Her. (Chishiya Shuntaro)

16

"Princess?" Chishiya repeated, his eyes narrowed.

"So it's a boyfriend. The one you're fixated on going home to." He remarked, standing in front of both of them. "That hurts a bit, Princess."

"Fiancé." Chishiya corrected, and he looked at him with satisfaction when he saw him subtly tighten his fist.

"My bad. Princess never mentioned anything about that." He taunted. But Chishiya's mind was strong enough not to be affected by his basic psychology. "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe, Princess."

Banda's glare never left both of them even as he had walked away. Chills ran down Aika's spine as she gazed into his eyes. He had been friendly to her before, but now, his psychopathic gaze made her feel how much of a murderer he truly was.

"Why's that Banda guy calling you with such a ridiculous endearment?" He asked her coldly, jealousy clouding his mind.

"I don't know, he has been calling me that ever since my first game. I think it was because I was wearing a dress that day." She explained.

"This whole time we've been apart, have you been with him alone?" Aika looked away and slowly nodded. She didn't want to upset him, but lying to him would be much worse.

Chishiya couldn't fight the feeling of frustration as jealousy engulfed his heart. The thought of her spending day and night with a different man stung his chest. "Did...you ever find him attractive?"

Looking at him in disbelief, Aika pressed her hands on his cheeks and leaned close to him. "Shun, do you have any idea how crazy I am for you?"

He was silent, refusing to meet her eyes even when she was leaning so close. So it startled him when he suddenly felt her lips on his.

And when she pulled away, he couldn't stop his lips from slanting to a smile. Soft laughter overwhelmed her chest, wondering how he could waver that easily. "You're adorable." She giggled.

"We need to beat this game so I could finally marry you." Chishiya whispered jokingly, and she only chuckled in response.

Difficulty level, Jack of Hearts. Game, Solitary Confinement. Rules. Guess the card suit that appears on the back of your collar. However, you may not look at the symbol yourself.

The time limit is one hour per round. In the final five minutes, enter your cell and disclose your symbol.

The voice in the monitor announced, catching everyone's attention.

"So that's it. I wonder how the game would be cleared."

If you do not answer with the correct symbol, it is game over. The collar will explode, and you will die. Additionally, when the time limit reaches zero, the symbol on the collar will reset and change for each round. The voice continued to explain.

"This is not going to end well for the others. I think most of them went in this game alone." Aika worriedly muttered. Chishiya could only hold her hand for comfort, for he cannot share her sympathy over the people he didn't know.

The Solitary Confinement game is about how much you can trust your fellow players. Be aware that your opponent, the Jack of Hearts, has already been placed among you.

"So that's the catch."

How to win. Rounds repeat every hour. You win the game when the Jack of Hearts dies.

"So unless we lie to the jack, we're not getting out of here." Chishiya commented.

Aika nodded, and no matter how much she tries to shake off her worries, she knew full well how the game would go. And her fears began springing to life when the people began forming into groups.

"That big group over there is going to be a disaster." She anxiously muttered.

"I'm sorry Ai, but it's impossible to avoid death in this setting. Let's just focus on clearing this game, okay?"

She heaved a long sigh of defeat, looking away as she nodded. "Okay..."

As she was about to get lost in her stream of thought, her eyes met Banda's gaze. Only then had she realized he has been looking at her the entire time. Her heart pounded when she saw him walk towards her, however he had to halt when a tall young man approached him.

"Hey! It doesn't look like you have a partner yet." He called out to Banda.

Banda looked at him with a deadly gaze.

"Tell me what my suit is and I'll tell you yours." He arrogantly told him, to which Banda responded with an evil sarcastic grin.

"That's a pretty aggressive attitude to take." He hissed, moving closer to him. "That kind of childishness makes you painfully transparent. You're ashamed of the darkness inside you, which makes you petty and jealous. You try to keep yourself safe behind those bangs. You hide your face so that people won't see your ugly, empty soul. You're a pathetic excuse of a human being who judges others to feel better. Pathetic and small." The young man gulped.

"But that's also why I like you. We should be friends." Banda offered, and the young man quickly accepted.

Aika narrowed his eyes, and in her peripheral vision, she could have sworn she saw Chishiya smirk upon hearing the conversation of the two.

"That guy accepted Banda's friendship too quickly." Aika whispered, and upon realizing what it would have implied, she gasped and looked at her boyfriend who was confidently smiling.

Chishiya slightly nodded, confirming to her that he was also thinking the same thing. That young man who partnered with Banda could be the Jack. Still they needed to observe a little more. After all, the game hasn't started yet.

Several hours into the game, the people had began killing little by little. And Banda was the one who had caused the chain when he provoked a poor young man to lie to his partner who's been beating him up to secure a good position.

After that, the young woman who looked innocent has been manipulating a large group to kill off whoever she wants. Aika felt sick looking at them betraying one another, and she was annoyed that the woman doesn't seem to understand the weight of what she's doing.

A few hours more and almost everyone else have already died, including the woman who had been manipulating the huge bunch of groups.

"I believe this would be the final round." Chishiya spoke.