How did he not notice you?
He had to have asked himself that question ten too many times at this point.
For two weeks, you escaped his sharp eyes and lounged around the Beach property.
And, yes, he didn't see you.
Not even once.
But now, so suddenly, he couldn't stop seeing you.
You were everywhere, even after moving out of his room — not that you ever actually slept there.
After the whole emotionally-confusing moment you had with him, you causally slipped away for the night.
And since then, there isn't any room that you're in, that he's not.
It's been two days.
Chishiya is tired of the bubbling in his stomach that arises everytime you fall into his field of vision.
He's tired of resisting his advances for you; his dark corners were perfectly comfortable.
Your words... how could they have such an effect?
"Give it a few days, Shiya, and maybe I'll fall in love with you."
It's stupid and he wouldn't have it.
True love and love at first...second...third encounter don't exist.
It's all a figment of imagination.
He wouldn't allow it.
"Who are you looking for," Kuina asked with a groan. If Chishiya hadn't noticed his own habits, then Kuina did. "You've been doing this for a couple of days. What is it?"
"I'm not looking for anything, nonetheless, anyone," he replied and yet, his eyes sweep over the pool for, what had to be, the eighteenth time that hour.
"Alright," Kuina sighed, putting the chapstick in her mouth and wandering off to do something better than nothing. And anything had to be better than standing in the farthest corner away from the pool party.
Chishiya had every intention of letting her walk away, but something in him went soft.
"Wait. It's the girl."
Kuina turned back to the blonde. "Girl?" Her eyebrows furrowed before she went. "Ohh, that girl. Anything new? Did you tell Hatter?"
"He knows about her." Chishiya shifted his position, focusing his eyes on the nearby food stand.
"How does he know," Kuina asked. "What's her name?"
"Y/n."
The girl's face lit up like a spotlight. "Y/n? You're in love with Y/n?!"
"I'm not-!" Chishiya cut himself off, being louder than he meant to be. Did everyone except him know of you? How irritating.
He glared at Kuina.
What is with her and this tall tale of love?
Kuina's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "Did you just...did you almost yell..?"
She looked beyond flabbergasted.
He quirked an eyebrow.
No...he's never lost his cool at something so insignificant as a crush.
It's not even a crush...
"I didn't yell."
He couldn't have...right?
"Mhm," Kuina hummed, blatantly ignoring him and not believing a thing.
He scoffed
"Whatever. Do you know her," he asked, hoping she'd know more than he did about your whole spy job.
"A bit," Kuina shrugged. "She was the person to show me around when I first arrived at the Beach. Though I haven't seen her much since then..." She failed to realize the suspicion of Chishiya. "Why? Is this for the plan?"
"Yes. I think it's best if she's on our side instead of Hatter's." He thought for a moment. "Is she close with Hatter," he asked even if he knew the answer.
But, there's always two sides to every story.
Kuina snorted in amusement, shaking her head. "Farrr from it. She thinks this escape-from-reality thing is bullshit. Said all it's doing is leading people to their death," Kuina filled in, remembering your words clearly.
Huh.
To say the least, that was the complete opposite of what Chishiya thought Kuina was going to say.
Y/n is like us.
"Then we have the advantage," he smirked. "We just need to find her."
Though that shouldn't be hard.
He waited for a reply but Kuina was narrowly staring at someone across the pool. And at the top of her lungs, she shouted. "Y/N!"
Chishiya felt his heart jump —blamed on the fright— when your head lifted and you followed Kuina's voice through the crowd.
He struggled to keep his eyes not on you. His hormonal instincts seemed to go off, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.
You practically sauntered through the people, donning a simple black one-piece. Your arms were covered by a small jacket you left unzipped. A pair of black flipflops on your feet complimenting the bathing suit well.
The one-piece did nothing to keep your legs out of view to everyone.
You were...a sight to behold — even Chishiya couldn't deny it.
You didn't look uncomfortable in your bathing suit; maybe you were used to it. Everyone had to get used to it, even Chishiya himself.
Though only having a jacket with no shirt was always a pain.
From the distance, it was hard to make out the face of who called you, but when the clear skin of Kuina reached your eyes, your own widened and you threw your arms around her in a hug.
"Kuina? Oh, my god, it's been forever! How are you?" You squealed lightly, a 180 turnaround of your previous behavior. "You look amazing!!"
From beside you, Chishiya glanced away.
Kuina returned the hug, and a sense of comfort washed over her. "Good, good. What about you? You disappeared. I haven't seen you anywhere."
You pulled away from the hug, jaw clenching in a moment of hesitation.
Chishiya turned back, awaiting your answer.
"...Niragi, uh, tried something so I had to cool off. You know him," you chuckled nervously, words the slightest bit shaky.
"Interesting," Chishiya hummed.
Kuina doesn't know.
You cleared your throat. "Anyways. I actually needed to talk to you guys."
Both Chishiya and Kuina shuffled.
"Really," Kuina asked.
Chishiya narrowed his gaze at you.
Could you know about the plan?
Would you tell Hatter?
But Kuina said...
You were throwing him for another loop. He was stuck in a never-ending range of thoughts.
You are good.
Never stuck in one place long enough for someone to catch on.
That's why Chishiya couldn't catch you —why he never noticed you.
But that kind of skill takes experience.
It made him question how long you have been participating in the games.
"We need to tell you something," he piped in.
"Okay, sure," you nodded and looked around uneasily. "Can we go someplace quiet?"
Without a word, Chishiya removed his left hand from his pocket to grab one of your sleeves, tugging you to a secluded area.
Kuina followed after, taken aback by the blonde's forwardness.
He never liked being touched by anyone.
She then grinned like a silly schoolgirl, silently hyping him up.
It doesn't matter how bad the world is, you can always find happiness.
She glanced at Chishiya's blank face.
Even if you don't know it.
Silently, you let the blonde pull you into the main building and down the long hallways you took time to memorize.
He stopped in his tracks at the very end of floor seven. You wanted to chuckle at the irony.
Chishiya let go of your jacket to put his hand back into his jacket pocket and cooly lean against the wall.
Kuina stood straight, twisting the chapstick in her hand.
You gazed at the both of them, a rising smirk from something neither of them knew the cause of. You rested your weight on one leg.
"So," you started, hands fumbling absently with the zipper of your jacket. "I want to join you guys."
Chishiya gulped.
"In what," Kuina asked, clueless.
"I'm stealing the cards from Hatter. I hate this place," you said and when they opened their mouths, you stopped them with a hand. "Don't lie to me; I know everything."
Kuina's mouth fell open in silent shock. She had no words and no clue what to do.
So, you stepped up.
"I'll see what I can do. You don't have to worry about me snitching. Just alert me if you start enacting your plan."
You send a grin Chishiya had seen so many times and began walking off like all the times before.
Chishiya chuckled in relief. "So, you are interested," he called after you, avoiding eye contact with your backside.
You look over your shoulder with your sickeningly sweet grin. "Eh, not really."
Chishiya smiled.