Alice in Borderland ~ Chishiya

13 - ♠3

'A nice place for our first date, don't you think?' Raiden says while grinning and winking at me. It never seems to bother him that I don't get into his joking comments or he likes to take the guess if I'll finally reply, because he keeps doing it. He probably just likes to listen to his own voice. 'I'll buy you a cotton candy,' he continues, 'and I'll keep you warm when we're high up the Ferris wheel.'

For a moment, it looks like he'll put an arm around me to joke around, but he won't go any further. In the five days that he has known me, he has already realized that I don't like physical contact. I quickly push away the memories that come to mind.

'I don't like the fair,' I reply, looking at the location. The area seems quite large and not everything can be seen, but the big Ferris wheel towers over everything else. There are big spotlights on the roofs of the booths. They shine towards the sky, making sure that as many people possible know about this game. 'So you're not in for tonight's game?' Raiden asks. I don't know if it sounds like he thinks that's regrettable.

Everything surrounding the location is pitch black, making all the lights on the fairground extra easy to see. In addition to the spotlights on the roofs, every booth provides light. Yet there are still plenty of dark corners. All in all, the setting looks creepy. It's uninviting and ominous. So..

'Of course I'm in,' I say before stepping forward to getting closer to the entrance. I can just see Raiden grinning, as if he wants to say he'd like to hear that. Yes, the setting seems ominous to me, but what else can I do? This way, there's at least a little bit of action, a little bit of excitement. I don't feel like having to muddle through for two more days before something happens again.

We are certainly not the first participants to arrive and we'll probably not be the last. Of the six participants who are already there, one person immediately catches my eye. It's Chishiya, the boy I cleared the tag game with. He also seems to notice me immediately, because he looks up from his phone and keeps looking at me for a moment. The corners of his mouth curl up slightly, to which he raises his hand and waves at me briefly, just as he had done to the two boys who wore swimsuits. Unlike them, I do wave back at him. Then I pick up my own phone from the table, to which Raiden and I step aside. We hide which other cards we've already collected.

'We keep bumping into each other, don't we?' A boy approaches me. I recognize him as Yuri. I don't like to see him again. He reminds me of the ignorant girl I was during my first game. The girl with questions. The girl who was shocked by the cruelty of the game and other humans. I'm not sure how to respond, so I just say: 'Hey.'

Our phones call out the names of Raiden and I. I look at the screen to see how many minutes we have left and see the timer counting down with ten minutes remaining. I decide to use the time and inspect the area a bit more. The side is cordoned off with fences. I wonder how many passages there are and whether the entrance also acts as an exit. I notice that several booths are equipped with some kind of weapons. They're subtly tucked into a corner, as if it's just for the scenery of the booths. I wonder if we'll actually be allowed to use them.

'It's been a long time.' Since I'm scanning the area, I realize quite late that Yuri is talking to me. 'What games have you played in the meantime?' Why is he always so interested in that? That's none of his business. I take a look at Raiden. We have not yet discusses what we would say by the time our last game would come up. I don't know if we would do well to tell others. What if they want to take us out first, because they know how strong we are?

'You?' I bounce back, as I did last time I spoke to Yuri. A smile appears on his lips, but it's not a friendly one. 'When was your last game?' he asks. I almost hope for Raiden to be stepping forward and saying something like "is this boy bothering you, honey?" But he doesn't do it. Of course: why should he? We are colleagues, not friends. I understand completely.