now.’
‘I am…’
‘I know who you are.’
‘How?’
‘We were somewhere else together.’
‘The meteorite?’
Chishiya considered your question. ‘Between that and this.’
‘I don’t remember.’
‘You will.’
He walked you back to your room minding the ten-minute limit the nurse had imposed. He looked at the girl with the dreadlocks and smiled. ‘Glad to see you were in good company. I’ll see you around.’
That night, in dreams, you heard his voice.
***
Chishiya opened his eyes and found himself in a familiar place, even if the circumstances were not exactly what he was used to. A hospital room. Only this time, it seemed he was a patient, rather than the one looking after them.
He tried to sit up but pain made him lie back down, his heart monitor showing the sudden jump in his pulse. Alright, he was injured but apparently out of immediate danger.
Whoever was on the bed next to his, had not been so lucky. There was a curtain around it. Chishiya learned later that the man had suffered serious burns on his face and had other wounds as well.
When the doctors came to evaluate him, Chishiya almost asked to be discharged. Almost. He did ask to walk around.
During these unofficial rounds, he came across familiar faces. Why were they familiar?
That night he had a very vivid dream. He dreamed of a place where people had to play deadly games and be willing to kill others to survive. He dreamed of the people he’d met there, the faces he had seen at the hospital. He dreamed about her. When he woke up, he remembered everything.
It was still dark, but he had to know that he wasn’t going insane. He managed to climb out of his bed and go check the chart of the man with the burns. Niragi, just as he had called that man in his dream. So then his memories were real, and if that was the case…
Chishiya was very tempted to go looking for her that second, but he knew he couldn’t just roam the hospital in the dead of night without alarming the nurses.
The next morning he couldn’t wait until the doctor came to check on him. He slipped out of his room as soon as the doctor had left. Not that he wasn’t allowed to. He went room by room and when he thought he might not find her, he saw her walking with a nurse.
He stayed with her, relieved that she had made it out. She didn’t remember him. No, no, she did. She just needed time.
It was fine, she was safe. He could wait.
But maybe not that much. Now that he knew where to find her it wasn’t easy to just sit around. He sneaked into her room that night between rounds to watch her sleep and maybe to tell her the things he hadn’t dared to give voice to while they were awake. He spoke in a whisper about how they had met, everything that had happened between them in the Borderland and the promise they’d made at the very end.
‘I know I’m there, somewhere, in your head,’ he said before leaving. ‘You have to remember.’
***
You woke up with a start and the very distinct sensation someone had been there, by your side. You looked around but there was no one else in the room other than the girl with the dreadlocks, still fast asleep.
Earlier that night you had seen her eyes moving beneath her eyelids, and the nurses had said she was probably going to wake up the next day. Good. Hearing that had stirred another memory, you imagined what her smile would be like, feeling that you already knew.
Sleep claimed you once more. You didn’t hear his voice again, but this time the dream was different, it almost felt real. You tried to wake up, but couldn’t. The cards. The games. So much fear, so much pain, so much death. And in between all of that… him. Chishiya.
You sat up in bed, your heart racing. The first rays of sunshine creeping in through the blinds, still too early to get up and walk around. Besides, you didn’t even know where to go looking for him. Chishiya had walked you to your room the previous day, but you didn’t know where his room was. You had to wait.
Minutes stretched into hours. At long last, you saw the door handle move. As soon as the nurse came in, you asked her to let you go for a walk. She hesitated because the girl in the next bed was finally waking up. You knew her name now too, Kuina.
‘I will be fine by myself just for a few minutes,’ you said. The nurse pursed her lips but helped you stand up.
You wished you could walk faster, as if your memories would fade back into nothingness if you didn’t find Chishiya soon, or maybe fearing he would have forgotten you.
Just as you were losing your patience, you ran into him coming out of his room. He stared at you with a questioning look on his face. ‘Do you remember me?’
You nodded. ‘When we were there… at the end… You said you would find me.’
