Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Five of Clubs - Part One

Chuya Kurenai - Day 6 of Sojourn

"As you all know, we promoted Miss Chuya to number nine and an executive because she brought us three beautiful cards. It has come to my attention, however, that despite agreeing, some of us are still unhappy with this decision. However, we are fair and when there is a dispute, we resolve it.

"Miss Chuya has agreed to participate in a game tonight. Since Niragi has the most issues with her presence in the executives, he will be participating along with her. I'd like Chishiya to tag along too, as an unbiased observer. Hopefully, Miss Chuya proves her worth and there will be no more doubts within our community."

--

And so, here they were, shackled to the bottom of an empty pool.

In all honesty, Kurenai did not mind participating in a game. She had been playing one game per night so far, only resting for one night when she came to the Beach. She had a problem, however, with the fact that Niragi advocated for her participation tonight. She did not like that he thought he could control her.

Since her arrival, he had not been shy in sharing his opinion about her presence at the Beach. She found it ironic, that he had been asking for her exile yet stating that he would like to do things to her. Sexual things.

She was sure Niragi would try and kill her in the game, or at least leave her to die if the situation called for it, though right now she was more worried about something else.

The moment they stepped into the building, Kurenai had been quiet. She did not have her usual cheeky smile, nor did she come back with a snarky comment for Niragi whenever he spoke. Her expression hardened when they were instructed to get into the diving pool and shackle themselves.

"You look scared, princess. I thought you were all tough, playing all those high level games," Niragi smirked.

Silence.

Something was not right, Chishiya could tell.

WELCOME

GAME - ESCAPE ARTIST

ENTRY NUMBER - THREE

PRIZES - NONE

ENTRY PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED

The screen flashed and the five of Clubs was displayed.

With a frown, Kurenai looked to Niragi. Clubs games were team games. Intelligence and athleticism were required but most importantly, players had to work together. Technically speaking, it was the only type of game where all participating players could live to the end. The problem here was, whether or not Niragi would let her live.

GAME - ESCAPE ARTIST

RULES

- WHEN THE GAME STARTS, THE POOL WILL START TO FILL WITH WATER

- PLAYERS MAY NOT ATTEMPT ESCAPE UNTIL WATER REACHES 1M IN HEIGHT

- TO OBTAIN KEYS, ANSWER TRIVIA QUESTIONS CORRECTLY

- PLAYERS WILL TAKE TURNS TO ANSWER

- IF PLAYER ANSWERED WRONGLY, THE NEXT QUESTION WILL NOT BE GIVEN UNTIL 2 MINUTES LATER

TIME LIMIT

- NONE

GAME OVER CONDITION

- FAILURE TO OBTAIN A KEY AND DROWN

GAME CLEAR CONDITION

- ESCAPING BEFORE YOU DROWN

As soon as they finished reading the rules, water started pouring into the pool from above. None of them moved, since they were not allowed to just yet.

"Hey princess, you don't look so good. Scared of a little water?" Niragi grinned.

"Now's a good time to let you know," Kurenai said, looking at Chishiya. There was nothing flirtatious about her tone of voice, which was odd. Any chance she got, she jumped on Chishiya. "I can't swim."

What?

Kurenai knew when they arrived at the venue. She knew it would involve water and swimming somehow. There was a slither of hope in her that perhaps it was just a location, and had nothing to do with swimming. That was dashed as soon as they got into the diving pool.

So this was how she would die.

Niragi broke the silence among them, laughing maniacally. All this time he had been trying to find a way to get rid of her when he could have just thrown her into the river right next to the Beach. It made his goal a lot easier too, he could simply leave her in the pool once he got out.

Chishiya, on the other hand, kept quiet.

While it certainly was an inconvenience, there was a roundabout this issue. All they had to do was answer the questions correctly and get the keys as quickly as they could so she could get out before the water got too high for her.

As the water level rose, Kurenai's breathing became quick and shallow. She was starting to hyperventilate, possibly an onset of a panic attack. That would not be good, Chishiya thought. This was a Clubs game, and while he had confidence in answering the questions himself, it was always better to have more brains than one.

"Hey, look at me." Calling out to Kurenai, Chishiya moved through the waist height water, getting as close as his shackle allowed him to. "Keep your eyes on me," he said. When her eyes darted to the water, he snapped his fingers to get her attention. When she wanted to look in Niragi's direction, he made sure to block the view. "This is a Clubs game. I need you to focus. We can all get out of this."

Keeping her eyes on Chishiya somehow calmed her down, possibly because she was now focusing on something else rather than the water. Reaching out, Kurenai held onto Chishiya's hand for more comfort and he let her.

"Are you two shooting a movie over there?" Niragi laughed. "Don't even think about getting out of here alive, princess. I'm going to make sure you drown."