The Queens' Game (K project fanfic)

One Third Each

I can't be bothered to do the whole put the surname first and the Japanese honorifics (mainly because I'm 60% sure I'll mix them up.) Sorry if this kind of thing annoys you. Maybe I'll edit the book afterwards I've finished writing it, and then work to add them in then.

"Shh" someone whispered, "someone's coming." Giggling, and then the sound of feet running away. The girl turned the corner, pushing a few strands behind her ear noticing her locker door where her shoes were kept was slightly open. She frowned and looked down, preparing herself to keep smiling no matter what. Her mother had been so brave as she was waiting to die, why couldn't she? Even though her face was creased with pain and she had to hold back tears, she had smiled and asked her, Chiako, to look after her sisters. She was the eldest; she should act like it. She found her smile and opened her locker to find her shoes coated with a green gooey substance. She forced her smile to remain and walked to the bathroom. There was giggling behind her; the walls seemed to slope inwards, towards her. They never touched her; they couldn't. No matter how hard they try, they can't end her misery.

This hadn't been the first time today, nor would it be the last. Mean kids were everywhere, in every school. Usually her sisters would've been here to cheer her up though when this happened. Usually, it wouldn't be her that was getting bullied in the first place though.

'Smile' she reminded herself, and walked into the bathroom, ignoring any stares she got to wash off the green goo, whatever it was. "A-Are you okay? " Someone asked. It was a girl, smaller than her, with short orange hair. She had amber eyes that were now looking curiously towards the black haired girl. 

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, though." She could feel it inside her, how false that sentence sounded. She wanted to go back to her house already. She looked at her shoes that were nearly clean and to the girl thinking a bit before smiling brightly. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before have we?"

"No," the girl answered distantly, her forehead was creased with lines, her amber eyes seemed to darken. "we haven't, but, if you're being... if you're being bullied you should tell someone." She looked away, suddenly becoming shy all of a sudden. "L-like a teacher or..."

"I'm so sorry," Chiako stopped her. The girl looked back up in surprise, "to of bothered you with this. I accidentally dropped my shoes into my science experiment, I mean seriously, how klutzy can you get?" Her smile came back, and she resumed scrubbing her shoe of the green goo. The other girl frowned, her eyebrows coming together.

"B-But, your shoe. It couldn't possibly" she paused, "you couldn't possibly have." Then she suddenly realised something and began to bow frantically. "I mean, I am so sorry. I jumped to conclusions and just assumed that you... that you were being bullied." She trailed off, while slowly standing up straight again. "Please excuse my rudeness. "She began to walk away, a distant look in her eye. 

"Wait, what's your name?" Chiako called out after her.

"Hmm," the girl looked back then becoming shy again looked away and stammered, "S-Shiori Yukimura. N-nice t-to meet you." She blushed, and Chiako giggled causing her ears to tingle slightly with the same colour.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Shiori, I hope we can get along." She gave her one of her most winning smiles and then moved off to stand in front of the hand dryer to dry her shoes. She turned back to say something more but saw that Shiori had opened her mouth to speak first. She said something, but it was drowned out by the sound of the hand dryer. "What did you say, Shiori?"

"N-Nothing." She looked away and then waved at Chiako before leaving. 

"Well, she's a strange one," The girl murmured to herself, letting her hair come down from behind her ear and blow into her face, while she finally let her guard drop. "Like me I guess." She took her shoes away, though they were still damp and walked to the entrance to put her indoor shoes in the locker. She didn't see anyone around, probably with their friends, or have already gone home. She put on her damp shoes and shouldered her bag, a small smile crept onto her face while she left the building.

The rest of the way back was uneventful, the train was crowded and the streets flooded with people and students from her school. She slipped in among them, as comfortable as she could be. She was just another typical person out here; talking, laughing and hoping for a better life then they would ever live. She smiled softly to herself thinking about it. 

She then sighed and rolled her shoulders. 'I need a break from all of this.' she thought, 'I should be allowed to treat myself once in awhile right?' She smiled some more and looked towards the arcade, an evil glint in her eyes. She walked towards it and hummed quietly under her breath. The first game she undertook was a racing game. Her blood pumped through her veins as she left her competitors behind and took the lead, gaining first place. She wondered around from game to game, beating each one. No one seemed to notice her, as she liked it, and she finally came to the last game. A boy was playing it, and he looked so focused that she just stood to the side, without bothering to disturb him. It was a two player game she realised after awhile, and in a few moments, the boy next to her sighed in defeat, seeing the two letters KO broadcasted on his screen. 

"Alright, whose next up. I don't have all day." Cried someone from the other side. 

"I'm up for a game," Chiako replied and sat down where the previous player had been sitting, on a red cushioned stool. She selected a girl with cat ears on her head and high-speed abilities. She noticed her opponent had a tall man carrying a giant sword on his back. 'Probably has a high strength ability', She thought. 

She let the corners of her mouth turn up as the boy, from before, watched her fight from where she had been previously standing. She jammed the buttons down, not too hard, but harder enough to get them to respond quickly to her every command. He started by swinging the sword, and she jumped back in response. 'It's like we're dancing' she thought to herself. She tried to use her speed to her advantage, so focused she managed to block out every single noise in the background, everything that could possibly distract her. She did a few combos, getting the hang of her character before being dealt a severe blow. She cocked her head to the side meanwhile thinking 'you're wide open'.

She attacked, and after awhile she had won. She smiled and got up to let someone else have a go, turning towards the exit. "Hey, you're pretty good." The boy who had played previously commented. She flashed him a smile, "Thank you, it's no big deal though, after all, it's just a game." Chiako left, mingling with the crowd of teenagers and children that were concentrated around the shooting games nearby. She brushed her hair behind her ear and let herself sigh. Now it was time to go home.