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The Game Within | Chishiya Shuntarou Fanfiction

Chapter 4/?

Prompt ; You get trapped in a TV show, dedicated to stick by the rules of the game you hid in the shadows, watching from a distance, acting clueless. But what happens when you’re also being watched?

Originally posted on ao3! @user951250

AN- Not my best writing but I hope you enjoy! Also very sorry for the wait😓 Also just reiterating if a text is bold that means you’re speaking english!

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Chishiya can't put together a perception of you that doesn't lack incognizance.

If it weren't for his compromised plan; The entry of Arisu and Usagi- he wouldn't have bothered with you at all- until your keenness of the couple and the ease of conversation between you caused a slight disturbance to his plan. If your relation with them was as friendly as he judged off your exchange's, what was the probability Arisu would want to include you in the plan? Save you from the corrupt ways of the beach? Arisu was smart enough, and Chishiya knew he would accompany his plan despite that- so why wouldn't you? He had no doubt in himself that he could coax anyone into his plan- you were certainly no exception, more over he knew everyone needed to be inspired from a different approach. In retrospect it sounded like a simple fix; If Arisu did propose you to the plan, he would encourage you too his scheme. If Arisu neglected to inform you, well, that would make playing his part a lot simpler.

Chishiya didn't know you, but he was aware of you. Relatively because of you being the only foreigner to enter the Beach, mainly because of your staring problem.

Despite his initial standpoint of your eyeing- seeing it as a vague threat of some sort, keeping your presence in the back of his mind when going about the Beach at the small risk you proposed.. nonexistent risk, if he was being sincere- he noticed your gaze wasn't limited to just him, but to practically everyone that you came across. By-chance individuals, exclusive's, higher ranks, militants when their backs were turned- it would have been considered ill-mannered in any other context, built up on walls of social curtsy- but it didn't matter here.

With that he's grown used to being observed after his brief accusation, after all you're not the first person he's encountered that stares especially within the Beach's crowd- although you do seem to a significant amount more than a normal person. Chishiya's been able to disregard you entirely- your stares and individually- so much to the point he almost forgets you are ever there at all. Despite not wanting to entertain your glowering- even if ignoring it didn't seem to be doing much either- he grew curious of your hobby. You didn't seem to care if anyone noticed, only looking a bit sheepish if they looked back- but what drew him in the most was the pressure you did it with. You weren't watching them simply to do with boredom- No, your cause was heavier than that. It was like you were dissecting them, taking apart their words, actions, reactions, just to build back up their conscious. It was as abnormal as it was engaging.

Your invasion to his plan- intentional or not- was what pushed him to come up to you in the first place. It was a weak attempt, really- too not only gauge your reaction but too see the engraved number that etched across your bracelet. He's not entirely sure what he was expecting, but when he turned around he wasn't expecting to be meet with you abandoning the kitchen entirely. He couldn't help but wonder what conscious you made for him then. One that made him that disagreeable to be around, that distrustful to refuse to pick up an enclosed item, simply because he offered it. Your rank was lower than he anticipated.

Chishiya prized himself as hard to read- with incognito facades and vacant expressions- it often came in handy, especially during this portion of his life. The issue lied with you- a potential add on to his plan- seemed to be wary of him entirely, not to frighten to stray away but knowing better than to get anymore than near. Despite it being ever so slightly intriguing, it was faulty to his plan.

Whenever he made a point to watch you, you seemed as comprehensive as the average pleasure-seeker that stepped foot in the Beach- laying out by the pool, engaging in social queues and babbling to whoever you were with at the time. It was only ever when he seen you by chance did he notice your wavering sense of character. Strolling the beach behind pillars- head down and pace fast- trailing eye's, wandering behind closed doors, swift notes on paper, glances at security camera's in every room- too hidden to even be seen from most angles- a detail he only noticed when he himself was scouting out the camera's visibility. It was thought provoking- you seemed to be ordinary enough, and it'll be easy to write your behavior off as simply a combination of weird quirks but there was no way to confirm or deny your behavioral changes.

Did you know more than you were letting on, or was it an ill-fated coincidence?

Chishiya had a plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This had to be some sort of a sick joke.

The days following your club game you couldn't shake the feeling of being observed, actually present- something infrequent in your conscious. It clouded around you and to the center of your core; Physically, mentally, spiritually- like the thunder before a storm all you could do was wait for the uproar. What the uproar was you weren't sure- when or how it would happen was beyond you- but it felt personal enough. Maybe that's why you've been timid to leave your room- cautious to limiting your interactions with anybody, restricting booze and time spent out of your room.

It could have been because of the forthcoming of the games, inevitability of the downfall of the beach and lack of control over that fact- but you refused to believe it to be because of the exchange you had with Chishiya. Although you couldn't deny his new found enjoyment of eating in the kitchen, or sitting out by the pool and waiting hours after sundown by the bar- which, you've never seen him actually drink anything during those nights- made you slightly worried you weren't going to wake up the next morning. Rationally you knew Arisu and Usagi were the cause of his heightening appearances but it was also hard to not notice how whenever you so much as looked in his general direction- like he had fucking eye's in the back of his head- he would find your gaze almost immediately. It was so intolerable you thought maybe he did have two set's of eye's, hell what did you know?

Regardless of your new found apprehension of spacial awareness around the beach, it came with more time for you to descend into you mind. Grasping and searching for not only the details of the world before you but trying to rationalize what you proposed to Chishiya- you doubted him speaking to you was by chance or spontaneously. If you knew anything about Chishiya, not only from your time in the Borderlands but outside it too, he was never one to do without reason.

And what reason did he calculate talking to you would accomplish?

On the second day of you caged in your room you wrote down a list of three;

A) Get your staring under control ! B) Place a chair under your door knob as a short-term lock at night (just encase..) C) Join game BEFORE 10 of hearts.

A and B were obvious pro-cations- one more paranoid than the other, but who's to say?- and C was something you only gave thought to recently after you caught a glimpse of Mira and Kuzuryu together- something not absurd to see but rare enough to cause some question's to float around in your brain- consulting with each other with rigid postures and hyper aware stares at each individual that passed by them. Conveniently in one of the security cameras blind spots.

It came to you then that despite your knowledge of the game- how to solve it, how to play and what to do- even the game master's of it all- the chance of you surviving was lower than what was comfortable. You would get killed if you tried to reason with burning Momoka first, you would get killed if you tried to hid away or run, you would get killed if you tried to team up- it only made sense to leave the game behind with just enough visa days to save before the face cards.

More eager than should've been, you were almost happy to be leaving for a game. Three day's of being in your head with little to no vices didn't sound that bad aloud, and it would have been if the bar wasn't off limits for most hours of the day, but you were left futile... It also gave you time to think about if you had a drinking problem or not.

The burden of keeping a facade became more tolerable while being organized into a group, dodging through crowds and the walk to the car- the farther from the Beach the better you felt- and maybe it was uncivil to prefer a death trial to the Beach. But in the end of the day the Beach held just as much blood on their hands as the game's, so really which was worse? The silence was helpful to the fog swirling in your head, it was as close enough to feeling at ease than you've felt all week- the moon was bright, lighting up the night in just the right way. You felt concealed from the world around you, this was one of the reason you tended to game's at night. It was until your harmony was crushed that the weight was back, but 10 times worse than before. The air seemed more shallow than it was just a second ago and you slowed your pace so much you were practically standing still.

Maybe it was by bad odds, or maybe you were thinking about it too much, or maybe he was trying to kill you.

Chishiya was already sat in the passenger seat, hood down for once and as expressionless as ever. Just as you thought maybe you could get away with jumping into the nearest vehicle that didn't have Chishiya in it, your weight shifted down on a branch and crack!

You felt sick.

Chishiya hoisted his head just enough to see where that sound came from, he didn't falter when he seen you- instead taking a second scanning you. It felt a lot longer than a second and more invading than it should have been. You almost felt like you shouldn't be seen - your arms twitched to cover yourself. He didn't looked shocked to see you, or like he even cared- you're not sure which is worse. He stared for a moment longer and you felt stupid standing still, and when you expected him to lose interest and look away- he waved instead.

Was it too late to switch group's?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ride to the arena was quiet.

Despite the low rumble of the engine running and the obnoxious chewing from the girl beside you- which prompted you scooting as far as the jeep would let you away from the brunette and trying your hardest to zone out the continuous wet smacks. If this was any other time you probably would've sent her a gross look, plugging one ear and hugging the side of the door - but you couldn't be bothered too. Not when your own mind was keeping you distracted. You're not even sure you've shifted or looked up from the window sense you've sat down. The leather seat's were too starchy to comfortably move around anyways.

There were three in the car- four, including you- and you were almost certain one of them was going to kill you tonight.

You've been in a game with an exclusive only twice- one with Ann, one with Last Boss, both were spades and thankfully both team orientated. You remember feeling how you felt now, catering into death with no way to stop it except faith. It was pitiful how easy you fall into sheer hope in life or death situations, you knew it had no capability in helping you yet its always what you lay back on. To your own revaluation, you've gotten this far on it- and now all you could do was hope you have yet to run luckless and join a Diamonds game.

Chishiya presence was loud and yet he didn't have to say anything, every second of the ride you were alert of his presence. Each gesture he made, small shuffle of his jacket or slight movement of his hair reminded you that this was the first time you've ever been close to the man for an extended period of time. It also prompted the weight of which Chishiya could hold over your life- he was clever, quick-witted, more experienced in the games- what's the likely hood he killed you out of pure malice of your staring? A quick fix to the annoyance you caused? Maybe he planned this game with you all along. If his attentiveness didn't make you skittish before, him waving to you certainly did. Now your not sure if you disregarding his greeting entirely was the right move or not.

What's the likely hood of you over-analyzing the situation?

The overpowering smell of leather and the dull ache of the headrest smacking against your forehead made it painfully obvious you arrived at the game. Thankfully you were saved of the embarrassment of being the only one physically abused by the man's parking job.

"Ow, you fucker! Couldn't have pressed on the break's any harder could you?"

It would have been funny if you weren't also glaring at the man, although her tone almost made you crack a smile despite it. She seemed to have had it worse than you, smashing her face against her door's window- if the small circle of condensation that fogged the glass hinted to anything. Rubbing out your forehead you silently hoped it didn't bruise.

"Are you kidding me? Maybe if you weren't so coked up you would've have the strength to stay up-right."

Thinking about it, it did make sense. Her constant ticking and blown pupils- the frantic gum chewing must have been an outsource of energy. Your not sure how the Beach sourced certain things, but you wouldn't put cocaine behind them. Although your sure it's limited to the few that would get close to Hatter, the ones that would join his 'private party's' in his suite- something you personally strayed away from. They went back and forth for a while- It was slightly entertaining at first and it brought some humor into your dejected mindset- although it got tiresome quick when it felt like their quarrel sounded more like a deranged dirty talk than an actual argument. You left after the first, and surely not the last- "dirty bitch" came out of his mouth.

The arena was just a few feet into a woodland- it slightly exited you, most game's were located out in the main area's of the city and you've personally never participated in one away that wasn't downtown. Despite the slight eeriness of the woods, the moon did good to light the forest, giving you a clear view of the trail through the tree's- it was cracked and muddy and hard to balance on but it gave off the innocents of a pathway to a tree house.

It made sense now why you couldn't have driven any further to the game's entrance, branches overgrown the path left and right. All along the tree's trunks there were subtle signs pointing to an abandon building, arrows hallowing out of the bark. It led to a cabin with trashed windows, rotting wood, and protruding beams- how it was still standing was a miracle and you began speculating that it would be coming down after tonight. You not sure it wouldn't collapse on the first foot that stepped inside.

It was no surprise to see Chishiya waiting at the entrance, having heard the low click of his door closing, but nonetheless the sight of him still made you steady your grounding and straighten your posture. For one thing, you were nervous to enter a game with the man at all out of fear of not coming back out of it- but for some reason you almost wanted to prove something to Chishiya. To prove what you weren't sure, and you shook the childish thought out of your head before you could figure it out. Getting a closer look at the house- despite its decaying frame it had a good build to it. It might of even been a structure to praise about before the rot got to it.

Laying out six phone's, a glass caged map of the woods stood before the door- probably the only sturdy structure you would be seeing for this game. You sighed and grabbed the fourth, there was no doubt you would have to wait until they were done to start the game- leaving you alone with Chishiya. He moved like a ghost through the vandalized house, the gloominess really wasn't helping his case- moving away from the door frame for you to enter, keeping quiet as you examined the interior- stained Persian rug's, cracked resin paintings, shattered grandfather clock- you even tried to turn of the light to no avail, having to use your phone light to roam around- he didn't seem to mind silence.

Until he did.

"What suit do you think we'll be playing? Surely space is to limited to be spade's," He commented, eye's scattered across the room. It was the first time you've ever seen him up close, it was almost like it was the first time he was allowing you to see. Although the lack of light made it hard to tell where he was looking. Would it be rude to shine your light in his face?

You cleared your throat, "It's possible…"

You didn't know how to answer, what answer was he looking for? Turning away from the man seemed to give you a clear head. "But unlikely," It was true, there was no room for any sort of physical action, especially not with the pans and planks of wood that were thrown around the floor. You really hoped there were no mice in here.

"Club's are our best bet."

Diamonds or Hearts if I'm unlucky, is what you don't say.

Fiddling with deserted coins you found, you wait for him to respond- You think he was to respond, based on his quick inhale but instead a loud shriek echos through the door- for a moment you felt your face drain of color. They wouldn't have transported wolves here too, would they? With furrowed eyebrows glancing from the door back to Chishiya expecting some form of a reaction- but he doesn't even look a bit curious and you don't know why he's looking at you like that- with raised eyebrow's and an expectant look like your supposed to just understand until you hear a string of laughter after and.. Oh. The color comes back to your face rather quickly.

"Interesting how people jump at any chance of pleasure while being in the face of death," Chishiya added and you couldn't help but wonder why he was speaking to you at all. Peering at you from where he stood- which was closer than he was before, he continued when he realized you had nothing to say.

'It's no different from out world, death creeping behind you wherever you are, so why aren't people just as reckless as they are here?"

The words 'our world' shivered underneath your skin in a way you weren't expecting. What reply would be the safest one? And had he always has that mole on his face?

The coins never left your palm.

You hated how he phrased his words- like he was specifically asking you why you used the pleasure's that the Beach offered at its expensive, and what the difference in surroundings made to you. If only he knew the difference between your normal world and his.

Despite you knowing his question's were to gauge an underlined knowledge about whatever it was he was trying to understand from you- still you felt a slight bit of embarrassment mixed with irritation- it grew when you heard how calculated each word he said was and how casual he threw it around, he made himself sound above it all, like he was some groundbreaking philosopher- it teased a nerve in your brain.

“Speak for yourself," you replied, "Some people enjoy the small pleasure's the world offers. Doesn't matter where or when."

"Fair enough."

The loud slam of a car door silenced your conversation- a "Let's get this thing started!" entirely too cheerfully made you worried they would go for a second round until you heard the patter of footsteps down the track. By the time they got to door they were both sniffling and reeked of sex, sweaty and crumpled clothed- in unison both you and Chishiya took a few steps away from the couple. You slid the coins into your jacket pocket.

Registration is now closed.

The game is about to commence. Difficulty, Six of Diamonds. ♦️

There are a total of four participants.

Game, "Echo Code."

Rule- Groups of two will be made. Match the flashing color of your phones to a door handle, and enter the room.

Clear conditions- Locate the code that will unlock your door within the time limit and before the other teams.

The game will now commence.

45 minutes remaining.

You were fucked in every sense of the word.

Not only were you fated to die, you were left confused- Your phone flashed a deep blue, Chishiya's a low white, the brunettes a gold, and the militants a blood red- the teams were completely randomized and they didn't even give you a clue to who it was with. There was a 33.3% chance you survive the game, 66.7% chance you'll die- you've played games with a lower survival risk but somehow this seemed more intimidating. At least with those games you can have hope throughout the process, to push you forwards to survival, but if you get teamed up with anyone but Chishiya, well.. your not entirely sure what will happen to you. You're not sure you want to find out, either- although it was something you've given thought to before and it was nothing less than brutal.

You felt sick all over again.

"What the hell? I thought we were getting grouped?" The dark-haired girl grunted out-loud with flailing arms. For someone facing death she seemed rather relaxed- slumped shoulders and slow movements- it must of been the drugs. Maybe you should take some- she obviously has them on her- and this is very likely your last game and what better way to go than to be barley coherent how or when it was happening at all?

"We are." Chishiya stated, walking around the three of you and making his way to the left side of the cabin- you have yet to wander there from the sheer fact that there were no windows to help you see- and because of, well.. mice. Chishiya used his phone to light up the hall- six doors side by side.

You decided against your pre-matured death, seeing Chishiya open a door right besides a dark blue doorknob. He seemed to notice this too, glancing your way before opening the door- or least you think he did- it was really to dark to tell. He left into his designated space, closing it with beaming light shining from the room.

You could've kissed him on the mouth right then.

The conformation eased you immensely, finding it a lot easier to gravitate towards your door than before. With a tolerable wringing in your brain you followed around the couple. The man said something this time, but they feel on deaf ears when you opened the door- the contrast of the splitting wood and chipped painted door knob to the room was utterly deranged.

Before you could properly discern the place the luminosity of the room left you momentarily blind, your shielded hand did little to help you but the short sting was worth the view of the room. Tall, freshly painted blue walls with grout work on the bottom, framed vintage artworks, black threaded carpet with gold embroidered symbols and walls filled with stacked bookshelf- the whole size of the room defied logic to the size of the house. The room itself looked like royalty, or at least a replica made for a museum of sorts. It was breathtaking- and maybe you wouldn't have minded dying here after all.

You wondered if Chishiya's room was something like yours.

And why you room was twenty times colder rather than room temperature.

After shutting the door- which looked oddly like a ship's door on the inside- you made your way to the pedestal in the middle of the room, it looked like one of those Greek pillars outside a gallery- the one's made with clay-cement and are hand chipped to perfection. It laid out a black cord phone. You hesitated to touch it.

The biggest frame was one of a painting- entirely erotic and naked, mounted in the center of the room. First thing you see when you walk in, last to see when you walk out. It was of a girl in a position so obscene you had to tilt your head at a 45 degree angle to understand its perspective, all though see seemed to be enjoying herself despite the contorted points of her back.

“Huh, never tried that one."

"Tried what?"

You jumped back instinctively, hitting your back against the door with a thud. You felt like a kid caught with their hand in a cookie jar. Furiously you whipped your head around trying to find the source of sound, "Chishiya?"

A low grunt of conformation answered your question. You finally eyed a gold platted vent, it was well hidden in a clump of smaller paintings with cold frames and you had to go on your tip-toes to see through it. Chishiya was on the other side.

"Have any idea of what we're supposed to do yet?"

"No. Do you?"

Liar.

"Give me a second."

Making you way back to pedestal you fumbled with the keys but they were all jammed shut, and the entire phone seemed to be bolted to the cement. As a last resort you exhaled shakily and lifted the receiver to your ear, far enough away encase it was a decoy and was made to burst your eardrum and...

Nothing.

Fuck, maybe there was a button- swoosh!

You heard it before you seen it. The etching grumble sound of an old pipe, running water and a loud splash. How you didn't notice the large pipe you weren't sure but it was very apparent now- it was overly rusted and, was that black mold in there?

The room was big but the way the water was rapidly flowing made you believe your time limit was shortened by at least 10 minutes. The pipe was attached too the left wall, high enough to touch the ceiling and located behind a book shelf- it was already making a wet mess of the dense carpet. The door made sense now.

Deep blue.

Those cheeky bastards.

You dropped the phone when you first seen the water rushing in the room, leaving it dangling from the cord while you jumped on the nearest chair- your slippery shoes on the velvet almost made you fall back off- but despite the echoing of the rushing sounds around you, beeps from the speaker of the phone could still be heard. That wasn't there before.

You had to lay on your stomach and stretch you arm way past its limit to reach the phone, after re-stabilizing yourself you listened intently while idly shaking out your arm- at first it sounded like a dead line, until the deeps would go longer and shorter at certain times and there was an odd few pauses of long silence-Ring beep beep, short silence, ring ring ring, short silence, beep ring ring, long silence, beep ring ring-

"Are you dead?"

"Shut up!"

Maybe it was a little rude on your part, but you couldn't find yourself to care at the moment. The sounds were too precise to not mean anything, and you figured it out early on that it was mores code but your recollection was frail under pressure despite you having memorized almost the entirety of the alphabet last year when you wanted a somewhat niche talent- although you never thought it would actually come in handy. Beep ring ring- short silence- beep beep, short silence, ring beep, short silence, ring beep beep, short silence, ring ring ring, short silence, beep ring ring-

"The phone- It's mores code."

You've felt you've left Chishiya hanging for long enough, but you doubted he needed your help. You wouldn't be surprised if he already found his key. You vocalized your thoughts purely for the small chance he would give you a clue of some sort- or backup your suspicion of the signals. The water reached the chairs legs now, your entire body shivered when a lone splash entered your shoe, successfully soaking your whole sock.

The water was ice cold.

From the vent you heard a soft stagger from the room besides you, then a small sound of clashing metal- the same sound your phone made when you picked it up- "It does sound like mores code, doesn't it?"

Was he serious?

Despite having no way to see you, you still took a second to stare idiotically at the wall behind you- maybe if you stared hard enough it would crumble down and kill Chishiya with it. However that was wistful thinking, and it wasn't going to stop the water from flooding the room.

With your finger you had to draw out the sequence code on your thigh, using pictorial recollection to try and decipher the term- W I D- widow? The water was just shy of the top of the seat cushion- you had to shuffle to the backrest to avoid getting your shoes wet. W I N D O W - Window? With frantic eye's you searched the wall's, side to side, up and down; pictures, maps, wallpaper- but no window, no curtains to hide a window, either.

"Well? What now?"

Sense the room started to fill you felt the apprehension of the game weighing you down- the water was crowding you; on the walls, the floor, soon to the roof- you never knew you could feel so claustrophobic from a body of water, and the worst part was you didn't know what to do now.

"I don't know."

You could hear it in your own voice, too.

The cushion was soaking with water now, floating around the soles of your shoes and all you could was watch it vacantly with a blank mind. The phone never stopped repeating the same sequence. You would've been self-conscious of the anxiety seeping through your voice if you could think properly.

"You don't know mores code."

Displeased at how sure he sounded at his comment you felt the need to correct his statement.

"I do, but it doesn't make sense. I don't have a window in my room."

“But you have paintings in there don't you?" You don't even want to know how he knew that, "Is there a painting of a window? Maybe even a book about paintings with windows?"

There were no pictures of window's that were hung, or blatantly obvious books that held the knowledge of every painting with windows- but it did make you think about the dresser you eye'd upon first arrival, it looked a lot like the secret passage from 'The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe' but you also recalled the the stacked paintings that peaked out from the door- too bulky to fully lock the closet shut. The only down side about his proposition was the fact it laid across the other side of the room- the room that was now four feet deep in water.

You hated that his assumption made sense. Maybe you were being petty, but you neglected answering him.

Slowly you lowered your foot down- as soon as it reached your ankle you jolted back- you knew how cold the water was going to be from the tease it gave your foot but you were still left shocked at just how freezing the water was- somehow it was worse than before and the chill of the air was making your foot relieve it's experience of being dunked. Going slowly was surely not helping, neither would procrastinating, nor did the 30 minutes renaming of the clock- you plunged your whole body in at once.

You swear your vision went white- goosebumps ran throughout every pore of your body into every crevice of your brain and it was the closest thing you've ever experienced to an electric shock- it felt like you've just jumped from a Jacuzzi to the pacific ocean. You wouldn't be surprised if they did correlate the temperatures at your expense. Each step through the water felt like you getting shocked over and over and over again and you felt like you were moving a centimeter at a time but you continued across the room. You had to use your body as a stopper so the closet door would slam shut from the water pressure.

There were five painting laid out; The first three portraits, two of laddies one of a man- no sign of a window. The last two were water damaged and harder to make out- using your shirt to dry them did little to help the wilting paper- each were different designee's and sizes and still no sign of a window. If you felt stupid with you half-walk, half-swim across the room you felt like an utter idiot now. You scanned the book shelf's- the thousands of book laid across eight foot walls- most of which were submerged under water and physically unable to be read. Couldn't even one painter have been inspired to paint a window during their art guise? Weren't they supposed be be symbolic or something?

"I don't think anything in here has anything to do with windows!"

"Keep looking."

Think outside the box, is what he meant.

“Chishiya- I'm telling you there's nothing in this room. And if there is, it's already waterlogged."

"Water, huh? That's what you got?"

So preoccupied with your own threatening vice- you forgot Chishiya got one too.

"What'd you get?"

"Carbon monoxide."

Low white.

You missed when his voice turned muffled-likely the result of breathing through some sort of cloth- and the mockery of the aggressive string of coughs he let out after the fact was almost cinematic. You both went silent for a moment. 19 minutes remaining.

"I have a window in my room."

The game's rules of teams and groups ran around your head. You failed to remember how self-willed Chishiya was. You were going to kill him.

“Fuck you.”

A muffled, "Huh?"

"Nothing."

The last 20 minutes of the game went quicker than the first, maybe Chishiya could have let you try and play it out until the last few minutes but the gas seemed to be filling up his room quicker than expected- and the other team really held no competition considering their aimless train of thought. You were really glad you haven't stubbed the girl for whatever she was taking. As bothersome as Chishiya was- coaxing you into searching your body numbing room the reflection that you held just as much over Chishiya as he did you made it slightly more bearable- you refused to give his next code before he gave you yours- he didn't argue.

It was a hunt for numbers, each place hiding a numeral- and Chishiya was a lot quicker with his translation, because of course he knew mores code by heart- but they were getting vigorous harder too find. On your part the water reached you chin, half-paralyzing your body and the slight wave of the liquid made the water sting worse than before- it slowed your movements down, having to thrash around floating paintings and uneven tides to venture off every corner of your room. Chishiya's words got more slurred, making him harder to hear on top of the already muffled syllable's- funnily enough he almost sounded drunk- but the rapidity of his words only ever ceased slightly. The mores code of the phone changed after Chishiya found his first integer.

The last round was by far the worst- the water reached your height and you had to float above water to move, this time actually swimming, and your phone cord was losing length, just shy of brisking the water. Although you already dropped it once when you had to go into the right corner of your room from the lack of extend it gave you, the speaker spat water into your ear each time after that. Your body felt like it was convulsing, teeth forcefully chattering and your body wouldn't stop fucking shaking- it was making you more and more angry at the lack of control you had over your body, as stupid as it sounded. At the last number it was almost impossible to get out behind your shaky voice- maybe you made a sound or gave some indication of discouragement because Chishiya gave you your last code first, despite it being his turn.

Somehow it worked to place your mentality a little higher than your situation- you gave him his code before going to search for your own- you already had to shatter and rip up a painting, break off a lamp, tear apart a cushion, tug off wallpaper, and locate a hidden city on the map- and somehow the ending of your game was worse than finding them. You had to dial the number into the engulfed phone. You didn't think about it before you dove number water, the last thing you heard was Chishiya's door opening before your ears were packed with white noise. It felt like an ice bath, pricking your eye's like little needles and burning your nose- it was challenge in it's self to locate what numbers were which in the water, the cavitation and air bubbles distorted the numbers and clouded your vision, the cold only made it worse. Even after you jammed your stiff fingers into the according numbers (9-2-5-6-9-0) you didn't have the luxury of an already opened door and an emptying space, no, you had to open it yourself.

You were not made to be a pirate, and it was proved by how tedious it was to get the door open. The pressure was working against you and you couldn't open it purely by arm strength, buoyancy wouldn't allow you too use your body weight either so you had to forcefully slam yourself into it, grabbing onto the porthole for more force. It blazed through your left side, leaving it aching and irritated after only one try but it only fueled the demand of your actions- you felt like a psycho tying to break down the door and surely you looked like one- it made your actions stutter when you remembered that your game was being watched- they were going to have a field day with this one- but it didn't put a stop to your actions.

Only when you staggered forwards from the demand of the water, and the loud screech of the door opening did the water stop.

You remember little from how you ended up outside, sitting on a fallen log exhausted and bitterly cold- what you do remember was how odd it felt to walk with your normal weight again, you discarding your sopping wet pants, not missing the irony of the swim ware underneath and the sight of Chishiya placing the card in his jacket- you didn't even mind if he took it for himself, accusing you later on to Hatter and saying you stole the card- and what was up with you and losing your clothes in games?

It was warmer outside and Chishiya didn't rush you back to the Beach- although you didn't miss his few not-so-subtle stares between you and the car to which you only glared at him- he looked better off than you did, more reasoned in the head and physically- but you didn't doubt he needed fresh air as well, not sure you would trust being in a car with him after he inhaled toxins for 30 minutes no matter how hard he tried to play it off. You wonder if he did it subconsciously or not.

Your jacket was thin and therefore held less water, but it still clung to your skin no matter how many times you pulled it off and your hair kept wringing droplets onto your shoulder but you were too lazy to wring it out, your entire body was still covered in goosebumps - you heard a mew sound - and you hoped you didn't get frostbite - a meow followed after.

You heard Chishiya grunt in disapproval.

Wait, what?

A dark frizzy blob clung onto Chishiya's leg and he didn't look particularity happy about it. A dark frizz that had white fur, and pitch black eyes, and a tail-

"What the hell?"

When you spoke your voice was coarse and still slightly uneven but the cat looked at you with some recognition- it didn't seem to care though, instead rubbing it's face onto Chishiya's leg, leaving a trail of fur in it's awake. Its only when Chishiya lightly shook the cat off and toed it away from his direction did it slowly start walking to you as a last resort- although not with a few pauses and giving looks back at Chishiya like he would change his mind, it was properly acting like a dejected dog. Unlike it's keenness to Chishiya it sat a few inches in front of you, staring at you expectantly. Why did it act like it wanted to kill you?

It's dark eye's squinted at you.

"You're fatter than before. Eating good?"

It meowed back.

After a minute of staring and another minute of sniffing your shoe it finally let you course its back lightly, but if you got too close to it's tail or face it would hiss and quickly advert your hand- you had to roll up your sleeves to avoid getting water droplets on its fur. Apparently it hatted water and made it very clear after trying to attack your jacket. The cat was a girl, you found out, and after a few minutes of debating you mentally named it Alice. You thought it was fitting enough.

The roar of the engine rudely brought you back to your circumstance; your game, the frost of your skin, the fact Chishiya was going to drive off without you if you took to long- with a final pat on Alice's head you made your way back down the path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ride back to the Beach was as quiet as it was from the Beach.

It was daunting how quiet Chishiya was compared to the start of the game- how quickly he was able to switch his act's now that he had an opinion on you- you could only guess what it was but you couldn't imagine anything more than lackluster. It almost made you feel dispirited- keyword almost- but you really hadn't had anything to show from the game. Nothing worth praising anyways, except the fact that you made it out alive- and even then Chishiya had more of the backbone during it. Although pouting in the same area he was in- especially over something so pointless- wasn't going to do you any good.

The coins surprisingly still laid in your jacket pocket.

The lowered window's helped the air flow in the car- it did wonders for drying your hair and jacket, yet it still made you uncomfortable at the way it nipped at your skin. Not as cold as the water- well, definitely not as cold as the water but still chilly enough to make your huddle into yourself, legs to your torso and jacket stretched over your knees. If Chishiya thought anything low about your actions he didn't voice them.

By the time you got back the Beach was still as lively as ever, loud crowds and booming music- it made you wish the water did irreversible damage to your hearing after all. You made your way up the gate in silence, you walking a few feet in-front of Chishiya- he gave you a indecipherable look when you muttered a sarcastic 'Girls first!' when he walked through the gate door you opened for yourself. The first thing on your mind was a warm shower (if you did get frost bite, was it safe to go into hot water right after?) and your bed, your layered, not drenched with water, bed. Surprisingly you were not as sore as you thought you would be, but maybe that was because you were still numb from your waist down, and you really shouldn't be jinxing yourself. It would be worse tomorrow.

Half way up the drive way Chishiya spoke up to your astonishment, it was the first thing he said to you at all after the game. He was fully turned to you and had his palm open, curiously you peaked down and saw the keys laid in his hand, trailing your eyes back to his face you gazed at him questionably. The Beach light's were definitely doing him justice- or maybe he always looked like that and you were just too far or it was too dark to tell. He looked exactly how he did on TV; Dead hair, pricing eye's, smooth pale skin- and he was definitely wearing eyeliner.

He looked good.

"Put the key's away would you?"

It made sense, the car slot and Hatters suite was on opposite end's of the beach- you were more surprised that he wasn't holding the key's out by it's chain so you wouldn't have to touch him. Trying not to be as weird as you felt- you hummed in agreement and took the keys into your own hands- he was significantly warmer than you, you wouldn't have guessed he ran hot- the asshole wiped his hand on his jacket after, you had to bite your tongue not to smile.

You're not sure what possessed you, or what type of sickness the game gave you but before he could walk away you asked, "So, Chishiya? What's my verdict?"

For the first time he did look a little surprised, it wasn't really an accomplishment but it sure felt like one, and he took a second to respond.

"I never told you my name."

Maybe you were better off not asking. You stayed put even after he walked away, through the crowds and into the building- you only moved when you heard a distinct meow behind you.

Looking back, you never realized how much Alice looked liked a cat version of Chishiya.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag- @mypsychoticlove

Chapter 5/? Prompt ; You get trapped in a TV show, dedicated to stick by the rules of the game you hid in the shadows, watching from a dist

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