hauntedsideofthemoon

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 10; heaven is all gone

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 3109

________________________________________________________

‘There it is,’ Chishiya snickered with amusement, as if he had anticipated the topics of tonight's meeting. Kuina widened with intrigue her eyes as she leaned in closer to the radio. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy, not understanding what about this meeting had caught their interest so strongly.

As the executives discussed about their visas, Kuina sidestepped the ongoing topic as if it didn’t matter to her, and she started a conversation with Chishiya.

‘How did you know they would talk about the ranks tonight?’ She settled her eyes on Chishiya. He kept his focus on the radio before answering.

‘Players have been dying more frequently in the past few days. I figured it must be related to the executives’ weekly meeting.’

I observed Chishiya with narrowed eyes, questions constantly swirling in my mind. In the end, I couldn’t suppress my curiosity. ‘I'm sorry, but how are those two correlated?’

‘What did Chishiya tell you before you came here?’ Kuina suddenly asked, observing me carefully.

Players being killed at random, executives keeping tabs on us, the fact that Niragi wasn't allowed to kill me because another executive was interested in me – I told her everything Chishiya mentioned that day, except the fact that he had dragged me into his plan; I wanted to know why he lied about it first. Kuina let out a sigh as the concerned look on her face faded away.

‘I see he hasn't told you the whole thing yet,’ Kuina explained, ‘but those deaths weren't exactly random. The militants are plotting something to seize control of the Beach, and we’ve been looking into it.’

My throat tightened at her words. The more I learned about this plan, the more dangerous it sounded – spying not only on the executives but also on the militants. What could these two be taking so many risks for?

‘I believe the militants have been scheming to make innocent players look like traitors, and then eliminating them to make it seem like they're doing an efficient job.’ Chishiya added. ‘It sure is a clever strategy to gain Hatter's trust.’

‘And how are you so sure about that?’ I questioned him.

‘I have my ways,’ was his only answer. It wasn't easy to get a straight answer from this man. I looked at Kuina, hoping she would shed some light on the matter, but her attention had returned to the radio. Sighing, I decided to focus on the executives' discussion as well.

The room fell into a heavy silence as the executives delved into a discussion about who had the potential to join their ranks. A few names were mentioned – Kurokawa, Hayashi, and Matsui –, each accompanied by a summary of their strengths, qualities, reliability, and prowess in winning games. Niragi's voice stood out as he persistently praised one man in particular, Kurokawa, emphasizing his remarkable ability to uncover traitors and eliminate them. ‘If our duty is to maintain order at the Beach, what better way to do so than by eliminating any potential threats?’ Niragi concluded in such an amused tone I could even imagine the disgusting grin on his face.

Nonetheless, after what Chishiya had told me, Niragi's persistence in vowing for someone who was seemingly really good at uncovering traitors had me growing suspicious. Kuina let out an annoyed groan before breaking the silence.

‘They are only using last names, this isn't going to help us at all! We have dozens of Kurokawas at the Beach, and who knows how many of them are militants!’

A question burned at the tip of my tongue. Putting together everything I learned today, I cleared my throat before I spoke up.

‘Is there anyone named Kurokawa Shouji among them?’

My question hung in the air as both Kuina and Chishiya turned their attention to me. I darted my eyes between them as I waited for an answer.

‘Yes, Kurokawa Shouji is one of the militants,’ Chishiya confirmed, his voice tinged with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. He fixed his gaze on me as I recounted the conversation I overheard at the disco area earlier, where a drunk man had nudged his friend Shouji to bring better alcohol options once he became one of the ‘big guys.’

Kuina and Chishiya exchanged glances, pondering over the newfound information. A subtle smirk appeared on Chishiya’s face before he spoke. ‘Their egos are so big they can't even keep their plans a secret while drinking, huh?’

My mind raced, Chishiya’s vague words only adding to the turmoil of thoughts. I couldn’t hold back another question any longer.

‘Why are you so invested in this case? We're talking about the two most powerful parties at the Beach, what are you taking such big risks for?’

Chishiya took a moment to gather his thoughts, his expression turning serious as he met my gaze. ‘I want to become an executive myself. There are already three militants among them. If their numbers increase, it will be only a matter of time before they overthrow Hatter.’

‘You want to become an executive?’ I narrowed my eyes as I questioned him, ‘I didn't take you for the type to crave joining the elite and help preserve the peace.’

Chishiya chuckled at my comments. ‘That's not my goal. I don't care for their duties. I distrust the executives as much as I distrust the militants, but joining their ranks is the only way to uncover the secrets they keep from us, players, and secure my survival.’

His survival, he made that very clear. Chishiya didn't even try to hide that he was just using Kuina and me as pawns to achieve his objective. Yet, why didn't she seem bothered by it? Kuina didn't strike me as someone naive.

I stared at him with a mix of skepticism and curiosity. Chishiya’s self-centered nature became more evident with each interaction we had.

We continued to listen as the executives discussed the traitors, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the cards. Niragi’s recommendation of Kurokawa Shouji seemed to have left an impression on them. As the meeting concluded, Kuina spoke up again, shifting her gaze to Chishiya.

‘What’s our next move, then?’

Chishiya tapped his chin, a faint smirk growing at the corners of his mouth. ‘We need to remove Kurokawa Shouji from the equation,’ he declared.

A shiver ran down my spine at his words. ‘Are you planning to kill him?’ I blurted out, my voice sounding more shocked than I had intended. Chishiya looked at me with a furrowed brow as if I had asked something stupid.

‘No, I’m not going to kill him. I haven’t decided on a plan yet, I need some time to think.’

‘You’re gonna need a lot of luck too, considering your name wasn’t even on their list of candidates in the first place,’ Kuina teased Chishiya while stretching her arms. ‘Ahh, running after the executives today got me so tired. I’ll head back to my room and rest while you sort things out. See ya!’ She waved at us and exited the room, leaving me alone with Chishiya.

Silence settled between us as I continued to stare at Chishiya. He sensed the weight of my gaze and glanced back at me, his expression suggesting a curiosity as to why I hadn’t left yet. I wondered if it was worth asking him the questions that plagued my mind, aware that his responses were usually too vague. I mustered some courage before speaking up.

‘I still have questions for you, but I don’t know if you’d be willing to answer truthfully.’

Chishiya paused for a moment, sighing deeply. ‘Fine. I’ll tell you the truth.’ His eyes met mine as his expression turned serious. ‘Go ahead, ask away.’

‘Firstly, why did you lie to Kuina, saying that I willingly joined your plan? Did you manipulate her into this just like you did to me?’ I kept my tone firm, still wary of him.

‘She would have objected if she knew you were just repaying a debt to me. In the end, does it even matter? I didn’t put you in danger,’ his voice sounded increasingly annoyed as he continued, ‘I didn’t force her into this, though. She made her own choice, fully aware of what it entailed.’

I was slightly taken aback by Chishiya’s blunt response, but I pressed on. ‘How did you know the militants were killing innocent players on purpose as part of their shady scheme?’

‘I stumbled upon it by chance,’ a faint chuckle escaped his lips. ‘You weren’t the only one to come across an idiot that couldn’t keep their mouth shut.’

‘How do you know so much about the executives, and how can you be so certain that they’re hiding secrets from us?’

Chishiya reclined and stared at the ceiling, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before responding. ‘I have been observing them closely for some time now. Their modus operandi is always shrouded in secrecy. If you were to spend more time near them, you would notice their questionable behavior as well. They don’t provide clear answers and are vigilant against anyone who attempts to infiltrate their ranks.’

He paused, leaning in as he fixated his gaze on me. ‘I am certain that they are hiding secrets because of the way they guard their positions so intensely. Their ambitions extend far beyond the boundaries of the Beach, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their ‘rank system’ is a plot for them to be the only individuals to escape this place.’

I mulled over Chishiya’s words, sensing my expression soften as I began to understand his intentions. Surely, his whole plan was still selfish, but I couldn’t blame him for being so ambitious to know the truth. He was a very curious person – just like me.

‘Do you want to know why they are currently seeking a new executive member?’ Chishiya suddenly questioned, instantly capturing my attention. I leaned forward, giving him all my attention and prompting him to continue.

‘One of them died recently. They claimed he failed to clear a game, and the players who were with him said they couldn’t retrieve the body. But I don’t believe any of that. He stumbled upon something he shouldn’t have known, likely related to the militants’ plot to seize control of the Beach. He was one of the best Diamonds players here, so the militants definitely saw his cleverness as a threat.’ A distant gaze settled in Chishiya’s eyes and his voice grew quieter. ‘He was the one in charge of me here, and he trusted me with a lot of important information. He saw a lot of potential in me, though he never explained it to me.’

For a fleeting moment, I thought I noticed a hint of melancholy in his expression. Chishiya looked like an independent person with an inflated ego, so I was surprised to learn he probably looked up to someone.

Silence settled between us for a moment as I pondered everything he told me. For the first time, Chishiya’s tone actually sounded honest, though he could also be a very good manipulator.

‘There’s still something you want to ask me, right?’ He inquired, seemingly able to read my thoughts; Another question indeed burdened my mind.

‘How can I be sure that you didn’t just lie to me about everything?’

Chishiya chuckled once more, shifting his gaze away momentarily. ‘You can’t. The choice to trust me or not is exclusively up to you.’

Although he still carried that familiar air of smugness, the sincerity in his voice gradually resonated with me. Maybe, just maybe , there was more to him than met the eye. I took a deep breath as I got up from my chair, addressing Chishiya one last time.

‘Alright, Chishiya, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But you should know that trust is earned, not chosen. I will move forward with your plan, but I’ll keep an eye on you if you ever decide to backstab Kuina.’

He nodded in response, not uttering any words. I left his room and made my way back to mine.

----------

When I thought I would finally be able to enjoy my breakfast in peace, Kuina called me over to explain Chishiya’s plan for tonight. While I enjoyed spending time with her, having to hear about Chishiya first thing in the morning made me lose my appetite.

I was thankful for not having eaten yet, however, because the details of the plan were enough to make me nauseous. Kuina explained we would have to break into the militants’ rooms to look for what they were using against innocent players – and by we , she meant just the two of us. Of course, Chishiya would force others to do the hard work for him.

‘Hey, I understand this sounds terrible right now, but you don't have to do it,’ Kuina spoke gently. ‘I can make up an excuse about you getting sick or something, so you can step away from the plan. I am more than capable of handling it alo-’

‘No,’ I cut her off mid-sentence, ‘I don't want you to take that risk by yourself. I’ll do it.’

In truth, I wasn’t as brave as I pretended to be. I would love to escape from this mess Chishiya created, but I would feel terribly guilty if I left Kuina alone with him after they told me so much. I couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt because I backed out at the last minute.

Kuina respected my choice, softly smiling at me while patting my arm.

----------

As the night approached, we gathered once again in Chishiya’s room to prepare ourselves. He handed us small walkie-talkies and explained he would be out in the corridor to warn us if anyone passed by.

‘Not brave enough to break into a room yourself, huh?’ I teased.

Chishiya’s expression remained unfazed as he retorted, ‘Would you rather take the risk of being caught unaware?’

I grimaced, not answering his question. Chishiya assigned us specific rooms to investigate before we finally left to get into our positions. The sun had set a while ago, so many players already had left the dorms, either to join games or to party near the pool.

Leaning against a wall, Chishiya positioned himself where he could see all the doors in the corridor as well as the stairwell. ‘Ready?’ he asked with his characteristic smirk on display. Kuina and I nodded before heading to our designated rooms.

I stood in front of room 208 for a few seconds before walking in, quietly closing the door behind me.

‘Do you have any ideas of what we should be looking for?’ Kuina’s voice crackled through the radio.

‘Anything that seems out of place, something you wouldn't expect to find in a normal player’s room,’ Chishiya answered, sounding like he wasn't even trying to help.

‘It would be really helpful if you had at least one suggestion, okay?’ I blurted out, observing the chaos of litter and dirty clothes in front of me. ‘You have no idea how messy this place is. It could take hours!’

‘Well, then, stop wasting time.’ Chishiya urged, his arrogance evident in his tone.

I groaned in frustration and began sifting through this disarray. The drawers were mostly empty as all of this person’s belongings seemed to be on the floor. Rummaging through the piles of clothes, I tried to ignore the toxic smell that emerged from them when my hands stumbled upon something small. I picked it up to take a better look and shock spread all over me.

‘Cards,’ I spoke through the radio. ‘This person is hiding playing cards.’ I continued searching, taking out about half a dozen creased cards from an open ziplock bag.

‘I just found two cards as well,’ Kuina added. ‘How did these cards pass by unnoticed by the executives?’

‘Who knows? But it makes a lot of sense. They must be planting those cards in other players’ rooms to frame them as traitors, before returning the cards to Hatter.’ Chishiya deduced, his tone suggesting he had expected this.

‘Wait, so you already suspected they were using cards? Why didn’t you mention it earlier?’ I demanded, annoyed.

No response.

‘Chishiya! Are you listening to me? You-’

‘Quiet.’ Chishiya’s voice abruptly hushed me. ‘The owner of room 208 just walked by me and is headed your way, followed by another man.’

My body froze in place. They were coming to the very room I was in. My luck just had to be this bad.

Footsteps gradually grew closer from outside, and I rushed to find a hiding spot. Kicking some trash aside, I squeezed myself under the bed and pulled a pile of clothes closer, hoping to blend in.

The door swung open and I caught a glimpse of a pair of sandals through a small gap amidst the clutter.

‘I’ve got like four or five cards in here, just give me a minute,’ a man’s voice echoed with excitement as he searched through the mess on the floor.

Silence settled in for a moment, broken only by the voice of the other man urging him to hurry. The sound of shuffling plastic came up as the man grew anxious, muttering phrases like ‘I swear I put them here!’ and ‘Where the hell is it?’

Soon, heavy footsteps walked in, combat boots showing themselves through that same gap. ‘Four or five cards, you said?’ his voice was unnerving. ‘That’s four or five missed opportunities to earn Hatter’s trust.’

‘Wait, I-I promise they’re here somewhere! Just give me a few more minutes!’ The anxious man pleaded, trying to convince his companion to let him keep searching.

‘Enough,’ a commanding voice silenced the anxious man instantly. ‘What good are you to us if you can't even secure a few cards properly?’

The man made one final plea, only to be abruptly cut off by a deafening sound. His body hit the floor with a loud thud , and the smell of fresh blood filled the cramped place I was in. The door slammed shut as the other man left.

It took me a while to gather the courage to leave my hiding spot. Pushing aside the clothes that had concealed me, the smell of blood grew stronger and I pressed a hand over my nose to muffle it. Avoiding the pool of blood as I crawled out, I observed the scene before my eyes. A young man, likely in his early 20s, was killed because of some playing cards – cards that crumpled under the grip of my trembling hands at this very moment.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 9; i might bend but i'm not gonna break no more

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 3109

________________________________________________________

Hatter settled his eyes on me and placed the six of clubs card on the table.

‘It’s already been a few days since your trial. Niragi was supposed to give a report about your performance, to evaluate if your rank can be raised. But the only thing he told me,’ his tone became a lot more serious, ‘is that you were nothing but a nuisance.’

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. I had forgotten about this report, and how Niragi had to say something positive about me for things to end well on my side. As if he would ever do something like that, especially after all the times I pissed him off.

‘The thing is,’ Hatter continued, ‘I couldn't entirely believe what Niragi said. I was a little impressed with what Chishiya said about you after the five of spades game, so I had a hunch that you hadn't been so bad during your last game.’

Mira let out a small giggle after Hatter finished speaking. ‘Number One is not being completely honest right now. He did not care much for Niragi's comments about you, but I insisted that he gave you a little more consideration. Then, I suggested gathering the players who were in the same game as you so we could arrive at an honest conclusion together.’

She smiled at me, which would have calmed me down if I wasn’t so confused as to why she insisted that Hatter gave me another chance. I wondered…

Hatter placed his sunglasses on the table, letting out a bitter sigh after Mira’s teasing.

‘Yes, fine, Mira is right. She kept nagging me until I set up this meeting, so let's just hear everyone's opinions already, shall we?’

‘I said what I said,’ Niragi snarled, ‘This idiot was just a burden to me during the whole game.’

Niragi’s voice was enough to annoy me, and I became increasingly angry as the words came out of his mouth. I had to chew on my cheek to prevent myself from cussing him out.

‘That's not quite true,’ Chishiya spoke up. ‘You two ran in opposite directions at a certain point, so they weren't burdening you during the whole game.’ Chishiya made sure to add a bit of emphasis to the word ‘whole’ , and he glanced at me with a mischievous smile on his face.

What the hell was that for?! I expected Chishiya to back me up, not to agree with something Niragi said.

‘What the hell do you know, huh?’ Niragi shot a hostile look at Chishiya as he snapped.

‘I was there too, and I’m giving an accurate account of what happened during the game. But that’s not the whole story. Just like in the five of spades game, they were eager to help people around them before moving forward with their own task.’ Chishiya fixed his eyes on me, ‘And you also noticed the game’s secret clue pretty quickly, didn’t you?’

I nodded at him in response, relaxing in my seat now that he finally said something useful.

Niragi sneered in my direction, his lips curling into a scornful grin. ‘You weren’t so eager to help me, though. You know, the one in charge of you there.’

My irritation at Niragi’s childish behavior got worse, and I could no longer hold my tongue. ‘Maybe I would have helped you if you hadn’t tried to kill me during the game,’ I snapped.

Niragi’s face twisted in fury as he began cursing at me, and I tried my best to ignore him. Across the table, Chishiya observed me with a smirk as he fiddled with the pockets of his hoodie. He arched an eyebrow and slightly nodded, which I took as a sign that he wanted me to distract Hatter. However, my attention was completely averted by Niragi’s next words.

‘I should have killed you myself instead of expecting that useless guard would do the job. Then I wouldn’t have been interrupted twice later on.’

Rage boiled inside me after he spoke. It was clear that Niragi was referring to when I had stopped him from harassing Usagi and the other girl that night. I glared at him and retorted.

‘Maybe you could have done it if you weren’t even more useless than me! You had many many opportunities to kill me after you picked up that taser gun, but I guess you weren’t brave enough to do it yourself.’

Niragi seemed to reach his breaking point. He jumped out of his seat, towering over me and snatching his gun from the table. ‘I already told you to stay out of my business, didn’t I? Or do you need some motivation to be able to understand this?’ He pointed the gun at me with that last sentence.

My heart was pounding heavily, but I refused to let him intimidate me. We stared at each other until Mira stood up and intervened.

‘That’s enough,’ she commanded, her voice clear and firm, causing chills to run down my spine.

‘We are here to evaluate one of our players’ conduct during a game,’ she continued. ‘Such senseless arguing has nothing to do with the point of this meeting. If you have nothing useful to contribute, then you should remain silent.’

Niragi was about to snarl at Mira when Hatter slammed a hand on the table, yelling at him to stop.

‘I am tired of listening to this bullshit, you’re all giving me a headache! Let’s just finish this as soon as possible.’

Mira sat back down calmly, while Niragi slumped back into his seat, muttering curses under his breath. Hatter let out a deep sigh and turned his attention to the girl sitting next to him, who hadn’t said a single word this whole time.

‘Akina, what do you have to say?’

Akina barely lifted her head, clearing her throat before speaking. ‘The two of us weren’t together during the game, but they protected me from Niragi when we were about to come back,’ her voice was barely audible. ‘Niragi kept bugging me with his disgusting behavior, and he spent a long time stalking me during the game instead of focusing on his tasks.’

My mouth was open in shock as I listened to Akina's words. She seemed so terrified of Niragi that it was a surprise to hear her speak against him like that. Niragi stared at her with narrowed eyes, and his expression alone was enough to make Akina lower her head again.

Hatter nodded at her, muttering an ‘I see, I see.’ He scanned each of us before speaking up again. ‘Does anyone else have anything to add?’ No one answered.

‘Then I guess we’re done with this conversation. Just one more thing, though,’ Hatter then turned to me, ‘How’s your injury doing? The big one you had when you arrived here?’

I was caught off guard by his question, not expecting him to bring up something like that. It still hurt sometimes, and some blood would seep out of the cut if anything pulled at my skin.

I glimpsed at Chishiya as I recalled the day he treated my wound. He had a serious look on his face, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he fixed his eyes on mine. I hadn’t been able to read his expression other times in the past, but now I was sure about what he was thinking.

‘It’s fine. It has healed a lot, thanks to Ann,’ I calmly replied.

It was a lie that only Chishiya and I knew. I couldn’t show any sign of vulnerability in front of the executives, or else it would only increase the chances of them getting rid of me, especially after the argument I caused a few minutes ago.

Hatter nodded at my answer. He seemed to ponder it for a few seconds before he announced the meeting was finally over. He quickly waved his hand repeating a ‘shoo, shoo’ sound as he ordered us – Chishiya, Akina and me – to leave the room.

I strode down the corridor, taking deep breaths as I slowly calmed down. Chishiya appeared beside me, speaking with a quiet voice.

‘It was about time you read me correctly,’ he teased.

‘You're not exactly someone easy to read.’

Chishiya simply chuckled at my words. As we walked side by side, I lowered my voice before addressing him. ‘I'm sorry for not distracting Hatter as you planned. I couldn't control my anger at Niragi and got carried away.’

I lowered my head a little as I spoke. Chishiya calmly observed me for a few seconds before replying.

‘Your argument with Niragi was a great distraction. I almost thought you did that on purpose.’

I grimaced at him in disbelief. ‘You thought I would pick a fight with Niragi on purpose, just for that little plan of yours? Do you think I'm crazy?’

‘Well, you have challenged him before, so why not? You know he can't kill you,’ Chishiya had that usual sly smirk on his face.

‘And you know he's insane,’ I reminded him. ‘That morning, when he tried to attack me, he threatened to find a way to kill me without anyone knowing about it, so I shouldn’t try to play my luck with him.’

Chishiya nodded as I talked, but his distant gaze suggested his mind was focused on something else. I prompted him with a simple ‘What?’ but he ignored me, turning his attention back to the path ahead. I shrugged at his silence, starting to walk towards a different direction before he finally spoke up.

‘Come meet me at sunset. Don’t tell anyone.’ His voice was low and urgent. Without another word, Chishiya walked away at a quick pace, leaving me confused just like last time.

As I tried to make sense of his sudden request, I simply assumed he wanted to meet in his room. With some time to kill until sunset, I decided to look for Kuina, checking the spots we usually hang out at.

I eventually made my way down to the disco area – we had only been there to drink once, but it didn’t hurt to try – and scanned the crowd for Kuina. Instead, my attention focused on Akina sitting in front of the bar, with two men hovering over her trying to offer her drinks, which she kept refusing. One of them had a gun strapped to the waistband of his shorts – a militant.

I rushed over and forced my way between Akina and the man closest to her, sitting on the vacant stool. Both men were horribly drunk, and I could smell the alcohol and sweat coming from them.

Muttering some annoyed words with a slurred speech, the duo moved over to the countertop and ordered more drinks for themselves. They were still so close I could even hear some of the shit they talked about, but I simply ignored them while striking up a conversation with Akina – even though I hadn't planned anything to talk about before I made this impulsive decision.

‘Hey, thanks for vouching for me during the meeting earlier,’ I said, hoping to break the ice. A small smile formed on Akina’s lips before she replied.

‘Ah, no need to thank me. I accepted Mira’s invitation to the meeting because I wanted to repay you for helping me the other day, even though I knew that man would be there too,’ she replied, most likely referring to Niragi.

I smiled back at her and we chatted comfortably for a while. Akina was friendly and very talkative, nothing like the scared and shaken girl I had met before; Niragi probably traumatized her that night, so it made me happy to see her in a good mood like this.

Those men were still blabbering nearby, getting even drunker by the minute. One of them lost his balance, slumping over the countertop before asking the bartender for another drink. He took a sip and let out a disgusted noise, turning to his friend to complain about the taste.

‘These new drinks they brought taste like shit! Oi, Shouji, you have to get us some top-quality booze when you become one of the big guys, you hear me?’ He said.

‘Sure thing! I’ll pick the ones the ladies like the best!’ His friend added and they laughed together.

Were all the militants repulsive like this? Either they didn’t care about other people listening, or they were simply too drunk to realize how loud they were.

Suddenly, the music stopped and someone grabbed a microphone to announce it was time for games. People began leaving the disco area as they headed to the main lobby, and I waved at Akina before walking out among the crowd. Games night meant the sun was setting, so I should meet up with Chishiya soon.

I made my way towards Chishiya's room and stopped in front of his door, nervously staring at it for a moment. The last time I had been here, Chishiya had offered to treat my injury, which turned out to be a setup just so I would owe him a favor.

My debt should've been paid off when I helped him earlier, so I probably didn't need to come over; Still, the urgent tone in Chishiya’s voice had me too curious to back away now.

Could he have called me to talk about the meeting, or maybe the bug he had set up? I worried if my ‘distraction’ had been enough for Chishiya. If they ever find the hidden bug, his life would be in danger because of me.

The idea of being the reason someone is in danger always concerned me, and I unconsciously began pacing back and forth as I dwelled on those thoughts.

But something else about the meeting was also nagging at me – Did Chishiya agree to participate only to carry out his plan, or could he have genuinely considered vouching for me? Though his ‘acts of kindness’ towards me had all been fake, anyway…

The sound of a door creaking open broke me out of my thoughts. Chishiya peeked out from his room, watching me with an arched brow. I was about to greet him when he cut me off.

‘Your footsteps are noisy,’ he said.

‘Nice to see you too,’ I replied with a sarcastic tone.

‘You should've just knocked.’ Chishiya ignored what I said, stepping back and motioning for me to enter his room.

Once inside, I took a quick look around. His room was largely the same as before, except for the big mess on the table: Wires, batteries, and other small metal parts I couldn't name were scattered on top of it, like he had been doing some craft project for science class. Chishiya picked up an FM radio and sat down on a chair, fiddling with the buttons.

‘The executives will soon have a meeting among themselves, so we’ll be able to listen in,’ he said.

I watched him with curiosity as I sat on a chair next to his. My eyes flickered between the radio and Chishiya's face, noticing the same expression he had when he treated me the other day – Eyes deeply focused on the task at hand, lips slightly pursed and brows furrowed in concentration.

‘Are you sure the bug will work?’ I asked, breaking the silence between us.

‘Yes. I obviously tested it before setting it up there.’ He replied with a serious tone, not shifting his gaze away from the radio.

I hummed in understanding. ‘Where did you get a bug, by the way? If people saw you bringing something like that to the Beach, you would be deemed a traitor immediately.’

‘I made one,’ he said as though it was no big deal.

That explained the clutter of metal pieces on the table. I couldn’t help but be impressed; He seemed to have great medical knowledge, and he was also able to craft a listening device. ‘Just what did he actually do before ending up here?’ I wondered to myself.

The static noise from the radio stopped when Chishiya adjusted the tuning and he carefully placed it on the table. We waited for a long time, but no sound came from it.

It wasn't easy to hold a conversation with this man, but I still had some questions about his plan; I wondered if he would finally open up since we weren't in a public area anymore. But before I could even utter a word, the door flew open and Kuina burst into the room.

‘Everyone’s moved to the meeting room, and–’ Kuina’s voice trailed off as she caught sight of me. We gazed at each other with surprised faces, her expression showing a hint of concern. ‘You didn’t tell me they were involved too,’ she addressed Chishiya.

‘Right, I forgot to mention that. I pitched my plan after I saw their potential during our games together, and they agreed to help us.’

…What a liar. I didn't agree to help, I was dragged into this. And I didn't even know Kuina was part of it either. Still, I chose not to speak against it, as this was not the time nor place to start an argument.

Kuina sat on the bed, glancing at me with an awkward smile on her face. She looked at Chishiya before resuming what she was saying before.

‘All of the executives moved to the meeting room, and the militants have already begun their patrol.’

‘The bug and the radio are working correctly. We'll be able to listen in to their meeting as soon as it starts,’ Chishiya added.

As we waited, I began feeling conflicted after learning Kuina was also involved in this plan. On one hand, it was a relief to have a friend by my side, but on the other, I was worried that Chishiya would put her in danger somehow. Kuina had told me before that she ‘kind of’ trusted him, but now I wondered if he had also dragged her to this against her will.

Suddenly, the radio snapped to life. We heard the sound of doors creaking open, followed by numerous footsteps, some chattering, and chairs scraping against the floor. A few seconds passed before Hatter's voice came up loud and clear.

‘Good evening, everyone. We have some important things to discuss tonight. First off, I need to know which of you are running low on your visa days and when you'll be joining games again. Second,’ Hatter paused for a moment, ‘we'll be discussing the players who have recently risen in ranks, and see who is the most suited to join us as a new executive.’

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 8; i can't seem to keep any wolves from my door

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 2741

________________________________________________________

It was incredibly difficult to sleep at night. My thoughts were in turmoil, still consumed by memories of the game despite my efforts to think of anything else. When I eventually managed to fall asleep, however, my mind got flooded with nightmares.

The events of my last game replayed in front of me like a horror movie, each moment being more gruesome than what actually happened – Everyone I met in the game had died right next to me. All the taser guns had been replaced with real guns, including the one I had in my hands, turning the whole museum into a bloodbath.

My eyes drifted across the room, seeing dead bodies all around the night guard that stood in front of me. I cried as rage filled my body, and I fired against the guard. The shot rang painfully inside my ears, making my head spin before my vision turned black.

A second gunshot echoed, but I hadn’t pulled the trigger again. A third shot finally woke me up with a jolt and I realized these had been real, happening right outside the building; It was yet another common occurrence at the Beach.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest as my eyes came back to focus. It was very early in the morning, and the sun was barely shining through the window. I worried that going back to sleep would trigger nightmares again, so I dragged myself out of bed and left my room.

I wandered through the nearly-empty corridors, focusing on the sound of my own footsteps. The chatter of people around me blended into a meaningless jumble of noises, until a familiar annoying voice suddenly caught my attention – It was Niragi, right around the corner. He was talking to, or more so being scolded by, someone nearby.

A man was reprimanding Niragi for his reckless behavior and for something along the lines of ‘interfering with other executives’ decisions,’ while Niragi mocked his tone after every sentence like a child. When their conversation stopped and heavy footsteps came in my direction, I realized I had been listening in for a bit too long. Shit. I tried to leave, but Niragi called out for me right after I turned my back.

‘Were you just eavesdropping on us?’ His voice came out hoarser than usual, ‘Are you trying to stick your nose in my business again?’

When I turned to face him, my eyes were drawn to the purple bruises on his face and neck. Memories of his fall came to my mind, and I quickly looked away while trying to stop myself from laughing.

‘Oi, don’t you dare ignore me like that-’ he grabbed my shoulder to make me look back at him and scowled upon noticing my smile. ‘What’s so funny, huh?’

‘Just the way you think I give a shit about you.’ I don’t know what came over me at that moment, but the words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. Maybe it was the fact that he looked ridiculous with those bruises, but for some reason, I didn’t feel afraid to speak up.

I knew I had hit a nerve when Niragi's eyes widened at my answer. He lunged forward and pressed me against the wall, tightly gripping his hands on my shoulders. His fingers drifted up my neck in an attempt to choke me, only stopping when his expression suddenly changed.

Niragi looked conflicted for a few seconds before he released his grip and stepped back. He still looked furious, though slightly restrained.

‘I’ll find a way to kill you without alerting the others.’

…It sounded like he said that more to himself than to me…

His words had me confused. Why would Niragi be afraid of anyone finding out if he killed me? He threatened everyone with his gun and even looked like the type to brag about his ‘body count’ as a militant. He glared at me for a moment before storming off, cursing under his breath.

‘It seems you’ve become a lot more bold since yesterday.’

I was slightly startled by Chishiya’s sudden voice. I turned around to see him appearing from behind a pillar and walking towards me.

'Were you just eavesdropping on us?', I mocked the way Niragi had asked me that same question and Chishiya let out a chuckle.

'I had been listening to their conversation long before you showed up. I'll admit, though, seeing you provoke Niragi was quite amusing.'

I felt a little uneasy upon hearing the word ‘provoke’. Niragi had already been pissed enough at me for yesterday, and I certainly just made things worse because I suddenly felt like mocking him.

'It was a bit funny at first, yeah, but now I guess he's going to kill me at the first opportunity he gets.' I shrugged, trying not to sound too nervous about it.

‘Oh, he definitely wants to kill you now,’ his tone sounded a bit amused, ‘But he can’t.’

I gave Chishiya a questioning look. He glanced up before repeating what that man was telling Niragi a few moments ago.

‘ You should know by now that you are not allowed to meddle with the decisions of other executives, is what Kuzuryu said,’ Chishiya fixed his gaze back on me.

‘If an executive takes a keen interest in a Beach member, they will be monitored and assessed for more important duties. Only that executive can authorize any plans made for that person, and other executives can’t harm them without facing the consequences.’

New questions began to sprout in my mind.

‘So the executives can just pick a player they like and decide to be in charge of them like that?’

‘And then they will monitor everything we do?’

…

‘Who could even be interested in me, anyway?’

I zoned out for a few seconds, pondering over the new questions I had. Chishiya spoke up again, bringing my attention back to him.

‘Are you curious as to who might have taken an interest in you?’

‘Sort of. But it’s the idea of an executive monitoring me so often that makes me uncomfortable. I mean, who wouldn't be?’

‘They are always keeping tabs on us, that's how they find and deal with traitors. Although…’ Chishiya lowered his voice, ‘They seem to have increased their target range.’

His words sent a chill down my spine and I asked what he meant by that.

‘You have also been hearing gunshots outside every night, haven’t you? People are being killed much more often lately, seemingly at random. At this rate, the Beach won’t be safe for long.’

A sense of dread grew in my stomach as I slowly took in everything he said. Ever since I arrived here, I have been hearing gunshots very often regardless of the time of the day, but I assumed it was just the usual frequency.

Hatter's rules were very simple – weird, but simple – and I thought following them was enough to keep me safe. But if they are really killing more than just the 'traitors'...

I fixed my gaze on Chishiya, furrowing my eyebrows.

‘Why are you suddenly telling me all of this?’

A sly smirk formed on Chishiya’s face and he took a few steps closer to me.

‘The executives are hiding something important from us, and I'm going to find out what it is. I believe you can help me with that.’

Oh, hell no . Spying on the most powerful members of the Beach? The ones that have easy access to firearms? Nope. I wasn’t crazy like that.

‘What makes you think I'm going to help you?’

Chishiya’s smirk grew wider as he leaned in closer, intently staring into my eyes.

‘Because you owe me one. And you’re not the kind of person to turn down a debt, are you?’

I tensed up at his words.

Of course, I didn’t think that Chishiya would have helped me simply out of kindness, I already assumed that much. He wanted me to owe him a debt, and now he intended to use it to drag me into something dangerous.

Unfortunately, he was right about me. I hated being bound to someone’s favor, and I couldn’t turn my back on someone who had saved my life. I would feel guilty and ashamed.

‘But how could he have known that?’

I hesitated for a moment, swallowing the knot in my throat before returning his serious stare. If he plans to mess with the executives’ affairs, he must have weighed the risks already, right? Maybe it won’t be too bad.

‘Fine,’ I finally said, ‘I’ll help.’

Chishiya distanced himself from me, looking satisfied with my answer. His tone and expression were now back to his normal smug self.

‘Do you still remember where my room is?’

I nodded.

‘Good. I’ll let you know when I need you, then.’

And with that, he turned his back and left.

----------

Days went by and I couldn't shake off the uneasiness that had settled within me after everything Chishiya said. Despite still hearing the ‘usual’ gunshots every day, everything else felt peaceful – a bit too peaceful, like the calm before the storm.

I crossed paths with Niragi ever so often, receiving death glares every time he noticed me. If Chishiya was right, Niragi wasn't allowed to kill me because someone else was keeping an eye on me – that would have made me feel safer if I at least knew who was watching out for me.

But I didn't know if I could even trust Chishiya in the first place. I hadn't heard anything back from him since our conversation that morning. It made me wonder if he actually meant anything he said, or if he just wanted to tease me after I interrupted his ‘espionage.’

Part of me wished this was the case, and that I wouldn’t have to participate in any dangerous plans, but… Another part still wanted to believe in Chishiya's words, for reasons I couldn't quite understand.

Shit. The more I thought about everything, the more my curiosity grew. I was determined to ask Chishiya about it the next time we met, even if he reveals it was all a lie and ends up laughing at my face. The weight of so many unanswered questions was becoming unbearable.

I was taken out of my trance when Kuina placed a hand on my shoulder. I had been spending some time with her, hoping to occupy my mind with something else, but she still noticed I looked distracted.

‘Hey, is there something wrong?’ she asked with a concerned look on her face.

I glanced at her, thinking of what I could give as an answer. I decided not to mention anything Chishiya told me that day, not wanting to get her involved in any way. Still, it wouldn't feel good to lie to her.

‘Nothing much, it's just… I'm still thinking about my last game.’ I looked down at my feet, ‘I killed someone, and I've had nightmares about it.’

‘Oh, I'm sorry,’ Kuina's expression softened, ‘It must have been tough.’

‘Yeah, it was… But I'm trying to handle it.’

I gave Kuina a reassuring smile, which she reciprocated. We continued to walk and chat for a while before I changed the subject because of a question that wouldn't leave my mind.

‘Hey, Kuina,’ I spoke and she focused her eyes on me, ‘Do you trust Chishiya?’

‘Hmmm…’, Kuina looked up as she was thinking of an answer, ‘Kind of, I guess. He's not the most outgoing person out there, but he's pretty friendly to me…’

The way Kuina finished her sentence sounded like she had more to say. I waited, but she didn't continue what she was saying. Instead, she looked over my shoulder and let out a small chuckle. ‘Speak of the devil.’

I turned over and saw Chishiya standing not too far from us, his hands stuffed inside his pockets as usual. He was looking around the place and stopped the moment our eyes met, the corners of his mouth slightly turning up before he walked over in our direction.

‘Hey there, haven't seen you in a while. I thought you had died inside your room.’ Kuina laughed as she greeted him. I gave him a small wave, to which he responded with a nod.

‘I've been busy with some important stuff,’ Chishiya replied, ‘I still have things to finish, but something else came up.’ Chishiya turned to me, ‘Hatter wants to have a word with us.’

I darted my eyes between both of them, furrowing my eyebrows. Kuina also had a confused look on her face.

‘What does he want with me?’ I asked.

‘I don't know. He only told me to bring you to the meeting room. You need to follow me.’

I had a weird feeling about this. I looked at Kuina, who nodded at me. ‘I'll see you later, then. Good luck,’ she said before she left us.

Chishiya began walking and I followed beside him. We went up the stairs and reached a huge corridor when Chishiya nudged my arm with his elbow. He spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper.

‘I need you to distract Hatter for a moment while we are there.’

I stared at him with a questioning look on my face. There he goes, saying weird and questionable things again.

‘Why? Are you going to knock him out or something?’

Chishiya chuckled at my question.

‘I'm going to set up a bug in the meeting room. I want to know what they discuss during meetings with the other executives.’

So Chishiya was saying the truth about his ‘plan’, after all. And the first task he set me up for was to distract the leader of the Beach, who explicitly had said ‘death to all traitors’ to my face when I first arrived. One suspicious move from me, and I would be dead. Great.

I sighed. ‘Not satisfied with just eavesdropping on them, are you? If they find your bug they will surely come for us, have you considered that?’

‘I have. I know the perfect spot to set up the bug, but you'll have to make for a really good distraction.’

‘Why are you so confident that I'll do the job well? You know, I've never done anything like this. If I make a mistake, we're both dead.’

Chishiya didn't answer, only letting out another chuckle. I rolled my eyes and looked ahead as we approached a big set of doors.

‘I'll give you a sign when I need you to distract him,’ Chishiya whispered once again.

I asked what kind of sign, but he didn't have any time to answer. The doors swung open and Hatter greeted us with a smile, motioning for us to get inside.

It was the same room I was taken to when I first met Hatter. On the back wall, a few more of the drawn cards had been checked out since I last came here. All the windows were covered with thick curtains, blocking any sunlight from coming in, and the place was dimly illuminated by several chandeliers. I spotted some surveillance cameras across the ceiling, feeling even more apprehensive about Chishiya’s plan.

There was a long table at the center, with some people already sitting down around it – Kano Mira was right beside Hatter’s seat, and the girl that was in the Scavenger Hunt game with my group sat on the other side. At the other end of the table, Niragi sat while facing Hatter, his usual gun placed in front of him.

Chishiya and I took the two remaining seats, sitting across from each other. I shifted my eyes over everyone at the table; The girl had her head down and anxiously fidgeted with her fingers, Mira gave me a warm smile as I sat next to her, and Niragi darted furious glares between Chishiya and me.

I fixed my eyes on Chishiya at last, and he shot me a glance with a smirk before we turned our attention to Hatter.

‘Welcome, both of you! We’re all finally here, and I hope you have been doing well,’ Hatter had a big smile on his face as he spoke, which quickly vanished before his next words, ‘Because I sure have not.’ He turned his face to Niragi. I couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but it was easy to assume he was glaring at him.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 7; it's always darkest before the dawn

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 3110

________________________________________________________

It took me a while to get back to my senses. When my eyes came back into focus, they were fixated on the lifeless body next to me. I couldn’t believe I had just killed someone.

"Ohoh? Now, this is the most interesting thing I’ve seen all day." A voice I had grown to dislike rejoiced while approaching me. Niragi stood beside the guard’s corpse, staring at the taser gun in my hands. My fingers were still clasped over the trigger, but his uncomfortable gaze made me drop the gun immediately. Niragi picked it up, admiring it like a child opening a Christmas gift. ‘This is going to be pretty useful to me,’ his tone more amused than ever.

Chishiya strolled past us and stopped in front of the pendulum he was inspecting earlier. The black light from his collar revealed the invisible ink drawing on its surface: a simple arrow pointing down.

He stepped inside the circular platform and tried to stop the sphere from swinging. When it halted, Chishiya reached his hand under the sphere and grabbed a small key that had been taped to it. He unlocked his collar and let it drop to the floor.

He was finally able to leave the museum, and I would be trapped with Niragi, who now had a weapon in his possession. Usagi was looking down at Chishiya’s collar on the floor when I walked over to her.

‘Hey, Usagi, are you okay?’

‘I didn’t know the collar’s light did that. I need to move fast before mine turns off, then.’

I offered to help Usagi after she saved me from the night guard. She showed me her phone with a picture of some bones, probably part of a fossil. Opening the floor map, I pointed at a dinosaur exhibition inside the gallery and we rushed inside.

Usagi was looking around the displays, searching for any drawings that would glow under the lights of her collar. She spotted a big arrow on the floor, leading up a set of metal stairs in the center of the room. More arrows appeared as she walked up, guiding her all the way to the top.

Our collars turned off at that exact moment, but Usagi had already found the key taped to the dinosaur skeleton close to the stairs. She stretched an arm to grab the key and unlocked her collar, hanging it on the railings before she came back down.

‘Oi, you can’t run away like that!’ Niragi stormed toward me and snatched the booklet from my hands. ‘I told you to pick this thing up because I needed it, and you thought you could get away from me with it?’

‘No! I just wanted to help Usagi, and I was going back to–’ I quit talking for a moment, growing irritated by his presence. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose. ‘Alright, you know what? I already know where I need to go, and I’m sure I won’t be helpful to you anymore since I’m so ‘useless’. So you can keep the map, alright? I’m leaving.’

I brushed past him, heading to the stairs. Chishiya was standing near the entrance, observing one of the fossils. ‘I thought you would have left already, after getting your collar off,’ I gave him a questioning look.

‘There’s still something about this place that I wanted to check,’ he responded without looking at me.

I shrugged. By his tone, I could tell he wouldn’t explain it further even if I asked.

Suddenly, a feminine scream echoed through the gallery. The Beach girl that had arrived with us came running from the other entrance, fleeing from a guard.

All five of us rushed to the stairs, crowding the small corridor. I could barely see anything in this tiny place, with everyone’s phones flashing lights all around as we ran. Finding the stairs that led to the lower floor, I immediately made my way down.

Chishiya followed me inside the new room with a suspiciously relaxed look on his face. 'You should move quickly, in case the guard comes down after us.' He glanced at me before making his way among the displays.

I followed Chishiya, planning to ask for his help in finding the humans exhibition since I didn't have a map anymore.

‘I didn’t say you could follow me.’

‘I’m gonna need your help finding my clue. Niragi stole my map.’

‘That’s not my problem. Figure it out yourself.’

‘Just this time, please! You said you’ve been to this museum before, so you can explain to me where the displays are and I’ll leave you alone, okay?’

Chishiya’s face was full of displeasure when he turned to me and sighed. He raised his hand and started gesturing toward different directions, explaining the routes that I should take. When he noticed my confused expression, he interrupted his instructions and looked away. ‘You’re just going to get lost anyway. I’ll show you where it is, but after that, you’re on your own.’

I was a little offended by his words, but glad that he agreed to guide me. I thanked him with a smile before sticking to his side. Chishiya was about to turn a corner when he abruptly stepped back and pulled me down into hiding, placing an index finger in front of his lips.

‘There’s a guard over there,’ he whispered, ‘we need to go through that room at the back, but there are no places to hide in there. When I give you the signal, run as fast as you can.’

Chishiya raised a hand while peeking over the corner and I waited. Then, he quickly lowered his hand before sprinting into the room in front of us, and I closely followed behind.

It was much darker inside, Chishiya’s white hoodie being the only thing I could see in front of me. When he suddenly dashed to the side, I couldn’t keep up with his speed and ended up bumping into the sign he had dodged.

The sharp metal corner scraped my side right above my other injury. I cursed under my breath, pressing a hand over my mouth to muffle a groan of pain while stumbling over the railings.

Once again, our collars turned on at the worst possible moment. Under the faint light, I noticed a bloodstain forming on my shirt.

‘We need to keep moving,’ Chishiya tugged on my arm and dragged me up ahead. I placed a hand over the painful area, trying to endure the huge discomfort.

As we passed through the entrance, a glass display with three human sculptures immediately caught my attention. They had different heights, resembling a person’s growth through life, and I recalled how my riddle referred to a baby, an adult, and an elder with a walking cane. I released myself from Chishiya’s grip and rushed toward the monitor while taking my phone out of my pocket.

‘There’s no time for that!’ Chishiya whispered-shouted at me.

‘No, I need to do this now! What if my next clue is even harder to find?’

‘Whatever, I won't wait for you. I’m leaving.’ Chishiya turned his back and left.

I focused my attention on the scanning process of this QR Code; it finally worked. Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I heard heavy footsteps closing by. I ran through the exit, turning the corner and spotting a set of elevators at the end of the corridor. Chishiya was in front of them, waiting for the doors to open.

Walking closer, I gave him a small wave while keeping a safe distance between us. I said I would leave him alone, and he said he wouldn't wait for me, so this felt quite awkward... Chishiya ignored me and turned up the volume on his iPod. By that action as well as the slight furrow in his brow, I could tell he was annoyed at my presence.

Inside the elevators, he pressed the button to the first floor and leaned against the wall. An uncomfortable silence grew between us, and I could hear the faint beat of his music.

The hem of my shirt was drenched in blood, and a broken stitch was piercing from under the cloth. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Chishiya glancing down at the bloodstain. Before I could face him properly, the elevator doors opened and he rushed out, making his way to the exit.

I raised my phone to examine my new clue: a set of cylindrical pieces that looked like the eyepiece of a telescope. I instinctively reached for my pocket where I kept the booklet, only to feel it empty. It dawned on me that Niragi had stolen it and I didn’t know where he could be.

Disappointment filled my body and my collar turned off. The announcer’s voice echoed through the room, there were thirty minutes left for the game.

Going up a long and exhausting set of stairs, I held my phone’s flashlight on to avoid more accidents in the dark. A voice could be heard coming from up ahead, gradually increasing in volume as I made my way up. And then I realized who the voice belonged to...

‘Come on, we have so much time left and no one’s around, it’s a great moment to have some fun together, don’t you think? You’ve seen what happened to the other girl…’

The scene in front of me made me nauseous. Niragi pinned Usagi against the wall, gripping both her wrists above her head and tracing the side of her torso with the taser gun. I was sure she had the physical capability to free herself, but she likely feared being killed while running due to the gun’s long range.

When Niragi noticed my presence, that awful smile on his face disappeared as he looked at me in disgust.

‘What are you staring at, huh?’ He aimed the gun in my direction and I stepped back, ‘This isn’t a public show for you to watch.’

Usagi immediately turned her head upon realizing that Niragi got distracted. She released herself from his grasp and kicked his stomach, sending him tumbling down the stairs.

As his body fell past me, I managed to avoid it and followed Usagi up. I couldn't hold back a chuckle as I heard Niragi cursing while he rolled down.

We stopped to catch our breaths upon arriving at the central hall.

‘I’m sorry you had to go through that... But it was quite satisfying to watch him fall like that.’ Her lips curled into a small grin in response.

‘Well, thank you for distracting him.’ Usagi glanced down at my collar, ‘Do you need help with finding your key? We still have a lot of time left-’ her eyes shifted downward and she noticed the bloodstain on my shirt. Usagi's eyes widened slightly as she asked if I was alright.

‘Oh, this…’ I looked down, hovering my hand over the blotch to cover the stitch poking from under the shirt.

‘It’s pretty bad right now, but I have someone to help me after I leave this place. I just need to find my key as soon as possible.’

I raised my phone and Usagi examined the image on the screen. ‘It looks like a telescope,’ she stated and pointed to her left, ‘I passed by one in that room earlier.’

When I followed her directions, I couldn't believe my luck when I saw it, right at the entrance of the room. The eyepiece was an exact match to the image on my phone.

I climbed over the small fence and began inspecting the telescope. Reaching my hand inside a very convenient hole in the mount, I found a small key hiding inside.

I unlocked my collar and jumped in excitement as a voice came from my phone announcing ‘game clear.’ I thanked Usagi and gave her a quick hug, wincing when my injury slightly pressed against her.

We walked in opposite directions after leaving the museum and I headed back to the Beach car. My adrenaline rush ceased as a wave of exhaustion filled my body and the pain in my hip had worsened to the point of being agonizing.

Chishiya was leaning over the passenger's seat door. He had a mixed expression on his face that suggested both satisfaction and annoyance at my survival.

The driver noticed me and explained we weren’t allowed to leave until the other two came back, or the game ended. I sighed at his words before moving closer to the car and leaning on it, hoping that time would go by quickly so that I could get this damn wound treated.

A few minutes passed and screams came from the entrance of the museum. Niragi angrily stumbled out of the building, yelling curses at that Beach girl while he followed her. She ran over and got inside the car, slamming the door beside her.

As Niragi approached, I moved to block the door with my body to keep him from going after her. I stared at him with a serious expression on my face, making it clear that I wouldn’t move out of the way. Chishiya let out a chuckle before distancing himself from us.

Niragi pressed the taser gun against my chest, his gaze piercing deeply into my eyes as he lowered his head. ‘Stay out of my business with others. Unless you want me to kill you, right here and right now.’ I shifted my gaze over to the purple bruises on his face and neck, the results of his well-deserved fall earlier.

The driver intervened, dragging Niragi away from me, ‘That’s enough already. Everyone is here, so let’s head back to the Beach.’

Niragi grunted at him, giving me one last threatening glare, and took his place on the passenger’s seat. The girl sat next to the window, her body trembling as tears fell down her cheeks. She glimpsed at me when I placed myself beside her and whispered a soft ‘Thank you.’

Chishiya walked inside, glancing down at my bloody shirt once again before looking up at my face. He quickly averted his gaze when our eyes met and faced outside the window beside him. The driver stepped on the gas and we finally left.

----------

I was the first to get out of the car when we arrived, struggling my way over to the main lobby. I asked the people inside about Ann, and they told me she hadn’t returned from her game yet.

Their words made me feel nauseous. Or maybe it was because the pain had somehow gotten worse. I lifted the hem of my shirt and examined the damage – My skin looked purple and swollen as blood seeped from the reopened cut, and many stitches were broken.

‘That doesn’t look good.’ Chishiya said as he stepped inside the lobby. The corners of his lips were slightly upturned, though his tone didn’t sound like he was poking fun at me. ‘Ann isn’t back yet, I assume?’

I shook my head in response. Chishiya observed my wound for a few moments, tilting his head as the small grin on his face faded away. I couldn’t guess what he was thinking, and his stare made me a little uneasy.

‘Come with me.’ He spoke without looking up, and his voice almost sounded kind.

‘... What?’

Without saying anything else, Chishiya headed toward the stairs. Something about the way he muttered those words had me curious, so I followed him.

Chishiya walked through a long corridor and led me inside a room, which I assumed was his. He dropped his iPod and earphones on the bedside table before turning on the coffee machine to heat up some water. He searched through the drawers and took out some medical tools.

‘You’ll have to lay on the bed for this.’

‘You’re going to take care of my injury?’

‘If you would rather keep bleeding, you can simply leave.’

‘...How do I know I can trust you with this?’

‘It’s your decision. However, you can’t tell anyone about this.’

I raised an eyebrow at him. There was something behind his eyes I couldn’t quite read, but he seemed serious about that. I lay down on the bed, holding my shirt just enough to expose the bloody mess on my side. Chishiya sat next to me and began preparing the materials.

After putting on rubber gloves, he doused a piece of cloth in an antiseptic solution and gently cleaned the skin around the wound. 

I winced in pain when he removed my broken stitches, though the re-stitching process didn't feel so bad. Chishiya carefully punctured my skin with the thread to close the cut, and his touch was so light I  hardly felt any pain.

It was clear from Chishiya's techniques that he had a lot of experience with this procedure. I felt his warm breath when he leaned over to examine the finished work, covering it with a new dressing.

‘Why did you decide to help me after you said you wouldn’t?’

‘Would you have preferred to be left to die?’

Chishiya's harsh tone didn't match his tender actions. But maybe this was part of his odd personality.

‘That’s not what I meant. Considering your attitude during the game, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you had left me there. I’m just curious, that’s all.’

Silence. Chishiya hadn’t looked at me since he offered to patch my wound, and now he had ignored me completely. He discarded the used materials in a plastic bag and dropped the metal tools into the coffee machine.

‘You’re not going to make coffee in that afterward, right?’

‘I don’t drink coffee. I only use this to sterilize my tools.’

I hummed in response and observed him for a few seconds.

‘You haven’t answered my other question yet.’

I waited, but once again, Chishiya didn’t reply. Sighing in defeat, I got up from the bed, holding the hem of my dirty shirt so it wouldn’t brush against the dressing. ‘Thanks, by the way.’

As I opened the door to leave, his voice came up from the other side of the room, almost inaudible.

‘I think you can still be useful.’

Turning my face back to him, he had a familiar sly grin on his face when he shot me a quick glance. I couldn’t tell if he expected me to read his expression, but he let out a snicker at the puzzled look on my face.

I rolled my eyes and left, slamming the door behind me before making my way back to my room.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 6; can't see my way out

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 3290

song recommendation: "One By One" by ONE OK ROCK

________________________________________________________

[GAME]

SCAVENGER HUNT

DIFFICULTY

SIX OF CLUBS

[RULES]

Players must find a key to unlock their collar to be able to leave the building.

Clues as to where the keys can be found will be sent to your phones.

Every 5 minutes, the players' collar LED will switch between ON and OFF.

If you get caught by the night guards patrolling the museum, it's GAME OVER.

If you try to leave the building while wearing a collar, it's GAME OVER.

[CLEAR CONDITION]

Unlock your collar and escape the building. The time limit is 1 hour.

‘A six of clubs game? Alright, this doesn’t sound too bad. At least they helped us with these floor maps.’

‘What do they mean by our collars LED switching between ON and OFF?’ The girl that was in the car with us spoke up, her voice quiet and shaky. But before anyone could answer her, all of the lights in the building went out.

‘What– What is the meaning of this? Is the game broken?’ A man yelled, his voice echoing inside the hall.

‘Hm. Interesting.’ Chishiya said to himself, turning on the flashlight on his phone. ‘So we will have to search for our keys in the dark.’

‘But if the whole building is dark and we have to use flashlights to move around, we are going to be easily spotted by those ‘night guards’, won’t we?’ I asked, looking at Chishiya.

‘Exactly. And I believe the collar's LED will make it worse for us.’

‘And here I thought this game wouldn’t be so bad.’

A voice resounded through the building:

[GAME START]

The clues will now be sent to your phones.

I didn’t know what kind of clues I would have expected from this game, but the reality was kinda disappointing. We had to solve a riddle to get to the key. I expected it to be difficult, but it was simply ridiculous.

‘They can’t be serious about this. Riddles for a scavenger hunt? Are we playing like kids now?’ Niragi grunted beside me before reading his riddle out loud, ‘I'm small and white, and I'm often found in groups with my brethren. Apply water and heat, and you will soften our hard facade. This sounds so stupid.’

‘Do you think you can solve that on your own?’ Chishiya teased him.

‘Haha, very funny. The answer is obviously rice.’

‘Rice…’ I quickly opened my booklet, ‘Wait, I remember seeing something about rice here!’

Rushing through the pages of the floor map, Niragi walked in uncomfortably closer and shone his flashlight over me. ‘Here, three instances where rice is mentioned, all of them in the north area of the 2nd floor. Should we go up there now?’

Niragi snickered before looking at me, ‘I guess you’re not as useless as I thought you would be.’ He walked past me, making his way to the elevator, and I followed. Chishiya was also tagging along with us.

‘Aren’t you going to look for the answer to your riddle?’ I looked back and asked him.

‘Mine is on the third floor.’

‘...Did you memorize the map in that short time you were looking over my shoulder?’

‘No. I’ve been to this museum before.’

‘Oh. I see.’ I felt a little embarrassed at how stupid my question was.

Reaching the 2nd floor, I spotted a small sign titled ‘Japanese People and Nature’.

‘People too? Maybe I’ll find the answer to my riddle here as well.’

Inside that room, right at the entrance, there were some pieces of rice illuminated by small lights inside the glass display. All the pieces were secured behind the glass, and it didn’t appear to have any keys nearby.

‘What now? Do I have to break the glass to search for the key inside?’ Niragi said and immediately lifted his foot, preparing to kick it. I yelled ‘NO!’, causing him to look at me with an irritated expression.

‘You think you can tell me what to do? You know I’m your boss here, don’t you?’

‘No, sorry, I didn’t mean to– I mean, there must be another option, because breaking the glass would make a lot of noise and would probably attract the night guards to us, don’t you think?’ I tripped over my words trying to ease the situation, and he seemed to consider what I said.

‘So? If you’re so smart , what do you suggest, then?’ He leaned over the wall, staring down at me.

The problem was, I couldn’t think of any alternatives. I began touching the wood around the displays, hoping to find some sort of secret opening, while Niragi kept his gaze on me. ‘Tch, I guess you are useless after all. I’ll just break this damn glass.’

He walked closer to the displays again when a strong violet light suddenly flashed around us. I shielded my eyes with my arms for a moment until I realized the lights were coming from our collars.

Niragi didn’t seem bothered by the lights. He broke the glass next to us, rummaging inside and destroying the pieces of rice looking for a key.

While he looked for his key, I thought about looking around for the exhibition I needed, until I noticed a spot of violet light outside moving closer to us. Chishiya stopped at the entrance, darting his eyes from Niragi to the glass shards all over the floor.

‘Not even 10 minutes have passed yet, and you’ve already made this much of a mess?’

Niragi quickly got up at the sound of Chishiya’s voice, ‘You again? Why don’t you go after your own clue?’

‘Already did it.’ Chishiya picked up his phone and read the riddle he had received, ‘Large as a mountain, small as a pea, endlessly swimming in a waterless sea. It’s about an asteroid. I just came back from the meteorites collection on the 3rd floor.’

‘And was that the right answer to your riddle? You still have your collar on.’ I looked at his neck, the deep violet light glowing under his face.

‘The riddle wasn’t pointing to the key.’ Chishiya came over to the rice exhibitions, carefully avoiding the glass shards on the floor. He stopped in front of a small monitor in front of the broken display and tapped on the screen, where a QR Code appeared. ‘You can scan it with the camera app on your phone, in case you didn’t know,’ he looked at Niragi with a mocking expression.

‘You really get on my nerves, you know that? Fuck off.’ Niragi moved closer to the monitor and scanned the QR Code. A notification sound came from his phone, and an image appeared below the riddle.

‘What the hell is this?’ Niragi was flipping his phone in all directions trying to make out anything from that image.

‘It’s your next clue. I believe that’s where the key is. I still have to figure out mine, too.’ Chishiya raised his phone, showing us a picture of a silver sphere. He, then, turned his face to me, ‘Have you solved your riddle yet?’

‘No, I was about to do it!’ I moved to the center of the room where a huge display showcased the historical evolution of Japanese people, from pre-history up to modern times. Now that I knew what to look for, thanks to Chishiya, I stopped in front of the monitor and scanned the QR Code with my phone.

Except… it didn’t work.

The voice on my phone said this was the wrong answer.

Both Chishiya and Niragi came over to me, with the latter asking what the fuck was taking me so long.

‘Well, now I’m confused. This is the only exhibition showing ‘people’ that I could find.’ I opened up my booklet to double-check, and Chishiya tried to read the riddle on my phone.

‘Are you sure the answer you’re looking for is ‘people’? What does yours say?’

I sighed before lifting my phone and reading my silly riddle out loud.

‘What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?’

Niragi cackled out loud after hearing it. ‘That’s even worse than mine!’

‘Yeah, I know, I know. But it’s also very easy and well-known, that’s why I’m confused as to why the scan didn’t work. I guess I’ll have to keep looking.’

‘Try looking for ‘human’ instead.’ Chishiya pointed it out, and it did make sense; I remembered seeing an area on the map called ‘human evolution’, so it was worth a shot.

As we were making our way out, I noticed a faint spot of light moving outside, but this one wasn’t violet. It could be coming from a player’s phone, but I had an awful gut feeling about it.

Niragi passed by me, still laughing out loud. Out of panic, I placed my hands over his mouth to shut him up, but he quickly grabbed my arms and pushed them.

‘What the fuck do you think you’re do-’

Raising a finger in front of my lips trying to shush him, I whispered ‘I think the night guard is outside.’

Chishiya lifted his hoodie to cover the light from his collar and peeked outside; ‘You're right. And the guard seems to have a gun strapped to their belt.’ He whispered and turned to face us, ‘There’s an elevator around the corner.’ He left the room, running toward the elevator and pressing the button to open it.

Niragi and I moved next, but before I could get close enough, he pushed me and I fell on my back.

‘Ah, sorry, can’t risk the guard coming inside while the doors are still closing, right?’ His tone was full of sarcasm. He had a disgusting smirk on his face as he waved at me before pressing a button inside the elevator; Chishiya was staring down at me with a neutral expression, though his brows were slightly furrowed.

Loud footsteps moved closer and closer to me; I glanced behind me and watched a night guard walking in my direction, reaching for the gun on their belt.

I tried to get up as fast as possible when I heard a scream followed by a whack – another guy slammed a fire extinguisher on the guard’s back, but they barely reacted and slowly turned their head at him, making that guy tremble in fear after his plan didn’t work.

The guard pointed their gun at that man and pressed the trigger, but no bullet shots were heard; the man began shaking violently before his whole body tensed up and he fell to the floor, now completely motionless.

It was a taser gun. And it was powerful enough to kill a person.

I stared at the scene in front of me, hearing the wires being pulled back inside the gun after the guard let go of the trigger. Suddenly, the collar of my shirt was pulled back with such strength and I was dragged inside the elevator.

The guard followed me with their eyes, aiming in my direction, but the elevator doors quickly closed before they could shoot. Our collars finally turned off, leaving us in total darkness.

Chishiya shone his phone flashlight at me and began talking, ‘You should’ve run the moment the night guard turned their back to you.’

‘You say that like it’s easy! I had just seen someone die in front of me, I was frozen in fear.’

‘It should be easy. You need to get used to that and move away fast, or else you’ll become an easy target. I won’t be there to save you next time.’

Chishiya’s words were blunt, and I recalled the moment he told me something similar during the Tag game. ‘Can’t stand the view of people dying? You’re not going to survive for too long like that.’

Still, I knew he was right, I would’ve died if it wasn’t for him. But I also knew I wouldn’t get used to the view of people dying near me so easily, and I didn’t get how he could be so apathetic toward death like that.

‘I will definitely be there next time to watch you die, though.’ Niragi was leaning over the wall, he had a small grin on his face that quickly faded away before his next words, ‘This idiot had been holding the elevator doors for you for too long, and you just sat there like a little prey waiting for its impending death. I was expecting to see you get shocked, but he dragged you here and ruined the moment.’

The doors opened, and both of them left without looking at me again. I finally got up to my feet and turned on the flashlight on my phone to look at the wall next to the elevator; we were now on the B1 floor.

I rushed to catch up to them. I didn’t know if I should keep following Niragi; he tried to get me killed, but he was still supposed to monitor me, wasn’t he? Following Chishiya could be a safer choice, since at least he came to save me, though he said he wouldn’t be so kind again and he seemed to be annoyed at me.

‘In the end, I need to survive on my own. And I need to be able to move fast.’

‘Oi, I need to check that map again.’ Niragi looked back at me. I reached inside my pockets, but they were empty. Anxiety filled my body and I gulped before slowly raising my head to look at Niragi – he had the most irritated expression I had ever seen on his face.

‘Don’t tell me you lost the damn map,’ he walked in my direction, and I moved back a few steps trying to keep the distance, ‘that was the only thing you were mildly useful for. Now you’ll just be a hindrance to me in this game.’ The look on his face was threatening, and he looked like he would kill me on the spot if he still had his gun.

‘We can still get another booklet! I’m sure there are some left at the central hall, which is just one floor above us-’

‘You go get it.’ Niragi cut me off. ‘This is your fault, so you go get it.’

‘Alright… I’ll do it.’ This guy was pissing me off so badly. But I still needed a booklet for myself since I had never been to this museum before. The idea of going up completely on my own made me anxious, but it would be a brief moment of peace away from these two.

I glanced at Chishiya for a moment, who was simply ignoring me and Niragi here. He was quietly watching something that looked like a pendulum, swinging back and forth in a corner.

Making my way upstairs, I walked over to the center and picked up another booklet, opening it on top of the table and shining my flashlight on it to get a better look. I wanted to find any other exhibitions that were related to people and get my clue as soon as possible.

As Chishiya suggested before, I looked for exhibitions that were titled ‘human’ instead of ‘people’ or ‘person’, and I found way too many instances of it. There was a huge area about human evolution, with specific exhibitions for each continent. ‘It will take some time to go through all of them, so I better go back fast.’

When I raised my flashlight, I noticed someone coming from upstairs – it was that climber woman. She also recognized me and walked over to me.

‘Hi! You’re that person from the Tag game, right?’

‘Yes, I am! Good to see you’re alive and well.’

She gave me a kind smile and we introduced ourselves to each other, before she mentioned being in a bit of a rush to get her key, explaining she needed to go downstairs. I told her I was also heading there, so I invited her to come along with me.

Back on the B1 floor, Niragi and Chishiya were arguing about something up ahead.

‘Oh, I forgot I’m stuck with those two for this game. I said we could go together, but that won’t be possible anymore, sorry.’

‘That’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’m going ahead then!’

Usagi quickened her pace moving toward the entrance to the Global Gallery when a night guard walked out from it and took notice of her. They immediately pointed the taser gun at her, but she was fast enough to run away from their aim.

I moved back to hide behind a wall, turning off my flashlight and noticing Chishiya and Niragi hiding in other corners of the room. I thought we all would be safe for a moment until our collars decided to turn on. Worst timing ever.

Footsteps came in our direction as the night guard made their way to us, and I got up to my feet heading for the stairs. I heard an electric shock sound, turning my head back to see that the guard had barely missed Chishiya. Glancing over at him, something else caught my attention – something was drawn on the silver sphere he was observing, though it disappeared when he moved far away from it.

It was like a cartoon lightbulb lit up above my head as I finally realized why our collars had violet lights, instead of normal white ones: They most likely had a blacklight LED, and our next clues were drawn with invisible ink.

I searched around for Chishiya, hoping that I could share my theory with him, and he was already watching me with a smirk on his face; it reminded me of the way he looked at me during the Tag game when he saw me staring at the safe zone door.

Shit, I really wanted to go over there to check the drawing, but the night guard was still nearby. I squatted and quietly tried to move closer to the sphere, but the guard spotted me and pointed their gun in my direction.

Before they could properly aim, though, someone – no, Usagi came running and jumped over their back, the guard struggled to dislodge her. They spun their whole body to fling her away and she hit the ground with a loud noise. My eyes darted between her and the guard as they looked over to her, readying their gun once again.

Something snapped inside of me, and I dashed in their direction. My heart raced with adrenaline when I tackled the guard and we both fell to the ground, making the guard drop both their taser gun and flashlight. 

I sat back and looked up; the guard was already getting up while staring at me, and I felt my blood running cold. They walked in closer and I quickly scooched back, when my hand touched something on the floor – the taser gun.

Stunned and frightened, I could hardly think straight; my body moved too fast for me to realize, and suddenly I was holding the taser gun with both my hands, pointing at the guard in front of me as they had stopped moving. My arms were trembling and I couldn’t aim properly, but this wasn’t a normal gun – unlike a bullet wound, this could strike anywhere on their body and the shock would still kill them.

Was I really thinking of killing this person?

‘Would I even be able to do it?’

I had no time to reconsider anymore. The night guard sprinted toward me, and I pulled the trigger. A blood-curdling scream left their mouth when they received the shock, and soon they fell forwards to the ground, silent and unmoving, right next to me.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 5; we'll be talking 'bout tonight

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 2735

________________________________________________________

Saying the Beach was big would have been an understatement. This place was insane . Kuina showed me around, with the final part of her ‘tour’ being the external area with the pool and bar. It was crowded with people having fun in many ways, it looked nothing like the apocalyptical chaos I had been in the days before. 

'Everyone here looks a bit too happy considering the cruel games that we are forced to participate in… But I guess it’s their attempt to escape reality for a moment.'

Kuina and I sat on the edge of the pool and chatted for hours. She told me about her first days in this destroyed ‘version’ of Tokyo, and that she has been fighting to survive and return to her mother who had been extremely sick for months. I could see how kind and warm Kuina was, she felt like a great person to have around.

When the sun began to set, most of the people around us headed toward the main lobby. Kuina told me it was ‘time for games’ and that she needed to go as well since her visa was due to expire tomorrow.

Following her inside, the lobby was crowded with people cheering for Hatter, who was leaning over the balcony on the upper floor. He was giving a pretty weird speech – some words of encouragement for people that would risk their lives to help others leave this world – and soon everyone was back to screaming in excitement while they formed groups to play games.

‘Just now he kinda sounded like a cult leader, and everyone seems to have fallen for it so easily.’

‘Yeah, it’s pretty awkward, to be honest.’ Kuina was holding a piece of paper with some numbers written on it, ‘I need to change my clothes before I can meet up with my group, so I must leave now. Take care of yourself!’ She gave me a quick hug and walked away. Shortly after, Chishiya showed up from behind a pillar.

‘A cult leader, huh?’ He chuckled.

‘Were you eavesdropping on us?’

‘Not on purpose, no, I just happened to be passing by.’

Chishiya had a faint grin on his face that made me doubt his words. I didn’t know what kind of relationship he had with Kuina, but he still came off as a little suspicious to me. There was a moment of silence between us before I tried to start a conversation with him.

‘You’re not playing any games tonight either?’

‘I’m not. Still got many days on my visa.’

‘So what are you up to here?’

‘Just observing everyone. I’m fairly sure a portion of those people won’t return tonight.’ He finished his sentence with a snicker, then turned to face me. ‘And you?’

‘I was just following Kuina. I hope they won’t call me for a game anytime soon, I would like to enjoy most of my visa days in peace.’

‘So they haven’t made your trial arrangements yet?’ Chishiya raised an eyebrow at me and I tilted my head in confusion. ‘I guess not,’ he sighed, ‘but they are going to call you in for a trial soon.’

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s when you have to play a game along with an executive member. They will monitor you and determine if you can be useful to them.’

Oh, I was not liking what I was hearing. ‘And what would happen if I’m not approved?’

Chishiya didn’t answer, he only stared at me with a mischievous look in his eyes as a small smirk formed on his lips.

‘So, basically, I guess I’ll die if I’m not good enough?’

He chuckled at my words, and another moment of silence began. I didn’t feel like keeping a conversation, so I made my way to the cafeteria, feeling his gaze observing me while I walked away.

Pacing around the indoor area while eating some pudding, I overheard some commotion in the distance. A group of men holding guns passed by me, chitchatting and laughing among themselves as they walked over to another man standing still, with a machine gun over his shoulder. When they got close, the man with the machine gun yelled at the group, asking what the hell took them so long.

‘You all know what happens if you disobey my orders.’ I couldn’t see his face, but when he hunched over them saying those words I could feel his intimidating vibe from far away. The group walked away, leaving him there. He turned his head and locked eyes with me with a creepy gaze.

‘What are you looking at, huh?’

His words sent a shiver down my spine, ‘Nothing! Nothing, really.’ I forced a smile and quickly tried to leave, when he called over, making me stop in my tracks.

‘Oi, where do you think you’re going?’

‘To… the patio? I wanna eat my pudding outside.’ 

‘You can’t go over there now,’ his footsteps slowly made their way in my direction. Stopping right in front of me, he raised my chin with the barrel of his gun making me look up at him, ‘There’s nothing interesting for someone like you on the patio at this hour.’ He looked into my eyes for a few seconds, sneering, until he finally let go of my face and left.

----------

The following days at the Beach were a lot better than the first. I spent most of my time with Kuina – I had told her about my encounter with the weird machine gun guy, whom she said was named Niragi, and that I should avoid crossing paths with him as much as I could.

During the night, Ann called me over to the medical room to change the dressing on my injury; She said the infection didn't show signs of spreading, and I would have to keep the stitches for at least a week.

'By the way, has anyone told you about your game trial yet?'

‘Uh… Chishiya mentioned it but he didn’t explain much.’

'The trials are set for the new members who have potential in Hatter's eyes. Players are taken to participate in games with an executive member supervising them, and we make a report about their performance. Usually, those happen within the first days of someone's stay at the Beach, however, during our last executive meeting, I requested that they postpone your trial because of your injury, but...'

Her face now showed a low-key disappointed expression, and she continued, 'I wanted to arrange your trial with me next week, but Hatter informed me another executive already set you up for tomorrow, though he didn’t tell me who did it.’

My blood ran cold at her words. I would have to participate in a game tomorrow already. And I had a terrible feeling about that.

Ann escorted me to the exit doors saying she hoped my game wouldn't be physically strenuous, and that I should be careful with my wound nonetheless since she would also be out for a game tomorrow.

Kuina was waiting for me outside, her grin disappearing when she noticed my frown. 'What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?'

I explained to her what Ann told me as we made our way upstairs, and Kuina grunted in irritation listening to me, before trying to lift my mood again.

'Hey, at least you'll have almost an entire day to prepare yourself for that. Whatever your game is, I'm sure you will clear it and come back!'

Her words comforted me a bit. We parted ways upon reaching the dorm area stairs, since we stayed on different floors. Inside my room, I jumped on the bed to get some sleep.

----------

Unfortunately, I could barely rest that night, having constantly shifted on my bed due to anxiety. I felt my stomach rumble and I forced myself to get up, heading to the cafeteria.

I picked up a bowl of miso soup and a portion of rice. Hearing my name being called, Kuina waved at me from one of the tables and I made my way over to sit next to her.

'Did you have a good night of sleep?' She asked before shoving two whole dumplings in her mouth.

'Nope, not at all. I woke up even more tired than when I went to bed.'

'Aw, sorry to hear that. But you don't look too bad right now, so hopefully, you'll get some energy after eating!'

Kuina poked my cheek as she spoke. Someone came over to our table, standing across from where we were sitting; Chishiya observed both of us while munching on a sandwich.

'You two look like you haven't eaten in days.'

'A girl's gotta keep her health in check!' Kuina pointed at Chishiya with one of the dumplings, 'And my friend here will need a lot of energy today.'

'I've heard you'll be participating in a game tonight.' He tilted his head a little, observing me.

'Yeah, unfortunately. You were right about my trial happening soon.'

'Oh, so it’s your game trial? Interesting.'

I glanced at him, confused by his tone. We looked at each other for a few seconds and, taking the last bite of his sandwich, he walked towards the door.

'You're not joining us?' Kuina called out.

'There's something important I need to take care of right now.' With a quick wave, he left the cafeteria.

'He doesn’t seem to be very sociable.'

'No, not much.'

We finished our meal and left. Kuina and I sat on the beach chairs near the pool, where we talked for a while before she decided ‘she could use a nap after eating so much.’ Observing the people having fun in front of me, I quickly got lost in my thoughts.

Worry about tonight's game consumed me; I didn't know what it meant to be 'supervised' during a game trial, and I wasn’t sure if Chishiya’s reaction to my question yesterday meant they would kill me if I did badly.

The hours passed by, and players were leaving the pool area to get ready for the upcoming games. I patted Kuina on the arm to wake her up.

'Is it time already?' She sat up rubbing her eyes.

'I think so. Let’s go inside.'

The place was crowded with people rushing for the table, looking for their names on the scattered papers. Making my way among them, I picked up the paper with my name, with 'Group 8' written on it, as well as the car plate that would give me a ride to my game.

'I guess this is it.' I sighed deeply, ‘Hopefully, I'll be back to see you again.'

'There's no 'hopefully' here, you will make it back to me!' Kuina held both my shoulders and shook me playfully before I left.

The Beach garage was even more crowded than the main lobby, with people running around in circles looking for their cars. I spotted the plate written on my piece of paper and made my way over, noticing someone sitting on the car hood. When I got close enough to see who that was, my pace slowed down, and all encouragement I got from Kuina disappeared.

'Yo, it took you some time to find the car, huh?'

Niragi shifted his position to face me properly, an amused grin forming on his face as he eyed me up and down.

'He's the one who arranged my trial? He wanted to be my supervisor?'

Hesitantly, I walked closer, avoiding eye contact with him. He got up to his feet and grabbed the door handle before I could reach for it.

'I'm hoping you'll entertain me tonight. You better do.'

I swallowed dryly, carefully choosing my next words as curiosity grew inside of me.

'Can you tell me why you wanted to be my supervisor?'

Niragi tilted his head, the grin on his face growing bigger.

'When Hatter shared what you did during the five of spades game, I thought it was hilarious. Running around desperately trying to clear the game, even after you got shot? I wanted to see that for myself!' He finished his sentence with a laugh.

In the end, he didn't want to supervise me to evaluate my usefulness. He wanted to use me for his sick ideas of entertainment, and would likely use me as bait if he thought fit. I tensed up, thinking that the one supposed to watch over me would actually try to sabotage me.

Suddenly, Niragi stopped laughing, and his whole face grimaced in disgust while looking at something behind me. I turned my face to see what caused his reaction, and Chishiya was walking over to us with an even more amused grin on his face.

'What do you think you’re doing here?' Niragi snarled at him.

'I am part of your group for tonight's game.'

'Huh? No, you're not. I personally picked everyone in my group, and your stupid name is not on the list.'

'Really? I believe you've made a small mistake, then.' Chishiya raised a piece of paper showing his name, group number 8, and the car plate we were next to. 'I know your group needs five members, and I am the last one you need. Shall we go, then?'

Niragi snatched the piece of paper from Chishiya's hand, examining it before crumbling it.

'Tch, it's too late to check for this mistake now. Let's move.' Niragi sat on the passenger's seat, slamming the door beside him and adjusting his machine gun between his legs. Opening the back door, a girl was already sitting inside, looking away from us. I sat in the middle and Chishiya got in last, closing the door beside him and leaning over the window.

'Oi, Chishiya, just so you know–' Niragi spoke without turning his head back, 'if you do anything to ruin the game for me, I'll kill you.'

'Sure, sure.' Chishiya didn't seem bothered by a single word he said. With the corners of his lips slightly upturned, he put on his earphones and leaned against the window, resting his face on his hand.

The man in the driver's seat stepped on the gas and drove off.

----------

The ride was quite long. Being in the middle, I was able to watch the empty streets through the windshield, the intense darkness in the distance contrasted with the glow from the headlights in front of the car. Stopping in front of a huge open area with a large building at the back, we finally got out of the car.

A big sign stated that no weapons were allowed inside, causing Niragi to make an irritated noise as he put his gun inside the trunk of the car. When we got close enough, I was able to read the name of the place.

‘National Museum of Nature and Science’

Mixed feelings were bubbling inside of me. This museum had been on my bucket list of places to visit in Tokyo, and the reason I could finally be here was to enter a game of life or death. I didn’t know what kind of game would take place yet, but I was sure I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the exhibitions like a normal visitor.

Many people were already waiting inside the central hall. As I quickly scanned over the place, all players were wearing some kind of collar. In a corner, I saw that climber woman from the Tag game; she didn’t seem to notice me, as she was focused looking at a booklet showing the floor map of the museum.

There were three tables in the middle of the hall – one with collars, one with phones, and one with booklets of the floor map. We put on the collars, which locked in behind our necks with a click , and chose our phones.

FACIAL RECOGNITION IN PROGRESS. PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT.

ONE MINUTE UNTIL REGISTRATION CLOSES

I decided to pick up one of the booklets as well. I sighed skimming over the pages, reading the names of so many exhibitions I wouldn’t be able to see properly. Chishiya walked in closer, eyeing the map from over my shoulder, and I shifted my hands to help him have a better look at it.

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED

THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 20 PARTICIPANTS

THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE

I closed the booklet in my hands and looked at my phone, preparing myself for what was coming.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 4; i know that i'm trying

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 2683

________________________________________________________

Frozen in silence, I slowly raised both of my hands. The gun felt cold on the back of my head, with how strong that person had been pressing it.

'What do you want with Aguni?' A very deep, low voice spoke from behind me.

'Sorry, I don’t know who Aguni is.' My voice came out shaky.

'Just now you were staring at Aguni’s car. Don’t try to fool me.'

I took a deep breath before I began talking again, 'I’m sorry, I really don’t know who that is. I wasn’t observing anyone in particular, I just got curious when I heard a car engine since I hadn’t seen or heard any cars for days now…'

The man didn’t say anything, but I could feel his creepy gaze on me. He aggressively opened the zipper on my backpack and rummaged inside. Reaching for the smaller pocket at the front, I'm pretty sure he had snatched out the seven of diamonds card I had in there.

Soon, he put away the gun. I was about to turn my face to look at him, when a bag was placed over my head and, for a millisecond, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck.

----------

My body was shaking again, but not as in fear or anxiety; Wherever I was, it felt like being inside a roller coaster without a safety belt. Also, it smelled really bad, but it was too dark to see anything.

Memories slowly came back to me, I realized the darkness was due to a black bag being over my head, and soon I felt a strong pain coming from the back of my neck.

I had been kidnapped.

When the car abruptly stopped, I was launched forward and bumped my face on the seat in front of me. 'OW!' I raised my hand to touch my forehead, groaning in pain.

'What the fuck? How is this person awake already?'

The man who had a gun to my head said in a surprised tone, scaring me. 'I guess you didn’t hit them hard enough.' Another masculine voice replied, mocking the kidnapper. 'Take them to Mira.'

I heard the car door opening and someone dragged me out violently, throwing me over their shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes. I was carried around for a while and placed on top of a couch when someone removed the bag from my head.

Blinking fast, trying to get used to the strong yellow lights, I looked around trying to make out where I was; a small room with fancy decorations, a small table with a tea set in front of me, and another couch across from it.

When the door opened, a beautiful woman with long, silky black hair came inside, greeting me with a smile on her face.

'Good evening. It must have been a turbulent ride for you. I apologize for the rough ways our militants work.' 

Her voice gave me the absolute chills. She sounded very calm and polite, yet had a very assertive tone that made me feel so vulnerable next to her, even though she didn’t look threatening.

'My name is Kano Mira, but you may call me Mira. You have been brought to the Beach, our shelter, our utopia.' The smile on her face waned a bit, 'I am sorry that I cannot tell you anything else yet. Our Number One is responsible for introducing the Beach to newcomers, though unfortunately, he is not available right now. You will be assigned a room to stay in for the night, and he will meet up with you in the morning.' She raised her hand, signaling something to the man behind me. 'Kiriu Genki will escort you. I hope you have a good night of sleep, and we will see each other tomorrow.'

She finished her sentence with another smile, and this man, Kiriu Genki, grabbed my arm, yanking me outside. After a quite long walk, we stopped in front of a room where the door stood slightly open, the key stuck in the keyhole with super glue.

The man who had been silent this whole time spoke up, 'There are militants patrolling the entrance every night. Do not try to escape, unless you want to die.' And, with that, he finally left. I closed the door shut, all I could do since the lock was ruined, and studied the room I would stay in.

The place didn't look bad at all. Pretty small, but the bed looked comfortable, and there was a bathroom in the corner. A big window took up almost an entire wall, and I could see some people outside, walking around in swimwear.

Also, the sky was pitch black. I didn't know how long I had been blacked out for, and with no way to check the hours, I should go to bed already, since people would be back for me in the morning. I felt uneasy at the fact that I couldn't lock the door, knowing there must be more armed people walking outside. Still, I had no choice but to try to sleep.

----------

Jolting awake, scared by the loud banging on the door, Kiriu’s voice came from outside: ‘Oi, get up already! Number One wants to have a word with you!’

Quickly putting on my shoes and brushing my hair with my fingers, I walked outside to see that Kiriu had already left. I ran to catch up to him as he led me inside a huge room, mostly empty except for two chairs, a table to the side, and a few people – all wearing swimwear – leaning over the walls with serious looks on their faces.

As I sat down on one of the chairs, a few other people started to come inside: that woman with long, black hair from yesterday, a man wearing glasses and a dark blue button-up, a woman in sunglasses and jeans shorts, and that guy with the white hoodie from my last game.

The first three moved to stand in a line in front of me, while I was still observing the white-hoodie man leaning over a wall in the corner as he gave me a little wave.

‘Good morning! I hope you had a good rest.’ Bringing my attention back to those in front of me, Mira greeted me with a smile.

‘I believe Mira already told you our methods seem rough, but you were caught stalking one of our cars with two Beach members inside. We want to hear your motives.’ The man in glasses said, his professional tone not matching his floral blue shorts and sandals.

I cleaned my throat before I explained, ‘I already told Kiriu this before, but I wasn’t stalking anyone. I was just curious that I had spotted a car since I hadn’t seen one in days.’

‘We make use of old cars that do not rely on electricity to work, after all the power was cut off in the entire city of Tokyo,’ The woman in sunglasses replied to me, ‘there aren't many of those left, but we secured all the ones we could find. They belong to the Beach now.'

As soon as she finished talking, the doors opened with a loud sound and another man came in, wearing a long coat and orange shorts, as well as sunglasses.

‘So, you’re the newcomer that was brought in last night. You can call me Hatter. Welcome to the Beach!’ He leaned over my chair, his face so close to mine I could see his eyes through the sunglasses, ‘We have the answers to all questions you may have.’

‘Answers? You mean you know the truth behind those… games?’ I asked with curiosity, my voice probably going higher than intended. Hatter stared into my eyes for a few seconds and, with a big smile on his face, he looked up snapping his fingers.

Two men walked over to a big wooden wall and dragged it open, revealing another wall with all the cards from a normal playing deck painted on, most of them sprayed over with an X – the exceptions being a few numbered cards, as well as all the aces and face cards. Hatter walked over to that wall, spreading his arms and saying “This is the answer, the truth! The only way to end this nightmare we have been put in!”

He turned his face back to me, explaining everything about this “truth” he glorified so much: The members of the Beach were tasked with collecting all of the playing cards from the games that happened in Tokyo, and a full deck of cards would allow a single person to be able to return to the original world. Games happened every night all over the city, and duplicate cards were also being collected, to form another full deck and allow one more person to leave, following the ranking system set at the Beach.

‘People raise in ranks by how helpful they have been to the Beach. The more games you play the more cards you can bring to us, and your rank will go up. Even better if you get high-difficulty cards, just like this one.’ Hatter walked closer to me, holding the seven of diamonds card I picked up during my first game. ‘It seems you’ve only managed to collect one card, but a seven difficulty is pretty impressive.’

‘So… you're going to force me to play more games for you?’ I hated the idea. Being forced into more games sounds worse than joining them by accident. ‘What if I refuse to?’

Hatter chuckled. ‘Oh, no, you can’t leave now that you’re here. You are now part of our organization. But no need to worry, you won’t be playing games every single night. Though I heard you did pretty good in last night’s game, is that right, Chishiya?’ Hatter directed his attention to the white-hoodie man at the corner.

‘I would say they were a bit more impressive than I expected,’ Chishiya started talking and moved closer to where Hatter was sitting, a smirk forming on his face, ‘I honestly expected them to die really fast. They were playing all alone, but still trying hard to be useful to others and help complete the game’s objective. They even managed to avoid dying by the tagger holding a machine gun. It was an interesting turn of events.’ He was looking at me in amusement with every word he said. Even if he was ‘complimenting’ me, it still felt like he was looking down on me condescendingly.

‘I like the sound of what I’m hearing! I’m sure you will be of much help to the Beach, then. But I must say, there are a few rules you need to follow during your stay,’ Hatter paced around as he explained the rules: First, always wear swimsuits at the Beach. Second, all the playing cards belonged to them. And third… He stopped walking, and looked at me with a very serious expression, ‘Death to the traitors.’ His words made me shiver.

Soon, he was smiling again, like he hadn’t just threatened my life: ‘Other than that, you’re free to do anything you want here! Have all the fun you wish and enjoy your life!’ With that, he left the room, taking my seven of diamonds card with him.

Other people in the room also began to leave, and as I got up from my chair, the woman in sunglasses came over to talk to me, ‘I noticed you have injured your hip, and how much the blood has spread over your clothes. If you would follow me down to the medical room, I can help you with that. My name is Ann Rizuna.’ She had a kind smile on her face. I nodded and followed her outside as she guided me to the medical room.

I was anxious to ask about a few more things, but I didn’t know if I should, or if she would even answer me.

‘You seem very lost in your thoughts right now. You want to ask me some questions, don’t you?’ The sudden voice startled me a bit, as Ann was looking back to my face, grinning. ‘Can she read people’s minds?’

‘Yeah, I do but… I’m not even sure what to ask. If anything, Hatter’s explanation only made me more confused about everything.’ Ann chuckled at my comment but didn't say anything.

Inside the medical room, I sat on the metal balcony at the center, lifting my shirt just enough to expose where the bullet had grazed. ‘Excuse me.’ She leaned over, examining my wound. ‘It looks a little infected, and you will need stitches.’

Ann cleaned around the cut, the pain stinging with every touch. After patting it dry she began stitching it closed. She finished it by placing a simple dressing over the stitches with tape, ‘to prevent anything from scratching it or pulling them open.' and she allowed me to leave.

Back to the main corridors, I saw Chishiya waving at me, with a woman in a dark blue swimsuit standing beside him. I curiously walked over to them, receiving a smirk from Chishiya and a warm smile from the woman. Pressing a quit-smoking aid between her teeth, she greeted me:

'Hi, I'm Kuina, nice to meet you! Chishiya told me you're the newbie and I wanted to come over and say hi!'

She looked so friendly and kind it outshined the man beside her, hands tucked inside his pockets, observing me with an analyzing gaze. I reciprocated Kuina's smile and introduced myself to them.

'I wanted to guide you to your new room by myself, but Kuina really wanted to tag along. Also, I'm here to give you this.' Chishiya took something from his pocket and placed it in my hands – a locker wristband numbered 320.

Picking it up and wearing it on my wrist, I gave him a wary look. This man didn’t look very trustworthy, he could start mocking me again for no reason at any moment. Still, why did he want to be the one to welcome me?

'Come on! We'll show you your new room, and then I can take you for a walk around the Beach!' Kuina excitedly grabbed my arm and began leading me to the second floor, her pace quite fast like she didn't want to waste time.

They brought me over to room 209. Giving two knocks on the door, Chishiya told me to memorize this number so I wouldn't get lost and accidentally enter other people's rooms. There it is. That mocking tone again.

Inside my new room, it looked very similar to the previous one, with just some more pillows on the bed and more furniture around. Searching through the dresser, I already expected it to only have swimsuits, but these looked pretty uncomfortable; Kuina laughed when I grimaced at the clothes.

Inside the bathroom, I quickly washed myself, carefully avoiding the wound dressing. Aside from some bruises on my arms and legs, I had dirt and dried blood almost everywhere. Putting on a simple swim shirt and floral beach shorts, I probably looked like an old man traveling to Hawaii, just without the small hat and sunglasses. Unfortunately, these were the least awkward clothes inside that dresser.

'Done?' Kuina offered her hand to me, almost yanking me outside. I looked around searching for Chishiya, but he was nowhere to be seen. Kuina giggled while looking at me.

‘Oh, he does that all the time, disappearing without notice and then suddenly showing up out of nowhere. It feels like he’s a ghost sometimes, but I’m used to it, so you shouldn’t worry. I'll take you to my favorite places at the Beach first! We'll be able to have some fun together since Chishiya never accepts any of my invitations.'

Chishiya… Could these two be close? Friends, even? With that arrogant exterior, he didn't look like the type to have friends, even less someone outgoing like Kuina.

I also felt like I would be seeing him quite often from now on.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 3; at the starting gun

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 3213

song recommendation: "The Last Time" by ONE OK ROCK

________________________________________________________

I walked up to Arisu and Karube as that guy with the dark blue cap was already asking them questions. When I came closer, they both greeted me. I was glad to be able to play a game with people I was familiar with, ' but what if I did something that could kill them?'

Before I could say anything, the voice from the phone spoke up again:

[GAME]

A GAME OF TAG

DIFFICULTY

FIVE OF SPADES

'Five of spades?' Karube repeated.

'It’s a physical game.' Another man’s voice came up from behind me, as if he had just appeared out of thin air. 'Strength is everything here. I’m Nitobe. Nice to meet you.' The man with a black hat continued, offering a handshake to Karube, but funnily enough, he got rejected.

'Each mark has a different meaning?' Arisu stepped forward, directing his attention to the man.

'Exactly!' He offered a handshake to Arisu, which he awkwardly accepted, and Nitobe continued 'The mark on a trump card signifies the game’s genre. Club refers to a team battle, and Diamond refers to a battle of wits.'

I felt weird at what he said about diamond games. My game didn’t feel like a battle of wits, but now that I think about it… 'I thought we were supposed to help each other, though no one even bothered to look at the other players. Were we supposed to play solo, with no regard for the others around us?' I wondered if the game was supposed to have only one survivor, remembering how I thought I could have saved those two near the end.

'As for Heart… It’s the most troublesome one. It’s a game of betrayal, where you play with people’s hearts.' He had been suspiciously giggling this whole time until his face suddenly turned dark and serious at that last sentence.

'What about the numbers?' Arisu asked him. 'The difficulty level. The higher the number, the harder it is to clear.' 

[RULES]

Run away from the tagger.

…

'That’s it? The voice is not going to give us any more information?'

I looked up at Arisu as he looked at Karube, and we both asked at the same time 'Who’s the tagger?', Karube only replied, 'How should I know?'. Yeah, fair enough. The voice continued:

[CLEAR CONDITION]

Discover the safe zone hidden in one of the building rooms within the time limit.

You clear the game when this objective is fulfilled.

Time limit, 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes have passed, the time bomb hidden in the building will explode.

My blood ran cold at that last rule. A bomb. I was in a game with bombs once again.

Everyone moved inside the building to play the game. I gulped, still processing the fact that I was at risk of being blown up again. I wanted to tag along with Arisu and Karube, but Nitobe was already following them like a parasite; That guy gave me the creeps, so I chose not to stay around him. 

I walked up to the seventh floor, thinking that if I could look down and keep an eye on the 'tagger' it would be easier to avoid them. The voice from my phone announced the game would start right now.

The tagger is on the move.

A trumpet sound played and everything was silent for a moment. I was alone in one of the corridors paying attention to any sounds around me; that’s when I heard the elevator doors opening on the floor right below mine, followed by a set of slow, loud footsteps. I was scared that those footsteps would come up the stairs to my floor, but when they slowly faded away I realized I was safe… For now.

I ran over to the corner of this corridor and began trying out the doors – the faster I could find that safe zone, the faster I would be out of this game.

Suddenly, I heard something from the distance; It sounded like gunshots, but very fast. 'The tagger has a gun? So now I have to worry about a bomb AND a gun?'

Anxiously, I continued checking the doors, having reached the intersection between the three areas of this floor. Walking over to the other corner, I noticed the man with a white hoodie leaning over the balcony, observing the other players. I walked up to him asking 'Have you checked the doors on this corridor already?'. Without looking back at me, he replied 'No. I already know the safe zone is not on this floor. That would be too easy', finishing his sentence with a chuckle.

I raised an eyebrow at him and moved forward to try the doors anyway. It didn’t hurt to try, and I definitely didn’t like his attitude. I kept hearing more gunshots coming from the floors below, and I was holding myself back to avoid turning back and seeing dead bodies again.

For a moment, I thought if I should risk checking the other floors, or just hope that other people were doing the same there. Suddenly, I heard Arisu yelling, and I moved over to the balcony to find him running across the third floor.

'EVERYONE! THE TAGGER IS CURRENTLY AT THE SECOND LEVEL OF THE CENTRAL AREA! THE TAGGER HAS BAD VISION BECAUSE OF HIS MASK! LET’S INFORM EACH OTHER OF THE TAGGER’S LOCATION AND SEARCH FOR THE SAFE ZONE TOGETHER!'

'A mask? Why would the tagger choose to wear a mask if that’s going to give him a big disadvantage?'  

'It’s a good idea, but no one will respond.' The man with the white hoodie spoke from that same corner he had been standing on, though now he was facing me. 'If I see the tagger, I will respond. This can save someone’s life.' I only thought to myself, not feeling like starting an argument with this man.

A feminine voice yelled from a few floors below, 'THE TAGGER IS MOVING FROM THE FOURTH LEVEL OF THE CENTRAL AREA! ANYONE NEARBY, RUN!'. Soon after, I saw her running towards that lady with the glasses, telling her to run away. Someone else came in behind her – a tall figure with a horse mask. 'When Arisu mentioned a mask, I would have never expected THIS kind of mask.'

The girl with the teal jacket jumped over the balcony, climbing up the pipes to the upper floor, while the lady was killed on the spot by the tagger. He tried to shoot at the woman going up, but I think his mask made it difficult to find her; he just turned back to fire another round of gunshots on the already dead body of that lady. The sight was so cruel, I closed my eyes and lowered my head, wishing another death scene wouldn’t be stuck replaying inside my mind.

'Can’t stand the view of people dying?' the white-hoodie man said in a mocking tone, 'You’re not going to survive for too long like that.' I looked at him, very upset at his comment; he ridiculed me for not staying calm over watching people die, and he also talked like those deaths were meaningless.

'You must see people be murdered like this every day to make such insensitive comments.'

'I do.'

His words bothered me once again. ' Does he participate in games every day to see people die this often? Could he be finding amusement in these messed up situations?'

I didn’t want to keep this conversation going, I couldn’t let myself get distracted by someone like this, while an armed man walked around the building shooting people.

Moving down the stairs, I finally decided to check the doors on the sixth floor.

Seven minutes until the game ends. There are currently eight survivors.

Gunshots were fired somewhere near me. I quickly looked over to check the tagger’s position, but this time he wasn’t chasing anyone in particular; he was shooting at someone from pretty far away. 'Did he get tired of not having anyone to chase and is now trying to shoot at people from the balcony?'

The thought was already weird in itself, but things looked more bizarre when the tagger didn’t stop shooting even after the man fell to the floor, out of his shooting range. It didn’t even look like the tagger was trying to kill that man, or the guy trying to save him – Arisu. He’s putting himself at risk to help that man.

The walls surrounding the door in front of them, as well as the balcony they were hiding behind, were covered in bullet holes. It looked more like a warning.

Could it be…?

Could the tagger be warning them to stay away from that door?

'Could that door be the safe zone? Or where the bomb was hidden?'

A familiar voice came from above, the man in the white hoodie was looking down at me from the balcony with a smirk on his face, 'Did you notice it, too?' he chuckled once again, moving back as I heard him walk away.

'THE TAGGER IS ON THE EAST AREA OF THE FIFTH FLOOR, WALKING OVER TO THE CENTRAL AREA!' I shouted to warn anyone nearby.

Six minutes and thirty seconds left.

I wondered if I could run down the stairs to check that door on the fourth floor, but what if I met up with the tagger on the way? I couldn’t guess if he would move up or down, my only indication of his position when I couldn’t see him was the sound of his footsteps and gunshots firing.

Still, I thought it was a risk worth taking. I wanted to be brave like Arisu was a few moments ago.

Five minutes remaining. I heard the tagger’s footsteps again, and I stopped moving. Standing still in silence, trying to make out where the footsteps were coming from and where they were heading to, before I could proceed to my destination. A voice began yelling, taunting the tagger to follow him; I wasn’t surprised to hear gunshots next, it didn’t look like anyone could run away from a weapon like that.

The next sequence of noises was completely chaotic – aside from the gun, something that sounded like a fire extinguisher, someone being hit with a heavy object, screaming and punching… Someone was really crazy enough to pick a fight with an armed person. But if they could keep the tagger busy, I could run down the stairs and avoid him.

Three minutes left.

What awful timing I had.

Stepping down and looking to my side, a big man with camo pants was fighting the tagger, or at least trying. They came running up from the third floor while wrestling, when I saw the tagger grab his leg and throw him on the ground, kicking his face to make him unconscious.

The moment the tagger turned his head, that creepy horse mask now facing me, he started reloading his gun and I immediately ran, nearly tripping on my feet. He shot in my direction, bullets brushing past me as I sprinted, but one managed to scratch the side of my hip and I fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

Pressing my hand over the cut, I turned back to see the tagger walking toward me and pointing his gun at my face.

I thought it was over for me when Karube came running up the stairs and jumped on the tagger’s back, stabbing him. ‘RUN! GO, NOW!’ he screamed at me, and I got up on my feet as fast as possible.

Moving towards the door, trying not to look back as I heard the sound of a body being thrown on the ground. When I reached the wall destroyed by bullet holes, a man came out of that room in a rush, shutting the door closed and holding the doorknob.

It was the man in the white hoodie I met before, though now he had his hood down, exposing his shoulder-length bleached hair. I scooted over, asking what happened, and if that apartment was indeed the safe zone.

'I’m not sure, we didn’t see anything useful when we got in, though we had no time to check the door at the back because a second tagger showed up and tried to shoot us.' He answered calmly, finally dropping that mocking tone he had been using with me.

'You’re telling me there are two taggers? And did you really leave someone else in there stuck with them?'

'I wasn’t going to let myself be killed in there, only idiots would put someone else’s life over their own. Besides, that guy must have run inside the room at the back. If that’s the safe zone, he will be able to clear the game.'

I couldn’t believe this guy when I heard that. He showed no concern for anyone at all. The other guy’s voice yelled from inside, unfortunately proving this man wrong:

'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!'

'Seriously?' the man in front of me said in a low, bothered tone. I felt goosebumps after hearing that voice – it was Arisu. He was stuck inside with another tagger.

I walked closer to the door, trying to grab the doorknob, but this man wouldn’t let go of it. 'I need to go in and help Arisu! You heard him, he can’t clear the game alone!'

Time remaining, one minute.

'Do you have a death wish?' He raised one eyebrow, looking me up and down, 'You don’t look like you can handle that tagger.'

'Then get inside with me! It could be safer with three people against one, right?'

He seemed to consider my suggestion. Sighing, he finally decided to get up on his feet and opened the door for us. The room at the back was open, loud noises coming from inside. We peeked over, and for just a second I saw Arisu wrestling the tagger before they began to shoot in our direction so we both moved back quickly.

'SOMEONE! PLEASE COME!'

Arisu yelled again, and I was growing anxious with every second. Beside me, the man grabbed that small device from his pocket, pressing a button on the side to check if it was still working, and a quick flash appeared at the top – a taser!

'This could bring the tagger down for a moment, but I’m not confident I can make it with those two moving so much.'

Forty seconds left.

'Let me do it, then.' I don’t know what made me suddenly say this, I wasn’t a very brave person, but I was already stretching out my arm, waiting for him to hand me the taser. He turned his head to me, brows furrowed, staring at my shaky hand and the blood stain on the side of my shirt.

'You’re gonna get us all killed.'

His comment irritated me, but I could already feel the adrenaline rushing up. 'If you’re not going to do it, then let me do it. It’s better than standing here doing nothing.'

Thirty seconds left.

Sighing, he finally handed me the taser, walking a few steps back to be as far as possible from the line of fire, but still close enough to see what would happen.

Forcing myself to ignore the stinging pain from the injury, I crouched down near the door, taser in hand, readying myself.

Twenty seconds left.

A sound came from inside the safe zone, someone had jumped in through the window. 'You called?', that climber’s voice.

Ten seconds left.

The tagger aimed at her, and I took this as the perfect opportunity to shock their leg. They let go of both Arisu and the gun, falling back with a loud thud.

The countdown echoed through the whole apartment.

Five

'The buttons!'

Four

Arisu and the woman looked up,

Three

Got up to their feet,

Two

Ran over to the buttons on the walls,

One

And pressed them at the same time.

[GAME CLEAR]

CONGRATULATIONS

My heart was racing.

I did it. We did it.

They cleared the game. And I tased someone.

Hearing some rustling, the tagger in front of me sat up – the horse mask down on the floor, revealing a middle-aged woman anxiously looking up at us like she was on the verge of tears. A beeping sound was coming from her, and when she faced the ceiling I noticed a metal collar around her neck, the beeping increasing in speed, and then – BOOM.

The metal collar exploded, killing her and splattering blood all over the walls.

I moved back in shock, another person dying from an explosion in front of me.

Leaning back on the wall behind me while looking away from the body, I noticed the man in the white hoodie doing the exact opposite, stepping inside the room to take a 'better look' at that scene.

Arisu came from the safe zone, eyeing me as he made his way outside and I followed him. Upon reaching the corridor, he crouched down, looking exhausted, and I got closer to place my hand on his shoulder.

'I killed her,' his voice was almost inaudible. The climber came from inside the apartment as well, closing the door behind her and looking down at us.

'That person… I killed her.' The woman sighed and replied to him in a calm tone, 'Everyone was made to participate in the game. It’s no one’s fault.'

'Just what in the world is this?'

'Who knows? I don’t know either. But… It amazes me that I’m willing to do anything just so that I can survive. If we weren’t willing, we might as well die.' Her words were harsh, but there was no ill intention in her tone. As she walked away, I told Arisu: ‘Hey… I’m going down to the entrance to pick up the card. Can you go look for Karube and make sure that he’s fine? I’ll be back to get you two and then we can leave.”

He nodded, getting up to his feet and going over to the corner where Karube was fighting the tagger. I walked in the opposite direction and entered the elevator.

Just like in my first game, there was a white round table at the entrance of the building, but with nothing on top of it. Someone else already took the card. Shit.

Before I could make my way back up, the lights in the building went out and I heard an engine sound from pretty far away. Curious, I headed over to the source of that sound.

Peeking from the corner of the building, I noticed an old car on the street up ahead. The big man who fought the tagger was in the driver’s seat, seemingly waiting for someone. As if on cue, 'someone' came up to the car and got in the passenger’s seat; that man with the white hoodie. The driver stepped on the gas and drove away.

I tried to walk forward to see which way the car would go, until I felt an eerie presence behind me, followed by the sound of a gun being cocked and pressed to the back of my head.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 2; with our heads held high

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 2935

song recommendation: "Be the Light" by ONE OK ROCK

________________________________________________________

The streets were still empty and silent. I felt like I was completely alone in this world, especially after the only people I managed to find had died right next to me.

None of this made any sense. Shibuya was way too busy all the time, how did things end up like this?

Was this a nightmare? A very gruesome one? How could I wake up, if the shock from those explosions wasn’t enough to jolt me awake?

Maybe if I went back to sleep in this 'dream world' I could wake up back in the real world. I had been staying with Mizuki ever since coming to Tokyo, but it would be a very long walk back with no one to give me a lift. Still, I didn’t have any other choices left.

----------

I don’t know how much time had passed, but I knew I had been walking for hours. Both my phone and the one I picked up during that game – unsure if I could, but I’m not going back there – had run out of battery.

I put it back inside my pocket and, looking up again, I saw some red lines coming down from the sky in the far distance – I had a bad feeling in my gut about them.

Upon arriving at Mizuki’s apartment, I knocked on the front door and was surprised to see it open slowly, completely unlocked. I called in for anyone, but just like the streets outside, the apartment was empty. The main window was left open, with a cold breeze coming through the sheer curtains, as the living room was dimly lit by the moonlight outside.

A wave of sadness and worry hit me. The only people I knew in this city were also gone without notice. ' What the hell was I going to do, all alone in a huge city like this?' I could only hope they all were doing fine, even though they must be lost in another part of the city. ' Just please be alive.'

I felt exhausted. Physically, from the long walk back to this apartment, and mentally, from the horrifying experience I had in that parking garage. Just thinking about those scenes for mere seconds made me nauseous, I could still smell the blood from their bodies… Or maybe it was the blood that had stained my clothes.

None of the lights or water dispensers were working anymore, so I couldn’t even take a shower. I cleaned myself the best I could with some wet wipes I found in the bathroom and changed into a set of clean clothes. Laying down on a bed, I felt a couple of tears forming in my eyes again, but my body gave in to exhaustion before I could start crying, and I fell asleep.

----------

Picking up my phone was the first thing I did every morning, but my phone wasn’t turning on. Neither was the weird phone right beside mine on the bedside table. That phone… It meant I didn’t wake up from a nightmare. So, it wasn’t a nightmare. It was the real world.

I didn’t even know what time it was, but as I got to the living room the sun was shining brightly through the window, so it must have been around noon. Meaning it had been many, many hours since I last ate something.

My stomach grumbled when I reached into the fridge, but the only stuff in there had to be cooked. I was never a fan of raw eggs, and the pieces of meat smelled pretty bad, even though they were far from expiring. I grabbed some chips from the counter instead, trying to satiate my hunger at least a little bit. I would have to go out again and look for something to eat.

Grabbing a small backpack from the wardrobe, I put a few more snacks inside, along with a clean jacket I had brought with me. It was time to see that apocalyptic scene outside again.

Before, I had been so excited to be in Shibuya for the first time – but in my current situation, this meant I had no idea where to go. I didn’t even know where the convenience stores were in this area. People told me before that Japan was full of 'konbinis', but I was yet to find one near the apartment building.

I didn’t know how far I had walked, and I certainly had been lost, but somehow I found a huge department store. 'With these many floors, there must be somewhere to get food!' At the entrance, there was a huge map on the wall listing down what each floor of this building was for, so at least I wouldn’t have to look into every single shop there.

Going up the stairs, I heard some noise coming in from a furniture store – Chattering? People? I quickly walked inside, full of curiosity, and noticed a group of people sitting down at a small dinner table. I peeked from behind a wall, observing them eating what looked like real, good food, though I couldn’t make out any words they were saying.

One of them – a man with blonde, spiky hair and a black floral shirt – stopped eating and looked around, quickly noticing me. Then, a man with fluffy hair wearing a yellow shirt came over and stopped in front of me. We stared at each other in silence, his mouth was opening and closing fast, like he was still thinking about what to say.

'You… Do you know anything about this?' He finally spoke. He didn’t explain what he meant by 'this', but I just knew he was talking about the whole situation happening in Tokyo right now.

'Sorry, I don’t know anything either. I don’t even know my way around Shibuya.' He looked down a bit disappointed.

The blonde man came up to us, asking 'Who is this, Arisu?', to which the other guy, Arisu , replied he didn’t know either, and that I must have just arrived in this 'world' like them. I tried to ask them what they meant, and they invited me over to have a discussion with the others at the table.

'Have you eaten anything? The canned tamagoyaki is still warm, you can have it if you’d like.' Arisu offered me a can and a pair of chopsticks, I thanked him and sat down on the couch near the table. It tasted good! Really good!

We introduced ourselves to each other – their names were Arisu, Karube, Chota, and Shibuki – and they began asking me questions about my experience in this 'world'. I explained I came to visit my friends during college break, and yesterday was my first time in Shibuya. I had known before my arrival that it was extremely crowded near the station, so I was extremely confused when I found no one on the streets, not knowing if there was some kind of event going on. The three men shared the same experience, but the woman remained silent.

'Isn’t it strange? When everyone disappeared from this world, it was yesterday for the four of us, but it was three days ago for Shibuki. Why at different times?' Arisu brought up a new subject and I watched him as he talked, 'And even the vegetables were rotten. It was only a few days since everyone disappeared. What could be the reason?'

'Maybe the way time passes is different than normal?' Shibuki finally spoke up, 'I don’t really know, but even among us, the time when people disappeared is different, right?'

'Did we time travel while we were in the restroom?' Chota said and I looked at him in surprise, 'What? I was also in a restroom when people disappeared!', we both looked at each other with surprised wide eyes.

'That’s impossible. Time traveling does not exist.' Karube told Chota.

'But it’s also impossible for people to disappear. How do you explain the game and people disappearing, then?'

I shivered a bit at Chota’s words. 'They had also been in a game before? So… did they also see people die?' Arisu reached for his pocket and picked up a playing card, a three of clubs, and I thought about the seven of diamonds card I had inside my backpack.

They began talking about games, game masters, microchips, virtual realities… I was barely picking up anything they were saying, still replaying the events of yesterday’s game in my head. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Chota groaning in pain, touching his leg.

'I don’t think VR can cause burns like that.' Arisu was looking at his friend with a worried expression on his face.

'It must be God. This must be the work of Go-' Chota stopped talking when he noticed me leaving the empty can of tamagoyaki and the chopsticks on the table, 'Sorry, I think I need some fresh air right now, I’m going outside for a bit' I said in a low voice, bowed to them and walked outside.

I didn’t want to join their conversation, I just needed some time to think by myself.

'I have managed to find more people, and they seem nice, compared to the ones I met yesterday. But… Why is it a group of four people again? Are we gonna be forced into a game together, and will we have to watch each other die, too?' My thoughts were spiraling as I walked around the building with no destination in mind, just breathing in the smell of the plants decorating the place, which looked like they hadn’t been watered in days.

I came back to my senses and thought I could go for some 'shopping' since I was already here. Walking back to the stairs, trying to remember what shops were on which floors, I almost bumped into Arisu. I apologized with a quick bow, but he dismissed me saying it was fine. He offered to escort me around since he remembered me mentioning I didn’t know my way around this place.

We hung out for a while, going into a shoe store and I replaced my worn-out converse shoes that were hurting my toes, with a fitting comfortable pair of running shoes. Time seemed to go by fast, as the sun had already begun to set. Karube came up to us at some point, saying he wanted to talk to Arisu in private. I left them near the stairs and went back to the furniture store where I first met them. Shibuki showed me the bedroom area of the store and told me I could pick any of the beds to sleep on for the night.

I wasn’t feeling very tired yet. Instead, I asked where they had picked up all that food from earlier, and she guided me to a convenience store inside the building. Shibuki was already picking up some more cans and cups of instant meals, saying I could stay for 'dinner' with them if I wanted to. I kindly accepted her invitation, happy that I was finally around nice people I could talk to.

That night went by smoothly. At the dinner table (with me sitting on the couch again), they explained to me about the visa system, saying they were supposed to join another game in two days. 'This meant I, too, would need to join another game in six days. Oh, god, please, no!' But soon they weren’t talking about games anymore, rather, they were sharing funny experiences of their daily lives before all of this started. I couldn’t join their conversation, as my life had always been kinda boring, but I didn’t feel left out or uncomfortable, laughing along with them.

When we all decided to go to sleep, Arisu, Karube, and I went up to the bedroom area and claimed our single beds. Shibuki said she and Chota were going somewhere else, as she had to take care of his injury and change his bandages before they could go to bed. We waved at them and tucked under our blankets to sleep.

----------

The following day, I woke up pretty late again, as I didn’t have my phone with a loud alarm clock to keep me from sleeping until noon anymore. I looked around and noticed Arisu and Karube weren’t in the bedroom area. Picking up my backpack and walking towards the entrance to the furniture store, the air smelled like hot noodles and soup, and it wasn’t long until I found Shibuki and Chota sitting in front of a portable stove.

They called my name, saying lunch was almost ready. I walked over to them, asking about Arisu and Karube, to which Chota replied they were 'doing grocery shopping'. Shibuki handed me a hot cup of noodles and some chopsticks, I thanked her and decided I was going to eat while walking around the building, saying goodbye to them.

'Could there be more people left in this city, still?'

Going towards the entrance of the building to observe the streets outside, I passed by Karube and Arisu, waving at them since my mouth was full of noodles. The streets were as empty as ever. The silence that, at first, was so depressing and scary now made me feel a little calmer, peaceful even. I would gladly take any silence like this over the explosions sound from that game. 'I guess I could take a walk outside, who knows, maybe I’ll be lucky to find someone else again.'

I threw away the empty cup and chopsticks in a garbage can outside and began my stroll around the city I did not know at all . Bad idea? Maybe.

This time, I chose to walk over to the more unfamiliar streets, not following the paths that lead to the parking garage or to my friend’s apartment. ' I just hope I don’t get lost again, without being able to return to the department store.'

These streets were full of very tall buildings – more department stores, art galleries, something I think was a hospital, parking garages, apartment complexes… Wait. Hold on a second. One of those apartment complexes seemed to have lights on! It was very easy to spot, considering all the others around it were pitch black. Curious, I walked near the entrance, and I was delighted to find some people inside.

'Toei Sendagaya Apartment'

Rushing in, I noticed a round white table in front of them with a bunch of phones on top, and a sign that said 'One per person'. Memories came back to me; my first game had started right after I picked up one of those phones. I didn’t want to be in a game again, at least not so soon, I still had many days left on my visa.

Walking back to where I came from, I stopped right in front of a wall made of red lasers that I hadn’t seen before. A man’s voice came from behind me, saying 'It’s too late now, you’re already part of the game. Or you can go through that barrier and see for yourself what happens.'

'No way' , I thought, 'I wasn’t going to take this risk' . Hesitantly, I turned back and picked up a phone from the table. The screen showed 'FACIAL RECOGNITION IN PROGRESS. PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT' once again, but this time, it didn’t immediately go to that home screen.

THERE ARE CURRENTLY 6 PARTICIPANTS

PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THE GAME COMMENCES

TWENTY MINUTES UNTIL REGISTRATION CLOSES

I moved to the back, leaning over a wall, and looked over at the people around me. A man wearing a black bandana smirked at me, I guessed he was the one who talked to me earlier. There was a middle-aged woman with glasses staring down at the phone in her hands, a man in a black business suit looking very calm in the corner, and a man with a blue plaid shirt and a dark blue cap, looking a bit anxious. 

'The phone said six participants, am I missing someone?'

I would still have to wait twenty minutes until the game began, doing absolutely nothing here. I quietly hummed to some songs I liked to pass time while I observed more people coming in to play the game.

Two young girls, a man in an office worker uniform, a man in a white hoodie… who took a small device out of his pocket and plugged it into an electrical outlet on the wall. I had no idea what that was, it looked like a small walkie-talkie but without the antenna. He held up an iPod and fixed his earphones before leaning against a wall and staring down at the floor.

A woman quickly walked in, wearing a pink tank top and a teal jacket. The man with the dark blue cap walked over to her, shyly trying to ask her if she knew where all the people in Tokyo had gone to. Before she could answer, they got interrupted by a big man walking right in between them, picking up a phone and moving beside the guy with the black bandana. I noticed they were also wearing blue wristbands, just like that guy who died during my first game. Could they have known him as well?

The last two people to come in through the entrance were Arisu and Karube. I was surprised to see them, but I wondered what they were doing here, since they still had two more days on their visas. That same feminine voice from before spoke through my phone:

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED

THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 14 PARTICIPANTS

THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

BROKEN HEART OF GOLD - chapter 1; tired soul, dying hope

i began posting this fanfic on my ao3 account but i decided to share it here too since i read a lot on tumblr as well :]

this is my first ever fanfiction and english isn't my first language so i apologize for anything confusing, feel free to ask me about it anytime <3

________________________________________________________

AO3 link

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader

format: gender-neutral original character/self-insert, they/them pronouns are used when necessary, no use of y/n or "___", feel free to picture the character however you wish!

tags: canon-typical violence, slow burn, ocs as side characters, mentions/depictions of mental health issues

word count: 3578

________________________________________________________

'Come on, you two, walk faster!'

Walking ahead of them excitedly, I tried not to bump into other people passing by. I didn’t want to waste a single second of my vacation, it was my first time visiting Shibuya!

I felt a tug in my collar, followed by my friend’s voice in an annoyed tone: 'Can’t you wait for us? Shibuya is not going to just disappear!' I finally decided to slow down, removing my earphones and now walking between my friend Mizuki and her older brother Takeshi.

'Why did you even want to come here? It’s always so crowded, there are better places to visit in Tokyo.'

'I already visited some other places in Tokyo last week, and Shibuya was next on my bucket list.'

Takeshi sighed, 'I hope you have a good time here, at least. I wish I could go to a completely different country now. Oh, but I know of a good shopping mall near the station, we could go there first.'

While heading to said shopping mall, we all heard some fireworks in the distance. I turned my head around, only to be splashed by a wave of lemonade – a minor accident caused after Mizuki got jumpscared by the fireworks.

'Oh, my god! I’m so sorry!' She said while patting my clothes in a poor attempt to prevent them from staining. 'Don’t worry about this, really. At least it wasn’t a hot drink.' I reassured her.

'There are restrooms near the station,' Takeshi said, pointing to where we were coming from. I followed his directions, asking them to wait for me outside.

Inside the restroom, I removed my jacket and placed it beside the sink. I tried using paper towels to remove the excess liquid from my clothes, but I couldn’t get rid of the yellowish stain on the hem of my shirt and my jeans. 'Aw man, I don’t want to go back just to change my clothes. Well, I think if I use my jacket, no one should be able to notice it…'

Tying my jacket around my waist, I heard loud banging coming from outside and all the lights suddenly went out. Going out and looking around in confusion, I tried searching for my friends only to be met with no one – streets previously filled to the brim with people walking in all directions were now completely empty.

Worried, I ran out shouting for Mizuki and Takeshi, but the whole area near Shibuya station was dead silent. I thought of heading back to the parking garage we had parked our car, hoping to find them soon.

Stopping at the entrance and staring into the darkness inside the garage, I called in; 'Hello? Anyone?'. No answer, only my own voice echoing inside. Walking in and carefully making my way upstairs, I noticed a weird set of lights coming from a few floors above, which did not seem to be coming from any cars.

On a pillar near the metal stairs, there was a small television showing a white screen with a black arrow pointing to the left, one of the many floors available for parking cars. Peeking inside the suspiciously empty lot, I noticed three people standing around a white round table, with a huge grid pattern painted on the ground near them.

I walked up to them in silence, having a bad feeling about this place. Before I could ask anything, I heard footsteps coming from behind me, a man that seemed to be in his late thirties walked past me and grabbed a phone from the table. All the others also had phones in their hands, so I picked up the last phone available, noticing a piece of paper that said 'One per person'. The screen turned on with the text 'FACIAL RECOGNITION IN PROGRESS. PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT.' showing up.

After 'loading', I was now looking at the phone’s home screen: two apps at the top, titled 'Game' and 'VISA', and other nameless apps at the bottom. Before I could try to open any of them, the screen suddenly turned white with a new text, along with a feminine voice that seemed to come from speakers inside the lot, though I couldn’t see any.

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED

THE GAME WILL NOW COMMENCE

[GAME]

MINESWEEPER

DIFFICULTY

SEVEN OF DIAMONDS

'Game? Did I just enter someplace I was not supposed to? Also, isn’t seven of diamonds a playing card? As far as I remember, minesweeper wasn’t a card game.' I thought to myself. The screen changed again, and the voice continued:

[RULES]

Players must walk through the board without setting off any mines.

Players have a one-minute time limit to decide which cell to step on.

Standing on a safe cell will show up the number of mines directly around that cell.

Standing on a mined cell will cause the land mine to explode.

Players can only move up to three cells forward in a straight line and are not allowed to move backward.

[CLEAR CONDITION]

Reach the end of the board within the time limit.

[GAME START]

'So, a game of minesweeper but played in real life? Doesn’t sound too bad.' I had played minesweeper a few times in the past, but I was far from being a strategist and only ever played the beginner levels.

My phone screen had changed again, now showing a grid that looked like the one painted on the floor of the parking lot. The number 20 was directly above the grid, and a countdown had started at the bottom of the screen. Ten seconds had passed since the feminine voice last spoke.

'Could there be any mines in the first row? I mean, that would be pretty unfair, even for a seven of diamonds game' the lady beside me spoke, seemingly not directed at anyone in particular. Walking forward, she was now standing on a square inside the grid. Other players did the same, each choosing a square to be on. I was the last one to move, so I walked up to the only square left, the one right in the middle.

I looked at the woman beside me, who had spoken up earlier, as she watched the countdown on her phone. The squares were pretty big, so I moved near the edge of mine to whisper to her: 'Hey, excuse me, uhm…' She didn’t look up from her phone, 'A while ago you said this is a ‘seven of diamonds’ game, could you explain to me what that means? Are there other games with titles like that?'

The lady finally looked up at me, grimacing, eyeing me from head to toe before turning her attention back to the countdown, the only sound coming from her being an annoyed scoff. Embarrassed, I simply moved back to the center of my square, looking down at my phone.

When the countdown reached zero, a 'ding' sound echoed through the lot, and the grid on the phone screen now showed five numbers corresponding to our positions on the board. From left to right, it said 1 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1, and the countdown was back at a one-minute mark.

'So, these numbers mean how many mines are around our cells, just like in a normal minesweeper game, right? Mine is the only one touching two mined cells…'

Before I could finish my thoughts, a guy standing on the far left side of the grid walked one square forward, looking very confident in his decision. The man directly to my right walked two squares forward, meaning he believed the cell now right behind him contained a mine. Immediately after him, the lady on my left also walked two squares forward. The feminine voice spoke up, 'Thirty seconds left'.

Looking back down at the mini-map, it made total sense that the cells to my diagonal were the ones containing mines, so the cell right in front of me should be safe. I walked up to it, and at the same time, the young man on the right corner also walked to the square in front of him.

Ten seconds left. I anxiously looked around, observing the players around me. None of them looked at each other, only paying attention to their phones, and they seemed very serious about this game. The countdown reached zero again, and another 'ding' was played, followed by a loud explosion in front of me.

The man who had been standing beside me just a minute ago was blown up .

Literally.

A real land mine exploded through the concrete floor, leaving a hole in the ground, and the body of the man – at least, what was left of him – was lying down on top of it.

Pure shock hit me. I felt my legs tremble as I fell on my butt, mouth open and eyes wide staring at the gruesome scene in front of me. I wished I could look away, but I was too frozen in fear to move my body.

The only thing that had taken me out of my trance state was the feminine voice saying 'thirty seconds left' once again. I looked up at the other players, but no one else seemed to be shocked by what had just happened near us, and they all had already chosen their new positions; The two on my left walked one square forward each, and the young man on the right walked two squares forward.

I looked down at my phone, the counter stated twenty seconds left, and the number at the top of the screen was now 19 instead of 20. Twenty seconds for me to choose which square to move to, at the risk of being blown up like that man.

'My current position on the mini-map showed the number four. The two squares beside me were sure to be mined cells… The man died on the cell diagonally right to me… So my choices are the one in front of me and the one diagonally to my left… Wait, that lady was standing on this cell just a few moments ago, wasn’t she?' 

Ten seconds left.

I didn’t want to keep trying to figure out the strategy for this game. My body was shaking, my legs felt too weak for me to stand up. I crawled as fast as I could, two squares forward, kneeling at the center of my new cell.

The counter reached zero, followed by that same 'ding' sound, but no explosions happened this time.

I wanted to look back at the body behind me, but I knew I shouldn’t. Anxiety filled me and I looked down at my phone; My cell had three bombs around it. I knew one was behind me, and the other was the one that exploded. I couldn’t think straight to guess what other cell would contain the third mine, the sound of the explosion repeating itself inside my mind, as the awful smell of blood and burnt flesh filled my lungs.

All the other players had moved again, and I was shocked at how calm they looked. I wanted to ask something to the young man to the right since he looked nicer than the lady and the other guy, but he had walked forward three squares, too far away for me to reach him without shouting.

I crawled forward two squares, now moving beside that lady again, 'I should try to talk to her again' , but I couldn’t speak; I felt a knot in my throat, preventing my voice from coming out. I must have looked pathetic at that moment, kneeling in fear, shaking, and holding back tears.

I began crawling forward again, thinking if I could keep moving three squares forward I would be able to get out of this game faster. The woman beside me spoke up for the first time, shouting at me to go back, 'Oi, walking forward three cells is too risky! Do you want to die like that man?' I didn’t look at her, only sat down back where I was.

When the countdown finished this time, the lady walked forward twice immediately after hearing the 'ding' sound. 'Did she know where all the mines were?'

I wanted to trust her, believing that the cell in front of me would contain a mine. I was finally back at my feet, walking forward twice again, the remaining players moved at the same time. All four of us were now standing in the same row. The new numbers shown after the signal were 2 - 4 - 4 - [ ] - 2.

'Tsk, that stupid man died too early. We don’t have anyone to show the numbers on the fourth line. We will have to keep guessing.'

'She has been guessing this whole time? And yet she remains so calm, taking such a risk of stepping on a land mine and dying, just like that man?' I was shocked at her statement. But unfortunately, she was right. Trying to analyze the mini-map on my phone, I guessed the first two and last two cells had mines, due to the two 'number two' shown. But some cells behind us had no numbers because no one stepped on them before, so my guess could be wrong. With this, I couldn’t be sure of any mines around me except for the one probably behind me. 'I think I’ll just keep trusting that lady’s judgment and follow her steps beside her'.

All players had now moved two squares forward, and I followed them. With only ten seconds remaining, the guy to my left walked one more square forward, with a smug look on his face, 'He’s too confident in his choices.'

The counter reached zero. A 'ding' and another explosion were heard. That smug guy was now dead as well. His body lying down near the hole formed on the ground, his arms spread over the square to his right, a blue wristband covered in bright red blood.

The sound scared me again and I pressed my hands to my ears, shaking in fear. I looked over at the woman, waiting for her to make a move that I could follow, and our eyes met; She was staring at me with that same expression at the beginning of the game. I hated it, I felt like a weak scaredy-cat, I could stay right here and wait for whatever punishment was prepared for players who didn’t move during the time limit for each round. I had never been this terrified before.

The woman took her eyes off me and walked forward again. The young man to my right had been waving his hands up in the air for some reason, and when I looked up I realized he was trying to get my attention since I was still covering my ears. Lowering my hands and looking directly into his face, I could hear him say in a calm voice: 'Hey, this must be your first game. I know how you feel, I was the same during my first game. But please, don’t give up now. We are all here trying to survive, and you should too, live on for those who couldn’t.'

His words almost made me release the tears I had been holding back all this time. Live on for those who couldn’t? Does he mean the two other men who died near us? Can my survival really mean anything to anyone, especially to these people I had never seen before?

I didn’t know what to say, but he just finished his sentence with a kind smile and walked forward without waiting for me to reply. I wanted to clean off the tears forming in the corners of my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt, but as soon as my hand came near my face I noticed my sleeve had been splattered with dried blood. It smelled awful, and it reminded me of the explosion noises again.

I finally decided to move forward, I wanted to finish this cruel game as soon as possible. Or maybe I was just pretending to be strong while waiting to die to a land mine as well. I still wanted to follow the lady beside me, she looked smart and much better than me at minesweeper. All of us walked forward two squares, standing on the same row once again. Our new positions in the mini-map were all numbered two, but this time none of the cells around us – except for me and the woman beside me – were unopened. We all would have to guess.

'Should we all move forward two squares again? That is already the second-to-last row. We had been moving two squares for a while now and we have been safe, this could keep working until the end.' I suggested in a low voice, I hadn’t said anything since that knot formed in my throat like what, five minutes ago? I hadn’t lifted my face off my phone, observing what I now realized was a mine count at the top of the screen, showing the number 18.

Silence. I was sure this lady was bothered enough that I had been following her, and the man only looked at me with an unknowing expression, like he didn’t know how to play minesweeper and had been relying on luck this whole time.

Both of them decided to move only one square forward. They didn’t want to follow my advice. Still, they remained completely calm, and they seemed more experienced than me at this; both of them had implied before that there were more 'games' like this, so maybe there was a pattern to them that they already knew about. If that was the case, I wasn’t going to trust myself, being a complete beginner to this kind of thing.

I moved forward only one square as well.

A 'ding'.

And an explosion, much louder than the two previous ones.

The reason for that loud sound was that two explosions happened at the same time. I saw debris flying from both corners of my eyes. Clutching to my heart, I didn’t know if I wanted to look at either of them now. I knew they were dead. The lady who had looked so serious and confident since the start of this game, and the young man who was probably counting on his luck and tried to reassure me in a moment of anxiety.

Both of them, dead next to me.

Tears were finally running down my face. I didn’t know any of them, why was I crying over the death of four people I never knew?

Stupid me. They were still real, brutal deaths that happened very close to me. This wasn’t anything like seeing people die in horror movies. I didn’t rely on those fictional characters to survive, and I couldn’t feel the foul odor from their dead bodies. This was different. Reality was different, and it was much worse.

I walked forward two squares, now standing on the last row of this board. Or better said, crouching down. I left the phone on the floor in front of me and hugged my knees, sobbing uncontrollably, though I didn't know why I was crying so hard. I was sure I was going to die like them, I didn’t trust myself for this.

The counter reached zero one last time, and I embraced myself, waiting for a land mine to take my life away, just like it did to those people. I heard that 'ding' again, but nothing else happened. I barely moved up my head, looking at the phone screen through the tears in front of my eyes. The first thing I noticed was the mine count, now showing the number 16. Below that number, the grid was now complete – it showed all the cells on the board and their respective numbers and bomb markers.

I picked up my phone to look at it closer, and something made me feel sick to my stomach: Following the lines that lady and that young man were, if they had walked forward two squares as I suggested before, they would have landed on safe cells.

My guess had been correct. If they had believed me, the three of us would have survived.

I was crying again, when the screen changed one last time, and that feminine voice echoed through the empty lot:

[GAME CLEAR]

CONGRATULATIONS

TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE GAME, WE WILL NOW SUPPLY YOU WITH A VISA

Seven symbols appeared on the screen, shaped like the diamond suit from card games. I had no idea what this meant, but I think the game was over now. So I could finally leave?

Once it hit me, I ran . Going down the metal stairs as fast as I could, the few lights in the building went out and I almost tripped on my feet multiple times. I ran down to the entrance floor of the parking garage and, right where I first came in, a white round table that wasn’t there before now stood in my way, with a single card placed on top of it – a seven of diamonds. Just in case this had any meaning, I shoved the card inside the back pocket of my jeans and left.

I put my earphones back in, trying to calm myself down with some music. It was dark outside. No lights coming from any of the buildings nearby, only the moon and the stars shining up in the night sky.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

Dating Shuntaro Chishiya

warnings ✩° : mentions of guns or weaponry, mentions of killing for the sake of you.

pairing ✩° : shuntaro chishiya x gn!reader

authors note ✩° : i was giggling writing all the funny bits in this. bro be ducking and weaving with his hands in his pockets LMFAO. also he was my favorite in season one,, but now it’s more kuina and arisu bc arisu is just so babygirl…i also feel like in the manga chishiya is MUCH more scary so i included some of those attributes in here.

- ‘Touch them and you die’ type.

- Chishiya acts confused when you’re mad at him and he’ll drag out an argument for the sake of pissing you off further or messing with you. He could care less if you’re actually mad at him since he knows that with a few words everything will be fixed, it’s like a game to him.

- Uses degrading pet names such as ‘bunny’ or ‘pet’ and on some occasions, ‘darling’ just to skew your perception of your relationship.

- If he could care less about anything, he could care less about what anyone else has to say about you. Meaning if he’s in a meeting where no one else is allowed but ‘special’ members of The Beach, Chishiya is going to bring you along and no one’s going to stop them. Even if anyone has the nerve or you’re uncomfortable being in the presence of such high strung figures, he remains smug faced and unfazed.

- Embodiment of strangers in public and lovers in private. He doesn’t really show affection that often in front of anyone else, but if you two are alone he’s somewhat intimate. Because of his dark mentality, it takes a while for Chishiya to fully accept the fact you both like each other so he’s still a little cautious of the idea of your guys relationship.

- Chishiya loves teasing you, to the point it’s almost bullying. He has an unfair advantage given his sheer ability to just pop out of no where despite him NEVER running and just keeping his hands in his pockets like a damn fool. But he likes coming up behind you and leaning onto your back, catching you off guard as he rests his chin on your shoulder and looks at you curiously.

- If he has a weapon and someone is seen flirting with you or making you physically uncomfortable during a game or not, he’s going to use it without hesitation.

- I imagine that before you guys started dating, Chishiya had betrayed//tricked you at least once. This would make your relationship a sort of enemies to lovers, at least on your end.

- Being better friends with Kuina than your own boyfriend since he’s the silent type, and Kuina is more fun than him—they both know this. She loves you anyways since you have WAY more emotion than Chishiya and you are also more fun than him or at least more caring.

- During games, you are Chishiya’s last worry. He knows you can handle yourself just as much as you know he could care less of who dies or who lives, you included. He’s always respectful of your ideas and is generally just silent when it comes to your paired games together.

- Have you guys seen Banana Fish? I headcanon that if there were a russian roulette game of some heart variation, he’ll take a bullet for you only to question why there’s none inside. Of course upon seeing Chishiya attempt to off himself to let you live, you’re just a lot bit worried.

- Sometimes even if he is really intelligent and cunning, he’s pretty oblivious and therefore deemed stupid in your mind. But he’s not stupid, he’s just focusing on other things that are more important in that moment…

- If it’s not a high speed game, Chishiya will hold your hand inside his pocket and you two will just walk around at his slow ass pace. If it is though, you’re the one pulling him along…with his hands in his pockets.

- Despite how mean he can be sometimes, he’s still capable of complimenting you and getting you flustered with his teasing.

“You’re pretty fascinating Y/n.”

But he almost always ruins it with some backhanded statement afterwards.

“For someone with those mental capabilities, I didn’t know you could figure it out.”

- There are times where Chishiya is sweet, like times where he’ll put his hand on your head and hold it there even if you two are on the move. Sometimes it can be annoying but other times it’s a really nice comfort to be compressed between the floor and his palm.

- He’s very quiet so he sneaks around and scares you a bunch, even if you’re expecting him.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

Wait

A short blurb based on this post

-

You followed Chishiya out the building the both of you were just in. Both of you had successfully passed the Jack of Hearts game, all thanks to Chishiya's observation. You were honestly thankful that he had your back in the game, even though he wouldn't necessarily confirm it.

The chirping of birds and nature's music was accompanied by the sounds of the explosions as the Jack's blimp was destroyed in the clear, broad daylight.

Chishiya looked up at the sky, the firey sparks falling down from the sky while pieces of some type of burnt cloth flew in the sky - a memento for the Jack that used to rule his game before his downfall by four 'measly' players.

"Y/N." Chishiya called softly, "It's best we split our paths next game. We wouldn't want to keep a streak of playing together - we were lucky this game.

A hum left your throat. You understood that he was talking about the fact that this wasn't a single-player win like many heart games.

And yet as he walked off and away to be on his own again, you appeared to have followed his direction. He seemed to notice this, but said no words. If you wanted to talk, then surely you would say the first word.

But it happened to be quiet and peaceful for the rest of the travel. None of you had said a word, but you both enjoyed each other's silent accompany in the end result.

It was like this for the next two days. You went where he walked and barely shared any words, just a few empty sentences every few hours or so.

It was almost as if the both of you had something to say to the other but just wasn't able to bring it up, struggling every time when you were in the same room with the other and yet enjoying their presence deeply that you didn't want to leave.

He felt like your comfort zone. Even in this world.

The stakes are raised higher than ever and yet here you were, alive and breathing.

Chishiya had started walking to his next arena an hour ago, listening to your footsteps just as you continued to follow aimlessly. Why was this?

When he arrived, he hesitated to turn to you.

"I'll play by myself, you need to find another game, Y/N." Chishiya stated, standing in place as he looked around the decently large area. He sighed and narrowed his eyes at the ground as he didn't hear footsteps leaving. He figured this would happen.

"Y/N-"

"I'll wait for you, Chishiya." You urged on, meeting his gaze when he lifted his sight off the ground. "I'll wait for you."

"Why?" Was the only word he could say or even ask, genuinely curious and yet dumbfounded at your proposal.

"Because, that's what people do when they're in love care." You looked at him, through his condescending facade he built to hide his true eyes, and you smiled softly. "They wait."

and that's when he realized, you were his comfort zone.

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

＃ 𝘀𝗳𝘄 𝗮𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝘆𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗼 !!

— 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. chishiya shuntaro x gn!reader

— 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. chishiya´s backtory spoilers?? a lot of "however", also most of the hc take place before the borderlands.

— 𝗮/𝗻. --

✧. - ̗̀ A. Affection , ❨ How affectionate are they? How do they show affection? ❩

— i don't think chishiya is an extremely affectionate person but neither a cold one, especially when it comes to his partner. actually, i feel that he would like closeness and affection but behind closed doors. he definitely wouldn't tolerate it if you were in public, it would even make him feel uncomfortable. at best, he could discreetly intertwine his fingers with yours and gently caress your skin with his thumb. however, if you´re in a private place, then i feel that he would be much more affectionate. however, we all know that chishiya is touch-deprived, so everything related to the pda would be very new for him, although he would make an effort if it is about you. without a doubt, i feel that his love language would be gift giving. he would love to spoil you and buy the things you one day mentioned that you liked and surprise you with them. take you out to eat at your favorite restaurants, and give yourself meaningful gifts for no particular reason.

✧. - ̗̀ B. Best Friend , ❨ What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start? ❩

— literal definition of "power duo". you would definitely be one of the few people he trusts and is actually genuinely nice. he would tease you 24/7 (just his way to show you he actually cares). definitely you be the one he discusses his suspicions with during a game and tells of his plans to steal the cards. with his intelligence and your agility, you both would be an amazing duo at games. on the other hand, i feel like you and chishiya would meet before borderland and it would be in the hospital or in your medical classes, having to work together on a project or something.

✧. - ̗̀ C. Cuddles , ❨ Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle? ❩

— he won´t EVER admit it, but he scretely loves cuddling with you. especially after a complicated game or when something is bothering him is when he needs your comfort the most. however, obviously it will not be him who asks you, you will have to figure out what he wants and give it to him, otherwise he will not tell you. before he met you, all of that seemed a bit ridiculous to him, but after you dragged him into cuddling with you one day, HE MELTED IN YOUR ARMS. he secretly LIVES for being the little spoon (he would deny it to death), and the way your arms wrap protectively around his waist, instantly relaxing him with the closeness of your body and his. another of his favorite positions to cuddle with you is when he lies on your lap either to take a nap or maybe read a book, and you play with his hair. LOVES it when you play with his hair and gently comb the strands of hair, massaging him and making him fall asleep instantly.

✧. - ̗̀ D. Domestic , ❨ Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning? ❩

— i feel like chishiya is a very independent person, and he learned to do all his things by himself from a very young age. in part, that's why he never really thought about moving in with you and dividing up the household chores (he was always used to do everything by himself), plus he would need to fully trust you to be able to share his space with you on a daily basis and learn to get used to not being alone all the time. however, i feel that he is very good at all of that. something tells me that he is a bit obsessive with order and tends to clean very frequently, especially because he concentrates more on a clean place. on the other hand, contrary to what is believed, something tells me that chishiya is a very good cook and is good at preparing both simple and complicated dishes. on the other hand, it would be very strict and would take turns doing the chores between you two.

✧. - ̗̀ E. Ending, ❨ If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it? ❩

— mostly his use of words would depend on the reason why you two are breaking up. if it was your fault, he'll have no problem being rude and using harsh words, spitting everyting he thinks to your face, not really caring about your feelings if it's you who hurt his. on the other hand, if you are the one who is breaking up with him, it would frustrate him at first. he wouldn't show any particular emotion to make you believe he wasn't affected by the situation, but in reality, something would break inside of him and just not know how to feel, collapsing silently once you're gone.

✧. - ̗̀ F. Fiancé, ❨ How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married? ❩

— actually, i feel like he would think about if often. if he´s on a relationship with you, he´s definitely not messing aroud, he will take it seriously. that is why he knows that getting married is taking a giant step in your relationship. while he wouldn't think about doing it early in your relationship, it would definitely be a constant thought going through his head and he would constantly weigh the pros and cons that might come with it. besides, thinking about what it would be like to spend a married life with you brings a blush to his cheeks and a feeling of warmth in his chest. he is not sure when or how, but what he is sure of is that he would love to have you in his life and place a ring on your finger one day. perhaps, in one of your conversations with him, he acidentally slips what he would like to do the day you two return and what his future would be like, always including you in those plans.

✧. - ̗̀ G. Gentle, ❨ How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally ❩

— he might not be really gentle with words, but i think he is very gentle with actions. sometimes, he gets a little carried away at giving his opinion about some stuff and probably would say some things you don´t really wanted to hear. anyway, i think he´s actually gentle when it comes to physic, and specially when it´s about you. but just half gentle, there are random times where he just enjoys engulfing you in a suffocating hug or gives you a particularly strong smooch on the lips.

✧. - ̗̀ H. Hugs, ❨ Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like? ❩

— HE LOVES HUGS. he literally loves the feeling of comfort and closeness that you give him, hugging you all the time. he doesn't usually ask for them at all, sometimes you're doing any other activity and suddenly feel his body sticking to yours and his arms wrapped around your waist. and if he´s feeling particularly clingy he would just come up to you and open his arms so that you curl up in them and he can hide his head in the crook of your neck, enjoying the sensation of calm that your aroma produces. will definitely get pouty if you just decided to deny his hugs, and would probably just sulk to you until you given in and wrap his whole body (whis isn't really hard cause he's kinda small) between your arms, feeling him relax under your soft touch.

✧. - ̗̀ I. I Love You, ❨ How fast do they say the L-word? ❩

— it will probably take him a considerable amount of time to get the words out to you, taking his time to think about the right moment. cishiya would have to trust you a lot to even think about the possibility of telling you. but sometimes he just can't help but feel his love for you so intensely, watching you and thinking how much he wishes he could say out loud that he loves you and really appreciates you. as he was always a very reserved person and with difficulties expressing his feelings, he used to always keep them to himself, never being able to verbally show the people important to him that he really loves them. however, i feel that without realizing it and without thinking too much about it, the exact moment when you simply do something that makes him fall more in love than before, he would say it without further ado, enjoying your expression and simply smiling without being able to contain everything that you make him feel.

✧. - ̗̀ J. Jealousy, ❨ How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous? ❩

— medium level?? like, i dont think he is extremely jealous but there are actually a few things that bothers him. what i mean is that he's not the type of person who would make jealous scenes over simple things or objectify you, in fact, he's very mature when it´s abou that. he doesn't feel the need to be possessive over you, mainly because he trusts you so much and he knows you would never do anything to hurt him. however, it would bother him to see you hang around with certain people (ehem, the militants, ehem, especially niragi). but he wouldn't make much of a fuss about it either, he would just watch the scene from afar biting the inside of his cheek and feeling an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach that he easily recognizes as jealousy (anyway don't mention it because you won't get anything from him). in the other hand, if it really bothers him, he'd rather sit down with you and talk about it like two adults than act childish and give you the cold shoulder or shit like that. and in case the feeling goes away quickly he wouldn't feel the need to say anything and he would simply brush it off.

✧. - ̗̀ K. Kisses, ❨ What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed? ❩

— he loves teasing you before he kisses you. gently rubbing his lips over yours, still without joining them in a kiss, getting close enough but moving away at the last second, caressing your lips with his index finger without giving you what you want, smiling when you try to get closer. and yet once he kisses you, you immediately forget about anything. the delicate and surprisingly tender way in which he kisses you, moving his lips and fitting them perfectly with yours. the softness with which his hands hold you around your waist and back, keeping you close to him as your fingers slip into his blond hair, making him sigh at the sensation, breaking away from the kiss and leaving short smoochs every now and then, without letting go of his grip on your body. chishiya loves it when you gently place a kiss on his neck or clavicle. he is amazed by the tingling it causes him, and the sensation it produces in the area once your lips move away from the particularly sensitive skin of his neck. and when it comes to kissing you, he likes to plant a tender kiss on your hand, especially when he's holding it. not being so affectionate in public and sometimes limiting himself to just holding your hand, another discreet gesture is to leave a short kiss on it.

✧. - ̗̀ L. Little Ones, ❨ How are they around children? ❩

— neutral ig. i mean, he is a pediatrician, he usually works with children so he knows how to deal with them and take care of them based on their needs. however, just because he knows how to handle them doesn't mean he's particularly good with taking care of the kids. in fact, he prefers not to deal with them too much outside of the clinical, not being too patient when they cry or when they yell for some reason. instead, he enjoys watching you deal with children more, making him feel butterflies in his stomach remotely imagining if you could ever start a family in the future.

✧. - ̗̀ M. Mornings , ❨ How are mornings spent with them? ❩

— i feel like chishiya is very productive in the mornings for some reason. if he´s not working on something he´s doing some other activity. if you are a morning person, he would most likely drag you to do those activities with him. however, if you normally wake up later, he would have no problem making you a breakfast or waking you up with the food prepared. you're pretty used to waking up to an empty bed, but there are days when he's tired and just stays with you until you wake up.

✧. - ̗̀ N. Nights , ❨ How are nights spent with them? ❩

— before borderlands, chishiya used to have a pretty messy sleep cycle. there were days when he would stay up until the late hours of the morning reading books or doing homework (or whatever related to work), and days when he would go to bed quite early. however after borderlands i feel like sometimes he wouldn't sleep at all, and would rather stay up late talking to you in specific places that you guys designated as your secret spots, staying there until the sun rises once again.

✧. - ̗̀ O. Open , ❨ When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly? ❩

— chishiya was always a person too closed for his own good. it would take a lot of work for him to open up for someone and let them into him, fully trusting that person. however, in time, he would know that you are too importantto him. chishiya eventually would get really attached to you, trusting you with his whole being. he would even trust you to the point of crying in front of you, i actually picture that happening after he tough he lost you in a game, or trust just by being totally vurnerable. but, going back to the subject, he would definitely end up telling you everything one night when it was just the two of you and he felt 100% comfortable.

✧. - ̗̀ P. Patience, ❨ How easily angered are they? ❩

— he trully can take a LOT of shit. i mean, he stands niragi daily (wich is WILD), so he literally isn´t bothered by absolutely nothing. keep a neutral face and his chill persona no matter what is happening. during arguments he most likely would never raise his voice at you and just listen silently and point out some things he disagrees with. but overall he´s always pretty chill about stuff and there are few things that can actually trigger him.

✧. - ̗̀ Q. Quizzes , ❨ How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything? ❩

— HE LITERALLY HAS SUCH AN AMAZING MEMORY. somehow he manages to remember everything about you. i think he would love to stare at you, and not only because he finds you deeply mesmerazing, also because he genuinely feels intrest about learning every detail about you, incluiding thing´s you like and thing´s you don´t. that´s why he also is able to always read you like an open book, literally understanding every thing you do. that´s why he randomly just brings up something you once said that even you forgot about it.

✧. - ̗̀ R. Remember , ❨ What is their favorite moment in your relationship? ❩

— i think his favorite moment in your relationship was the first time you kissed. it was unexpected, loving. after having returned much later than expected from a game, he couldn't help but feel a whirlwind of feelings and he simply couldn't think of anything else but to kiss you at that precise moment when he saw you enter through the beach reception, not even caring about what could happen after, letting you know how worried he was and how happy he was to see you return alive, to see your smile and feel your warmth once again.

✧. - ̗̀ S. Security , ❨ How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected? ❩

— chishiya knows full well that you are fully capable of defending yourself, and most of the time he doesn't intervene, enjoying watching you kick the ass of the person who was bothering. however, if it sees that your life is in danger, it will not hesitate for a second to jump, protecting you from whatever is happening. normally he would try to distract the person or do something before it gets out of hand. also, he would take care of you in case you were injured in any way, being a doctor and knowing full well how to deal with it. however, i feel that he would actually really like to feel protected by you. he will definitely smirk to mock the other person knowing he´s safe now you are involved. likes when you step in front of him, holding him protectively against you and leading him away from whatever endangered him in the first place.

✧. - ̗̀ T. Try, ❨ How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks? ❩

— he would definitely put in just enough effort when it comes to dating, gifts, or casual outings. on the other hand, if it is an important date, he will put a lot of effort so that everything goes according to plan. he doesn't try too hard for gifts, it being quite easy to get one for you since he knows you better than you know yourself, so that why they always have an special meaning.

✧. - ̗̀ U. Ugly , ❨ What would be some bad habits of theirs? ❩

— many times he does not usually notice when he hurts the feelings of another person, and sometimes, he does not even apologize for certain things he does wrong. in addition, it is a bit complicated for him to rely fully on someone as he learned to be by himself his whole life. anyway, i feel like he would make an effort to change those kinds of things, and it would take a lot of time and help from you.

✧. - ̗̀ V. Vanity , ❨ How concerned are they with their looks? ❩

— i think he wouldn´t really care much about it unless someone actually points something out or sum. but after he met you he would hope you notice the little effort he starts putting on his look. maybe more perfume, trying new products on his hair, AND EYELINER. he kinda wants you to compliment him 🤭🤭. but beside that, he´s very confident about his looks.

✧. - ̗̀ W. Whole , ❨ Would they feel incomplete without you? ❩

— Yes. i think it is extremely difficult for chishiya to fall completely in love with someone, but when he does, he falls HARD. that's why somehow in time he would give all of himself to you, and if you ever parted he would feel EMPTY without you, like a pile of living flesh and bones, without really a reason beyond. he would definitely be completely destroyed if you ever left his life and he would never be able to feel that way again with someone else.

✧. - ̗̀ X. Xtra , ❨ A random headcanon for them. ❩

— he would totally be the type of guy that takes a lot of pictures about everything. like i just feel he likes to take pictures of things he finds pretty. and also im sure he has a cat, probably a white one.

✧. - ̗̀ Y. Yuck , ❨ What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner? ❩

— he definitely wouldn´t stand someone who is too dependent. he usually likes to spend time with you and giving you his attention, but he would also like to do things at his own pace and his own way. so, someone who constanly need reassurance, too much time, someone who constantly need another person to speak up for them or shit like that probably would annoy him.

✧. - ̗̀ Z. Zzz , ❨ What is a sleep habits of theirs? ❩

— i don´t really know why but i feel that chishiya doesn´t like sleeping with a pillow lol, he once randomly told you an intresting fact about doing that and one day he just gave you his pillow and started sleeping like that.

©luuvarisuu !!

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

‧₊˚✩ chishiya, arisu, and kuina's habits they get from dating you

warnings: ooc chishiya, mentions of blood, not exactly canon divergent but i kinda expanded on canon (??), kuina's mom being sick

a/n: most of these probably should've been full fics but i want to write more reactions so here we are

gn reader (no pronouns used)

requests open !! read my rules first

‧₊˚✩ chishiya

word count 411 jack of hearts chishiya >>>

playing with your hands

you pull the chair back, sliding into the seat next to chishiya. he’s sure to sit between you and niragi, leaning back in the seat. arisu stands awkwardly at the edge of the room. his gaze remains focused on the only person he’s seen before - chishiya. 

chishiya raises his hand, waving at him similarly to the way he did in ‘tag.’ ann, mira, and kuzuryu sit on the other side of the table. aguni shifts across from kuzuryu, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. finally, hatter stands at the head of the table. he dramatically raises his arms.

“welcome beach executives,” he bellows before glancing over at arisu. “and potential executive.” he sighs, pushing his hair back and sitting down in the chair. “we are here to debate whether or not a new executive should be instated.” 

next to you, chishiya subtly pulls his left hand from his pocket, reaching over to grab yours. it’s not an uncommon reaction, especially since you’ve become more comfortable in your relationship. he almost does it unconsciously as he casually intertwines your fingers together before stuffing your hands back into his pocket. 

the meeting drones on around you. their voices all blend together as you impatiently wait for the meeting to conclude. after a few minutes of arguing, hatter stands once again. “it’s decided. arisu will be tested, and if he passes, the beach will gain a new executive. this meeting is concluded.” he walks to the door before glancing over his shoulder. “arisu, i’d like to speak to you more. do join me.”  

you ignore arisu’s nervous look as you follow chishiya out of the room. both of you slip through the various different passageways further into the beach. he leads you to his makeshift workshop, only letting go of your hand to begin working on yet another kerosene bomb. 

you lean back against the table as you watch him tinker away. once complete, he slowly feeds the mess of wires into the metal soda can. he passes it to you, hands holding yours for a second longer than necessary. you smile, setting it aside on the table. “you always do that.” 

chishiya raises an eyebrow. “do what?” 

“hold my hand.” he doesn’t react, instead looking away as he glances for another can. but the light flush on his ears is enough confirmation for you. he’s always searching for you, even when you’re standing right next to him. 

always thinking of you

word count 456

the rest of the players crowd around into groups, forming little cliques. they nervously glance around at the other players when they aren’t taking turns turning around and exposing their symbol, relying on the trust of the group to be truthful. 

you observe them from your place at a table in the cafeteria, silently watching. this is nothing new for chishiya - picking up on the little details about people is how he’s been able to survive in the borderland for so long. but as the games become increasingly difficult and your situation becomes more dire, you find yourself replicating his mannerisms. 

chishiya glances over his shoulder at you momentarily before refocusing on the wall of snacks before him. it’s all junk food, but junk is better than nothing. you probably won’t be able to eat much while trying to complete the rest of the games and avoiding the king of spades, he reasons. 

a woman stands at the edge of the shelves, watching him. he reaches out to grab a packet of cookies, opening the bag and taking a bite of one. he glances over at her before nonchalantly raising the packet. “you should try them,” he says. “they’re the best ones.” the woman doesn’t respond. instead, she simply slips back behind the shelf to where her group is. 

despite chishiya’s insistence about his personal choice being the best cookies, he pauses when something catches his eye. this bag is a deep blue. it’s wrapped in plastic instead of the paper he holds against his chest. they’re vanilla. from the look alone he can tell that he won’t enjoy the artificial sweetness, but something makes him take a packet before he goes to find you. they’re your favorite. 

chishiya silently sits down next to you, placing his packet of cookies on the seat beside him. you subtly move closer so your shoulders brush, leaning over to see what he picked. “i didn’t take you for the cookie type.” 

“it’s good to know i can still surprise you, then.” his initial hesitance of which snack to choose immediately disappears as your face lights up when he slides the blue packet to you. 

“i didn’t know they had these!” chishiya is unable to fully suppress his smile, allowing his lips to curl upwards slightly. “thank you.” 

“i thought you would like them.” 

“you know me so well,” you hum, opening the packet before holding out one for him. “want one?” 

chishiya was right when he thought that he wouldn’t enjoy the artificial taste of the vanilla. but when you smile up at him, happily eating another, he realizes he’d be content to eat overly sweet cookies for the rest of his life - as long as it’s with you.

‧₊˚✩ arisu

constantly talking about you (pre-borderland au)

word count 425

“hey, check this out!” chota takes a packet of ramen from the shelf, holding it up. arisu squints, stepping forwards to read the words. the packaging is pink, decorated with a picture of the noodles and… strawberry? 

karube reaches out to grab it, reading the words. “strawberry shortcake ramen?” he reads, raising an eyebrow at chota. “seriously?” 

“why not?” chota shrugs, returning to look through the various options. 

“sure, man,” karube chuckles. “whatever you want.” 

arisu smiles, shaking his head. he picks out a bowl of instant ramen, tucking it in between his arm and holding it against his chest to cook later. from the corner of his eye, a different packet catches his eye. it’s spicy - spicier than he would normally eat. but it’s perfect for you. he doesn’t realize the small smile unconsciously spreading across his face as he imagines the scene. 

going home to you after a day spent with chota and karube, pulling out the noodles, dancing around the kitchen together as you let them overcook on the stove, you teasing him as he tries to eat them and then has to desperately drink milk to soothe his burning mouth. 

he’s brought back to reality when karube places a hand on his shoulder. he leans in with a raised eyebrow, kneeling down to be eye level with him. “are you crazy?” he teases, gesturing to the packet in arisu’s hand. “we all know you can’t eat that.” 

“y/n will like it,” he says. he doesn’t notice the shared glance between chota and karube. 

“wow, man, you’re whipped.” chota comments. 

“seriously, i didn’t think it would get worse than that time he left in the middle of a match because y/n wanted to cuddle,” karube laughs. 

arisu purses his lips, unable to deny their teasing. he knows he’s whipped, or a simp, or a dumb lovestruck fool, or whatever else people want to call him - but he doesn’t care. going home to you, kissing under your kitchen lights, falling asleep to a bad sitcom wrapped in your arms, it’s all worth it. 

so instead of denying it or putting the ramen back, he lets them joke as he follows them to the register. he pays extra for the second packet before rejoining karube and chota by the window of the convenience store. “hey,” karube leans over to pat his shoulder. “in all seriousness, we’re glad you found someone like y/n. we’re proud of you.”

arisu smiles, refocusing on the bowl of instant ramen in front of him. “thank you.” 

trusts you with his life

word count 701 got a little carried away whoops

usagi’s hand stays firmly on the boy’s shoulder, subtly standing in front of him. “don’t worry,” she whispers when she kneels down next to him. “i’ll protect you.” he nods a little before she stands up. 

“we need to go,” you whisper. arisu nods, grabbing your hand as you follow usagi through the structure and up the stairs. other players chasing each other echo along the metal. arisu’s grip on your hand remains tight. he’s nervous- you can tell. he glances at you every now and then, pulling you through the different structures.

“queen’s turn ends. player’s turn begins.” the announcement chimes. you pant, leaning back against the metal. arisu never lets go of your hand, leaning down on his knees to catch his breath. 

“we need to find the other players,” usagi says. “if we can convince them to help us then we can win this.” you nod, squeezing arisu’s hand. “let’s split up. we’ll find more people that way.” 

“meet back here at every round.” arisu says. you note the area, before forcing yourself up, running off in search of the other players. 

arisu curses as you follow him up the winding metal structures. it’s a dead end.you look down over the edge, and then over his shoulder. a chain hangs down from somewhere above. “you need to grab onto that chain,” you point. arisu looks at what you’re pointing at before looking back at you. 

“are you crazy?” 

“look, there’s nowhere else to go!” he seems unconvinced, looking down at the ground below. you reach over to hold his face in your hands, turning him to face you. “do you trust me?” 

arisu nods immediately. “of course i do.” 

“then i need you to grab onto the chain and swing. i’ll catch you, i promise.” he glances back at the chain before nodding. 

“okay.” 

the queen catches up to you seconds later, smirking as she pants. “looks like your luck has finally run out.” you push arisu behind you, standing between them. 

“i wouldn’t call it luck.” she narrows her eyes at you, stepping closer. “arisu, now!” 

he jumps off of the edge of the structure, grabbing onto the chain. you push the queen away, putting distance between yourself and her. you grab arisu when he swings back, helping him down from the chain as you begin running again. 

once you’re sure you’ve lost the queen in the maze of her game, you give yourself a few minutes to relax. arisu leans back against the wall, panting. “thank you,” he whispers. you reach over to grab his hand, nodding.

you lean back against the metal railing for support. “this is the final round for the players,” the announcement chimes. “after this round, the game will end.” a man wearing a bike helmet nods at you before running off towards the left. you take his cue to go right, running  to the area where you agreed to meet up with arisu and usagi, finding them already there. usagi pats your shoulder as you lean up to look up at arisu. 

“there’s only two more players on the queen’s team,” she pants. “we can do this.” you nod, running through in search of any other players. you press the button on a man’s back, sending him to the ground from the shock. “sorry,” you whisper, kneeling down next to him to make sure he’s okay. you lean over the edge of the structure again, reading the scoreboard. 19 players vs. 01 queen. you let out a relieved sigh, making your way over to the area where you first entered the game. 

a few other players are already there, standing around and watching the time tick down. the boy rushes over to your side, standing next to you. you place a hand on his shoulder, watching the timer. “it’ll be okay,” you whisper. he nods, eyes glued to the screen. 

arisu rushes over to your side, quickly followed by usagi. he immediately pulls you into a quick hug. you wrap your arms around his shoulders, keeping him close to you. “y/n,” he sighs. “i’m glad you’re okay.” 

“me too,” you pant. he presses a quick kiss against your temple. 

‧₊˚✩ kuina

doing everything for two

kuina sets the pot over the makeshift stove she created, using the fire to heat the water. a box of noodles sits beside her as she waits for it to boil. the store is almost eerily quiet, the flickering overhead lights being the only other source of noise. 

word count 532 there are literally NO kuina gifs and it makes me so sad ://

she pulls her knees up to her chest as she waits. when the water becomes uninteresting, she finds herself staring at the picture she took from the wall of her mother’s hospital room. she remembers that day clearly, valuing it as one of the most important moments of her life. she was younger when her mother had first been diagnosed. she nervously clutched the straps of her bag as the nurse guided her to the room, leaving them alone in the room. she remembers how her mother had gasped, eyes welling with tears before she wrapped her into a hug for the first time in years, whispering about how she was a beautiful young woman. 

kuina remembers calling you in her car immediately afterwards, happy tears rolling down her cheeks. she remembers the excitement in your voice as she told you the good news and the taste of the noodles you surprised her with when she arrived home. that was the night she fell in love with you. 

she sighs, refocusing on the pot of water. it’s boiling now. she slowly pours the noodles in, stirring them around with a pair of wooden chopsticks she found in the hospital’s cafeteria. it’s only once they finish cooking and she fishes them out of the pot that she realizes she has too much food just for herself. she made enough for two. enough for you.

she curses the tears that build in her eyes. the hope of you being alive fades with each day, let alone being able to find you. a noise at the doors of the store startles her. her body stiffens, anxiously peeking behind a shelf to see who’s there. 

the breath escapes her lungs when she does. bloodied, dirty, and standing on shaky knees, you stand there. you lean against the wall to catch your breath. kuina clambers to her feet, rushing over to you. “y/n?” 

your eyes blink open at the mention of your name. your voice is breathless when you speak. “kuina?” 

she runs to you, wrapping you into a hug. you’re quick to reciprocate, hiding your face into her shoulder. “i was so worried about you,” she whispers, pulling away enough to brush the hair out of your face. “how did you find me?” 

“i figured you would go to the hospital. when you weren’t there, i thought i would check the grocery store next.” kuina doesn’t notice the tears rolling down her cheeks until your hand brushes one away. “don’t cry, baby, i’m here.” 

she smiles through the tears, nodding. “are you hurt?” 

you shake your head. “i’m alright.” 

kuina traces her hand along your jawline. she can’t wait any longer, pressing her lips against yours in a sweet kiss. you smile when she pulls away. “i made food. it’s your favorite.” 

you press another peck against her lips, pulling her a little closer again. “thank you.”

always touching you

“hi,” you smile, lowering your head into a quick bow. they’re quick to reciprocate. “i’m l/n y/n.” 

word count 527

“y/n,” kuina smiles, reaching out to grab your hand as you sit down beside her. there are two people sitting on the beach chair across from her. you recognize them as being the beach’s newest recruits. 

“usagi yazuha,” the woman smiles. her hair is short, cut into a chin length bob. her forehead bangs frame her face nicely. she’s wearing a peach jacket and black biker shorts. 

“arisu ryoehi.” his hair is longer than hers. he’s wearing a white t-shirt and blue swim trunks. they both look uncomfortable surrounded by the frenzy of drunk beach members. 

“don’t worry,” kuina chuckles. “we don’t bite. there are drinks pretty much everywhere, and drugs, if you’re into that.” 

“which games have you played?” you ask. 

they detail how they first met during tag before meeting up again in a club game. kuina grows even closer to you through the course of the night as you laugh and joke around with your newfound friends. her arm interlinks with yours, body leaning into your side. 

in the mix of shared drinks and laughter, she eventually ends up on your lap. you wrap your arm around her waist, both to hold her up as she leans against you and to keep her warm. you’re all too familiar of how cold the beach gets during the night, especially when your girlfriend is only wearing a bikini. 

the night continues on, party raging around you. usagi had decided to find a room in the hotel once the ocean breeze became less of a slight annoyance and more of an unrelenting wind. the night continues to blur as kuina and arisu continue drinking and joking around together. 

“you two are cute together,” arisu’s words slur together as he smiles at you. kuina reciprocates, taking another small sip of her beer. 

“so are you two,” she smiles. 

“ah, we’re not dating,” he sighs. 

“really?” she cocks her head at him. “you should ask her out. she totally likes you!” 

arisu nods to himself, contemplating. “maybe i will.” 

“babe,” you whisper, running your hand against her side. “it’s getting late. we should head to bed.” 

“you’re right,” she hums, finishing off the rest of her beer. 

“i should probably get some sleep too.” arisu nods. 

“the rooms are all unlocked. just pick one that’s empty. we don’t really keep track of room numbers or anything.” kuina wraps her arm around your shoulder, leaning into your chest. 

“thanks,” arisu smiles. “it was nice meeting you guys.” 

“you too!” kuina clings to you as you lift her body, carrying her away from the pool and into your shared room. you use your elbow to open the door before setting her body down on the bed. you set a bottle of water on the table beside her and prepare a trash can just in case before sliding underneath the covers beside her. “i love you,” she smiles, moving to lay on your chest. you pull the blanket up over her body, rubbing your hand against her back. 

“i love you too.”

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

pairing: chishiya x gn!reader (no pronouns used) genre: fluff ?? hurt comfort ?? word count: 1.6k

a/n: this was just supposed to be fluff with chishiya and kuina on the beach bc we were ROBBED of chishiya and kuina interactions in s2 but it turned into this

warnings: s1 spoilers, probably inaccurate descriptions of the shibuya subway system/the subway lines, semi canon (??)

“how is your hair so soft?” you ask, pulling chishiya’s hair back and tying it into a small ponytail. he simply hums, flipping the piece of paper to look at it from another angle. next to you, kuina chuckles. 

“do you have a secret conditioner stash we don’t know about?” 

“maybe it’s a wig,” you tease. you can barely hear chishiya’s scoff over kuina’s laugh, bringing a hand up to gesture for you to sit down next to him. he flips the slip of paper again, trying to make sense of it. a circle drawn in black pen with lines around and through it. they almost look like scribbles. you sigh, sitting down next to him and leaning over his shoulder to see it better. “you got this from a game, right?” 

“during tag. it was on one of the tagger’s bodies.” 

“did you find out who the taggers were?” 

“no, i only saw one. she was another player with one of those exploding collars on.” 

“so if the taggers were also players, then why did she have the paper?” 

“what are you thinking, y/n?” kuina asks, leaning closer. 

“what if she got it from the creators? why else would she have a random piece of paper inside of a suit?” 

chishiya nods. “it was in one of the pockets. it’s possible she didn’t know about it at all and it was placed there by the creators.” 

“but that still goes back to the same question we had before. if it was from the creators, what does it mean?” kuina sighs dramatically, laying her head down on her crossed arms. 

“they have to have some way of watching us. otherwise they wouldn’t know who cleared the games and when.” 

“that means they know we have this,” chishiya lifts the paper, holding it closer to the light. “it has to be important, or they wouldn’t have left it in the tagger’s suit.” 

“they must not be worried about us having it, or they would’ve killed you after you took it.” 

chishiya hums again, setting the paper down on the table. music rages outside despite the late hour. you yawn, leaning your head against chishiya’s shoulder. he grunts, but doesn’t move away from you. “it’s late. we should get some rest.” 

“ah,” kuina sighs, rubbing her eyes. “that’s a good idea. sleep is good.” chishiya refolds the paper, shoving it into his pocket. he wraps an arm around your waist, urging you to stand up. 

“come on, let’s go to bed.” you lazily nod, grabbing onto his arm and following him to your shared room. 

it’s dusk out as you walk through the empty tokyo streets.your shoulder barely brushes against chishiya’s. the night is oddly serene, wind chilling your bones. you shiver, wrapping your arms around yourself, silently cursing the beach for making you wear swim trunks everywhere you go. your knees beg you to sit down somewhere and take a break, still covered in bruises from your spades game earlier. the silence is welcome as you pass into shibuya. nostalgia plagues you as you continue. 

the subway is eerie at night, opening to a dark abyss. “there might be something down there,” you say, gesturing to the opening. chishiya simply hums, leaning back against the railing. you retreat back up the steps, deciding to explore it when you can actually see where you’re going, joining him. the details of the map are barely visible next to the stairs but you study it anyway. “you know, i used to take this subway everyday,” you murmur. 

“yeah?” chishiya watches as you lean closer to the map, tracing your finger along one of the lines. 

“yeah. rode on the yamanote line into work.” silence envelops the both of you for a few seconds until you cock your head, leaning even closer. “do you have a flashlight or a lighter or anything?” 

“here,” chishiya hands a flashlight out for you to take. 

“thanks.” now with light illuminating the sign, chishiya steps closer to stand beside you. he lets his arm rest comfortably around your waist, watching you. 

“do you see something?” 

“can i have the paper with the circle?” he pulls it out of his pocket, handing it to you. you press it against the sign, moving it on the map so it’s next to the circle indicating the shibuya station. next to each other, the lines align to show the station surrounded by nearby streets. “huh.” 

“there must be something inside,” chishiya whispers. 

“let’s come back tomorrow with kuina.” he nods, pulling you away from the subway opening. 

“we should get back to the beach before people start asking questions.” 

the city doesn’t look that much different in the daylight. grass has begun to grow along the buildings at a rapid pace, though you pay it no mind. the sun beams down on you as you make your way back to shibuya in search of the subway. 

“you’re sure about this?” kuina turns to ask you. 

“the lines look the same,” you shrug. “it’s worth checking out, at least.” she gives you an uneasy look before nodding, following after chishiya. 

the subway is still dark once you arrive. chishiya hands you a flashlight before you hesitantly begin to make your way down the stairs. the station is empty inside. light from your flashlight bounces along the walls as you search for anything. chishiya nudges you gently, pointing his light towards something to your right. “there’s a door over there.” 

“i guess it doesn’t hurt to look,” kuina shrugs. you jump down onto the tracks, following them to the door. 

“it says it’s for maintenance,” you say, gently pushing it open. “woah.” 

“what is it?” kuina asks, following you in.

inside is a group of desks and chairs. the walls are circular, covered in monitors from top to bottom. you shine your light along them, taking it in. chishiya closes the door behind you, searching through the files and paperwork on the tables. 

“there could be something here,” he says. you nod, breaking your attention away from the monitors to search through the cabinets. 

“it looks like they have files on all of the players,” kuina says, thumbing through a variety of manilla folders. “there have to be hundreds of these.” 

“they must be keeping track of everyone.” you pull one of them out, skimming through the information. kato suzuko. female. 34 years old. 15 days in the borderland. deceased - one week. “these files are new. this woman died last week.” 

“we should go.” you help kuina shove the files back into their place, quickly shutting the door behind you and rushing out of the station. a familiar feeling of dead settles itself into the bottom of your stomach as you grab onto chishiya’s hand, walking back to the beach. 

you anxiously crack your knuckles as chishiya fiddles with an empty soda container, creating another bomb. he glances up at you for a second before sighing, setting the mess of wires aside and walking over to you. he grabs your hand before sitting next to you. “what’s wrong?” 

you sigh, turning to face him and pulling your knees up to your chest. “those files… there were so many of them. how many people have died here? how many more will die here?” 

chishiya intertwines your fingers together, stroking his thumb against your skin. your hand feels cold in his. “you didn’t choose to come here. you had no way of preventing those deaths.” 

“but what about the people here now? people have died so i could live. it feels like…” you look down, desperately trying to blink away the tears in your eyes. you’re sure you look weak, crying about people you never knew. never will know. “it feels like i killed them.” 

chishiya pauses, lifting your head so you’re looking up at him. he silently moves his hand to your cheek, wiping away stray tears. chishiya has never been the best at comforting people, especially with words. but he’s also never felt like this for someone before. he wants to take you back to the old world, where you don’t have to worry about death games and gun-wielding maniacs and untrustworthy people and all of the other cruel things he knows exist all around you. he wants to protect you from everyone who wants to hurt you. he wants to know exactly what to say to make you feel better. he wants to be able to tell you things the way you’re able to talk to him. 

but he doesn’t know how to do any of that. so instead he pulls you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you as you cry. he presses a kiss to your forehead, rubbing a hand against your back. “none of this is your fault,” he whispers. “we’ll be okay. i promise.” 

chishiya holds you until you stop crying, clinging to him as if he’ll disappear. he lets you push him down so he’s laying on his back with your head leaning against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. he runs a hand against your back, bomb long forgotten on the table. “i love you,” he whispers. 

you bring his other hand up to your lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. “i love you too.”

[hauntedsideofthemoon]

707: *Slides into the chat room*

707: yeogi buteora