Alice in Borderland ~ Chishiya

4

I'm not getting far in opening my eyes, because they close by themselves by reflex, due to the bright light I see. It immediately provides me with a headache. I reach for my head and decide to slowly make another attempt to open my eyes. This time, I come very far. A fresh breeze makes my body wake up a bit more, which makes me start to think. Where am I again? I look around and see that I'm lying on a patch of grass on a mountain. Why am I here and not at home?

Oh, yes, "home". The place I fled, since my parents again called me all sorts of things. I went for a run, where I ended up at the mountain and looked out over the city. I started climbing and then.. Then a very strange thing happened. The fireworks that were set off in the city hit the rocks. That's why I fell. I probably passed out by the blow, only to wake up the next day.

I sit up and move my muscles. Strangely, nothing is wrong with me. I would swear I cut myself open during the fall. Yet there's not a single scratch decorating my arm. I decide to be relieved, rather than suspicious. After all, my parents would have gotten angry if I got home covered in scratches. Oh no.. I cringe when realizing I haven't been home all night and they for sure noticed that. There's no doubt they showered me with angry messages. I reach for my pocket and take out my phone, but when I unlock it, I see that I have not yet received any messages. Have they really given up on me this time? Won't they let me know anything from their side anymore? No, it must be for some other reason. I see that I have no signal here. Is it because I'm in the mountains?

Although I'm not particularly eager to go back home, I know that I'll have to. I put my phone back in my pocket and look at the rock face from which I fell. Strange. Last night, it looked very different. It may have been distorted by the impact of the fireworks. It's strange that I don't see any traces of them. My irritation level rises when I pick up my broken headphones and realize it's never going to work again. Shit. Now my parents will be even more angry. I throw it back on the ground and turn to the city.

Which asshole is setting off fireworks towards the mountains? I understand that people don't normally go out here late at night, but I could've ended up being dead. I pause for a moment to think about that. I was shocked to slip and I tried my best to reach the ground safely. Would I have cared if I died? I can't seem to get an answer to that question. I decide to walk down the path and return to civilization.

After walking the quiet streets for a while, I grab my phone to check what time it is. Normally Tokyo would be alive and well now, but there's no one on the streets. Yet it already has been ten o'clock. Everyone should be awake now, right? Not that I mind. I think it's nice and quiet like this, without people. I continue my way until I finally arrive home, where I look at the door reluctantly and with a knot in my stomach. My parents must have noticed that I slipped away, because they closed my window. Still, I haven't received any messages yet. But there's also still no signal. I have to get in, I know that, but I can't seem to be able to do it with a normal heart rate.

I expected them to angrily barge in the hallway immediately, but there's no sound to be heard and no movement to be felt. 'Dad?' I ask carefully. 'Mom?' Still no response. Maybe they've really given up on me and decided to utterly ignore me from now on. I don't know if I'd mind if that were the case. 'Hello?' When I still don't receive any response, I start to search the house. Today is my father's day off, so he should be home. Would he have gone to work after all? No, there's no way he would pass up the opportunity to wait for me and scold me once more. Something is wrong here. I decide not to pay too much attention to it and grab a set of clean clothes to put on after taking a shower.

'What..' I mumble. Annoyed, I turn the tap a few times, but no running water comes out. 'Nice one!' I yell. 'Don't be childish to turn off the water like that and just punish me in a normal way!' When there's still no response, I am fed up. I change myself and head for Shiori and Sato. They would always help me.