╰┈➤ ❝ [ARISU] ❞
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Spoilers: Season 1 Episode 2
[Major Spoilers]
Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer playing...
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
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YOU TWO WANTED THE EXACT OPPOSITE THINGS
AND ARISU FOUND HIMSELF FEELING A LITTLE LOST between the tension you both bring in the middle of the stare-off - he felt like the third wheel but now that he puts this together. This must be one of the men you were telling him about.
YOU TWO FELT THE OPPOSITE
Shuntaro felt happy.
Y/N felt dread.
Shuntaro felt excited.
Y/N felt scared.
Shuntaro felt enlighted.
Y/N felt anxious.
Shuntaro felt contentment.
Y/N felt it was too soon.
Shuntaro felt joy.
Y/N felt anger.
You're face-to-face with him again. Isn't this what you wanted? If so, why did you feel like backing out just at that minute? Nevertheless, you're here now with Shuntaro, and he couldn't take his eyes off your intertwined hands with the man he doesn't know. You cannot take anything back anymore given the time the game has given you.
On the other hand, Arisu was debating whether he'd open the door as his mind flashes back to yesterday when opening doors were given a fifty-fifty percent chance of death. Thinking back to that poor student, he couldn't help but think that this is from paranoia.
That is when Shuntaro clicks his tongue when he realizes Arisu's hesitation. The grip on your hand looked secure too. Shuntaro felt threatened by it as if the moment of his happiness was broken down by this man. He had to take that away.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Shuntaro asks, his eyes now away from yours but now endearing in the orbs of Arisu.
"Why did the tagger chase us?" Arisu asks then pauses just to look back at you, which Shuntaro noted, it was compelling Shuntaro that Arisu is somehow depending on your for the answer but you only say nothing, still feeling rather breathless in the face of Shuntaro" - They could have just waited here." Arisu's eyes finally make their way to Shuntaro's glaring ones.
"Seems like there's something else we don't know." Shuntaro responds, and you can already tell that this man you used to consider as your closest had something up his sleeve once he brought up his phone for Arisu to realize that he has been wasting time by being still and frozen just like that.
"However, if you don't open it..." He states slowly as the timer runs out, just as slow as his talking pace. It was telling you both that there was a time limit and you two have no time to reminisce about anything.
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00:03:07
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You bite your lip. Shuntaro is just the same as before. His words aren't so different and the way he speaks isn't so different either. Cunning, clever, and manipulative. You can tell by the way he sneakily pushed Arisu before him to open the door, forcing the man to separate his hands from yours.
"However, if you don't do it... your parents might find out..." You hear young Shuntaro call out in your head, "And we don't want to get in trouble, do we? - We need you to eat lunch, remember? So let's not tell a soul about this."
"Three minutes until the game concludes."
Shuntaro looks at you, almost as if he was smirking at you, "Y/N. Did you guess that this was the door?" You only glanced at the man, feeling your heart beat rapidly. You answer him though with a nod, only granting a proud smile from him.
Arisu takes a glance at this and sighs once he looks back at the door once again and opens the door, a bit took aback that you and he were right about your assumptions - this is the safe door.
In Shuntaro's thoughts, he would've thought that Arisu would let your hand go since he has already pushed him - like a jealous kid - but unlucky for him to say, Arisu didn't. Arisu went back to holding your hand. So as Arisu hesitantly held the knob while looking around the dark room with his shifty eyes, clutching himself to do his task, Shuntaro had to make adjustments and slide himself in between Arisu and you.
YOU TWO WERE EXPERIENCING NOSTALGIA FOR OPPOSITE CAUSES.
You felt nostalgic and in awe at the view of Shuntaro. But the rise of your rapid heartbeat only went faster and shivers only went down your spine when you reminisce about that nostalgic feeling.
The man you considered as your new fear felt nostalgic and in awe that he finally gets to see you again that it felt heavenly to hold your hand. He felt that he can start a new one, he felt excited, he felt safe, and felt proud.
As much as the man looked cold and stoical on the outside, he couldn't fight back a grin. His heart was finally beating, but not for the same reason as yours was. This heartbeat made him feel alive.
YOU BOTH HAD DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF THE PAST.
And were you afraid to be let down by the belief you had gotten used to for the past five years? - Stubborn. Or were you more afraid that you'd repeat the same mistake and end up as a fool again? - Paranoia.
Questions starts to rise in all of your minds. You were questioning yourself. Shuntaro was questioning you. Arisu was questioning the room as you two follow his lead. The room was rather dim and you hate the dark, it didn't make you feel safe but it made Shuntaro feel more confident with the way you're holding his hand tight in the thought that you were holding Arisu's.
From being in your head, you all didn't realize it was a sign of vulnerability - it almost felt like this was a false win. You know it - there was no announcement but it somehow felt you all won with the greatly quiet and safe atmosphere of the room. It seems to be a trick you think.
"Y/N-" Shuntaro was about to start but was cut off when you turn around just to see another seeker with the same horsehead, aiming right at Arisu. You pull away from Shuntaro and reach out to Arisu to push him
"Look out!"
The second seeker began shooting quite recklessly around the room. It reminded you of how Shuntaro handled a gun back then. Lucky for you to say, no one was injured despite just being so close to death as all of you ducked.
"Watch out!" You yelled out first and unknowingly pushed your hand away from Shuntaro's who failed to grab it back again, desperate to pull you back into his chest as you pulled Arisu away from the seeker who was still shooting aimlessly.
To say that Shuntaro was jealous is an understatement as you keep Arisu away from the tagger as much as you can yet you left Shuntaro behind as if he wasn't in the same dangerous situation as the other man. In his head, he would've thought you'd protect your best friend first, he was the closest one to you but you, instead, protected someone who he has not known of.
He felt mocked once again, perhaps famished when he says to himself, 'Oh, so just leave your best friend for 10 years to die.' But another thought comes by in Shuntaro's head,
Maybe you had known that he was capable of having himself alone - he did show off his numerous inventions to you and you did realize his logic of manipulating someone - you knew he was independent, and Shuntaro chose to stick with that though as he brings up the device you had suspiciously eyed that turned out not only to be a device where he listens to music but also a taser.
'Wasn't that the taser we both built?' You think to yourself as you help Arisu get back on his own feet. Unbeknownst to you, you did not get a look of the cocky look Shuntaro brings. You were too focused on Arisu and helping him dodge the attacker's bullets. Oh, that look he gives just to cover his victorious smile because he has proven himself he's much better than Arisu when he takes down the seeker with that taser.
And it never hurts to rub it off too, "It never hurts to be prepared -" You and Arisu stare at him for a while. And once Shuntaro was sure he has proven himself the better suitor, his ego is only pushed back down once the seeker rises back up to their feet with the machine gun and shoots with no sort of hesitation at the three of you. Once again, no one is injured and you planned to follow Arisu,
"Ari-" You yell but are completely cut off as you were pulled by none other than Shuntaro who led you outside the room and heavily shut the door too, arms secured around your body with his head on the door.
Panic arose you as you have acknowledged what he's done and only distress comes into your skin for your newly found friend.
Angry at this, you turn your head to Shuntaro, pushing him off of you, "What the hell?! Arisu is still in there!" You yell in anguish as you try to find a way to go back in that room without having the seeker aim at the door that you and Shuntaro rushed out of - you can hear numerous gunshots, only further worrying you.
"So his name is Arisu... hm" He whispers which even annoys you further with newly found hatred for this man.
This isn't like last time when he gets to scare off people or perhaps scare you off to only being with him - this was about death.
"That- That's not the point right now! He's in danger there and he can get-" You try to pry him off but he only stuck to his place with crossed arms until he feels like it's in the clear.
"Someone, please come over! The safe zone is in Apartment 406! It's impossible to clear the game alone! We need two people to do this!" Arisu yells out, completely cutting your overwhelmed state off, you sigh in relief while Shuntaro slumps his shoulder in disappointment,
"Seriously?" Shuntaro commented in a whisper,
"That's seriously all you can say?!" You yelled back and smack the back of his head, earning a pained sound from him but decided there isn't much time left to argue about this any longer, "Arisu!" You yelled out and didn't even try to hold back anything as you reach out for the door again, using all your strength to push Shuntaro out of the way until Shuntaro pulled you away,
"What the fuck?! You just heard him, Shuntaro! He's gonna die if we don't help him! We will die if we don't help him!"
Another pile of shots was heard in the room again and you can hear the door from the inside banging open, giving you your worst assumption - the seeker was officially in the actual safe room with Arisu. This gave you enough courage and stamina to bolt in once again, giving you the energy to not care about your former friend and open the door, kicking him out of the way
"Time remaining, one minute." Siri announced for you all and you had no time but to rush in, running to the safe door which Shuntaro followed as well,
"Yah! Y/N!" He yells out, catching up with you who tries to budge in as the seeker was about to aim the gun towards Arisu head first but Shuntaro was faster than that once your footsteps in the actual safe room and pulled you back onto his body. Only giving you a slim chance of saving Arisu.
"Shuntaro! Get off me! You can get him killed!" You cry out, struggling with his surprisingly strong mass.
"... That's the point." He mumbles and that alone already terrified you in one heartbeat. Your heart beat faster and felt like it was popping off your chest, you can just tell from what he said, he's much more powerful in this world than the real one. And this time, there is an actual price to pay - that was a victory. So in an instant, you gathered everything to push him away from your body just to run after Arisu and finish this game off.
You all knew you didn't have enough time -- and even Shuntaro knew it. He was aware of the time he was wasting with you, but to him, it was all he needed. Though he didn't think that he rushed just a 'little.' Can you really blame him? Arisu shouldn't be of importance now that Shuntaro is here.
"You called?" You all hear, grabbing all of your attention - it was that beautiful woman who surprisingly - yet not - appeared from the window. You curse yourself for getting distracted so easy for even a moment as you are pushed away once again from the safe zone by Shuntaro who kept peeking in before you while he restrained you from at least seeing whatever is going on while the woman and Arisu handled their way to beating the seeker.
'When did he get strong? Or when did I get weak?' You think to yourself, struggling under the hold of Shuntaro.
"Chishiya!" You scolded, your patience out of your body as you continue to hear shots from the machine gun and look everywhere in your area in case there is any possibility of having a way of helping since Chishiya wouldn't let you move any further. Just when your eyes aimed down to Chishiya's pockets where the device you think is the taser was peeking out.
From the sight of it, you did not dare think for another second as you reach out for it and call for the woman, "Hey!" tossing it to her for her to tase the seeker
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00:00:04
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"ARISU!" You call out, bypassing the shocked Chishiya beside you when you rush to the other man, checking for any injuries. "Are you alright?" You ask, scanning your eyes around his tired and tense body who refused to turn to you as his eyes don't leave the rather bloody mess that the woman's blood flow made that had to unfold before when you won.
You waited for a response from the friend but he didn't give one back as you can see his solemn look with his eyes dark and lifeless. Guilt and self-blaming are what you can see in the eyes of the innocent man - it all looks too familiar and that is already an answer you can get. He is too innocent. You didn't need to clarify any sooner, so you look back at the woman and sigh,
"Are you alright?" You ask the same question which is answered right away.
"I am. Hope you are too." She smiles back and it did not surprise you when the woman left quite earlier than you thought but you appreciated how you two exchanged an understanding look before she headed out as if telling you that you'd meet soon.
You turn back to Arisu and frown as you come upon his frozen body still faced at the bloody mess which laid ever so peacefully even as the paint of their own blood was the background for the walls. At least they get to rest now. You sigh and approach Arisu, not taking note of the envious glare of a certain cat.
For comfort, you place your hand on Arisu's shoulder, attempting to tell him that it's not his fault for the tremendous scene by just patting his shoulder, "Come on... let's go find Karube." You say, not commenting about anything further.
"Aren't you gonna ask if I'm alright?" the voice you didn't need to hear right now asked in such a malicious tone, as if judging you and your friend. Catching your and Arisu's confused gaze, yours a little more startled like you were caught doing something you weren't supposed to.
You sigh again and feel your shoulders drop, "I-I'll follow you, Arisu..." You utter and pat his shoulder. Arisu was quite suspicious of the man's glare and may I even add, hesitant to let you go alone with this man -- he doesn't know him after all and he's sure he won't forgive himself just what Karube would do if something bad happened to you - the way you talked about him a while ago, it seemed like you were too afraid to even say anything about him.
And you can see it in Arisu's eyes the hesitation and the fear of letting you go - he didn't even get to notice his rapid attachment to you, nor did you as well, but a certain clever mind did. It was obvious with the way you two were looking at each other - it irks Chishiya.
Chishiya had to clear his throat, reminding you that he was watching all of this.
You awkwardly smile at Arisu, "Remember when I said I'm here to find someone? - Well... that's him, Chishiya." You introduce with your awkward pacing of words and just the with mention of that, Arisu quickly nodded, respecting your privacy and heading off to the door but didn't leave after he assures you,
"Let's meet by the exit."
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YOU WEREN'T QUITE SURE how long it has been - an unhandy time too where the both of you erupt in the void of eerie silence. So unusual. Back in those days when you two were much younger, you'd be the one to start a conversation - whether it'd be a silly one or perhaps a sad one, you were always the initiator and now you grew past that after running away, Chishiya felt a little new to it but not in the way he had liked it like before.
So he decided to distract himself, to say the least by playing the detective part of the world by using his talented mind to reach out to the corpse while you watch him calmly saunter. Unbothered as always. It was terrifying to you, everything was - as if this world wasn't fucked up enough - he has only shown up to be more manipulative - the way he used it on Arisu as bait? It just disturbed you how calm he is after as if he wasn't on board with the idea of killing your friend.
Chishiya hums, fumbling the pockets of the corpse just to see a scribble from a piece of paper. It was s scribble of a circle and some squiggles pointed to it - if he weren't in the Borderland, he would've easily mistaken this as a child drawing of a sun. Rather it resembles a little too similar to a child's drawing he knew.
"Taro-Kun! Taro-Kun! Look what I made!" Little you say, raising both of your hands up to show off your masterpiece of a sun. "A sun!"
Looking at it, he only laughed. "If you mistake spaghetti noodles for sun rays, then sure."
Smiling at that bit of memory, he had to snap himself back to the present "What could this mean?" He asks himself in a hushed tone but also making sure it was loud enough for you to hear since he knows you are just as curious as a cat. He wanted to lure you into talking first since he was never the one who knows how to make the first move.
Though, you held your ground in the quiet atmosphere which brought you back to your unsettling thoughts.
'The way he planned to sacrifice Arisu - the way he tried to stop me - the way he used Arisu as bait..' It was overwhelming to you to think of the events that had just been presented to you. It's too much. Maybe you would've accepted it a bit more if it was just like before, with no death penalties at all - but with him using anyone he knows is vulnerable enough to give him entertainment and the pleasure he wants and seeks because they are too afraid to lose someone.
You embarrassingly fell victim to that and he found himself abusing the strings on your hands as everyone does, he's just like a puppeteer like everyone back in your hometown. He knew he had control and decided it wasn't enough. His main goal was to solve how the human heart - which to you was to understand how the world works and he knows exactly how to do it - it was because you were his perfect sample, the perfect thesis of it. The first one in fact.
Who knew the same perfect thesis will prove him wrong in the end?
And you knew - at least that's how you thought of it in that way. But now is so much different, this isn't about giving up your dignity and trust in a person, if you give your trust in this world, you're dead. That's what you had to see in the last game and Chishiya has all the power to do it.
Chishiya, on the other hand, didn't like that you were in your thoughts again - usually, you would open it up to him, voicing it out, and giving him the best explanation every time. That's why you were such a perfect thesis, you get to explain everything you feel in such a raw manner - but now you're so afraid to even open your mouth that he had to count how long you haven't been answering him. 6 minutes to be exact. So maybe now, he will replace himself in your shoes this time.
In the middle of the eerie silence, Chishiya was fumbling with the paper he has yet to crack the code of.
"... Why haven't you answered...?'
Teeth - a love-hate relationship
EDITNG PHASE II COMPLETE