The Queen of Spades (promise this is good)

Chapter 22-Stage two

(Oh my gawsh!! I just visited the doctor's for an injection and I rearranged my room to get ready for a new academic year. My left arm really hurts but I'll try to continue typing. I just logged in to see that this story has reached 600 views! We're very close to 1K :00 in a lot shorter than I expected! Thanks for all the votes and support guys!)

You yawned drowsily before getting up from your mattress, or your makeshift bed. It consisted of a feathery pillow which you lay your head on and a long blanket that you used to bring warmth to your body. It was always a habit of you to wake up early at 6am in the morning, when the sky was still dark.

You proceeded to brush your teeth after having taken a short shower. You looked at yourself in the mirror, droplets of water dripping down your wet hair. "Today is the day we get our answers," you spoke to yourself with determination in your tone. "What this borderland is about, and how we get the hell out of here. I've been at the verge of death way too many times, though I must admit these games are enjoyable to a level."

"That I have to agree with, Yuki." You were startled to see that Chishiya was also awake. He leaned on the wall. He changed into some black long pants and a pair of black shoes with white soles at the bottom. He was wearing a black shirt underneath his unzipped white hoodie. You had to admit that he looked a little bit sexy.

"You'll give me directions whilst I drive, okay? I hope we'll finally get some answers to out never-ending list of questions. Akira has a low chance of winning these games, considering that he has an injured leg that still needs healing and the fact that he's only a child. I just can't handle to see him hurt anymore," you told him, making eye contact with him via the mirror in front of you.

"Yuki, how do you care, protect and love your brother so much? In the borderlands, he'll be a burden in the difficult games, especially in clubs and spades games in his current state." Chishiya inquired, curious about how your human heart functioned.

"We've been through so much together, that I can't let go of him. He has some decent fighting skills despite his injured leg, but I can help him in some clubs games if we're working together, or maybe even hearts games because our trust is unbreakable. He's saved my life in these games some times, so I need to pay him back and make sure he survives, no matter how injured I am! If the situation called for it, I would gladly sacrifice my life for him!" You answered.

Chishiya seemed amused by your speech, thinking through about how you cared about your brother so much. He did care for you, but not too much to the point that he was willing to risk his life to save you. After all, someone as heartless as him could only care for someone so much.

After you got ready to get going, you were chatting on your sofa together, sharing a little about your past and talking about some theories you had about the borderlands. An Alien invasion, some hallucination pandemic, or could you be dead and was fighting to survive? Maybe it was all a bad dream, but you clearly had all your senses working normally.

Without knowing it, you had developed a romantic liking to Chishiya through the life-and-death games. He was always calm and collected, making sure not to make any errors in his movements during the crisis he was in. He also made sure not to show his weaknesses to others, though physical ability was clearly not one of his talents. 

If you were completely truthful, you suspected deep down that he might be a game master posing as a player, possibly a diamonds or hearts master? Though you grew a liking to him, you made sure to keep a close eye on him at all times. 

Once Akira and Kuina got up, they quickly got up, seeing you two early birds chatting away to kill time while waiting for them to get ready. Clearly, Akira still did not trust Chishiya, but was grateful towards him for saving you. Whenever he was near him, Akira would warily grab the handle of his dagger, getting ready to kill him if he tried to do something to him.