The Human Heart [COMPLETED]

A Piece of Art

A hum is the only sound filling the room next to the shuffling of cards. Chishiya recognizes the song, but it is sung so poorly that it feels more like mockery than an honest recitation. But what he really can't stand at all is the wide and overconfident grin that refuses to vanish from the face opposite to him and it widens even more at the sight of irritation in his eyes.

"Come on, don't act as if it was a bad idea! We'll have lots of fun, I'm sure of it."

Kuina starts to deal out the cards and changes the song, this time to something Chishiya doesn't seem to know. Taking a look at his hand, he immediately sees that Kuina will have no chance to win the round. Again.

"It's bad enough that you already invited yourself into my room." He hadn't been exactly busy with something the moment Kuina stormed through his door, but it had been pleasant tinkering around in silence.

Kuina giggles and throws her dreadlocks over the shoulder. "I was bored, she was bored... 't was the best thing we could do, right?"

You could have just busied yourself together without bothering me. People rarely enter his room. Most of the time it is just someone knocking on his door and calling him for a new meeting, or Kuina whenever she wants something from him – mostly to entertain herself when she gets bored. Too bad the locks are not working anymore.

His silence is enough of an answer to the woman next to him, who bites her lip right now while desperately trying to turn the tables of the game to her advantage. She chooses a card, victory already mirroring in her eyes as she places it on the crumbled bed sheet.

"Tell me with all honestly you can bear that you don't want to see her and we'll leave you alone."

A promising offer, and he really wouldn't need Kuina's queer singing right now. But he hasn't seen her friend since the conversation on the rooftop yesterday, and he realizes now that he wouldn't mind to see her at all. Which will change the moment she says something stupid again, yet still...

"Hah! Knew it." Kuina points her finger towards him as if saying Told you so, but the grin finally leaves her face when Chishiya finishes the game with his next card, claiming victory for himself for the fourth time of today. He leans back against the pillows and watches with a smirk how Kuina collects the cards to shuffle them. Their rule that this task is to be done by the loser of the game comes with a high advantage to him because he can't even recall the last time he had to do the shuffling.

A new set of cards is being dealt out, and this time it seems to be a more challenging round. Chishiya even goes so far as to tease Kuina a bit by making her believe that she is actually going to win this time, although he plans to crush her hopes at the last second.

Of course Kuina gets it wrong. "You should have known that I'm collecting those! What's the matter; too busy with thoughts of someone else to play properly?"

Chishiya answers her attempts of mockery with nothing but a scoff and waits for her next move, only to smirk at it being completely predictable. The next card he places down is one Kuina will take as well, and it is very satisfying to have his thoughts confirmed round after round. His mind is in fact busy with thoughts: Chishiya can already tell what hand Kuina is trying to collect and while he seems to be playing into her hands, his cards will still have a higher score than hers. It's all about taking some risks and calculation, but he knows everything will unfold the way he has planned. As it always does.

A sudden knock on the door causes them both to raise their heads, and Kuina winks at Chishiya with a silly grin. "Come in, door's open!"

Judging by her giggle it has been intended to be a joke, only that it hasn't been funny. Chishiya places down his cards in a way that won't allow Kuina to look into his hand and instead focuses on the door. It is opened very hesitantly, and a shy head is peaking through before the rest of the body follows.