❛ 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 ❜ ━━━ (𝗰.𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗼)

tell me you love me

You were standing in your room, changing to a different bikini since the previous one had gotten soaked with water. You grabbed a jacket and covered your body, not wanting the eyes of people on your body. You made your way down to the pool where everyone was. People were off celebrating and drinking, not caring about anything but having fun.

You looked around, hoping to spot someone familiar. Just then, you saw a hand waving at you and realised it was Kuina. You smiled and quickly made your way to her, taking a seat on the lounge chair she was on.

"Hey," She smiled at you.

"Hey," You looked at her. "Where's Chishiya?"

"Haven't seen him," Kuina shook her head. "Worried 'bout your boyfriend?"

"No!" You quickly refuted. "I told him I'd find him once I finished the game, but I can't find him."

"Eh, he'll show up soon," Kuina said in assurance. "Hey, isn't that Arisu?"

You looked at where she was facing and saw Arisu and Usagi, the climber girl. "Yeah. Why?"

"Come on, let's go say hi," Kuina said and grabbed your hand, dragging you to where Arisu and Usagi sat.

Arisu noticed you first and gave you a small smile. Usagi turned to look at who Arisu was smiling at, and her eyes widened in familiarity as she looked at you. Kuina took a seat behind Arisu on the lounge chair while you sat next to Usagi.

"Your girlfriend?" Kuina asked, gesturing to Usagi.

"What?" Usagi asked, baffled, before she shook her head, "You're wrong!"

"You guys get along, so why not date each other?" Kuina suggested.

"Kuina," You warned her. "Look at their faces. They're shy."

"Come on, it's the same with you and Chishiya! You never know when you're going to die."

Arisu looked back at her, "What are you saying?"

"There are things you should do while you're still alive!" Kuina exclaimed. "My mom is sick in the hospital. She can't even relieve herself without my help, and yet, I had to be separated from her. So, I want to return alive. That's why I quit smoking. I haven't been able to quit before this. I'll need some stamina in order to survive, right? I'll definitely survive and return to the original world."

You gave Kuina an encouraging smile and she returned it back. However, just then, you heard Niragi's voice yelling in the background.

"Hey, stop playing that tacky music!"

The pool was suddenly silenced and everyone stopped moving. All eyes were on Aguni, Niragi, and the militants as they paraded around the pool.

"Who are they?" Usagi asked you.

"They're the militants at the Beach," You answered. "If you want to live peacefully, best you don't get involved with them. Their leader, Aguni, is an ex-SDF officer so he's in charge of all the weapons at the Beach. The ones in power at the Beach are the Number One, Hatter, and his executives as well as the militants led by Aguni."

"Aren't you an executive?" Arisu asked you. "I heard Ann say that."

"Yeah," You smiled at him. "We've barely managed to maintain peace and order but a conflict between us and the militants is bound to happen anytime."