The White Queen 白の女王 Niragi Suguru

[THREE]

Haku felt numb as she walked back to the pool area.

After threatening to put a bullet through her, Niragi just walked away as if nothing had happened, leaving Haku standing in shock.

That couldn't be Niragi- at least, not her Niragi. Sure, she hasn't seen him in a long time, but he couldn't have changed that much, right?

What happened to the boy she knew? The boy who held her whenever she cried because of her family problems? The boy who would stay up with her on nights when she couldn't sleep? The boy she lo-

She shook her head, attempting to get rid of her thoughts. She needed to take her mind off of him and be distracted. She even had half a mind to find the drunk guy from earlier, but luckily Kuina found her before she could make any stupid decisions.

"Where were you? Chishiya told you to stay put." She jokingly scolded. Her tone put a slight smile on Haku's face.

"Sorry, I had to go to the bathroom." She lied unconvincingly. She could tell that Kuina didn't believe her, but luckily the taller girl let it slide.

"Wanna have a drink?" Kuina asked. Haku's eyes drifted over to the pool bar, seeing the different bottles lined up behind the bartender. She usually wasn't a heavy drinker, but if there was ever a night to get blackout drunk, that was it, especially after what she just went through.

"Sure." She replied. The two of them sat down by the counter, where the bartender immediately put two drinks in front of them. Haku didn't know what it was, but she chugged it down like it was water, ignoring the burning sensation in her throat.

"Can I please have another one?" Haku called out to the bartender. Only then did she notice the absence of a certain blonde.

"Where is Chishiya anyway?" She asked Kuina.

"Hatter called a meeting."

"Hatter?" Haku repeated in confusion. 'What kind of name is that? Who even is that?'

Kuina, noticing her confusion, chuckled as she explained.

"The Beach's leader. It's his nickname."

"You mean Kimono Man?" Haku asked as she downed another drink. This time, the bartender refilled it immediately.

"Kimono Man?" Kuina snorted with laughter.

"Yeah, that's what I've been calling him in my head. They asked for my name but didn't say theirs. The only one I got was Ann's." Haku complained. "What is it with these people and names? Even Chishiya didn't reply when I first introduced myself. His name's not anything special."

"I don't know about you, but I've never met another person with the last name Chishiya." Kuina said, but Haku wasn't listening anymore.

"Chishiya. Chi-shi-ya." She repeated, sounding out the man's name. Kuina watched her, amused. Obviously, the alcohol was taking its effect on her new friend.

"CHI-shi-ya."

"Chi-SHI-ya."

"Chi-shi-YA."

"You should stop before you accidentally summon him." Kuina laughed. Haku tipsily complied, not wanting the blonde to show up and interrupt her girl time with Kuina, who was quickly becoming her favorite person in the Borderlands.

"Speaking of which, he said he was sorry he couldn't come back and was worried that something might happen to you, so he asked me to keep you company for the time being." Kuina told her. Haku's raised her eyebrow, looking at her disbelievingly.