wash || alice in borderland

x. the knave of hearts

arisu looked beyond bewildered, it was honestly entertaining for reiko to witness. for someone so smart, it seemed he couldn't wrap his head around chishiya's plan.

"hatter's making sure he keeps control of the militant corps, but it's only a matter of time before they retaliate. and if that happens, this place will be run by a bunch of brainless idiots with guns. then it's cut and run."

"what are you planning?" arisu asked.

chishiya and reiko briefly made eyecontact, a silent hint for her to speak up. though chishiya had yet to explicitly tell her his plan, it was not hard to figure out.

"we're going to steal the cards. all of them." arisu whipped around to face the shorter girl. "and then we'll bail off the beach."

chishiya smirked, satisfied that she had figured out his plan without him ever needing to tell her. he knew that she understood him and his mind like no one else did.

"well then," chishiya brushed past arisu. "we'll be going. we'll meet later to discuss."

reiko smiled one last time at arisu before her and kuina trailed after chishiya. reiko linked her arms with her two taller companions. "how tricky." she commented, glancing at chishiya. "don't get him into too much trouble, yeah? i quite like him."

chishiya raised a brow. "should i be jealous."

"no of course not," reiko nudged him with her shoulder, dragging kuina down a bit. "i only like you!"

kuina fake gagged. "you two are disgusting. please confess your undying love while i am not present." she unliked her arm from reiko's, making the girl pout. "i'll see you guys later, yeah?"

reiko waved goodbye to her friend, leaving her and chishiya to walk back into the hotel by themselves. "so," she started. "you never did tell me your plan."

chishiya chuckled softly. "do i even need to?" he asked her.

reiko hummed in though, pressing her finger against her lip. "probably not! but whatever it is," she spoke in a more serious tone. "i'm sure i'll be fine. i trust you. besides, i think i have an idea anyway. i know more than you think." she winked at chishiya, making the blonde man smile at her charm.

"don't worry. no matter what, you'll be safe. i promise."

"chishiya!" a female voice called from behind them. "you're needed." anne's cold voice echoed through the empty hallway.

reiko kept her face neutral but surveyed anne. she was always a serious woman, but this time she sounded almost panicked. reiko knew something serious must've happened. she looked up at chishiya, who's face was as untelling as her own.

"it's time, isn't it?." she whispered, getting a nod in return from chishiya who quickly made his way over to anne.

reiko stared as the two walked down the hallway in silence before sharply turning around to go back to her room. she had a strong feeling that something was very wrong. she thought back to chishiya's words earlier on the roof. this was the beginning of the retaliation, which meant it was finally time to take the cards.

━ ━ ━ ━

"the black envelope."

after chishiya and arisu had come back from the executives meeting with the information that hatter was dead. reiko knew her gut feeling was right. she just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. for the first time since arriving, she was nervous. the death of hatter only meant that the ten of hearts game was getting closer.

her, chishiya, kuina, usagi, and arisu all sat together in an empty room. everyone leaned forward to listen to chishiya's plan. reiko sat on a chair next to chishiya's, her face resting on her hand.