Two of Hearts || Suguru Niragi

t w o

We headed down a flight of stairs and found ourselves in the entryway. People littered by the walls, chatting, drinking, smoking. I looked around as I felt out of place, but Sakiko took notice and nudge me closer to her and Kyo. "It's weird here, we know. You'll get used to it." I nodded and walked beside her as we went out to the back patio. Through the windows, I could see the in-ground pool surrounded by dozens of people, all running around and laughing.

Kyo pushed through the doors and, despite the enclosed space disappearing as we stepped outside, it felt as if the volume had increased. He led the way to a back corner, Sakiko trailing behind with me behind her. Weaving through the crowd was much more difficult than it had been the previous night; the crowd had more than doubled.

Once we made it to the chairs in the corner, which thankfully were open, Sakiko sat down with a heavy sigh, leaning back, as if sunbathing. I sat beside her while Kyo said, "I'm going to go find Rin then get some drinks." Sakiko waved his comment off and Kyo walked into the crowd, blending away immediately. I squinted under the harsh sun, looking around.

"How long have you been here?" Sakiko asked, and I looked over at her. Her hand was shielding her eyes as she looked over at me.

"Two days. Yesterday was my first."

"Damn. What level was your first game?"

"Six of Spades. Yours?"

She snorted another laugh. "Eight of Clubs. Had to fight an elderly lady. Wasn't funny at the time, but I try to find humor in our situation now. If I don't, I'll just try and kill myself." I nodded. All night, those two girls had haunted me in a way; I survived while they died, and even if it wasn't my fault I felt horrible. But maybe Sakiko was right about not allowing it to bring me down. I couldn't carry baggage with me when I needed to survive; to survive, I needed to be light. "Shit," she suddenly mumbled, sitting up.

I noticed then the silence that took over, and I looked away from Sakiko and up at the crowd. I followed everyone's gazes until my eyes landed upon a group of men, all wearing some form of black. They looked odd next to the crowd of people in swim wear. The man in the front, a tall and buff man wearing a black tank top, hair buzzed and scar thick across his eyebrow and cheek, seemed to be searching for someone. I watched as they turned the corner of the pool and walk along the wall, the buff man still searching.

It was when they reached the corner that Sakiko and I sat in when he stopped, looking down at me. I perked up, feeling a worry rise in my chest. "Sakiko," the man said, and she looked up at him. His sharp gaze traveled towards me. "You the new girl?"

All I could do was nod. "Ah, move aside, big boy! I wanna see the fresh meat," a charismatic and whiny voice came from behind him, and I saw a tall, lanky guy shove the buff one aside. I saw the gun first, as it was slung casually over his shoulder, then the half-do his chin-length hair was pulled in to. Next thing I noticed was the black and white button down paired with black jeans. Then, the eyebrow and nose piercing. It was the final thing that I noticed that made me nearly jump out of my seat: his familiarly, attractive face.

"Niragi?"

He stared down at me, the smug expression on his face faltering into a softer one. "No fucking way. Kana," he said before catching himself, and the act was back. He pulled on a sideways smile, but I knew him too well to see right through it. His once timid posture was replaced by one of power, but his sweet eyes remained. Despite the change in his appearance and demeanor, he still have me flutters he had years ago. "A sight for sore eyes."