You slowly bent your knees to let Akira sit down and rest for the remaining time of the game. The two of you waited as you saw the other three guys join you back. They were all covered in colored paint, giving Chishiya a rainbow hair color, making you snicker.
"Since Akira is injured, I'll take over him and use a shield and a gun simultaneously," you suggested. Akira tried to stand up, but he accidentally put pressure on his bad leg, making him wince back in pain, banging his head on the shipping crate. "But Sis, I promise I won't be a burden. Just let me go—"
"And let you die like that? No! I promise I will win this game, even if it means crushing your legs so that you can't walk and get in my way." You sternly chided him for his recklessness. You deeply appreciated the fact that he had the willpower to still fight, but you could not afford to let him die on your watch.
Chishiya raised his hand, turning your attention away from your brother. "I have a different suggestion. Why don't I be the tank since I'm the physically weakest besides Akira? You can use two guns, since you're used to using dual machine guns," he said. You nodded, agreeing with him. You looked toward Banda and Yaba to seek for approval. Both of them did not say a word, approving of Chishiya's smart idea.
Akira crossed his arms in rage, mumbling under his breath, "Fucking smart-ass." He laid down flat on the floor and took in deep breaths to reduce the pain. He whispered to you, "Chishiya cares for you, so don't let him down."
You opened your mouth to respond, but closed it like a goldfish taking in oxygen in the water. You smiled, patting his head. It was good to see that the polar opposites finally got along with each other. Akira had opened up to him, which meant that he placed his full trust in Chishiya that he could protect you, which was a rare sight.
———————————————————-
"Say Chishiya, now the world is getting really more fucked up with these face card games. How are we going to find my sister with the possibility of her being killed by the king of spades?" Akira questioned Chishiya, the sparkle in his eyes had faded ever since the two of you parted, with your status being unknown.
"She'll make it out alive. I know that. Tomorrow, I'm going to participate in the Jack of Hearts game. Would you like to follow me? You might see her there." Chishiya offered.
"With you? Hell no! The only way I'm ever participating in a hearts game is with my sister! She's the only one I can trust in here. Besides, I don't mind you dying because nobody trusts you, other than my foolish sister!" Akira snapped, tears forcing its way out of his eyes and flowing down his cheeks. As the saying goes, you only love someone so much when you are separated from them.
"The reason why I win these games is because nobody trusts me, so they don't get in my way. Your visa is expiring in 3 days, so you'll have to participate in a game soon. Your sister entrusted your life to me, and she risked her life for the sake of you, not me. If I was the only one in the car, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have done that. If you're not partaking in a game, what do you plan to do?" Chishiya told him off as a full-grown adult to a small child.
"I'm going to go look for her! Don't worry, I'll leave traces to find my way back. I'll make sure not to cross the boundaries of the king of spades area. I'll mainly scout the area of the Clubs games, because she'll most likely be there. Besides, I need a break from all the games." He pointed to his leg that was still in the process of healing. He opened his mouth again, the question finally popping back up on his mind. "Chishiya, do you care about my sister?"
Chishiya went silent for a few seconds, before answering, "She did save my life countless times. She's also a loyal partner, so it's only logical to keep people like her close."
"You're not answering my question, Chishiya! Do you genuinely care for her as a human and not as a little pawn in one of your games?" He was pissed. Your younger brother definitely did not get along with Chishiya as he had described him once as, 'too manipulative to trust'.
"Yes, to an extent, I do care about her, strangely. Somehow, I find her important to me. I don't need to constantly risk my life for her, because she's always at the same level as me. She's really taught me that not all people in this world are self-centered. You should cherish a sister like her. People like her are hard to find in here," he replied.
He felt a tinge of jealousy for your undying love for your younger brother. Being loved or loving someone was something he wanted, but feared at the same time. Loving someone will make them a weak spot, and when the time comes, you will worthlessly throw your life away for them. And, if somebody pretended to love him, then that meant it was easier for them to use him. If there was someone whom he loved back, it meant that the knife would cut him deeper when they abandon him.
Chishiya felt a small dilemma if he should open his heart for you or not. "I can't let my heart be shattered once more, I have to resist this feeling," he thought to himself, gripping onto a few smoke bombs and daggers you had previously given to him for him to defend the both of them if they ever got in danger.
"You should get some sleep now, it's very late and Yuki would probably scold me if she saw that I let you stay up this late at night." He let Akira lay down on a bed in the house they had migrated in. It was fairly big and convenient to live in temporarily. As he placed his hand under the pillow, Chishiya pulled the blankets over his body and flattening them, recalling him doing the same to a previous patient that died due to a change in the priority list involving the child of a good friend of the director of the hospital.
"By the way, Happy 13th Birthday, Akira. I'm sorry you can't spend it somewhere with your sister," he sat down on a stool next to his bed.
Akira's eyes opened from his half-sleep. "What the fuck? My sister even told you my birthday? And she told me not to talk to strangers..."
"She once told me. It must be the worst birthday of your life, considering that you're in a dystopian hellscape right now," Chishiya patted his head and stood up to turn off the lights and get some sleep himself after questioning his own existence for a half hour.
"Yeah today's the *best* birthday in a place where we play childish life and death games. What a great day to turn into a teen!" Akira said with sarcasm, getting comfortable in his bed. Although the bed was bigger and softer than the one in his hideout with you, it felt different without you by his side to kiss him goodnight. (SHUT UP. KISSING CHILDREN GOODNIGHT IS BEST.)
"Goodnight, Chishiya. Honestly I won't really mind if you dated my sister. She actually likes you and trusts you a lot. You must be a good egg."
"Goodnight, Akira. I wish you luck in finding Yuki."
—————————————————-
"The Jack's team has shot a target, earning them 500 points," the woman announced.
You exhaled out a huge breath, your pupils shaky. Just then, you heard Yaba speak up. "I have an idea. At this point, they must be hunting down targets, since there are more points to earn than to lose from them. They shouldn't be too far apart to avoid fights like just now. Kayami, you run the fastest among us. Can you lure them to the centre of the game arena for us without losing too many points? We can station ourselves there and ambush them."
"But, shouldn't I bring the shield then instead of my guns? Or maybe Shuntaro could follow me to protect me?" You protested, finding a huge flaw in this crazy plan of his.
"Listen, Kayami. We only have half an hour left. If we don't take risks, we can't win. If you bring the shield along, they'll find it wasteful to chase you. And, if you bring Chishiya along, he might drag you down or expose your plans." He reasoned with you. You nodded.
"Wait..." Akira coughed out a small portion of blood from his mouth (reminds me of Niragi), "While I was scouting the arena during the first half hour, I have found and memorized the locations of all the targets. There is still 2 at the North East, one at the South, and one more a little north to the centre. You should go to the West, because there are no targets there."
"The five left could either decrease 500 points, the game changer, add 200 points, decrease 100 points, add 300 points or decrease decrease 300 points. So it's best not to shoot any with the chance of losing more points than earning points," Banda said. All of you nodded and got into your positions. "Remember, Yuki, you are the key. This plan starts with you." Chishiya whispered into your ear whilst he was walking past you.
Banda, Yaba and Chishiya went to the West to approach the centre in order to avoid coming into contact with the other opponents.
You began running on top of shipping crates, occasionally hopping around and stopping to search for people, or targets. Soon, the Jack's team had earned another 200 points, causing you to worry more since there was now a 700 point difference, the Jack's team leading. As Akira had said, there were two targets toward the North-east so you headed there first.
You soon caught sight of Maki and Misaki working together, shooting down the last target there, unfortunately losing 100 points. "This means that the other three targets left can either decrease 500 points, decrease 300 points or earn 300 points. They're probably not going to shoot any more targets." You thought silently.
You shot the both of them repeatedly until they looked up to you. "Hey, I remember throwing you down a shipping crate previously, panda eyes. Want me to do that again? And you, half-black girl. Want me to paint your skin with your blood?" You provoked the both of them with a large, maniacal grin on your face.
"No way in hell you're here by yourself. I'm going to make you regret ever doing that to me!" She finally spoke, climbing up the shipping crate to chase you. Misaki was very offended by your taunts, and followed Maki.
"My plan is working," you pondered to yourself in glee. "Now there's only three left."
You got shot two times, but you ignored those and focused on running towards the North. You slowly were met up with Keiji and Haurto. But the real question was where Kousuke was. He was the leader and the game changer, after all. They heard the sound of the metal clanking from your boots and looked up. They found you being chased by the two women, and soon joined them for extra points.
"Wait! What if it's a trap?" Haruto pulled Keiji back by his jacket.
"Nah, she's already losing by 1000 points since we just hit another earning! I want to humiliate her and make her feel like shit before she dies!" Keiji shouted, running after you with Haruto who sighed.
You found the shipping crate with your paintball marking, meaning that it was the centre. "This should make me lose them!" You purposely shouted before jumping down. The four people surrounded you in all directions, pointing their guns at you. "All alone now. How about we dye your hair red with your blood before you die?" Maki teased you.
"Who said I was alone?" You smiled, before the three men appeared from behind them.