Roulette // Chishiya x Banda // alice in borderland

Forty Four

"It's funny, isn't it. No matter where we are every world is just full of shit." Chishiya sat down on the roof of an abandoned skyscraper. His calves were burning from having to climb all the stairs, since naturally elevators didn't work, but he felt it was somewhat needed. A form of exercise rewarding him with a stunning view at the very top.

"You can't say it's surprising though." Banda sat next to him, letting his legs hang off the edge. They enjoyed hanging out on tallest buildings of Borderland recently; now that Chishiya remembered what has happened, accepting his dreams as they were wasn't so difficult anymore.

"Of course not."

"But you can't blame yourself. They would've taken him even if you were right there. There was no way you could stop them."

"I just feel unsure. I won't know what happens to him unless the media start talking about it again."

However corny it sounded, Chishiya enjoyed watching the sunset from so high up; what he liked seeing more was Banda's face though. That Banda had a long horizontal cut starting right under his left eye and a couple scratches covering his shoulders. He wore a black tank top, something definitely far from his usual style. His eyes were always the same though; expressive and curious.

"Maybe it would've been better if I chose to stay in Borderland" Chishiya murmured, not breaking the eye contact. "The risk of dying is the same after all."

"Well, you're still here."

"I'm not supposed to be."

What if he never woke up? What if he just stayed here, in Borderland, letting his dreams follow the scenario of both of them still playing deadly games? Maybe his mind subconsciously tried to tell him leaving was a bad idea. But then again, Borderland was never enjoyable enough. And nothing guaranteed they would've lived for a long time either. 

Chishiya's hand slowly landed on Banda's, feeling even more scratches under his palm. It was warm. Real. Chishiya leaned towards the killer, their faces just milimeters from each other but nothing happened and they both knew why. Chishiya hesitated, then backed off.

"Right. I'm not your Banda after all." The older smiled so subtly Chishiya wondered if it was just his imagination. "You want that other one."

"Are you not the same?" Chishiya raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. This entire time we referred to him as a third person." Banda took a moment to stretch his arms. "What if you both died there? Do you think you'd come back here again, outside of, you know, your dreams?"

"And then what would happen to you?"

"No idea." Banda used his other hand to brush Chishiya's hair. "You'll wake up soon, I bet. I know you've called Hideki a hundred times already but you should do it again, just in case. He'll help you with getting him... me out. Good luck, Chishiya."

That morning was hot and humid, causing him to leave the bed pretty much as soon as his eyes opened. Chishiya hated the feeling of his back sticking to a warm mattress so he got up, avoiding tripping over his sister's books by just an inch. They're everywhere now.

Since his parents decided to turn Chishiya's old bedroom into a storage room he had to sleep in a bedroom belonging to his younger sister. That sickening amount of baby blue and pink usually drove him insane but this time it felt kind of therapeutic. Her toys, books and bunny-themed items brought back a lot of memories from his own childhood, and being back home put his mind at ease. Partially, at least.

It's been two weeks since I've seen your stupid face. I hope you don't flirt with other guys over there.

He knew Banda was most likely isolated but having not so clever thoughts helped him a bunch.