The Human Heart [COMPLETED]

Nothing But Chess Pieces

Morning is about to arrive when Chishiya decides to go up to the rooftop again. Night has not been restful this time, and instead of lying awake and turning from side to side, he can get a breath of fresh air as well before the heat of the day makes it too uncomfortable.

As he opens the glass door leading to the roof, he's not surprised at all to see another person sitting there. She has come here multiple times before when he had been there as well, leaving him alone most of those visits, and it seems to have become kind of a haven for her too.

Glass shards crunch under the sole of his shoe, and as Chishiya looks down, he finds the glass bottle that has been lying there for days now shattered into a dozen pieces, and he has no doubts of what led to its destruction.

He had not intended to go back down to the pools after waking Kuina. Yet he had found himself descending the stairs once more, following the unkempt mess of dreadlocks until he was close enough to listen to a quite overdramatic and theatrical recap of the night's prior events, told by a sobbing voice interrupted by hiccups.

Kuina had been able to calm down the other woman just as he had predicted, although the ways she did that were partly questionable to him, for he really didn't see why she'd compare him to a wild animal when there's literally no resemblance.

Chishiya hadn't intended to give a signal that he had eavesdropped on their conversation, but when the stubborn headed back to the hotel entrance, he still stood there, answering her overwhelmed appearance with a smirk and cold eyes. It had somehow been rewarding to see that the newly gained calmness quickly switched back to multiple emotions at once: anger, fear, doubt, sorrow.

And now that Chishiya faces her figure on the rooftop, he once more sees those eyes and hears her voice, breathy and shaking. How are you supposed to love a person that cold and condescending? And how are you supposed not to?

At least she seems to have calmed down now, since she lets her feet dangle down the stone walls without much motion. Only when her head drops to her chest and snaps back immediately Chishiya realizes that she is in fact not dwelling on her thoughts but sleeping.

The chuckle escaping Chishiya's mouth turns out louder than intended, yet he simply can't help but shake his head over such a reckless action. She won't have to worry about a game killing her if she continues like this, since it'd be a definite end for her if she fell down the roof. What a mess it'd be if her body crashed into the stone floor down there; and Hatter would most likely ask Tatta to clean it up.

She obviously isn't even aware of how vulnerable this makes her. The slightest push and she'd be gone; even easier than drowning her in the pool. There's not much more proof needed that she's barely alive out of luck, not out of personal capability.

"Watch out, this could be dangerous."

Her head snaps back again and Chishiya gets to witness the very amusing moment of her realizing that she has fallen asleep right at the edge of the roof. With a feint cry, she scrambles backwards to safety, and her eyes take on the same expression when she stares at him just like a few hours ago.

"You!"

Watching her eyes is like a slot game, and he waits for the several expressions to settle down on anger. How refreshing it is to see something else than just tears in them. Although he has to admit that they carry a certain beauty in them when they're glazed and teary.

"What the hell was that down there? You almost killed me!"

Chishiya takes his time to answer and instead sits down next to her. He can clearly see that it only feeds her inner rage, and he smirks while he makes himself comfortable. How right she is, though. He has now had the opportunity to do that twice, and she is still alive and breathing.