Alice in Borderland ~ Chishiya

26

'That went pretty well,' Raiden remarks proudly as we walk towards the mess hall, 'I wasn't even half a mile behind you.' Of course I'm happy that he's happy, but I can't help but make a comment about it. 'All that partying hasn't become so disastrous for your body after all.' He rolls his eyes. 'I went to two parties,' he mumbles. 'You immediately act as if I'm some hard party goer and an alcoholic.' I pretend to think he's just that, which makes him push me, after which he starts laughing. 'Hey, watch out! The other Beachers may be afraid of you, but you don't intimidate me so easily.'

I smile at him and look around for a moment. I don't know where exactly they got it from, maybe from Yuri, but the news of last night's game seems to be spreading like wildfire again. I try to ignore it, but I can't help but notice that some Beachers look at us cautiously when Raiden and I walk to an empty table with something to eat. Do I really see relief there that we don't join them?

'You don't necessarily have to stay with me,' I say when we sit across from each other. 'I'm used to being alone and being stared at. If you prefer to sit with them, you should of course just do that.' I briefly nod at a table down the hall, where there are some people who recently let him get involved in a group conversation. Aki and Redsuit are also included. They don't move here, but they both wave at me for a moment. Since it looks like I've already made so many enemies here, I wave back.

'No way,' Raiden sighs, 'that noisy stuff on my head all the time.' He shakes his head. 'I'd rather sit in peace with you for a while.' I don't admit it, but secretly I think it's nice that he stays with me. Although I'm now used to the looks, I still find it annoying to be stared at when I sit alone. It makes me feel like an easy target. I try to push away the images that come to mind.

'Hey,' I hear Kuina cheerfully say as she sits down next to me. 'Hey,' I say back. Raiden gives her a nod. 'How did your game go last night?' she asks me. I look at her inquisitively for a moment, not sure why she's asking. No doubt she's already heard the stories, but she's not asking in any way to hear the latest gossip or to provoke me. She seems genuinely interested. 'It went pretty well,' I reply. 'In the end we were pushed into a corner, but luckily it turned out well.' She nods and takes a sip from her glass of water. She seems to want to say something else, but we're interrupted by someone coming to the table. I look up and see that it's Takumi.

'Kimora,' he says in a neutral tone, 'you're expected in the conference room.' I look at him questioningly. 'I? What for?' He doesn't answer and nods in the direction of the lobby. 'They've already started. Hatter sent me to get you.' I can infer from his words that he means right now. Raiden gives me a questioning look and I shrug at him. 'Don't worry,' Kuina says to me with a smile, 'I'll keep Raiden company for a while.' Raiden looks like he doesn't care that much. I'm curious if he'll come back to that. She has made a good impression on me.

I know there's no point in asking Takumi why I have to be at a meeting for the executives, so I silently walk with him through the hallway. I do think about it myself though. I've come to the conclusion that it has something to do with last night's game. What else could it be? Because since Raiden and I got here, I haven't done anything else.

I've always hated to come into a crowded room somewhere and see every pair of eyes gliding towards me, but I try to hide it. The conversation that was being held has come to a standstill and for a moment I just stand there, staring at the people sitting at the long table. I notice that Chishiya's also there. I didn't know he was an executive member, but I'm not surprised. He takes his hand out of his pocket and gives me a quick wave. I'm too tense to do the same thing back, but I do give him a nod.

'Ah, Kimora!' Hatter says enthusiastically, getting up from his chair. 'My apologies,' he continues, 'no one knew where you were, so we started already.' I don't know what to do. Should I say it doesn't matter or should I say nothing? What does he expect from me? And why do I have to come here? I take another look at the table and see Kazuo, Niragi, Aguni and Arisu, among others. The latter and I nod to each other, because we recognize each other from tag. I didn't know he could attend these meetings.