BLUFF [AIB]

Stage One: XIV

[Started: 1/1/2023]
[Ended: 1/1/2023]
[Song: The Oprah Shot by Michael Abels.]

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

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Chapter Fourteen
"Confusing and Complicated."
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     The real beach came into view as Chishiya drove. Y/n tiredly leaned her head on the window as Chishiya erratically steered the car. Her head banged against the window.
     "Ow, don't you know how to drive?"
     He glanced at her, she took his silence as a no.
     "Then say so, I'll drive next time." She yawned.
      Despite the fact Y/n was bleeding out and Chishiya was driving without any prior knowledge to driving he cracked a smile. Y/n thought there would be a next time, that at some point they would end up in a car together once again. He took it as a sign that she didn't completely hate him.
     "Can we stop for a second?" She asked.
     "No, we have to get back."
     Slowly she began rolling down her window. The sound of the ocean drifted through the open window. Y/n closed her eyes leaning back in her seat.
     "Y/n?" Chishiya glance at her. "Y/n? His voice held more worry but she don't reply.
     He reached over shaking her. "Don't go to sleep!"
    "Y/n!"
    "....shit!"
    Chishiya's foot pressed the pedal down to the floor.

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     Kuina watched cringing as Chishiya meticulously sewed up one of the stab wounds. "Jeez man, what happened."
    They we're in Y/n's room, she was on the bed dead asleep. Chishiya was in a chair next to the bed hunched over her leg. Kuina stood over him unable to turn away.
    "We were in a hearts game." He replied.
     "Let me guess, she got stabbed saving your ass." Kuina crossed her arms disapprovingly.
     He thought back to the event. "She got stabbed once saving me.....you should see the other guy."
     Kuina chuckled. "What happened to him?"
    The blond looked up at Y/n peacefully sleeping face. It seemed almost impossible that the person asleep was the one to curb stomp a man without mercy.
"Not my place to tell. All I know, is he deserved it."
He finished stitching her up and removed the medical supplies from the bed. He moved to tuck Y/n into the sheets but when he moved her head off the pillow he noticed a blood stain there.
"Damnit Y/n. Help me sit her up."
Kuina moved to hold Y/n up as Chishya pushed the girls hair around to look at the wound on the back of her head.
"What's wrong?" Kuina asked.
"She hit her head on something. The wound back here doesn't need stitches but she could have a concussion. We need to wake her up." Chishiya moved away letting Y/n fall back to the pillow.
"Y/n?" Kuina moved the girls face. "She's out cold still."
Chishiya took a small packet out of the medicine kit. He cracked it and held it under Y/n's nose. Her eyes shot open and she swat his hand away coughing.
"What the hell is that?!" She gasped rubbing her burning nose.
"Smelling salts." He snickered.
'I wish I had stayed asleep.'
"We just wanted to make sure you weren't dead." He told her.
Y/n looked around then at her leg. She looked to Kuina who was on the bed next to her. "Thank you."
The girl laughed. "What are you thanking me for, he's the doctor."
Her face riddled with confusion. "You are?"
Chishiya nodded. "Is that a surprise?"
"I've just never seen a doctor with such horrible hair before." She replied.
He tried to hold back a smile. "Hmmm, it's funny you would say that."
'Why does it feel like he knows something I don't?'
"You should take a bath before I put on the bandages." Chishiya told her before turning his attention to Kuina. "Can you help her?"
"I don't need help." Y/n said moving off the bed. As soon as she put pressure on her leg she tripped. "That's hurts a lot more than it did before."
Chishiya looked at her amused. "Likely because you were jacked up on adrenaline. It was quite the show."
Y/n looked down remembering what she had done. It was the first time she had ever killed anyone directly.
"Just let Kuina help you."
"Yeah. I'm not all that bad." The girl said smiling jokingly.
"Okay."

Y/n sat in the bathtub staring at the wall. Kuina sat on the counter balancing her fake cigarette on her finger. She noticed Y/n blank stare and frowned.
"Hey, are you okay?"
She didn't answer and just let her entire body submerge underwater.
"Y/n!" Kuina jumped from the counter.
Chishiya who was outside pounded on the door. "What's going on in there?"
Kuina was about to reach in and pull Y/n out but she noticed the girls eyes open and aware under the water. "Um." She looked back at the door. "Everything's fine."
She waited for Y/n to come back up. It seemed like forever when she did Kuina looked at her disapprovingly. "Jeez would you give a warning next time you do that?"
"Sorry." Y/n replied pushing her hair back.
"Why'd you do that anyway?"
"It's calming." She shrugged.
Kuina went back to her spot of the counter. "You were under for a long time."
"I can hold my breath for 4 minutes. So don't get scared when I don't come back up."
She chuckled. "A woman of many talents I see."
Y/n smiled. "Any special skills you have?"
Kuina shrugged. "I've been fighting since I was a kid."
"Don't be so humble."
"I kick ass." She corrected jokingly.
Y/n just laughed at her.
Suddenly Kuina's aura became sentimental. "You know, when we met I thought you were the type to not genuinely smile at anything. But your actual pretty cool. I'm glad that we're friends."
Y/n blinked a little surprised. "We're friends?"
"Well your naked in a bathtub right now so I'd say we're pretty close now." Kuina laughed.
Y/n couldn't help the smile of joy on her face. "I'm glad we're friends too."
"Are you two almost done?" Chishiya's voice came through the door.
Kuina got up and pounded on the door. "Go away we're having girl time."
"I still have to put on her bandages."
Kuina turned away from the door mimicking Chishiya mockingly.
"That's not very nice." Y/n said sarcastically.
Kuina put a finger up to her lips. "Shhhh, he doesn't have to know."

A while later Y/n sat on the bed dried and clothed. Chishiya was gathering bandages, seeing which ones would work. Kuina had left to get food leaving them alone in the silence.
Many questions ran through Chishiya's head while Y/n seemed to be void of any thoughts as she looked at her pruned fingers. He wondered why Y/n would talk to Kuina, even become friends with her but wouldn't give him a glance. Previously he didn't think she could be like that around someone and have it be genuine. He saw a glimpse of it in the car but he suspected it was because she was out of it.
"You and Kuina are friends now?" He questioned.
Y/n smiled fondly. "Mmmhm."
He looked down at the bandages. "Do you hate me?"
When he looked back at her as she was looking back at him. "I don't hate you. I just find it annoying when people I don't expect keep showing up in my life."
"What an odd reason to act so coldly." He said going back to the med supply.
Y/n looked down at her hands. "I don't mean to. Your just annoying."
"Your a little right." He stated moving over to her with the bandages. "I should apologize for bringing you here."
"Did you even have a real reason for it?" She questioned looking down at him as he sat in a chair to the side of the bed.
He didn't answer.
"Are you afraid of me, after what I've done?"
He looked up at her. "No."
'Why?'
She avoided his gaze and he went back to putting on the bandage. "Your hard to figure out Chishiya. Your confusing and complicated."
"So are you."

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