FINGERS CROSSED, yuzuha usagi

CHAPTER TEN

"It's not," He complied to her wishes, gaslighting her without a second thought, yet he quickly changed his mind when she focused Niragi under her rifle's scope, "Okay, it is."

Yasuko shushed him, eyeing the situation with a steady pulse. From what she could gather, it seemed as Arisu had the brilliant idea of pointing a hunting rifle to a hotheaded Niragi, who had thrown something to an injured Chishiya. She was about to say it appeared as if they were deciding who would start shooting at each other when they did. All at the same time.

Startled, Yasuko stepped on Ikehara's foot, almost missing Arisu and Chishiya's bodies hiding behind some cars and Niragi taking advantage of them running away by standing on the roof of one of them. Like a lunatic, he paced his gun back and forth between both the spots they had taken cover.

"If you're planning on shooting him, you better do it now." Ikehara commented as Arisu stood up, firearm lowered, and Usagi walked up to them just as unsure as she had been the first time they met. Her heartbeats accelerating were the detonator. Usagi's there. "Yasuko, don't panic." Usagi's there, Usagi's there, Usagi's there— "Yasuko!"

She pulled the trigger only to hear it echoing a giggle. She tried again, desperate, yet the second time she heard it, she stomped it against the window's frame. A scratch was made on the rifle and her wrist got suddenly wet, slowly numbing under the anger bubbling up her throat.

"It's stuck!" Her fingers slipped when she tried it once more.

Outside, Niragi had opened fire on Usagi, and all Yasuko did was close her eyes and hoped no bullet landed on her. She hoped she wouldn't see her body on the ground, bloody and gasping for air; she hoped the earth would have mercy; she hoped her love wasn't meant to be fists and broken ribs, and fingers and nails gouging and tearing. Because if it did, if loving became as terribly frightening as opening her eyes was, Yasuko would've never let Ikehara grab her shoulders and push her back from where they had entered the building, finding Chishiya's figure resting on his back on the floor next to Usagi and Arisu, and a couple meters away from Niragi's wounded figure.

"I guess hunting rifles aren't as deadly as you thought." Niragi said with some difficulty, his lungs loving the chase for an inhale and missing the exhale leaving through his lips in a wheeze.

Yasuko didn't miss the opportunity to kick him in the face as they made their way towards their friends. Whatever he said next, didn't matter to her as a blimp moved past them right on top of where they were standing, like a warning that came walking down the road. Or maybe running, screaming.

"Run!" Arisu exclaimed as the King of Spades made his glorious entrance, shooting at everyone in his sight. It was his playground, his territory, and they were his new toys.

Everybody left had commenced to gather around Shibuya after seeing the blimps. There, where the streets became a battlefield, they couldn't go further until they took him down, and as the shooting was spreading, Yasuko couldn't help but wonder if they even could take a step in his direction without getting their heads blown out.

"Ann! Kuina!" Arisu's scream caught her off guard. Looking forward in the distance, both woman got closer to them, meeting them up behind an abandoned car.

"It's been a while." Ann said, exchanging a nod with Ikehara and Yasuko.

"Did Chishiya make it?" Kuina asked.

Yasuko glanced at Arisu the same way she did, waiting for an answer, eyes pleading a lie, heart beating for the truth unspoken.

"He's good!" Was all he could spit out.

And just like that, like a word settling down, the shooting turned towards them. As a bullet grazed Ikehara's shoulder, everyone tried to make themselves invisible until they held their breath and took the chance to run off that spot as fast as their exhaustion allowed them. They ran without looking back, with closed eyes and crossed fingers, only stopping abruptly at Arisu's voice calling Ann's name.

Yasuko turned around at the same time the King of Spades grabbed Ann by the neck. Ignoring Ikehara's hands trying to pull her backwards, she brought the rifle up, marking the King of Spades under her scope and waited for the moment when a car's wing mirror bonked him on the head to shoot. Successfully, her bullet pierced his dominant hand, making his pulse waver for a second, yet he still kept his firearm steady up her way until a roaring engine came dashing down the street, crushing him against another vehicle.

A mass of fire licked them as a form of ending.

But if this is the end, why do I feel like this?, Yasuko's hand found its way on Ikehara's wrist, staining his flesh the color of her blood.

Her eyes wandered all over the place, meeting Usagi's on the other side of the street before going back to the explosion. It was then when she saw a glimpse of it and the winning chantings were silenced, replaced by pained grunts and terrified screeches making the earth vibrate.

This is just the beginning.