Roulette // Chishiya x Banda // alice in borderland

Twenty Four And A Half

Shibuya, Tokyo. Three minutes before the explosion.

The crosswalk, busy as always, filled with even more people as Shuntaro Chishiya patiently waited to get to the metro station. He sighed deeply, with a bit of disappointment, seeing how people around constantly stepped on each other's feet. Couldn't help it. It was a warm, sunny day, one of his very few days off; he decided to visit his mom and sister, still worrying about a chance that dad would be home, however. Hopefully he could find a minute to talk to them alone.

Waiting for the green light Chishiya pulled his phone out, lazily checking out the news on the first website that popped up. There was only one name appearing in the head lines that day, all day - Sunato Banda, the infamous serial killer was about to be executed. A little surprising they'd even share an information like that but Chishiya knew the public was fuming. They'd finally get what they wanted for so long.

Chishiya felt bad for the victims' families but there was something, not sure what, about Banda himself that intrigued him to the core. On each photo Banda's eyes were piercing blue, his face calm, but for some reason his lips had a shade of a smile hiding in the corners. Point was, that man wasn't smiling at all. How was that possible?

Chishiya wondered if the man was truly a psychopath, and what exactly led him into the murders. They didn't reveal much and any information about his family was hidden as well.

This world is messed up. Four families lost a loved one and now the government sentences a fifth one to lose their son. How is that any different from what he's done? He didn't plead guilty anyway, do they know for sure it was him? They execute the prisoners like it solves the problem. Are they sure this man wasn't framed?

Chishiya put the phone back into his pocket as soon as the light turned green. He crossed the street feeling nice, calming wind blow against his face.

At the same time Sunato Banda was looking through the window, enjoying the view of the outside world for one last time. The van was big, dark and he couldn't see well through stained glass but he liked to observe busy streets anyway.

It had been long since he got caught and locked up, not really sure how many months - or years - had it truly been. Luckily for him, there was a lot of traffic that day, allowing him to look at Shibuya for some time before the execution. A bunch of heavily armed men sat there with him, only casually glancing through windows, out of habit rather than any interest. You guys don't care. After all you'll carry on with your lives, having many more opportunities to watch Shibuya again.

Banda tried to rest his elbow on the window but the handcuffs succesfully blocked any movement. He sighed to himself, wishing he could feel some of that spring sun on his skin. They'd passed Shinjuku already and he said his goodbyes to the neighborhood, but Shibuya wasn't that strange to him either.

Staring into the crowd, Banda noticed long, white hair among the sea of all dark hairstyles. A foreigner maybe? Banda leaned so far the window's glass tickled the tip of his nose. The man looked at his phone, lost in thoughts, maybe worried or frustrated. What troubles you, friend? Banda rested his head on cuffed hands. We could be friends if I wasn't here right now. You'd show me the things on your phone and I'd give you some advice on how to solve your gut-wrenching problem.

His mind was going places, all to avoid thinking about death catching up to him after all those years of living like it was nothing. Though it was probably the most exciting thing in his life - after sitting in prison doing nothing for months dying sounded rather fun, didn't it? Comparing the miserable time he spent with his family death sounded like the best reward, actually.

I could tell you about all kinds of things. You just have to promise you'd say something about yourself first.

Banda blinked and the light turned green for pedestrians. The white-haired man's phone disappeared and he crossed the street in a slow pace, nearly lost in the crowd.

My nameless friend. Would you like me even after I tell you what I've done?

Suddenly the strange man looked up, his face surprised, and so did many other people. Banda followed, not seeing much besides a weird light crossing the sky.

Hey friend, will you cry after they execute me on a day as beautiful as this one?

And then there was nothing but darkness.