Alice in Borderland

Chapter 20 - Room tour

Back in the beach, the driver hands out our playing card to the hatmaker. I just want to go up in my room and into the shower. But as I drive up the stairs, I feel someone holding me back and look confused to the one.

"Did I tell you"

The hatmaker holds a new bracelet with the number 239 in front of my nose and I need a moment to follow him. Then I take off my current bracelet and give it to him in exchange. He tells me something else, but if I'm honest, I don't listen to him at all. When he nods at me and releases me, I walk up the stairs and hop right in the shower in my room.

Blood, ash and debris have settled on me and I try to wash everything off. However, the cold water is not as beneficial as when I woke up. I try to clean myself as soon as possible and tremble all over my body as I put on my normal beach clothes. I throw the towels in the laundry basket and leave my bathroom when I hear a knock.

I open the door confused. In front of me stands Chishiya, his hands as always in the vest pockets and an almost sneering grin. On his vest and the dust stains I can see that he still wears the same clothes as in the game. He probably had another meeting with the leadership and no time to move. I look at him questioningly, but I can't see any emotion in his gaze. He just raises his eyebrows a little.

"I won"

The bet that I totally forgot. I open the door a little further so that it fits through. He seems to be looking beforehand to see if there could be any eyewitnesses, but nothing seems to bother him. I lean against the wall next to the bathroom door and watch him look around meticulously. He stands in the middle of the room with his hands in his vest pocket, but i can see from his gaze that Chishiya scans every inch of the room with his eyes to grasp everything.

He goes to the small desk by the window and opens some drawers before picking up a book and looking at me inquiring.

"A law book?"

"I'm studying law," I explain succinctly. Bet is bet. If I had won, I would expect him to answer me honestly, so I do.

"Mhm."

He puts the book back in place and I can see his thoughts circling. A criminal code and my studies are one of the last things that bring me something here in Borderland or give me an advantage, especially in the beach.

It feels strange that he looks at everything as if he were reading in a part of my soul. He opens the next drawer and grabs the bracelet from my grandmother, which I put down before the game.

"Looks expensive"

"These are cultured pearls from France and the emblem is real gold," I say only to distract from my family. By the twitching of his ears I realize that he has noticed it, but he is silent. He's busy looking out the window as I spit to the sports bag under my bed. There's nothing in it except Light's college jacket, which is why it doesn't theoretically violate our bet. My gaze glides mutely to Chishiya, who seems to get a picture of what I can see from my window. I have to admit a pretty clever idea.

He turns his gaze away and seems slightly surprised when he discovers the book on my bedside table. He looks at me with a raised eyebrow and grabs the book to look at the cover.

"A romance novel?"

"Did I get on loan from Kuina yesterday," I say, tearing it out of his hand with a slight embarrassment. My reaction seems to amuse him and he just smiles, i can easily see his front two incisors. After the few times we spoke, I could see that when he smiles like that, it's meant honestly.

"You have photos here of your friends, but not of your parents"

I can see from his tone that it was just a remark and no question. I leave it uncommented in the room and watch carefully every one of his steps. He looks around the room a little before lying down on my bed and putting his arms behind his head.

"What would have been your two questions if you had won?"

I just have too many questions, I mean what do I know about him? His name is Chishiya and he is very intelligent, more than anyone I've met here in Borderland.

"What is your full name?"

"Shuntaro, Chishiya"

I don't see any emotional connection to his clan in the way he pronounces the name. He seems to realize that I was able to conclude from this question more than just his last name. Apparently it doesn't bother him and he looks back to the ceiling, waiting for my second question.

"Why are you talking to me?"

He only talks to the leader or Kuina. When Izumi wondered that he was talking to me, something became clear. He apparently wants something from me, I couldn't explain it to myself otherwise. I'm apparently one of his puppets in this puppetry, I can see that. But what exactly he seems to expect from me is obscure to me.

"When I first saw you, I was surprised. A cheerleader who read Dante's Inferno. Strange."

"It's just a book," I say, to get more answers.

"You had your emotions well under control in the poker game"

"I'm trained to keep my feelings under control," I say untouched, realising the next moment that I shouldn't have said that. Chishiya continues to look at the ceiling and I can hear his thoughts almost loudly. Why did I say that? It reveals too much of my past. Ordinary people in the beach would just dismiss it, but not Chishiya.

"Great family," he ponders aloud, and I try to somehow avert everything.

"That's what you said"

"The law book shows that you are not studying in the first semester. You're smart, at least more than most here. You're compassionate but you also know when to turn it off"

"And where do you close that?"

"Our first game. First there was the man who died and you gave him one of your knives. Then the other one you talked to before and after the game"

Satoru.

"You still know that?"

"You are smart, but sometimes I see you drinking and celebrating with the others. You don't tell anything about you, but as soon as someone touches on the topic of family, you shrug."

"Of course you've seen that," I notice, laughing slightly. But not from friends, but because I always want to displace everything.

"Don't worry, I don't ask anything about your family. When you're ready, you should tell me for yourself"

Frightened, I look at him and look at him in amazement. He's here in my room and won the bet to learn more about me. Yet he doesn't ask me about any of my obvious weaknesses. His eyes meet mine, and although his words show understanding, his dark eyes only radiate cold. I sit next to him on the bed and try to shake off my thoughts with a groan.

"Why are you always so distant?"

His muscles seem to stiffen for a millisecond, but he still looks only at the ceiling of the room. His face again adopts this complacent and better-known expression.

"You had your two questions"

He gets up and runs towards the door to leave my room. He seems to want to go, but I think it's weird to let him go with those words. And he's right, I had my two questions and he answered them, which he shouldn't have done.

"Chishiya?"

He stops, but doesn't turn around.

"I think you'd miss me one day if I died in one of the games," I joke, trying to ease the situation. Although I don't see his face, I can imagine him grinning.

"I don't think so, but let's just wait and see "