Her. (Chishiya Shuntaro)

10

"What would you do if I suddenly disappear?"  Chishiya asked out of the blue while Aika was cooking dinner. It startled her, but she brushed it off and smiled.

"I'll come find you of course. That came out of the blue. Why'd you ask?"

"Do you mean it? Will you find me?" Chishiya asked, embracing her from behind.

"Of course, Shun. I'll never stop until I find you. But what's wrong?" Chishiya's grip on her waist tightened, and only when he had buried his face on the crook of her neck had she felt his desperation for assurance.

"I can't seem to find myself anymore. Please help me, Aika." His voice trembled.

Slowly, she turned around to face him, and while he did not have tears falling from his eyes, her heart ached from how broken he looked.

"Shun, love, look at me." She whispered in a gentle tone, caressing his cheeks with both of her hands. "Don't be harsh on yourself Shun. You are you in the moments that you succeed, and you are still you in the moments where you can't seem to see any progress. And I love all phases, all versions, and all sides of you. I love you."

"I try to convince myself that it doesn't bother me. But I want these to end. I want to stop giving people false hope and actually do something to help them. I don't know what to do." He vented, his expression numb, which scared Aika. She feared that he'd grow numb and despise the world for it.

She had always believed Chishiya was strong, and almost forgotten that strong people feel things too. "It must have been hard enduring everything on your own, I'm sorry for not noticing your pain, Shun. But I'm here."

"Please just hold me."

He wasn't crying, no. Chishiya almost never cry. But she clearly heard his heart, and it was desperate for someone to tend to its wounds. "I'm here." She reassured once again, embracing him tightly.

Aika decided to sharpen the Katana she had taken from her first game. She had the feeling she'll have to use it soon. After all, everyday was a battle of survival. And she had to survive to fulfill her promise to Chishiya. She'll come find him no matter what. Even if she had to have an iron heart.

"Ready for another game, Princess?"

"Let's go." She replied with a determined look on her face.

Game: Pingpong
Difficulty: 8 of spades

Rule: Win 2 sets against the other pair. One set is composed of 11 scores.

Aika took a moment to observe the game area. Apart from Banda and her, there were only two other players. And in the middle of the gym, there is one table with two paddles on each side. A double's match.

"You know what this means, right Princess?" Banda asked with yet another evil grin on his face.

"If we beat them, they die. Their deaths will be ours to bear." She replied with her hands curled into a fist.

"Will you be able to handle it?"

"I have someone I need to go home to, Banda. I'm not losing now." Banda grinned.

The game will commence in five minutes

"Looks like they're giving us time to practice."

"It's too risky. Let's observe the other team for now."

The other pair decided to take time to practice their drills. One of them was someone to be wary about. He played well, and has mentioned how he used to be a champion at the sport. However, Aika and Banda saw a weak spot. The other one had no clue how to play the game, and in a doubles match, no matter how good the other one is, he'll be pulled down if he's paired with a weak player.

"If you're at least better than that clueless player, we have a high chance of winning."

"Be careful not to hold me back, Princess." 

The game will now commence. Please toss a coin to identify which team serves first.

"I'll toss the coin." Banda offered, and everyone easily agreed. "If it's heads, we serve first." Everyone nodded.

Once Banda threw the coin, everyone tried hard to keep up with his speed. When he caught it, he immediately showed the result. Heads.

Banda and Nanami, please serve first.

Banda served the ball normally. Aika understood it was to see how the other team would respond. And the ball came back to them almost instantly, making it impossible for her to block.

Point: 0-1

"Yosh!" The player arrogantly cheered.

Aika was quite shaken, she played pingpong during high school, but that receive was a strong spin even to her. However she remained calm, for it seem to be the reaction Banda wanted to get.

Once again Banda served the ball, the projectile was a lot faster than his first serve, and the other player panicked and got in the way of his team mate when he froze and forgot to step back and make room for the receiver, making him unable to receive the ball.

Point: 1-1

"That wasn't a normal serve. I didn't expect you'd play that well."  Banda's lips curled into a smirk.

"You don't know a lot of things about me, Princess."

"As we thought, the scrawny guy's a walking weak spot. It wasn't even his turn to receive, but he panicked and became his partner's downfall. That's quite a psychological game you're playing, Banda."

Aika didn't know if she'd be happy or be scared of him, but one thing's for sure, she's quite relieved he's not playing on the other side. Banda would be quite a handful as another foe.

"Mr. Champion's serving, this better be a point to us, Princess."

The player haughtily grinned gazing unto Aika like a maniac. She paid to mind to him, and fixed her eyes on the ball instead. He served it with a pretty solid under spin, Aika attempted a loop, but it had been decades so it went flying way far off.

Banda snickered, and she heaved a long sigh in frustration.

Point: 2-1

"What are you doing Princess?"

"I'll get the next one." She responded, concentrating fully on getting the loop right.

As if to ridicule her, the opponent did the exact same serve, and it was a big mistake for Aika was successfully able to return it with a quick loop.

Point: 2-2

"Now that you've warmed up, how about we end this now princess?"

The next points have been easy to acquire, for the other player kept making simple mistakes. His teammate heavily blamed him until the laser killed both of them.

After witnessing another pointless death, Aika quickly rushed to the sink and threw up. She finally reached the point where she couldn't take them anymore. The deaths she witnessed haunted her in her sleep, and now the disturbing feeling tormented had crept into her gut, proving that everything she witnessed has been slowly traumatizing her. Once again, she had the feeling of peeling and scratching her skin of, the only difference at that very moment is even her insides, she itched to pluck out. For the heavy weight had already seeped through her bones.

Banda stood behind her, watching as she anguished. It was what he wanted all along. He wanted to break her, see her whimper on the floor, and be in a state of feeling a tormenting pain without having to bleed. However, seeing her in that state, he came to doubt if it was really what he wanted.