♠ ♦ Alice in Borderland ♣ ♥

21

Not to languish in self-pity, but I'm miserable.

For the past two days my head has been spinning overtime trying to figure out where it started, how to stop it and how to continue, but I really can't figure it out. At least on one of those points I can come up with an answer: it started with the first game that we had to play separately. Since that night, Soran has been acting strangely.

With my back leaning against the pillar and my arms folded, I keep running my eyes around the lobby. Sooner or later he has to show himself to sign up for a game. Tomorrow the obligatory game he has to play will arrive, but we have the policy that we visit an arena the day before. At least, if he hasn't already dismissed that.

'How long have you been here?' I look up at Yuki, who stands next to me and looks at me questioningly. 'As soon as registrations opened,' I reply with a shrug. 'That was an hour ago.' I try not to be too conspicuous, but still I keep looking at the table again and again to see if I see my cousin somewhere. In vain. The only people I keep seeing are those wretched militants. 'Kairi,' Yuki says in a soft tone that catches my eye, 'take care of yourself a little.' After those words he hands me a bottle of water, to which I look at in confusion as I take it.

I don't know exactly what has changed, but since I met him at the outdoor pool, he seems to approach me more gently. Still, I haven't forgotten how he didn't respond to my words and how he walked away from the table we were sitting at without saying a word. He hasn't done anything in the past few days that would make me think that way, since he just supported me, yet I don't dare pin my hopes on this contact. What if it becomes more and more and that will be lost again through death?

'Thanks,' I tell him. I take a few sips of water and then look back at him. 'Are you going to register for tonight?' I ask, to which he nods. 'I was just on my way to the table until I saw you standing here.' I don't know why exactly, but I feel a little nervous and worried. He's going to play a game tonight. What if he doesn't come back? 'Are you sure?' I ask. 'I saw both Kenshin and some of his friends standing at the table.' Yuki glances at the table for a moment, before shrugging. 'They'll try to screw you over again,' I say. 'They can try,' he replies.

'Yuki, please, don't go searching for it...' He sighs and continues, speaking softly. 'That's not it,' he mumbles. 'I...' He looks around briefly and then bends his head a little closer to me. 'My visa expires tomorrow and I prefer not to wait until the last minute.' That's why he was always in the same games as Soran and I. His visa days were the same as ours at first, but my game leaves me with three more. 'Oh...' I mumble. 'I'm going to register,' he says before walking away from me.

'Shall I join, too?' I ask as I follow him. 'If we're put in the same group, we can work together.' I almost bump into him when he suddenly stops walking. 'What?' he mumbles. 'You're not going to sign up for a game for me, are you?' When he puts it like that, it sounds very strange indeed. I quickly try to think of something to make my statement less loaded. 'Soran is also going to register today,' I tell him. 'I must try to help him.'

Something flashes through Yuki's eyes that I don't understand; it seems like fear, as if not only he's reluctant to be reassigned to Soran, but as if the idea also worries him. Why is that? I want to ask him about it, but then he quickly averts his gaze and continues walking to the table. 'Takashi, Yuki,' he says to the militant standing in front of us. 'I'm signing up for a game here.' The boy slides a paper and pen towards us and Yuki writes down his name. 'Yamada, Kairi,' I say, 'and I want to si-'

'No way,' I hear Soran say next to me. 'You have a few days left.' I didn't expect this to be the first thing he would say to me after those two days. That's not the only reason why I'm startled. When I look at him I see dark circles around his eyes, as if he hasn't slept in days. Not only that; there's also a smell coming from him that I never expected from him. Yet he is really the one who smells like alcohol.