Alice in Borderland

Chapter 17 - A happy evening

The hatmaker seems slightly surprised when we return to the hotel quite early. I decide to walk towards the pool, but when I hear Kuina's voice, I turn to her again.

"I'll come right after"

I nod at her and search the facility for Izumi. Everything is completely overcrowded as always, which surprises me a little, because so many are said to have died yesterday. Suddenly, arms are placed around my neck from behind and when Izumi's face appears, I laugh with her.

"There you are Sayuuri"

I can see from her voice that she must have been drinking. I turn to her and she takes my wrist to pull me to the back bar. She grabs my sore spot and I easily cover my face, but I try not to make a point. I survived today's game without a little scratch, so I shouldn't complain. As is so often the case, I jump behind the bar counters and Izumi takes a seat in front of me on a bar stool.

I start mixing a cocktail together and think a little bit about the game. When the girl was killed by the laser, I honestly wasn't really interested. I wanted to stop her so that she wouldn't die unnecessarily, but it was too late. Somehow strange how quickly I'm blunted in this short time. I wonder if I may have become a bad person. I mean, what I said to Yuudai hasn't just changed. Leaving someone behind is out of the question for me and I would have worn it if the beach had been further away.

But as soon as this mechanical female voice announces that the game begins, something changes. From this point on, I am fully concentrated, but do I also turn off my emotions as much as possible? I haven't really paid attention in my last few games, honestly I don't know if I've paid attention to it at all in a game. But it is incomprehensible that when you fight for your survival, you don't stop and mourn the loss of a person.

I notice a hand waving back and forth in front of my face and looking at the person slightly frightened. Kuina sits in front of me and as she chews on her straw, a broad smile forms on her face. I don't know how she did it, but I can suffer her pretty well now.

"You're pretty often somewhere else with your thoughts today," she says, and I also give her a broad smile. I shake the mixing cup and fill the liquid into two different glasses before i push it one. She winks thankfully at me and the three of us talk as we sip on our drinks.

"You were back pretty quickly, what was it for a game?"

"Karo 3," I reply.

"Yes, with Ann and Sayuuri, the only difficult task was to get this fish brain down"

At the thought I drink a big sip, because I still feel like I can taste the fish. When Kuina sees my face, she laughs and does it after me. Izumi only looks at us inquiringly, but she decides not to ask more.

Once again, my gaze wanders over the facility. In the last few days, I've automatically memorized where most people are always. The newcomers celebrate all at the edge of the pool or in the pool, while those who have been here in the beach for a long time occupy the group tables under the palm trees on the right. The military squad sits in its lounge and keeps an eye on everything next to the entrance to the outdoor area.

Yuudai now seems to be one of them, because he has been sitting with them very often lately. Perhaps he is also one of their new contenders, because he does not yet carry a weapon with him. My thoughts swirl wildly, as people keep blocking my view and the music is quite loud. From the roof you simply have a much better view and can concentrate. I suddenly hear a sloppy sound and look into my glass. I was probably so engrossed in my mind that I didn't notice how I was drinking my glass. Slightly astonished, I look into the glass again and rinse it out.

 "Since when do you actually have your dreadlocks?" Izumi turns to Kuina and I start mixing a new drink.

"It's been quite a long time, maybe three to four years"