Alice in Borderland ~ Chishiya

48

Then comes the moment that I had somewhat feared. The immense card with the jack of spades on it is nowhere to be found. The zeppelin above it is still floating in the same spot in the air, but the card has disappeared. Just like the queen of spades card is nowhere to be found, because Raiden and I and three other players have it in our pocket. The game's already cleared.

'Well,' Raiden mumbles with a sigh, 'we should've expected this. It has now been five days since we cleared the game. It was only a matter of time until someone would get the jack of spades.' On the one hand, I can detect relief in his voice. I share that relief. Neither of us was exactly eager to demolish our bodies again. Not just after we recovered a bit. We still feel our muscles whine quickly with physical movement, but at least we're now able to walk normally and pretend nothing is wrong.

'That means that now all we have to do is accomplish the king of spades,' I say. That task is going to be impossible. The zeppelin with the king of spades under it still floats above all of Tokyo, but the shots and explosions that can be heard or seen in the distance do not always come from the zeppelin. That means that the psychopath doesn't necessarily stays on it. I look through the sky again. I can't see every card correctly, but I can see that the king and jack of diamonds have already been cleared. Just like the king of clubs. I don't know if that's the game Kuina took off for, but if it is, I know I shouldn't be completely hopeful. It doesn't necessarily mean that she managed to clear the game. It just means that the game is cleared.

'Hey, how is that possible?' Raiden mumbles, looking up at the sky. I follow his gaze and arrive at the zeppelin in the distance that represents the jack of hearts. I had been somewhat relieved when we looked at that yesterday and the card had turned white. It seemed as if the game no longer needed to be played, but now I can clearly see that the card is shining under the zeppelin again. 'I thought it was already cleared,' Raiden adds.

'I think a white card means that the game is currently being played and that no one can participate anymore. Perhaps no player was able to clear the game, so the jack of hearts won and the game can be played again after a certain time.'

'Are you saying there's some kind of cooldown when the game isn't cleared by the players, so another group can try?' Raiden asks. I shrug. 'I know as much as you do, but I think so.' That means there's an opportunity to try it. 'Kimora, please..' Raiden mumbles. 'There has already been a group that didn't make it through the game. If you go there and..' He doesn't finish his sentence. 'We don't know if it's a big game,' I mumble, 'or if only five players are allowed to participate. It's worth finding out.'

Raiden doesn't say anything. I don't have to look at him to know he doesn't share that opinion, but I do. I'm overwhelmed with the thought that this is the point where I also have to say goodbye to my last partner and move on alone. Maybe that's better, considering my goal is a hearts game. I would never want to betray Raiden or have his death on my conscience.

'Why do you have to be the one to clear that game?' he mumbles. 'We can also look for another game, or try very carefully to avoid that psychopath and wait for someone else to make it.' I think back to our last game and sigh. 'If everyone thinks that way, we'll never get those cards.' I put my hand on his shoulder and look at him intently. 'We have to clear this second phase, Raiden. We're so close. We can't give up now.'

'What if you go there and don't survive?' His face is full of pain. I don't want to be the one who breaks it to him, but.. 'And what if we don't go there and that psycho shoots us in the head tonight? Every second we're here, we can die. We have to keep playing.' I look into the sky again, then let my eyes slide back to his. 'It's pretty close to the jack of clubs,' I tell him. 'Maybe we'll meet Kuina there. Then you can wait with her until I come back.' He doesn't say the words, but I can hear him think: "What if you never come back?" But he knows this is the only thing to do. We have to keep playing.