The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]

Sweet words and a riddle

I could see their brains racing and their eyes darting between us.

They were looking for an answer. And this was apparently the one they least expected. I was hoping I wouldn't meet her. But whoever decided our fate didn't mean well to me at all.

It hurt when I saw her. Memories made me fall into a deep chaos consisting of different emotions. She was the one who took everything from me: Hayashi Ayumi. My twin sister.

"Sister?" Hatter was the first to find his words again. He took a step forward and studied us closely, "Indeed, the resemblance is unmistakable. Let me guess... twins?" Ayumi nodded and grinned. That grin, it was as fake as her eyelashes. She smeared honey around his mouth, as she always did. And everyone fell for it, believing her every word. Hatter laughed.

"Oh well! It's rare to discover such a pretty pair of siblings here in the Borderland!" he rubbed his hands, "That's great." I didn't like the way he was studying her body. Well, I wasn't really surprised, but it still made me feel uncomfortable. She continued to bat her eyes while I just averted my gaze.

She wasn't happy that I was here, and I wasn't happy that she was here either.

Finally, something we agreed on. I still wanted to get away from here – I wanted to escape as far as I could. So, I got up from the chair, walked past my "sister" to the door, signaling that I was ready to leave this room for good. Hatter noticed my gesture and seemed to be taken aback. Apparently, he was expecting a different reaction. Sure, normal siblings would have immediately embraced each other, but we weren't normal. Our relationship wasn't like other people's.

It might be incomprehensible to some, but that's just how it worked in our family... The Hayashi family. It was a family that I would never really belong to.

"Uh, yes. Chishiya? Would you be so kind as to take Hayashi-chan 2 to her room?" he paused, then waved over an errand boy who gave him something before he came towards me, "Your bracelet. Thanks to your good card, you've got yourself a good starting position. Keep it up!" He dropped the blue piece into my hand.

49.

He called that good? I wasn't convinced. And especially not happy. My mood worsened even more when the hoodie guy approached me. He grinned stupidly at me again. How I loathed that smile! It felt like I was an insect he was looking down on. You immediately felt inferior.

"Of course, Hatter," there it was again, his voice. I was irritated that he also sounded so condescending when talking to number 1. So, he really thought he was better than that. What else did Hatter call him? Chishire? Chishiya? Anyway, he opened the door and stepped out before I hesitantly followed him. When the door closed behind us, I breathed a little sigh of relief. And yet I was tense. It was because of him, he looked at me again as if I were a test subject.

"Why?" I finally broke the silence. He raised his eyebrows, but his expression didn't change.

"The question is: why not?" he turned around and my anger began to boil again. I didn't even notice that he had started moving. But when he cleared his throat, I followed him.

"Graduated school with a perfect score, scholarship from Tokyo University, studies in psychology, specializing in criminal psychology," he rattled off as we stopped in front of an elevator. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead again. How did he know all this information? Why... no one was that good at reading! Why did he know these private things about my life?

He looked at me again: "A life born of someone else's lie and success." He spoke in riddles. I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me! What... why a life? And why someone else's success?

The elevator door opened, and he entered. I followed him silently; he pressed the four and the doors closed again. I was still thinking as we started moving. He seemed to be playing with me. And what's more, he liked it too.

If I was honest, I couldn't really understand him. He was a mystery, his facial expressions, and gestures... They seemed so... I don't know, I couldn't describe it.

The elevator door opened, and he stepped out into the hallway. He headed to the right side, and I followed him again. Then he stopped in front of a door.

408.

He just pointed at the door, nodded, and then left again. I looked after him with mixed emotions. Then I put my hand on the doorknob and pushed it down. When I entered, I found myself in a well-kept room. It was small but nice. I also had a view of the nearest real beach. At least something. Sighing, I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Mom! Look!"

Had the situation always been this sad? Had I perhaps imagined everything to be rosier than it really was?

"Shut up, Ayuna. Can't you see that your sister is unwell? You should be ashamed of your behavior."

I put my hand on my forehead. It was cold, my head was warm. I had to laugh. But it wasn't a happy laugh. No, it was a desperate one.

"Mom! I'm top of the class again!"

How hard I had tried to block away all these memories - to just forget these moments.

"How dare you brag about your grade when Ayumi scored lower! Shame on you, child!"

Now I had to face everything again. Did I have the strength? No. Was there another way? No. I had to go through it because there was no way out on this route. I was able to make the most of it by staying off her radar, staying out of her way, and staying quiet. And yet... I had a bad feeling.

"A life born of someone else's lie and success."

Just what did it mean and why did I have the feeling that these words would still be of great importance?

Why... Why did I suddenly feel so small and helpless again?