How Long is Forever [COMPLETED]

Fireworks

You touch his face with your unharmed hand now as you can't hold back some tears, and you're so ready to break the rules once more.

But there's one more thing you know for sure.

With Chishiya on your side, you'll be able to face whatever this game has prepared for you.

Together, you'll be ready for Stage Two.

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The kiss tastes salty from your tears, and they just won't stop running as you place one more kiss onto Chishiya's soft lips, and another, until he turns his head aside with a chuckle and gently places you down on the ground again.

"Alright, that's enough. Look at you, crying like a toddler."

"Missed you too", you say with a grin as you wipe away the tears. This feels too good to be real, and you even forget about the broadcast for a heartbeat as you savor the feeling on your lips. It has to look quite weird for the others – someone randomly storming out of the dark, hugging and kissing Chishiya like crazy and now standing in front of him trying not to cry anymore.

"Yo, where are my kisses!?" Kuina complains and pulls you into a tight hug, and she even manages to squeeze you without hurting your shoulder, and still so hard you can barely breathe anymore. It feels wonderful to have both of them close to you again, and you really hope there won't be any more secrets excluding you. You're not sure if you can run through this another time.

The five of you start to walk again as you link arms with Chishiya. The other two definitely look as if they have thousands of questions, but it is your turn to ask first. "What have you guys been up to?"

Chishiya looks down at you, but there's nothing condescending in his smirk. "We found the dealer's base, where they monitored all the games and players during these last months."

Your eyes widen with surprise. That's quite big news! A whole base full with dealers such as Momoka?

"And that took you three days? Did any of them tell you anything interesting?"

He shakes his head. "Probably three days too long. Everyone was dead already."

"The base was shut down by the time Usagi and I arrived. All the people were killed by a laser shot through their head. Chishiya and Kuina found it around the same time as us, and that's when the broadcast started."

You feel shivers run down your spine as you remember the way Mira actually seemed to enjoy all the suffering. "I'm sure everyone saw it, together with the fireworks."

"Fireworks?"

"Haven't you seen them? They were all over the sky!"

Chishiya pokes your forehead with his free hand. "We were searching through an underground base, stupid."

"You didn't mention it was underground."

"We came out of a subway station. What did you expect?"

"Fireworks..." Arisu's thoughtful voice interrupts your quarrel, and you both look towards him as he has stopped walking. "There were fireworks shortly before Chouta, Karube and I found ourselves in the Borderlands."

"I've seen them too. It was such a weird time for a firework to start." Kuina sounds puzzled as well, and for some reason, it only makes sense that all of you seem to have experienced the same thing.

You hum in agreement. "Yeah. At first I thought I had missed some national holiday again, but I wasn't the only one to be surprised."

Chishiya chuckles. "You sound like this happens to you all the time."