deadly games
❝solitary confinement❞
"IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO BACK OUT, YOU KNOW?" Chishiya told you, making you think that he probably wanted to make you give up first instead of him. However, a deal was a deal. You had to play no matter the game and make him prove that he was worthy of your entire trust.
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" you asked him, but it didn't seem like he had any answer prepared.
Playing a Hearts game with Chishiya definitely wasn't a part of the plan. But none of you could take back the agreement, even though you desperately wanted to.
Looking back to every game with the same category, you remembered that it happened just once for someone else to clear it with you. Keiju.
Emotions flooded towards every inch of your body that craved a confirmation of the outcome. Losing Chishiya was completely out of the question since you finally felt comfortable again in his presence. The awareness of your feelings was also an important factor that would fight for both your life and his. It was still the case of the blonde not doing the same for you, and you knew that. This time it was different — it wasn't bothering you — because you knew he was conflicted. Changing. As his heart was now melting, he began to face difficulties into making decisions. He was hearing his heart at the same time as his brain. It was a total chaos and Chishiya had no idea which side he should listen to. Hopefully, the result of the game would bring him a clear answer. Whether it was in your favor or not.
You'd be playing inside a penitentiary. It looked more than spacious and it took some time to even find the registration point. But as the two of you reached a room with the shape of a circle, you noticed a table in the middle. Some collars were placed on it next to a note '𝙿𝚄𝚃 𝙾𝙽 𝙰 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙻𝙰𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙶𝙾 𝚄𝙿𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙸𝚁𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙻 𝙶𝚄𝙰𝚁𝙳𝚁𝙾𝙾𝙼.'. You were the first one grabbing one of the multiple collars that were left, Chishiya immediately doing the same. Once the collars were stuck to your necks, they began making quick and faint sounds. Since the game didn't start yet, both of you chose to not question anything. Not even the marks you noticed on the back of each other's collar.
Upstairs you weren't welcomed by any unfamiliar faces, because no one was there yet. Or so you thought until you began hearing quite loud moans from one of the cells. The central guardroom had the same round shape as the one from downstairs. It was divided by different long hallways containing the same dim light that gave a blue effect.
You looked at Chishiya to see if he heard as well, which he obviously did, since they weren't too silent. But you loved the way the blonde's demeanour changed and got so pale.
"So I was right. You are a virgin." you quietly said looking right into his eyes that avoided your strong gaze.
He didn't have anything else to say, because it was true. Since he never found a certain pleasure into interacting with other people —except from the few pacients he got — meeting girls has never been a priority. You were the first one that actually caught his interest and because of that, he began to try to become more worthy of you.
The situation felt humiliating for him, so you placed both your hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at you.
"I didn't mean to make you feel embarrassed. Genuinely, I don't really care if you are or not." you let go of his face and offered him a smile.
"I wasn't embarrassed." he lied.
"Right, I know you weren't." you went along with it.
The two people that were doing it in the cell seemed to be done once the moans and screams stopped. Honestly, they should be feeling ashamed when they'll see you and Chishiya.
Just as you predicted, they left the cell and quickly placed their eyes on you and Chishiya. The man probably thought about the possibility of someone joining before they were done, so he didn't feel any remorse. While the woman, indeed looked very ashamed that someone knew what happened.
♤ ♧ ♡ ♢
The game start felt as if it was put in slow motion. There were more people gathered now, but not enough for the game commencing.
The first person that caught your attention was a guy named Ippei, wearing a stripped t-shirt and an overall — resembling a minion. He was standing shyly two steps away from your right. It was obvious that he was insecure about playing, he could be read like an opened book. Even so, his aura was sending you a form of security, that he was somewhat trustworthy and had a kind soul. Appearences might be deceiving, you've experienced that with Keiju, but stupidly you still wanted to give it a shot.
A little further to Ippei, was a girl that caught your attention just as fast as the boy with the overall. She had a quite long baby blue dress, her white socks beneath the black shoes being easily noticed. She gave a complete opposite vibe to the guy you looked at first. While he was sending a calming air, she seemed as if she'd resemble a tornado. Ready to get rid of everything standing in her way. Even though her appereance came off as if she had some sort of innocence, you were able to see beyond that. It was written all over her face. From the way she looked around to everyone to the position she was standing while waiting patiently.
No one else was interesting to you in particular, but you couldn't ignore the man in front of you, who was standing at some kind of table made of wood placed in the center of the room.
"Did you figure everyone out yet?" Chishiya whispered in your ear.
"Are you sure you want to go by my gut?"
"Honestly, no. But I'll give it a try." he said and you would've hit him right then and there if it weren't for the dull atmosphere created by the other people.
You would've said something to him if the last player wouldn't have come.
He was a guy around your age. Pretty good looking, but it was obvious that he couldn't be trusted. It was as if his expression was warning everyone not to go near him. He remained quite close to the stairs he just climbed and then the game announcement immediately followed.
𝙳𝙸𝙵𝙵𝙸𝙲𝚄𝙻𝚃𝚈; 𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝙾𝙵 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚃𝚂.
𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴; 𝙿𝚁𝙸𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙻.
𝚁𝚄𝙻𝙴𝚂; 𝙶𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝚄𝙸𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚂 𝙾𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝙾𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙻𝙰𝚁. 𝙷𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁, 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝚂𝙴𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙾𝚆𝙽 𝚂𝚄𝙸𝚃. 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙻𝙸𝙼𝙸𝚃 𝙿𝙴𝚁 𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳 𝙸𝚂 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚁. 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙼𝙸𝙽𝚄𝚃𝙴𝚂 𝙱𝙴𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙸𝚂 𝚄𝙿, 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝚁𝙸𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙻𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙶𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚂 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙾𝚆𝙽 𝚂𝚄𝙸𝚃 𝙸𝚂. 𝙸𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙳𝙾 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙶𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚂𝚄𝙸𝚃 𝙲𝙾𝚁𝚁𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙻𝚈, 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙸𝚂 𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚈𝙾𝚄. 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝚁𝚄𝙽𝚂 𝙾𝚄𝚃, 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙻𝙰𝚁 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙻𝙾𝙳𝙴 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙳𝙸𝙴. 𝙸𝙽 𝙰𝙳𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽, 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚂𝚄𝙸𝚃 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴 𝙰𝚃 𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈 𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳.
"But we just need to have someone tell us what it is, right? That'll be easy." the guy with overalls asked and then looked at Chishiya.
"I wouldn't be so sure." Chishiya answered him. "They haven't told us how to clear the game."
𝙿𝚁𝙸𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙻 𝙸𝚂 𝙰 𝚃𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝙼𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝚃𝚁𝚄𝚂𝚃 𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚂. 𝙸𝙽 𝙰𝙳𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽, 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝙾𝙵 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚃𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚁𝙴𝚃𝙻𝚈 𝙹𝙾𝙸𝙽𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙰𝚂 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙸𝙿𝙰𝙽𝚃𝚂.
You looked intently at the screen showing every player, choosing to ignore the fact that it kind of did you dirty with the picture. Then, it showed the Jack of Hearts card.
"See? There it is."
𝙲𝙻𝙴𝙰𝚁 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽; 𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈 𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚁, 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙱𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙿𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙳. 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙸𝚂 𝙲𝙻𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝙾𝙵 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚃𝚂, 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙸𝚂 𝙷𝙸𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙰𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙶 𝚈𝙾𝚄, 𝙸𝚂 𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙳.
𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙷𝙸𝙱𝙸𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙴𝚂; 𝚄𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚁𝙴𝙵𝙻𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙾𝙱𝙹𝙴𝙲𝚃𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝚂𝙴𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚂𝚄𝙸𝚃. 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙰𝙻𝚂𝙾 𝙼𝙰𝚈 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝚅𝙸𝙾𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝙾𝚁 𝚆𝙴𝙰𝙿𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚂.
"In other words, until the Jack fails to answer correctly and dies, this game won't end." Chishiya explained to Ippei. "Which means, unless we lie to the Jack, we can't clear this game."
𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝙸𝚂 𝙽𝙾 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙻𝙸𝙼𝙸𝚃.
As people were already trying to take off their collars or turn their head enough to catch a glimpse of their suit, a man yelled.
"No time limit?"
𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝙸𝚂 𝙿𝙻𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚈 𝙾𝙵 𝙵𝙾𝙾𝙳.
"At least they are kind enough to feed us throughout the game." you said.
"What?" Ippei asked quitely, not regarding your words.
𝚆𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙸𝙿𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴, 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙳𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝚁𝙴𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙾𝙽 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚅𝙸𝚂𝙰𝚂 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙱𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙳𝚄𝙲𝙴𝙳.
"The bare minimum, but I'll take it."
"Unless we lie like crazy and eliminate anyone suspected of being the Jack, we'll be in this prison forever." he continued adressing it to Ippei, only to intensify his fear. "A life sentence, huh?"
"I'm sure he appreciates the fact that you explained in such detail, but one more word from you regarding this might start to literally break him." you told Chishiya quietly, only for him to hear.
"If you say so..."
𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙶𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝚆𝙸𝙻𝙻 𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃.
On the screen appeared the first round.
𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝚈 𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙰𝙽𝚈𝚆𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙻 𝙸𝚃 𝙸𝚂 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰 𝙿𝚁𝙸𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙻.
Players have already started to try and team up, asking for their suits and telling in return. However, the man that had a fun time with that woman before the game, didn't look like he was content with such arrangements.
"In this game, the 21 of us need to kill each other off until we get the Jack of Hearts, right? Are you sure you want to trust each other so easily?" he rhetorically asked.
People seemed to have heard him, however they didn't care too much, choosing to go in different places. You turned your head to look at Chishiya who was still leaning on a wall on your left.
The game seemed the perfect opportunity to see his intentions, if he really told you the truth about not betraying you. Seeing you as his equal, using his exact words.
"Should I tell you your suit?" you asked him, receiving a negative answer by his head.
"Let's tell each other our suits right before we enter the cells. Until then, we'll let the other players tell us if they want and we'll make our choices in the final five minutes." his idea was good, because once you'd feel under pressure you'll make an honest choice. Whether it's trusting each other or not.
"Alright, let's do that." you said holding an eye contact with him, it soon broke because of the girl in the baby blue dress.
"I have an idea. How about we get together and make teams to tell each other?" she suggested. "So that way, nobody can lie."
"Good idea." a woman shyly agreed. "Um, would you mind if I joined up with you?"
"Me too?" another woman asked and this time you looked back at Chishiya, him doing the same. Your eyes came to an agreement.
"Excuse me. I'd like to join as well." a man bowed in front of her.
"Sure! The more the merrier!" she said and you sensed the fakeness she was trying to hide.
"Can I join too, please?" some other woman politely asked.
"I want in, as well." you finally voiced the idea you exchanged with Chishiya through that one stare. Right after you said loudly, you walked away from Chishiya and entered the group they've formed.
When you entered the game, you didn't think you'd have to join a lame group in order to clear it. It was a smart choice, however, because as difficult as you found trusting Chishiya, you chose to do it. Whatever suit he was going to tell you, lie or truth, you'd listen and follow. If Chishiya truly didn't have any hidden ideas, it would also be easy to know if the tornado girl's group lied. That way, you'd figure them out and beat their own game.
The game was quite interesting if you thought about it, your life was placed in the hands of others, while there was a hidden Jack ready to stir up everyone's insecurities. There would definitely be a lot of lies, making it feel as a true Hearts game.