Hope Always Dies Last | Chishiya [English]

Fallen warriors

It was this uneasy feeling that crept over me as I left the building. It was the view of the sky that made me hold my breath. It was the shots that sent shivers down my spine.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

Automatically I had started running... I was running, trying to tell myself that everything was fine. It was so difficult to put one step in front of the other suddenly.

I should have followed Chishiya.

It had been a stupid idea to split up on the roofs. He was daring, sometimes a little too stormy... No question, I believed him capable of anything... but a look at the sky was enough to forget everything.

There were exactly two airships left: The King of Spades and the Queen of Hearts. All other face cards had been defeated.

But that wasn't what worried me so much, no, it was something else. It was the shots, the sound of which was carried in my direction on the wind.

It hadn't been the King of Spades' weapons.

The sound reminded me of the weapons from the beach, a faint foreboding had crept into my thoughts. Knowing that those sounds had come from the Shibuya Crossing didn't help me much.

I should have picked a different meeting point.

My lungs burned, I couldn't take it anymore, but I kept my pace anyway. If I slowed down now, I might be late, who knows what else might happen...

The main feature of the intersection loomed behind a row of houses, I made a left turn and almost tripped over a skeleton lying in the middle of the street. Normally I would have asked myself a thousand questions, but now I didn't have a head for it. I had to hurry...

A shaky breath, then the intersection built up in front of me.

There were dead bodies everywhere...

The king of spades had been here... Was I too late, was I perhaps mistaken? I turned on my own axis and let my eyes wander over the intersection. As expected, I saw nothing.

I wanted to call out, but then let that thought go. It was a risk I just didn't want to take.

"Damn it," I heard myself mumble. I would have liked to scream out loud once, I was so frustrated at that moment.

"S-Shiraishi," I paused. I knew that voice...

"Niragi?" It was more of a whisper, but when I got a groan in return, I ran. But what I saw then made my blood run cold.

"Shit," slipped my lips as I saw a bloodied Chishiya leaning against a car. Not far from him lay Niragi, also covered in blood. I kept my distance, staring wide-eyed at the two men, my brain trying to process what I was seeing.

"Was that you, Niragi?" I was amazed at how firm my voice was. A soft laugh was enough for me as an answer, my blood began to boil. It was an indescribable anger that spread inside me. My hand went to the gun belt, I drew my pistol, but...

"Never mind, Neiru," Chishiya looked straight at me, his grin was still present in his face. I looked at him, all emotions were running through my body at the sight. But when Shuntaro smiled, I actually lowered the gun. "It was a disagreement that finally needed to be settled," he spoke so quietly that I had to move closer to hear what he was saying, "And now it's finally settled, isn't it, Niragi?" There was a grunt of agreement, then a cough.

They were both dying.

"Damn it, Niragi. When you can stand up again, I'll personally spank you to death," I said, "I promise!" Both laughed. "Kinky," I heard him say, Chishiya just grinned.

Suddenly the anger had evaporated, I just felt helpless. Shuntaro seemed to notice.

"Go to the others," he whispered to me, "they will need you in the fight with the king of spades."

"Okay," I breathed, even though my heart told me to stay. But what would it bring? Should I watch them both die away and there was nothing I could do about it?

"If you should die, I will personally go to hell and kill you again," I warned them both. Then I turned on my heel and ran, my fingers were clenching the gun convulsively, my eyes started watering.

Was it the right decision?

I had no idea. All I knew was that it was the decision that would weigh me down the least. I didn't want to watch Shuntaro die... And funnily enough, I didn't want the asshole to die next to him either.

Niragi may have disliked me, teased me, and bullied me, but I still didn't want him dead. Something changed when we defeated the Queen of Diamonds.

I wiped a tear from my eyes and looked up at the sky. The Airship the King of Spades stood still, stopping just above an alley. Soon I heard the voices of others, I heard guns fire, cries of pain rang out.

I thanked Chishiya for giving me the stub I needed to be standing here. He was right, they needed my help.

Especially when I saw who was fighting there.

Usagi...

Kuina...

Ann...

Heiya...

Aguni...

They could hardly fend him off, they seemed to have wounds everywhere, but they fought anyway. They fought to save themselves and others.

My grip on the pistol tightened, I looked out from behind the protective wall and fired.

A bang, then a whirr... The bullet hit the king square in the back, penetrating the skin but not deep enough. It wasn't enough to force him to give up. Now I too was fully involved in the fight.

The man's head snapped around, a gun fired, and I ducked for cover. "Neiru!" I heard Heiya call, she sounded relieved. But the joy of seeing each other didn't last long, because the next moment another shot was fired, then she cried out.

I looked out and my eyes widened.

Aguni fell to the ground, blood was spurting from his head.

The King of Spades had shot him in the head?!

Nausea rose in me, I wanted to go to him, but couldn't. The next moment Kuina, Ann and Usagi went down too, Heiya followed quite quickly. The king of spades was too strong, almost invincible.

And now he came in my direction.