Black & White-English Version

25-Kuina

I walked over to the Jack of Spades to test my second theory, which was to see if Chishiya was there.

I was about a kilometer away, when the blimp caught fire.

I started running, not thinking about anything, anymore. I picked up speed and in a snap of my fingers, I was in front of the Arena.

Burning pieces of the blimp were falling, and the Arena itself also caught fire, raising a lot of smoke.

I stopped and waited. Meanwhile, some people were leaving. Here were the survivors, but I didn't spot any white hoodie among them.

My heart sank, but it only lasted a moment as I saw instead a blue swimming suit and a head full of dreads.

I ran to Kuina and wrapped her in a hug.

"Jen! You're okay!" She told me when we pulled away.

"You're not in such good shape, instead." I said, looking at the wounds she had on her body. "I still have the first aid kit, so don't worry."

Kuina looked around her and I knew what she was going to ask me.

"Where's Chishiya?" Kuina gave the look of one who's ready to receive the bad news.

"He's not..." I couldn't even get the word out. "I don't know where he is, but I'm sure he's fine."

At that point, however, the tears came out, because as much as I tried to be positive, I was still worried sick.

"Oh, Jen." It was Kuina who hugged me this time. "I'm sure he's okay."

She then took me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. "We're talking about Chishiya, bloody hell! The wizard of the logic!"

That definition made me laugh and the concern eased a bit. Now that I had found Kuina, I felt better.

We set off, without a precise destination in mind.

"And the others?" I asked her.

"That asshole of the King of Spades chased us in the car, then we lost sight of Ann after we crashed and we went to the King of Clubs' Game where..." She stopped.

"What?" I looked at her. "What happened?"

"Tatta sacrificed himself in order to make us win." She said, holding back tears.

Was Tatta...gone?

We remained silent for a few minutes.

Tatta, that nice boy with his blue cap and always ready to help others, was gone. Actually no, this cruel world had taken him away.

"We won't forget him." Kuina then said.

"Never."

We started walking again, letting our footsteps be the background of our thoughts.

After a while, Kuina spoke again. "And we played the Game with Niragi."

My eyes widened. I assumed he died during the Witch Hunt, as after Chishiya and I had escaped, I heard gunshots and then the building caught fire.

"Yes, that bastard is still alive." Kuina continued. "And to me, he seems even crazier than last time."

"Why do people like him always have to survive?"

"Because karma gets confused, sometimes." Kuina said and with that joke we let out a laugh, which lightened the weight on our shoulders.

"So, you've won the Game of the Jack of Spades." I said, changing the subject.