BLUFF [AIB]

Stage One: VIII

[Started: 12/27/2022]
[Ended: 12/27/2022]
[Song: Accidents of Chaos by Yutaka Yamada.]

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Alice In Borderlands
BLUFF
STAGE ONE: Rubatosis
"The unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat."

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Chapter Eight
"A Helping Hand."
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    Y/n didn't believe she deserved to live over other people. She knew she wasn't a good person. She was selfish without empathy. But like usual she just kept going.
     Rain poured down in the city. The sky was grey and gloomy as if reflecting Y/n's current situation. But she didn't feel sad, the horrifying pain she felt when Old man died had faded. Now all she held was a heavy emptiness.
    The sky more so reflected what Arisu was feeling. As Y/n walked down the streets she pulled a wagon of supplies. She spotted Arisu laying unmoving across the street. For a second she thought he was dead. But the climber girl appeared with a tarp that she began moving him onto. Y/n just watched unnoticed from across the street.
    The climber began pulling Arisu on the tarp. Y/n mindlessly followed them curious as to what she were doing. They arrived at a warehouse where the climber had set up camp. She dried off Arisu as much as possible before going over to her supplies to make something to eat.
    Y/n stood still in thought. Eventually she moved disappearing from the warehouse.

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     "Excuse me."
    The climber jumped spinning around to face Y/n. She stared up at her as if questioning what Y/n was doing there.
    "Sorry." She apologized for startling her. "I saw you dragging Arisu here...." She held out a bag of fish. "Don't worry their fresh."
    The woman gently took the fish from her. "Thank you."
    Y/n nodded and turned around to leave.
    "Where are you going?" The woman called.
    She turned back around shrugging.
    "You can stay here....I'm Usagi." She introduced.
    "Y/n." She sat down in-front of the woman. She glanced at Arisu. "What's wrong with him?"
    "He lost his friends in a game last night." Usagi answered. "He says he wants to die."
    Y/n looked down. "I lost someone last night too. I guess it's easier to deal with because I knew it was coming."
    "He won't eat." Usagi said looking at the cup of stew in front of the man.
    Y/n stood up and walked over to him. She crouched down trying to look him in the eyes. "Usagi took the time to make that for you."
    No answer.
    "Look if you don't eat it I'm going to shove it down your throat."
    Though she had barely interacted with Arisu, Y/n believed he deserved to live. Both him and Usagi. They had both demonstrated an act of selflessness that Y/n likely never would. She was jealous of them for that.
    But that's why she was doing this. She believed they deserved more and wanted to help them get it. They deserved to live.
    "I know your sad about your friends, might even be blaming yourself but they wouldn't want this. They'd want you to live."
    A tear fell from Arisu's eye.
    "And I was being serious about shoving this down your throat, I won't allow you to starve yourself."
    Y/n ended up doing exactly what she said. She rolled Arisu on his back and force fed him. Usagi had to keep from laughing at the scene. When she finished Y/n gave the cup back to Usagi and went to leave.
    "Your not going to stay?"
    Y/n gave her a small smile to ease he worry. "I'll be back."
    And she stayed true to her word. Every day Y/n came back to check up on them. Sometimes only Arisu was there laying in the same position while Usagi was on a run. Y/n would leave whatever supplies she had for them and quickly go.
    One day Y/n went and Arisu was not in his usual spot. He was gone, same as Usagi. A genuine smile creeped up on Y/n's face as she put down a bag of fish.
    'I knew you'd come around.'
    "Y/n."
    Usagi and Arisu returned. The boy was clearly out of breath and sweaty from running.
   "Glad to see your up."
   "Yeah." He waved her off.
"You don't look so good."
Usagi smiled. "His stamina isn't to great."
"We have to play a game tomorrow." Arisu groaned.
Y/n smirked. "I'm sure you'll win it. Your smart."
"When's your next game?" Arisu asked.
"Tomorrow as well."
Usagi frowned. "Why not come with us?"
"I don't want to end up in a game where only one person wins with you two." She answered.
Arisu nodded. "That's a good reason."
"Well I have to go. I wish you both luck on your game." Y/n waved goodbye before leaving the warehouse.
Arisu and Usagi sat down to cook a meal with the fish Y/n left. They were both confused and intrigued by the girl. She didn't seem like the type to help others. At first they thought she was doing it to manipulate them but everything she did was genuine.
After a while they stopped wondering about her. Y/n just became one of the many mysteries of the upside down world they are in.

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