Heart of a survivor × Chishiya Shuntaro

Chapter Twenty Nine

~ Chishiya's pov ~

Chishiya was angry, how could she do something so stupid? Now Takara was on Hatter's watchlist, which is exactly what he didn't want to happen.

He needed Takara to be at Hatter's side, obedient to his rules. But she had to go and ruin that by being a good person.

He didn't understand her, why would she help people without getting something in return? She had a good heart, and that good heart was making her a target.

Going to confront her as soon as he heard what she had done probably wasn't the best idea. But he had thought that maybe his harsh words would get through to her. He was wrong.

He didn't have many options on how to resolve this issue she had caused, the only thing he could do now was try and calm Hatter's paranoia somehow. That itself would be no easy task. But if anyone could stand a chance at manipulating Hatter, it was Chishiya.

He racked his brain on what to do, starting to pace back and forth in Takara's empty room. There would be an executive meeting that evening, and Takara would most likely be on topic. Chishiya's best shot at saving Takara would be during that meeting.

Piece by piece, an idea formed in his mind. He left Takara's room, making sure to close the door as he left, and headed up to his own room.

An hour or so passed since he had left Takara's room, and Chishiya started to head downstairs for the meeting. He had a clear plan on how to help Takara, and he knew exactly what to say to persuade Hatter out of his paranoid state.

As Chishiya entered the meeting, he noted how no militants had been called to join, which meant whatever they were to talk about would be something that Hatter didn't want the other faction to hear.

The rest of the executives were already seated when Chishiya walked into the room, making him take the last seat left at the table.

The meeting started off with general updates from Kuzuryu about the daily affairs of the beach, just like how every other meeting went. Chishiya tried to appear as if he was interested in what the man had to say, when in reality, he couldn't care less about the man's ramblings. He knew it would look strange if he only spoke up when they eventually brought up Takara, so he added his input here and there so he wouldn't cause suspicion.

Finally, Hatter cleared his throat to change the subject, making Chishiya sit a little straighter in his seat.

"Now, as you may have all heard, one of our newer members, Takara, brought back a handful of players to stay here at the Beach. And she did so without my permission or even informing me about it" He took an inhale of breath, seemingly irritated over the subject.

"She's a good player, going back into the depths of a game to save people out of the goodness of her own heart. And she seems to inspire hope in the hearts of my people, which could potentially overpower the hold I have over them"

"If people start to look to her as their leader instead of me, it'll become a problem. It already is a problem." He glanced over to each of the executives.

"I would like some suggestions on how to handle her," he breathed out.

There was a beat of silence, the executives thinking of an answer.

"Would it not be best to stamp out any uprisings before they begin?" Kuzuryu replied nonchalantly.

Hatter nodded, seemingly in thought. He rested his head in one of his hands, rubbing his temples.

"That's quite extreme Kuzuryu. A stern talking to and setting clear boundaries should put her back in her place" Ann spoke, adjusting her sunglasses after her statement.