And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
"How could you?"
Your voice was cold as ice, sadness having been replaced by anger. And then by sadness, and then anger again. Around thirty minutes had passed since you were crouching behind an armchair, praying to whatever deity was available at that particular time that no one would see you. And no one had. But you were stuck in a cycle of being sad, angry, sad again, and angry again.
You had been wandering around, trying to find where they had taken Arisu, or Usagi. To no luck. And, also, if you had found them, what would you had done? You had no weapons, and it was not as if a walkie-talkie to the head could have KO'd anyone.
But you had found Chishiya. He was by the exit of The Beach, where you were supposed to meet once this was all over and you had stolen the cards.
He looked at you. Unreadable, as (almost) always.
"I knew you wouldn't be willing to go forward with the plan if I told you everything."
"Of course I wouldn't! What I don't understand is how could you? They trusted you, Chishiya! They are good people, they just want answers!"
"You haven't shared more than a few sentences with them."
"That's not the point! The point is... being a good person!" You lifted your arms above your head, clearly exasperated with him. You were screaming, but you didn't care. "Look, Chishiya, they don't deserve what's coming to them. They took them! They will kill them! Seriously, we need to help them. Don't you feel sorry for them!?"
"Feel sorry?"
You looked at him in the eyes. You wanted, no, you needed to see... Something. You didn't know exactly what you were looking for, but you didn't find it. His brown eyes were as cold as ice.
"Is there anything we can't do in order to survive?" He asked you, holding your gaze.
"There should be limits! The end doesn't always justify the means, I thought you had realized that!"
"Only when it comes to you."
"Don't you dare tell me you did this for me." You scoffed in disbelief, eyes still on him, your jaw clenched in indignation.
"What if I did?"
"This is not what I wanted."
"You hate this world. You have said so yourself, plenty of times. I tried to come up with a plan to get you out of here."
How could he be so calm, when you were fuming? You noticed you couldn't see him anymore, only a blurry figure, and realized tears had started to fill your eyes. Oh, so it was time to be sad again.
"Shall I remind you I was also a pawn in your plan not that long ago?"
"You were. Until caring for you was not something I could avoid doing any longer."
You loved him. But you hated him at the same time.
"It's not fair. They don't deserve it."
"This world is a cruel place, and we are here only to win games, until we lose. You don't deserve to be here, either."
"You should have told me, at least."
"I told you. You wouldn't have agreed to proceed."
No, you wouldn't have. But at least you wouldn't feel as betrayed. As hurt. He grabbed your hand, and you let him. How was it that, no matter how devastated you were, you couldn't help but notice how good your fingers fitted intertwined with his? A perfect match.
"When Kuina comes, we have to go."
You looked at him, moving your head from side to side, negatively. So Kuina was in it, as well. And he had managed to steal the cards. Not as if you had any doubt, but it was nice to have confirmation. You didn't want to ask him how he did it.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay, to try and help them."
You knew that, if he asked you to go away with him at that particular moment, you would have done it.
But you also knew he wouldn't ask.
"It's your choice." He looked hurt. But you had made up your mind.
You couldn't move, so he was the first to let go of you, walking a few steps and turning around so that he would be facing the exit. Kuina arrived a few minutes later, minutes you had spent in complete silence, you weeping without a sound, Chishiya just standing there.
"Ah, finally here! That maniac with the tattoos almost caught me. I do feel sorry for Arisu, but I'm glad we are finally getting out of here..." She stopped when she realized this was not the victorious atmosphere she had been hoping for. "What happens?"
"I'm staying." You said, a knot in your throat that wouldn't go away no matter how many times you swallowed.
"But... No, please, come with us!"
You looked at the woman. Your best friend. Someone you could only describe as a ray of sunshine in this dark, twisted land. You gave her a hug, which she returned.
"I will go find you, but I need to help Arisu and Usagi first." She nodded, understanding, both of you realizing it was highly unlikely you would meet again. "Take care of him." You added, using the hug to whisper those last words in her ear.
You both let go, and she joined Chishiya by the exit, her taking the lead. You watched them go, feeling heartbroken. You didn't regret your decision, but if it was the right one, why did it have to cause you so much pain?
Chishiya suddenly came to a halt. "STOP!" He took off his bracelet, the one you had been given when you arrived at The Beach and that all residents were supposed to wear at all times, and threw it forwards, so that it would cross the door that led to the outside world.
It got lasered.
"Seriously?" Kuina whispered.
"It can't be..." Another one of those insane games. How you despised them.
Chishiya walked in your direction, grabbing your hand again. His free hand moving towards your chin, so that he could move your face towards him. "Hey, it's fine. We will get through this."
You were clenching his fingers so hard, he must have been in pain. He didn't complain, though. You were very, very close to having the second mental breakdown in just a few days and his presence was the only thing to keep you stable.
"Don't leave me." You begged, realizing how stupid it was to ask him that, when you were the one who had decided to let him go just now.
"I won't. I promise."
"Thank you for staying at Seaside Paradise Tokyo." You heard a male voice through The Beach's speakers. "As a token of our appreciation, we will now commence a game for all the guests in the hotel."
You stood there, just listening.
"Difficulty, ten of hearts." You knew that robotic female voice. It plagued your nightmares. So, the card you were missing had finally appeared. "We will now be explaining the rules. All players are to assemble in the lobby. I repeat, all players are to assemble in the lobby."
"Come on, we must go." You let Chishiya guide you to the lobby, Kuina also by your side. You were so grateful the game had started before they had left. You decided, at that particular moment, that you never wanted to be separated from any of them. They were family.
The Beach's entrance hall was incredibly crowded. Your left hand hadn't left Chishiya's, your right hand was now holding a phone. You couldn't think. The higher the number of the card, the greater the difficulty. Hearts meant psychological games. So betrayal, emotions, manipulation. But they could be completed without killing anyone, sometimes. Maybe, now, it would be one of those.
There was a woman in the middle of the lobby, named Momoka judging by the scream a friend of hers emitted when she saw her. You didn't know her, but had seen her around. A knife was in the place her heart was located.
So, a corpse.
All of your phones' screens illuminated.
"Game: Witch Hunt. The evil witch who took the girl's life is hiding among you. The witch role is not limited to women. You clear the game if you find the witch and burn them in The Fire of Judgement. Time limit, two hours."
A great, burning pyre, could be seen from one of the hotel's windows.
GAME START.