Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Beach Arrival - Part One

Chuya Kurenai - Day 5 of Sojourn

Sat at one end of the dining table, Kurenai opened her eyes to find that she was bound at her wrists and ankles to the chair. It did not matter how much she struggled, her attempts to escape were futile.

On the other end of the table was a familiar face. A face she had hated all her life.

Looking around for something that could free her, she froze when she looked above her. What looked like a large blade was hanging so precariously from the ceiling, swaying ever so slightly. There was no doubt she would die the moment it fell.

"Welcome to Borderland. This is a simple game of choice, only one may survive. Player Chuya Atsushi must make a choice between his children."

Stood on top of the dining table was her father, holding a rope in each hand. All he had to do was let go and that would be the end of either of them.

She kept struggling, the ropes cutting through her skin from how much they were rubbing. She tried to scream too, to plead with her father but no matter how hard she tried, no sound came out. Not even a squeak.

He did not look at her once, not a single glance, when he let go of the rope attached to the blade above her. He chose her brother. It had always been her brother.

Waking up abruptly from her nightmare, Kurenai found herself breathing hard. She looked down at her wrists, rubbing her thumb against her skin. It was just a dream but she could vividly feel the pain of the ropes cutting into her. She could still feel the pain now. What hurt more, however, was the fact that even in her own dream, her father chose her brother over her.

She let out a sigh, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath to calm herself.

Was her dream trying to tell her something?

That she would never be able to cut the strings her father had attached to her? That if she were to cut those strings, it would mean the end for her?

PAK!

With a hard slap to her cheek, Kurenai stopped herself from spiralling.

Borderland was an unforgiving place, one mistake and she could be losing her life. She had no time to be thinking 'what ifs'. Her only goal now was to return to the real world, so she could exact her revenge on her father. Every day she spent in Borderland, was another day he was winning.

Sitting up on the mattress, Kurenai let out a soft groan as she stretched her arms up in the air. She found herself a little home in the furniture store, in a shopping mall. While she loved a little shopping spree every so often, it was extremely eerie when the mall was abandoned and empty of shoppers.

As she got out of the bed, she adjusted her dress before frowning. It was crinkled from all the game activities and sleeping in it for several days. Time to go shopping.

The clicking of her heels echoed around the entire mall, coupled with her soft singing, it was almost as if she was in a horror movie.

With a few items on her arm, she went into a changing room to try the clothes on. She decided on a red A-line dress while holding onto several more outfits. Although she liked to look good, after the five of Spades game, practicality seemed to be more important. She even went to the shoe store and picked out a pair of comfortable sneakers. She kept her Louboutin still, she was not about to part with them.

Grabbing a backpack along the way, Kurenai was now ready to go on her way.

Before leaving the mall, she headed to the information desk and searched around. In the drawer of the desk was a stack of what she was looking for: a map of Tokyo. Shopping malls tend to have information pamphlets for tourists, whether it was for attractions or a map of the city. She picked up a map, browsing the area.