𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚝 III chishiya x female reader *discontinued*

chapter 56

It was hard to accept that some people have so much love inside of them, all kinds, all colors. It was a rainbow of all various emotions that beamed from these humans, and maybe sometimes they weren't pretty hues, but they still made everyone warm inside. It was like a power that turned every sliver of pain and happiness - the opposites, into a one blended feeling that everyone drowned in. 

As I held the older girl in my hands, I could feel her hot body, her whole system getting higher in temperature as she sobbed into my shoulder. Her shaking form vibrated against my chest, and I couldn't say I was completely pleased with her tears wetting my hoodie.

 I never had such an encounter with anyone, maybe only with Kuina, but then again, she wasn't just a stranger rather than a long-term friend. I was uneducated in this topic of comfort, a tight smile tugging at my lips, remembering the dozens of times where I was the crybaby getting cuddled like a newborn.

I missed it, but I knew I wouldn't get it in this world. A hug of true pity, trust, and genuine care.

„Chiyoko, I am sorry for your loss." I whispered after a while, the time flying carelessly, knowing that I needed to be the one who ends her soft crying. „I don't know who you are, or how your relationship with him was, but I need you to know that I admire you." 

The girl froze for a second, my words as if a slap to a face, before she retracted quickly from my hug. I thought I said something wrong, feeling the absence of her warmth that happened so abruptly, but as I snapped my eyes to her distanced face, I couldn't see a frown of hate.

„Admire me? Why? I literally just cried my heart out on your shoulder and you don't even-" she hiccuped, her nose red and snotty, mascara mixing with her brownish skin tone. „You don't even know me..." Chiyoko continued, hesitancy dripping from the last sentence.

I just sighed and leaned over to her face, inches away, staring into her black starry eyes. They remind me of- no. Hers were shallow, filled with light. And that was good, because as I lifted my hand slowly, my fingers coming to her cheek, she didn't flinch as he would do, reminding me of how human can players actually be.

My thumb slowly wiped her tears, the black makeup smudged under her eye gone, her mouth slightly open. I tried to look at her directly, make an eye contact worth more than the mere words of my unknown self, but I couldn't help but to shift my gaze slowly to my wrist, the tag of a bracelet loosely tied glistening in the sun - a reminder of my position in this world.

22.

I didn't know how I did it, but somehow, as I played the few games, I climbed higher in my rank, my bracelet changing almost every day. I never really paid attention to it, as I knew it didn't hold any meaning, only some type of childish race that resulted in a false hope of getting out of here.

But as the number went past hundred, past fifty, surpassing people that were here long before me, I couldn't help but question the sudden uplift. Yeah, I did win some cards, but there was no way it could actually get me in the 22nd place. It was dangerous, especially if the players here were full of envy and anger, making me a walking target.

The funniest thing was that I could actually be part of the council, only two places below the line, 'the golden twenty' as people like to call them only a hand away. As I think about it, it wouldn't be bad if I actually somehow got into the council. It did held some benefits and - 

„Are you okay?"

Chiyoko's voice snapped me from my mindless pondering, shifting my dazed eyes from the bracelet to her eyes, nodding gently. I pursued my lips and retracted my hand, now feeling like a total creep as I realized that I just emptily stared onto my hand while I rubbed her cheek.