King of Diamonds - Part One

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Having finished his own game against the Jack of Diamonds, Chishiya looked up at the blimp above the church. Since it was still floating high up in the sky, it meant that the game was either still ongoing or...Kurenai had failed. He believed in her, however. Chuya Kurenai would never fail.

Just as he thought so, the door to the church opened and out walked Kurenai, a little skip in her steps. As soon as she laid eyes on Chishiya, she ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. He smiled a little, wrapping his arms around her waist and held her tightly.

-Five minutes ago-

"Did you divorce her? Or did you kill her?"

Akihiro gripped onto the arms of the chair, gritting his teeth. How? Losing the game was one of the expected results, but Akihiro did not understand how he was losing. Why was he unable to catch her lies? She did not lose a single point after her initial shock, how? She must be cheating somehow.

"Is she cheating?" Kurenai suddenly spoke, leaning forward. She propped her elbows on the altar and rested her chin on top of her hands. "Well, let me solve the mystery for you," she smiled. "You see, this is not a hard game. It's only hard because we make it hard for ourselves. Any player who walks in here, knowing that it's a Hearts game, will start to overthink. I fell for it too.

"But then I was shocked, and I realised that there is a sure way to win this game. Everything I've told you since, every last word, they were all the truth. If I don't tell a single lie, I can't lose. I just need to rile you up and make you think that I'm lying. And to be honest, I didn't think it would be so easy to piss you off. You did quite a lot of the work for me."

A sure way to win the game?

And all she had to do was tell the truth the entire time?

That defeated the purpose of the game. That was not how the game was supposed to be played.

"She told me..." Akihiro mumbled. "She told me not to let my guard down with you...she warned me..."

"Who?" Kurenai frowned.

"She was right..."

Akihiro seemed to be losing his mind slowly, mumbling to herself. Kurenai let out a soft sigh, feeling slight pity for the man. How painful it must be to have one's ego shattered so forcibly.

"I divorced her..." His voice was weak, and he sounded defeated.

"It's been fun, Ito Akihiro," Kurenai smiled. "Liar."

The points on the screen changed, and Akihiro finally reached -10. Liquid poured from above, seemingly from a hidden contraption somewhere. Akihiro was doused in the liquid, and the electricity sparked on with a crackle. In an instant, he was set on fire.

While the man was burning to death, Kurenai took off the polygraph equipment and stood up, stretching her arms while groaning. Sitting too long in the chair had gotten her stiff. With one last look at the burning man, Kurenai walked down the aisle and out of the church.

Chishiya was standing just outside, waiting for her like they had promised each other.

She ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck and held him tightly. She buried her face in his neck, taking in a deep breath of his scent. Instantly, she felt calmer.

"I knew you wou-"

"I love you."

Three words.

He was not expecting to hear them from her. Not now, not here in Borderland. Did a person like him even deserve love?

His parents never showed him love, nor did he have anyone else growing up. Emotions were not something he learned and slowly, as he grew up, Chishiya learned to shut himself off instead. He had no interest in life or death, for others or himself. He thought perhaps if he became a doctor like his father, he would understand eventually. But he never did. And even after coming to Borderland, he never found the answer he was looking for.

Empty.

That was all he came to understand. He existed purely to show how empty a person could be. Until Kurenai busted her way through.

She showed him what emotions were. Every time he looked at her, he felt warm on the inside; that was happy. Whenever he saw her hurt, he felt as if someone drove a spike through his heart; that was sad. So if he never wanted to part with her, if he wanted to keep her close and protect her, what was that?

"I love you too."

Kurenai pulled away and held his face in her hands, grinning at him. They were both similar in ways they never knew, and they were brought together. She kissed him over and over again on the lips before hugging him tight again.

"It's time to go," Chishiya said, looking up at the King of Hearts' blimp that was now getting destroyed and falling apart.

--

"Hm, so you had to play mahjong?"

Having completed a game each, they decided to take a rest until the next day and set up a small camp in a nearby department store. It was only the first day of the second stage but already a handful of blimps had fallen.

As night fell, they were sharing stories of their games with each other over dinner.

Chishiya suddenly went silent, holding Kurenai's hand in his. He stroked the back of her hand gently with his thumb, before bringing it up to his lips and kissed it gently. There were more games to play in the following days, and it was very likely that they would separate from each other again.

"Shuntarou?" Kurenai asked, tilting her head.

It was a little unlike him to be so quiet and showing affection in such a way.

"What game are you planning on participating next?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Kurenai shrugged. "The King of Hearts was not as challenging as I thought it would be. It was no fun at all, actually. The only good thing about it was that I came out finally knowing that I love you."

He chuckled, holding her chin. "Should I thank him then?"

"Not sure you can. He's been barbecued."

"I think I'll take on the King of Diamonds next."

King of Diamonds?

She would not have expected anything less from Chishiya, though the way he said it was a little ominous. As if he knew something would happen.

"Is there a reason why?" she asked.

"I have a feeling I know who he is," Chishiya replied. "And I thought I should pay him a visit. Maybe get a few questions answered."

"Someone we know?"

"Someone we know."

Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OCWhere stories live. Discover now